Benzos benzo tolerance, vs. minimal dose to stay straight

[Znegative]

Since early August, I started using benzo's agian. My excuse was that I was starting school, and I do have legitimate social anxiety, so xanax and clonazapam work great for me in that regard.

It turns out that the benzo's were working for me so well I kept taking them. I dindn't feel high from them, I just felt like the person that I always knew I was, without the extreme shyness, or without having to use heroin. At the beginning I was taking no more that 2.5 mg of xanax a day, and this went on for a good month or so.

The second month i started to feel that my usual dosages of xanax or k-pins was not giving me the desired effect anymore. I realize now that this was probably the time to quit, but the drugs seemed to still work at higher dosages, so I started taking about 3.5-4 mg of xanax for a couple weeks.

Now it's almost December, and my benzo intake has really skyrocketed. I wake up in the morning (around eight am) and take six mg, which makes me feel good. My next dose is 1 mg of Klonopin (which is prescribed) and I take that around 1-2 pm. Then towards evening time I usually take another 2-3 mg of xanax.

This equals out to a total of 9-10 mg of benzo's a day, and I've been on this regiment for at least a month now. I know this is way beyond the therapeutic dosage, and the funny thing is, no one would even guess on I'm xanax, as I don't slur my speech or even feel sedated from them. Just calm and relaxed.

That being said, I know that I can't keep this up for ever, as it is just not healthy, and god forbid I run out of my supply.

My question is,

(a) would it be dangerous if I tried to skip 2 mg of xanax out of my daily regiment, or is that too high of a decrease to start off with. I'm not sure that I want to stop using benzo's, I just dont want to be on these high dosages.

(b) If taking 7 mg a day would be ok, what would the right rate be to titrate down from there.

(c) Also, just because I NEED 9-10 mg a day to feel the effects, does that necesairrly mean that my body is addicted to that much xanax, or just that taking less would keep me straight and give me no effect.

D) do other physically dependent benzo users wake up feeling nauseous in the morning (just curious)

If anyone could help answer these questions it would be great.

 

[M.Minkoff]

"I just felt like the person that I always knew I was, without the extreme shyness, or without having to use heroin."

Benzos can be miraculous in that way.

The difficult part of cutting back is the anxiety associated with knowing you're taking less of the drug, so there is a chance you'll start feeling bad. Try breaking them down and taking small amounts and appreciating the more subtle effects when you're in low-pressure situations. I can take 30mgs of valium and still feel anxiety, but for some reason 2.5mgs actually works. It's difficult to know how much you need when you feel so awful all the time. I don't think reducing by 2mgs will be harmful in any way. (I'm not a doctor, but have been on benzos for years.) Like you said, there is a disconnect between what you need and what you're taking. Not to get too therapist-y here, but using benzos as a tool, a way to work through the issues that cause your anxiety, that will help reduce your dose as well.

Don't know if you've tried it, but Xanax XR is a godsend for social anxiety, I took 3mgs a day for two years and never felt the need to increase my dose, had no withdrawals when I stopped.
And yes, I wake up nauseous.

 

[slowpoke1967]

been on them for 15 years ..that being said take them as needed ..if yer basically a biginer in my books high doseing is not good its the feel good feeling yer searching for...DONT...take what you need to function..i meen yer not falling to the ground do to high anxiety attacks are you ??
so cut it back slowly untill you reach the point were you still can feel that anxiety start to come but keep it under control...
and by the by all benzos are addicting and you will always feel the need to increase specialy with any pams.tollerance always comes with pams and xanax...so keep it down a bit and try and get a grip..
you can survive on lower doses its up to you wether you want to or not...
peace dude hope things work out

getting dependant on benzos as most know is the last thing ya want ...