Been on Diazepam for 16 months and want off - I need a substitute

[Alfred22]

I'm currently on 15mg of diazepam a day for social anxiety. Prescriptions are getting harder to get a hold of so I'm deciding to end it before it gets out of control. I've gone weeks without it before but I usually substitute it with 30-40mg of Codeine instead.

I won't go into my personal life but this past year has been rough, I was taking a lot of drugs and did some stupid shit that might get me locked up in the near future. I don't want to quit benzos and go straight to Codeine but I need something, at least until things settle down (legal issues). Once they pass (within a year my lawyer says) I'm certain I'll be stronger then ever, but right now I feel like I'm at the weakest point in my life and I need a crutch. I've been to a few psychiatrists and GP's and all they give me is anti-depressants. I'm pretty sure I've tried ever type on the market and they have absolutely no effect on my anxiety, if anything it makes me feel worse and more depressed. TBH I think I have also developed depression due to the legal issues but I don't really know as I've been on Valium throughout the whole period. Although about a year ago when I was taking benzos heavily (50mg diazepam a day) I went 2 weeks without any drugs and during that time I never left the house, I was very anxious about everything, not sure if this was withdrawls or depression or a mix.

Anyway I'm looking at alternatives, all the herbal stuff (valerian etc.) doesn't work for me. Weed does work for me but do you think this is a bad idea? Right now it's looking like weed or codeine are my only options.

I'm also seeing a psychologist every fortnight.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

You need to taper. Weed helps some people but for others it makes anxiety worse. If it works for you, I'd say that it is safe (combined with a taper). Valerian root works but it is hit or miss for a lot of people and I wouldn't consider it a proper substitute. Codeine (and other opiates) do help with anxiety but you really do need to speak to a doctor about a proper taper considering the amount of time you've been on diazepam.

Tell your psychologist/psychiatrist that you want to get off benzos and that you want to taper. Most psychiatrists are at least familiar with tapering plans and will help you get on one.

 

[optimuswind]

Wow, only 15mg works for your social anxiety? Just goes to show how different people can be and how different drugs effect them.

I can take 40-60mg diazepam or 4-6mg alprazolam and aside from feeling a bit like a zombie and having poor balance / coordination, my anxiety doesn't really go away (or does it and i'm just too sedated to bother interacting with anyone?)

I've only had them about 2-3 months aswell, and i'm tapering off myself taking the least amount I can so my tolerance goes back down, I haven't felt any withdrawal effects, but then again I came off an SSRI cold turkey TWICE after like 1-2 years and had no side effects at all, plus I read on a social anxiety forum someone coming off a benzo after taking it for years and having no side effects, I hope I'm lucky that way with benzos aswell.

As for an alternative? I recently discovered Methylone works great my social anxiety, I can take a very small amount and it makes me want to go and talk to people, be around them etc, gives me confidence, just like when I first started taking benzos, it's also cheap and as far as i'm aware you don't get comedowns from it like you do with MDMA (at least not in the small therapeutic doses that I take)

This is what convinced me to try it http://www.methylone.com/experiences/ give the whole page a read it's pretty informative about methylone. I mean, the guy in that story seems to take it to roll, at doses of like 150mg, but I was doing just 50mg and it lasted a good few hours, gave me lots of energy and confidence, my mind felt sharper, I wanted to talk to people and be around them, definitely felt emphatic towards people etc, next day had a little glow still, I think it's an excellent drug for my anxiety I only wish there was more scientific information about it and studies. I still take a couple antioxidant supplements when I take it (same ones you would for MDMA) just incase there's any kind of oxidant buildup that the brain can't handle on its own (since as far as i'm aware it is not as rough on the serotonin system as MDMA I don't think this is a problem but I'm paranoid so i'm going to take the antioxidants anyway, a vitamin C pill or green tea extract pill isn't much hassle and probably helps your body in general aswell.

By the way, on the low doses I was taking the only side effects I got were slightly sweaty hands, I didn't gurn and i'm pretty sure my pupils were average sized - like I said, small doses.

 

[The-Future]

Methylone sounds pretty risky since there is such little research on it. I have taken it multiple times though and although enjoy it a lot, I'd never use it as a substitute for social anxiety.

If cold turkey gets rough I will taper down but since it's only 15mg I don't think I'll have much of a problem with it. I think I'm going to invest in weed, try find a nice strain for anxiety.

 

[RobotRipping]

Even if it's only 15mg a day you can expect withdrawal symptoms. The first time you go through it you may not notice until a week or so afterwards. One day i just started feeling disconnected from my body and finally put the pieces together and realized i was in benzo withdrawal. Valium lasts forever in your body too, so it will take at least 3 days to feel any sort of withdrawal. If you can taper then why not? it won't hurt you. If you really think you won't have problems then i'd just take 5mg every 3 days for 2 weeks and then as needed then stop altogether.

you may be surprised at how much of a hold benzos can have on your brain and body.

 

[omt]

If you were taking 50mg diazepam every day for some time then couldn't get any and felt anxious for 2 weeks I'd say that's definite withdrawls. 15mg a day is a fairly low dose but you are right in thinking you reliant on it so being free of that dependance would be good, especially if you are having trouble maintaining a supply and could go through withdrawls at any point if that supply drys up.

It's a predictable answer but the sensible thing to do would be to taper off the diazepam as has been suggested. Imo taking codeine or smoking weed daily is no more desirable than taking your low dose of diazepam daily and not the way forward if you don't want to be reliant on and addicted to a drug.