Benzos Causing Anxiety??

[Lady Chaos]

I have been a regular user of benzos for about 2 years. Most of the time they do their job right and relieve anxiety, reduce stress, and just help me to relax in general.
Lately, I have found that for whatever reason, benzos do the complete oppposite of what they are supposed to do. For example, I will take some K-pins and become more anxious than before I took them.
Mostly it is just klonopin that does this to me, but the other ones (xanax, ativan)sometimes have the same effect.
Has this happened to anyone else, or am I just abnormal?

 

[*KANE*]

I can actually see this happening when people take a lot of benzos and the zonk the fuck out of you, and your so zoned that it worries you.

 

[quale]

I find sometimes when I take benzos I start looking for them to reduce my anxiety. That means I start paying alot more attention to these potential anxieties which can occasionally make it worse.
Do they cause general feelings of dread/anxiety or just you are more anxious about specific issues (esp. as per the previous poster you are afraid the benzos will interefere with the performance of this activity).
Also I personally find klonopins take up to 4 hours to kick in so are u sure you aren't experiencing this excessive anxiety before they start?
[ 06 June 2002: Message edited by: quale ]

 

[PhreeX]

Yup! I forget the name given but the 'reverse effect' DOES HAPPEN in chronic users... for instance, people taking 10mg Valium for a period of months will have to increase the dose or else they will actually find that only taking 10mg will keep them up instead of helping them to sleep...
Someone please dig up some article about the "reverse effects of benzos" and post an excerpt or URL...

 

[superbabydoc]

The term PhreeX is looking for is "paradoxical reaction". It's not very common. See http://www.benzo.org.uk/paradox.htm

 

[Tristan K]

i have that reverse reaction, not just with benzos but with codeine/hydrocodone also....i actually like haveing it, it doesnt cause a stimulant effect but i just cant be knocked out by them(but i can still feel the good effects, just now drowsiness with it).....god forbid i have to undergo surgey ever cause i dont know what they would do knock me out

 

[quale]

I thought the stimulating effect of codeine was a well documented effect resulting from its histamenergic effects. It makes you awake for the opposite reason benadryl makes you sleepy. This is also why it is a bad idea to IV or snort. In other words this happened to most people, I know it happens to me.
Now note how the webpage you cite babydoc_vic defines paradoxical reaction essentially as side effect. Never once do they note them causing the immediate onset of anxiety. I am really curious about these reverse effects because I can hardly imagine benzos causing anxiety in any chemical way.
Tristan are you claiming you get increased anxiety from benzos or they sometimes stimulate you?
[ 08 June 2002: Message edited by: quale ]

 

[Tristan K]

no, i would think it would be impossible for valium(or any CNS deppressants for that matter) to cause anxiety.......i was just saying it gives me energy(not really "stimulate"), but it also helps to cool me down as well.....i guess its just i dont get a very sedating effect from it if you understand what im trying to say

 

[superbabydoc]

quale: I guess that's why they call it paradoxical! I don't think I've ever seen an explanation for why it happens, but it is something I've always been aware of. It is more likely in children (see this Adverse Drug Reactions Report and the elderly. It is listed as a side-effect at most benzo product info pages, like rxlist.com-clonazepam. We might just have to call this another one of lifes little mysteries.

 

[Tristan K]

actually its mostly found in those with narcolepsy, it is even an accepted practice(by sleep docs and the f.d.a) to treat patients with ultram, codiene, and hydrocodone.......so the scientific explanation to why it happens lies somewhere in a nuerological malfunction/imbalance but they havent really put much effort into pinpointing the precise reasoning

 

[quale]

Jesus christ really? Narcolepsy is treated by all the fun drugs. Isn't that one of the few things desoxyn is still scripted for...gotta get me some of that.
Yes I understand that it is listed as a paradoxical reaction and I believe it can happen. I wonder if it actually happens at higher rate than placebo?
[ 08 June 2002: Message edited by: quale ]

 

[Tristan K]

yep, you more or less have free pass any pharm you want.my mother worked in the stanford sleep clinic and monitered brain patterns and watched the patient sleep and do stuff they have to do to diagnoss one which narcolepsy(and its a hell of alot things), i would go with go the classic "back pain / a.d.d / stress related to your medication which you have to take to control the a.d.d" route before attempting narcolepsy.......and it is higher rate than placebo, how else would the "F.D.A" approve it as a treatment for narcolepsy.....desoxyn is approved for treatment for narcolepsy but most doctors that even consider using it are like 80 years old, its slowly slipping off the radar completely

 

[Tristan K]

[ 08 June 2002: Message edited by: Tristan K ]

 

[quale]

I meant anxiety with benzos is that higher than placebo.