Benzodiazepines-Alternative medications

[MaroonBlue]

Hey friends, I was wondering if you guys knew of any extremely potent medications that are just as effective or preferably more effective at treating crippling anxiety. These can be controlled substances, non controlled substances, alternative medicine/supplements, or what have you. I'm currently taking .5 mg of klonopin and it's nowhere near enough and I'm scared to death of running out since I have major anxiety and co-morbid depressive disorder so any help at all would be appreciated! Thank you guys.

 

[Bmwm8]

im not sure how you do on muscle relaxers like Soma aka Carisprodol? I find those work for me. Gabapentin or its sister which im drawing a name blank of. Opiates though I dont reccomend anyone go down that rd because they are the damn devil. Ketamine helps w my depression. As do mushrooms. I go to a shamans about 4-6x year. I cant believe how much it honestly helped w my anxiety and depression. It went from a 9 to a 2 in one session along w therapy 1x wk.

 

[smokeymcpot42088]

is the obvious answer not barbituates? Good luck findin em and please keep yourself alive. If you thought benzos opis and alc were the triangle of death; well I'll go that road all day before barbs and drinks (safety wise at least).

Soma feels good but does jack all for anxiety; well maybe a little as being high on anything does. Shoot gabapentin is the one I remember too, brand names neurontin and lyrica. Lyrica is alot stronger mg for mg and in general effects; when I take lyrica it feels like im drunk and on a small amount of speed. (in other words eckh, no attention span, can't enjoy ish, feel the need to 'accomplish' *last thing I want in a high, "get me fucked up and in public please! nah.)

The real life answer is going to be a much larger dose of benzos. I have known people scripted up to 16 mg of xanax/klonopin a day.....

I would venture that your doc is trying .5 out to see how YOU react to it. 2 mg a day is about the average benzo script (for those that have them in my area). You could bounce from benzo to benzo and I reccomend temazepam brand name restoril. I ended up trading my temaz script in for klonopin after the pharmacy thought I forged a script. (totally legit straight from doc I sware)....he jumped down there throats when they called him and I got my meds.....I dont like being accused of prescription forgery though lol.

*edit* If you have to go outside of your doctor and are good with computers bromazolam seems to be widely available. (I have never tried it but alot of bunk xanax bars that never get called bunk are now bromaz)

 

[cdin]

so, i can only reflect my own experience. i was burned in a fire, 3rd degree, developed major clinical PTSD, also have GAD, my own course through this shit has been long, and difficult. I tried for many years medicating with ethanol, benzos etc. --- my experience is that i could not really take enough of any GABA agent to siufficiently medicate my symptoms (let alone the fact that in the US at least, people are being thrown systemically off of long term benzo rxes. they are coming after them as they did opioids 8 years ago. My mom is currently in process of being thrown off a 30+ year benzo Rx, ive had to do support for countless people across the country dealin w that shit) - and in fact that attempting to medicate the symptoms of the anxiety both kept me from pursuing some other solutions, and made my anxiety worse and worse as the GABA PAM agents did progressive damage to my GABA systems.

I was terrified when i was ordered off the benzos as well. What I have found though, is that it truly was keeping me from reaching deeper resolution on the anxiety issues, and making them worse over time. Since then, althought the withdrawal was crippling, I am glad i got a long taper/was able to take care of it in a reasonable way instead of been thrown off without time to deal with the taper. I have found that workin w therapists that i could actually work with (took me like 12 people to find people ACTUALLY versed in severe anxiety and trauma recovery) - CBT, EMDR and a few other treatment modalities really helped me towards resolution. Ibogaine was integral in repairing the PTSD/TBI damage. but long story short - i found no relief long term in the GABA agents, and indeed now for my life, I can see how treating the symptoms of anxiety was not handling shit. I really had to find ways to address my underlying issues to find good relief.


Outside of that, modifying diet, really increasing exercise, and getting my GABA receptors healed is what actually helped. Also I have found non-damaging relief in kava kava and amanita (the muscimol specifically) if i need help and don't want to damage my brain further. Also propranolol I find AMAZING for dealing w the physical side of my anxiety. which really assists me in using actual coping tools for dealing w the mental part,

Either way, I know this is a super personal journey, and I hope you get some resolution fr.

