Benzos Benzo & Cocaine has led to anxiety disorder

[Dragonkiller]

Hello all,

I've been putting off dealing with this issue hoping that it will resolve itself over time, but it has been about a year since I last used anything (apart from alcohol) and there has been no significant improvement, so I don't know if things will ever improve or my anxiety disorder is permanent.

Before experimenting with drugs, I had no anxiety issues. I used cocaine a few times a couple of years ago, every time was great and I had no problems, I stopped for about a year, during that time I used a lot of valium and xanax (for about six months - at the height of my use, it was about 4-6mg xanax every couple of days). I stopped taking benzos cold turkey, didn't have any really bad side effects.

Then about a year ago, I tried cocaine again (one line) and it sent me into a very bad panic attack. I tried it again the next day and the same thing happened again, so I think it's a result of being oversensitive to stimulants due to my past benzo use. After that I was also left with twitching muscles all over my body. This has now calmed down hugely but I do still get them.

Now, a year on, I still get very anxious very easily, the simplest thing can make my heart race. So I guess my question is if my anxiety will ever improve/get back to normal or has my benzo use made me oversensitive? Has anyone had any similar experiences?

Thank you

 

[Ringfinger]

Hey man, I had something similar happen to me. Tell me, where did you get the theory that your anxiety came because of being oversensitive to stimulants because of your benzo use? It makes sense, but I was wondering if you had more info on it.

I would suggest seeing a therapist about this. You might also benefit from an SSRI. At least that's what has helped me deal with generalized anxiety. You will also always feel better with good diet and exercise. Seriously.

Good luck man.

 

[dissipate]

Im having the same thing your having.When i started using xanax and klonopin alot i noticed i started really being sensitive to stimulants even coffee.Its actually the reason why i quit coke because it made me so jittery and my anxiety went through the roof when i was on it.But i had anxiety before using coke or benzos.

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

It is definitely the benzo usage, and not the cocaine. You have sensitized yourself quite a bit.

The cocaine is anxiety reducing for most people, if you have real cocaine.

You have to wait until your mind is in a better spot if you are going to use drugs again.

Not doing so can make you a manic anxiogenic mess...

 

[tokenname]

It is definitely the benzo usage, and not the cocaine. You have sensitized yourself quite a bit.

The cocaine is anxiety reducing for most people, if you have real cocaine.

You have to wait until your mind is in a better spot if you are going to use drugs again.

Not doing so can make you a manic anxiogenic mess...

^absolutely agree 100%.

 

[blight12]

Just listing a few possible causes and corrections to some assumptions that might be inaccurate. Also a question or two that might need to be confirmed for a more accurate answer

1. Your post seemed to indicate that its been a year since you touched anything and then you mention about year ago you did XXX. Basically your timelines are not really clear to me based on your post. So what are the timelines between when you stopped coke and benzos from when you tried them again, and then the time between stopping again and then still getting the anxiety you mentioned last, as accurately as you can remember?

2. You mentioned coke caused anxiety and a panic attack.

a) If this was the first time you tried it after a long break (timelines still unclear) then it may bean issue with the specific product and source itself
b) If you had not taken in long time you might have taken your usual amount based on memory and habit from back then and it may have been to much for you after the break
c) If the recent drug usage was only coke without any benzo use with the benzo usage still being in the past then i dont see how the current issues can be benzo related like one poster suggested

3. You mentioned ongoing anxiety issues, but this is hard to answer since to me at least the timelines are still unclear. It seems this is a basic timeline for your story:

a)You did coke and benzos in the past
b) You then did coke a year after you stopped the above
c) Then a year later you are still getting anxiety symptoms

Is this correct?

In any case it might be normal to get anxiety long after reasonably heavy stimulant usage, though this never happened to me with normal stims like coke and meth, never causing more then 5 days of real anxiety after stopping use, however i did get many years of anxiety after heavy MDMA use.

 

[morphonorconic]

In the past I've been through hell with first cocaine addiction- I was selling it (the best stuff in the town I lived in even after I'd cut it) and in about three months I blew a couple ounces if not more, I quit and it took four months to resume normal- then, two years later with benzos- I was taking 8-12mg of alprazolam every day and/or as much as 100mg of diazepam, and I went through absolute hell getting out of this nightmare.

I never had a problem with anxiety before that but have ever since then. Subsequent to stopping my benzo abuse I fell into a serious opiate addiction which lasted for years with the middle of it being extreme.

It was after breaking that addiction that I began experiencing moderate to severe anxiety more and more frequently, often for no good reason. Drug abuse can result in long term or permanent physiological and neuropharmacological changes, especially with stimulants but with benzodiazepines as well.