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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Benzo and zolpidem cross tolerance and dosage

  • Thread starter Thread starter Snxjsjskakz
  • Start date Start date
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Snxjsjskakz

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I take benzos twice per week to sleep. When I take a benzo I take either 2mg Xanax, 2mg klonopin, or 40 mg of Valium. I have been taking the same dose at the same frequency for about a year now. I know that benzos and ambien are cross tolerant, so about what would the recommended dosage be?
 
First off, I feel obligated to say that taking benzos like this for sleep is really not a great idea due to the suppression of deep sleep/ REM sleep. Drugs like doxylamine and diphenhyramine are better choices IMO and are quite a bit more sedating, doxylamine in particular is very sedating.

Anyway, I'd start low as you're essentially comparing a hypnotic to anxiolytic tranquilizers and the equivalences don't hold up too well in these scenarios. I'd take 10 - 15mg and see how it works.
 
^^i find doxylamine to be a better sleep aid than most benzos and diphenhydramine. i have been using it recently instead of benzos/DPH and i wake up refreshed and i fall asleep when i want to. none of this tosing and turning for hours and only getting 1-2 hours of sleep...
 
There is a degree of cross-tolerance between benzos and zolpidem, as they both act upon the same receptor (GABA) system. I do believe it varies from person to person how much cross-tolerance there is.
 
Pegasus said:
First off, I feel obligated to say that taking benzos like this for sleep is really not a great idea due to the suppression of deep sleep/ REM sleep. Drugs like doxylamine and diphenhyramine are better choices IMO and are quite a bit more sedating, doxylamine in particular is very sedating.

Anyway, I'd start low as you're essentially comparing a hypnotic to anxiolytic tranquilizers and the equivalences don't hold up too well in these scenarios. I'd take 10 - 15mg and see how it works.
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Diphenhydramine is a poor poor choice of a drug to use for sleep if you ask me (but so is valium etc).

Z-drugs are a much wiser choice, hence why doctors prescribe them far more often. Anyway, the OP didn't ask about those drugs anyway so it's a moot point.

It's hard to give an accurate conversion because everyone acts differently so I can only recommend gradually titrating the dose yourself.
 
Im keen to find some amswers to this one myself..just got 200 bars and 3 packs zolpidem,think there 10 or 15 mgs- stilnox's.. But the effect zolpidem has on different people varies quite a bit.if you manahe to stay up and fight the hypnotic it's a great day out if you got fuck all else to do...
ENJOY---
 
There is cross-tolerance between benzo's and zolpidem, but it's not like a benzo to benzo tolerance. It's a light cross tolerance. Benzo's are cross tolerant with barbiturates, but again it's a very light cross tolerance.

phatass, zolpidem comes in 5 and 10 mg tablets. Zopiclone comes in 7.5 mg tablets.

Also, not all benzos suppress deep sleep or disrupt REM sleep. Temazepam is a benzo that has NO effect on REM sleep. Lormetazepam, which is a 3-hydroxy benzo similar to both temazepam and lorazepam (which are also both 3-hydroxy benzos). Lormetazepam (chloro-temazepam or methyl-lorazepam) at 1 mg does not alter REM sleep either, but 2 mg it does but nothing significant.
 
Artificial Emotion said:
Diphenhydramine is a poor poor choice of a drug to use for sleep if you ask me (but so is valium etc).

Z-drugs are a much wiser choice, hence why doctors prescribe them far more often. Anyway, the OP didn't ask about those drugs anyway so it's a moot point.

It's hard to give an accurate conversion because everyone acts differently so I can only recommend gradually titrating the dose yourself.
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Diphenhydramine is a great choice for sleep. It is a non-addictive OTC antihistamine that knocks you out at 50-100 mg doses.

Z drugs are not a wiser choice because the truth is, they suck and half the time they don't work and the reason doctors are prescribing them now is because the US is party to the Convention on Psychotropic Substances which puts a prescribing guideline for hypnotics.

This is the General Prescribing Guidelines. This is all benzos, you have to go through z-drugs first than go through to the benzos. Not all doctors follow it, most don't actually. But it's there.
 
kokaino said:
There is cross-tolerance between benzo's and zolpidem, but it's not like a benzo to benzo tolerance. It's a light cross tolerance. Benzo's are cross tolerant with barbiturates, but again it's a very light cross tolerance.

phatass, zolpidem comes in 5 and 10 mg tablets. Zopiclone comes in 7.5 mg tablets.

Also, not all benzos suppress deep sleep or disrupt REM sleep. Temazepam is a benzo that has NO effect on REM sleep. Lormetazepam, which is a 3-hydroxy benzo similar to both temazepam and lorazepam (which are also both 3-hydroxy benzos). Lormetazepam (chloro-temazepam or methyl-lorazepam) at 1 mg does not alter REM sleep either, but 2 mg it does but nothing significant.
Click to expand...

I know that some don't suppress REM sleep, but which don't suppress deep sleep? I'm genuinely curious.
 
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