 

[negrogesic]

so, i can only reflect my own experience. i was burned in a fire, 3rd degree, developed major clinical PTSD, also have GAD, my own course through this shit has been long, and difficult. I tried for many years medicating with ethanol, benzos etc. --- my experience is that i could not really take enough of any GABA agent to siufficiently medicate my symptoms (let alone the fact that in the US at least, people are being thrown systemically off of long term benzo rxes. they are coming after them as they did opioids 8 years ago. My mom is currently in process of being thrown off a 30+ year benzo Rx, ive had to do support for countless people across the country dealin w that shit) - and in fact that attempting to medicate the symptoms of the anxiety both kept me from pursuing some other solutions, and made my anxiety worse and worse as the GABA PAM agents did progressive damage to my GABA systems.

I was terrified when i was ordered off the benzos as well. What I have found though, is that it truly was keeping me from reaching deeper resolution on the anxiety issues, and making them worse over time. Since then, althought the withdrawal was crippling, I am glad i got a long taper/was able to take care of it in a reasonable way instead of been thrown off without time to deal with the taper. I have found that workin w therapists that i could actually work with (took me like 12 people to find people ACTUALLY versed in severe anxiety and trauma recovery) - CBT, EMDR and a few other treatment modalities really helped me towards resolution. Ibogaine was integral in repairing the PTSD/TBI damage. but long story short - i found no relief long term in the GABA agents, and indeed now for my life, I can see how treating the symptoms of anxiety was not handling shit. I really had to find ways to address my underlying issues to find good relief.


Outside of that, modifying diet, really increasing exercise, and getting my GABA receptors healed is what actually helped. Also I have found non-damaging relief in kava kava and amanita (the muscimol specifically) if i need help and don't want to damage my brain further. Also propranolol I find AMAZING for dealing w the physical side of my anxiety. which really assists me in using actual coping tools for dealing w the mental part,

Either way, I know this is a super personal journey, and I hope you get some resolution fr.

You ever considered flumazenil treatment as a means of restoring GABA-A function? I would try it if it were more accessible in the US. Flumazenil is hard to find but I could probably find it (though I believe it must be administered parenterally)

 

[MaroonBlue]

Thank you all for your input and I’m really sorry to hear about your condition Cdin… I hope things get better for you. Also I am very well aware of the absolutely horrific side effects of benzo addiction/abuse/withdrawal. I tend to maintain that it’s not the drug itself that’s the problem, it’s the individuals relationship to the drug. Trauma is usually a prerequisite for addiction sadly. Do you guys think there’s any chance my doctor would prescribe Soma for my pain or would petaling be a better choice? Opioids are out of the question due to the recent DEA restrictions on prescribing opioids and benzodiazepines together.

 

[MaroonBlue]

You ever considered flumazenil treatment as a means of restoring GABA-A function? I would try it if it were more accessible in the US. Flumazenil is hard to find but I could probably find it (though I believe it must be administered parenterally)

I haven’t though of that but I’ll bring it up to my doctor!

 

[negrogesic]

I haven’t though of that but I’ll bring it up to my doctor!

If you're in the US, bringing it up won't do much good. Because it hasn't gained traction here (in the US we tend to take a punitive stance on drug dependency, rather than an ameliorative one).

But it might be promising a means to improve GABA-A receptor function after years of down regulation. Unfortunately, it needs to be done in a hospital setting due to the tricky nature of flumazenil. But not only will insurance refuse to pay for such an unusual treatment, even if you did pay cash for it, good look trying to find an American physician willing to administer such a treatment:

Here is perhaps the best overview:

Benzodiazepine dependence and its treatment with low dose flumazenil

Globally benzodiazepines remain one of the most prescribed medication groups, especially in the primary care setting. With such high levels of prescribing it is not surprising that benzodiazepine dependence is common, cutting across all socioeconomic ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311552804_Flumazenil_in_treatment_benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome_Case_report

Frontiers | Addiction of High Dose of Benzodiazepine: Verona Detox Approach With Flumazenil

IntroductionSince the 1990s there has been evidence of the significant role Flumazenil (FLU) has in benzodiazepines (BZD) detoxes. The Verona Detox approach ...

www.frontiersin.org

 

[emkee_reinvented]

Not stronger or more effective in the beginning. But Benzo tolerance raises pretty fast I noticed myself, so eventually you feel nothing if the dose stay's the same.
The herbal alternative's next to the two mentioned. that are sadly not easy available to me. Another rare find is a good fresh Valerian root tincture which contain's Valerenic acid. A GABA-a agonist. That's something you could look for.

What was available and might usefull are GABA-t inhibitor's. Herb's like Lemon Balm, Passiflora Incarnata. Or Erythrina Mulungu bark, different mechanism but still useful, ao a powerful anti-convulsant (again on paper).

