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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

benzo addiction question

A

aoneko

Greenlighter
Joined
May 8, 2012
Messages
7
for someone with a benzo dependence who hadnt used any benzos for a long time:
3weeks: 110mg etizolam used
1 week: 50mg clonazepam used

would the withdrawal be more like etizalam or clonazepam withdrawal?
And about how long should the withdrawal last?

I'm the one who's taken these doses but I'm not sure if I have a benzo dependence. I stopped the clonazepam cold turkey after taking 1mg on Monday, and started taking high doses of gabapentin ( which I'm used to) since then. I also smoked weed daily. so far I have experienced no noticeable discomfort or withdrawal symptoms and I've been sleeping fine.

does this mean I have no benzo dependence and I'd be safe to use about 30mg etizalam over the course of 3 days next week?

thanks!
 
aoneko said:
for someone with a benzo dependence who hadnt used any benzos for a long time:
3weeks: 110mg etizolam used
1 week: 50mg clonazepam used

would the withdrawal be more like etizalam or clonazepam withdrawal?
And about how long should the withdrawal last?

I'm the one who's taken these doses but I'm not sure if I have a benzo dependence. I stopped the clonazepam cold turkey after taking 1mg on Monday, and started taking high doses of gabapentin ( which I'm used to) since then. I also smoked weed daily. so far I have experienced no noticeable discomfort or withdrawal symptoms and I've been sleeping fine.

does this mean I have no benzo dependence and I'd be safe to use about 30mg etizalam over the course of 3 days next week?

thanks!
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If you continue to use high doses of Benzos (Even infrequently) it will eventually lead to trouble.

Just a word of warning as this is how I initially started using Benzos, disaster soon followed.
 
This doesn't really tell us much:

3weeks: 110mg etizolam used
1 week: 50mg clonazepam used

I have no idea what your dosage schedule is like from that. Sounds like you're hitting the benzos pretty hard though.. You should probably wait 1 week to assess possible dependency, because benzo withdrawal comes on very slowly for many people. 3 days won't even let you know, so you're playing with fire here. Can't you just smoke weed without benzos? Sounds like your headed in the wrong direction.
 
I was taking like 7mg of etizalam a day for three weeks then 7mg clonazepam a day for one week. now I've taken only gabapentin for like three days and I feel good. does that mean I would be able to quit the gabapentin tonight, then take 2mg clonazepam and 1 g xanax a day for three days for the gabapentin withdrawal?
 
You might have to check in somewhere, i don't know seems like you were using quite a bit. I would try to taper over the course of 7-10 days instead of 3. Noone can really answer that question though, except that benzo withdrawal is user specific and it is one of the most dangerous drugs to withdraw from. Like i said before, unfortunately you probably wont know until 5-7 days after you quit taking them. Alcohol might be of use in that case.
 
Crashing said:
You might have to check in somewhere, i don't know seems like you were using quite a bit. I would try to taper over the course of 7-10 days instead of 3. Noone can really answer that question though, except that benzo withdrawal is user specific and it is one of the most dangerous drugs to withdraw from. Like i said before, unfortunately you probably wont know until 5-7 days after you quit taking them. Alcohol might be of use in that case.
Click to expand...
I would advise against this as Alcohol is known to increase the risk of seizure.
 
wait so how long will it take for the benzo withdrawal to kick in at the latest? i just want to know if i am going to have any w/d or not. and even if i were taking high doses of gabapentin, i would still know i was in w/d right? thanks!

Right now I am planning on going cold turkey from high doses of gabapentin, using 2mg klonopin/day + 1mg xanax/day for 3 days, as well as 20mg etizolam in total as needed for up to 5 days. Hopefully this will get me through the gabapentin w/d without getting benzo dependent.

Also, is it possible that I am benzo dependent even though I haven't had any w/d symptoms (while using gabapentin too) since I took 2mg klonopin as my last benzo taken, on monday at 2pm pst? Thanks!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
and even if i were taking high doses of gabapentin, i would still know i was in w/d right? thanks!
Click to expand...

Nope, if the doses are high enough, you wouldn't have a clue, many people can easily rotate between gabapentin and benzodiazepines. Going back on the benzodiazepine after the gabapentin to aid in the withdrawal is counter-productive, and the cycle will continue.

I would strongly urge you to stay at moderate doses of gabapentin for a at least 2 weeks, then taper of that in slow increments as it can have some withdrawal of its own. If you must you use a benzodiazepine when you stop, use a moderate dose of clonazepam once everyday for 3 days after you stop the gabapentin.
 
tomorrow i am going to start my plan of stopping gabapentin and starting 2mg/day clonazepam and maybe 1mg/day alprazolam for 3 days, then stop both of those. during and after the 3 days i will also have etizolam available if necessary. i have been taking high amounts of gabapentin and weed since monday and still feel pretty good, so i think that this will work out. any last ideas before i start? thanks for all the posts!
 
No advice here for you since I am very new to benzos and do not consider myself to have any sort of tolerance yet and very little knowledge on them. I just wanted to say GL and I hope this goes well for you. Keep us posted.
 
With benzos, less is always more. You'd be surprized by how much each person reacts to a certain benzo, and tolerance can definitely be kept at bay.

But your doses are very high, so it's kinda too late to consider a quick taper. It will take the time it will take, but in the end you'll be off this shit if you stick to your doctor's planning.
 
yeah too quick of a taper there; as a former and continuing benzo addict (etizolam now) i do not suggest coming off that quickly when you've had a previous dependence, even a few weeks of daily use will trigger a withdrawal for me, regardless of dose. the gabapentin throws a variable in there that could worsen the withdrawal, even after 5 days have gone by.Your past experience and mixing 3 gaba agonists over a months time, with daily use possible (dont think u mentioned that) will cause a severe withdrawal for a previous benzo dependent person.

clonazepam withdrawals take about 3 days to hit, first 2 days aren't bad at all then it hits you like a train somewhere around 3-4 days, at least for me, fucking terrible withdrawal off 10mg/day for me. Would never do it again. Etizolam withdrawals aren't bad in comparison but they are still awful, i imagine you'll feel the combination of both withdrawals (ie. extended witdhrawal from clonazepam half life, more mild rebound symptoms from etizolam), along with the gabapentin being cut, it's going to hurt IMO. Get some more etizolam and taper with it, it's not bad to taper with if you're not abusing it. If you are fucked and can't get any etizolam or anything then i'd go to the ER and get a Dr. to taper you.
 
Both of the above are sadly very accurate. A safe tapper off that's going to work and keep you from going back to it doesn't happen in a matter of days, or likely even weeks. IMHO a month is around the minimum.

As was mentioned. If you're out, go to the ER as withdrawals are life threatening. Not something you want to risk.
 
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