Some with which I have little to no personal experience. Bacopa Monnieri (check for top biologically grown quality with this swamp plant) or grow your own, Holy Basil/ Ocimum Tenuiflorum, Ashwhaganda/ Whithania Somniferrum.
No personal experience but Magnolia bark is a GABA-a agonist according to one little mention in an outdated medicin plant book. L-Theanine sounds good but is way to expensive over here.

All are in extract form except the Mulungu, but none has the direct effect like Benzodiazepinen, Alcohol, Barbiturate's or GHB have. But they are also non addictive and have a broad spectrum of other beneficial effect's while bearing no side effect's. Some we would consider recreational and other's that are actually harmful. These Herb's are subtle and with some you'ĺl need patience.

What I don't know if they would substitute for a Benzo in a situation like sudden WD-ing. On paper yes, but in real life, I wouldn't risk it.
Not gonna advice you stronger chemical alternative's, as that would just be trading addiction's. A barbiturate imo in particular is not a suitable replacement, its a step further into the pit. Might aswell add Alcohol to that, one of the most dangerous drug's.

 

[Dextro .45]

Hey friends, I was wondering if you guys knew of any extremely potent medications that are just as effective or preferably more effective at treating crippling anxiety. These can be controlled substances, non controlled substances, alternative medicine/supplements, or what have you. I'm currently taking .5 mg of klonopin and it's nowhere near enough and I'm scared to death of running out since I have major anxiety and co-morbid depressive disorder so any help at all would be appreciated! Thank you guys.

Clonidine 0.1mg tablets. VERY potent & effective anxiolytic/sedative medication

not a controlled substance, any doc will/can write a script. Keep it on your carry on invalid legal bottle from pharmacy. Generally a blood pressure med, it’s an alpha-adrenic receptor antagonist, reducing Norepinephrine in the CNS

it reduces BP & HP along with Robust anxiolytic & sedative properties

just a single Clonidine 0.1mg scored tablet will have full onset in 30min on an empty stomach, tall glass of water, 1h peak serum levels ……can EASILY go head to head against Valium or Xanax as an anxiolytic compound

 

[WellTram]

I am scared to write this but stimulants + low dose opioids or muscle relaxants are very good for anxiety...but it's not exactly harm reduction

 

[Jen X]

When my anxiety gets bad instead of taking more of my prescribed clonzepam I take 0.1 mg of clonidine. It really helps.

 

[happyone]

Hey friends, I was wondering if you guys knew of any extremely potent medications that are just as effective or preferably more effective at treating crippling anxiety. These can be controlled substances, non controlled substances, alternative medicine/supplements, or what have you. I'm currently taking .5 mg of klonopin and it's nowhere near enough and I'm scared to death of running out since I have major anxiety and co-morbid depressive disorder so any help at all would be appreciated! Thank you guys.

i'm in the same boat you are in. I am currently taking .5 lorazepam . I get 60 for a month. this is for my body almost nothing as i was on 1mg o f clonazepam 3x/day. my dr. psychiatrist is going to want me off of even the lorazepam down the road. i also have treatment resistent depression and hv been on sooo many ssri snri and now even ivket. So i am in the same search you are. This is very difficult. ty for posting. happy one

 

[Keif' Richards]

Benzodiazepines are absolutely not a chronic treatment for anxiety. They are not to be used for longer than 2-4 weeks if taken on a daily basis. The reasons for these guidelines are myriad, though suffice it to say that the drugs do not produce the same benefit in chronic settings as they do in acute settings.

Please, do not go any further down the path of chronic Benzodiazepine usage. I understand you're here specifically requesting alternatives. Still, I never miss an opportunity to make this point. Benzodiazepines are misprescribed to an enormous extent. The consequences of these chronic prescriptions/dependencies are often life-crippling. If you intend to keep Benzodiazepines in your wheelhouse long-term, then the only way that you can do this is by using them for specifically severe moments of anxiety, like two doses a week at most. Any more than this and you are seriously risking falling in to the "event horizon" of Benzodiazepine dependency.

If you are asking me to recommend an effective sedative that can be used long-term without serious consequence, my answer will always be Clonidine (Catapres). Clonidine is an anti-hypertensive drug, though these same effects make it an effective sedative for many people, myse;lf included. If I am ever experiencing significant stress, I find a dose of Clonidine can really help me collect myself.

I really find that Clonidine occupies the sweet spot between efficacy and risk. It is essentially non-psychoactive and not liable to addiction in the same way that Benzodiazepines are. The only requirement for getting off is a short taper. I believe Clonidine is entirely under-utilized in the field of psychiatry. I really feel that Clonidine should be tried before someone is ever prescribed a Benzodiazepine. If you want more information or advice, just let me know.