Cam anyone who went through benzo withdrawal tolerate alcohol after?

[bakulaflare]

Question for fellow benzo-surviors

Has anyone gone through withdrawals from benzodiazepines (Xanax, Klonopin or Ativan or any benzo) and healed completely to the point where they can enjoy an alcoholic drink without feeling sick or going back into withdrawals?

I am 3 years and 8 months clean of benzos and alcohol

I'm scared to try and drink again because 2 months after quitting cold turkey I had a beer and it made me feel sick and go into a mini-withdrawal.
8 months clean I had a minor surgery and was given Propofol as a sedative, which also sent me into withdrawal like symptoms waves for 3-4 days.

A little about me...

I went through two episodes of withdrawals and they were the most difficult parts of my life. I quit xanax cold turkey and went through hell for a week in a foreign country

My 6 months of benzo use culminated in a final weekend of partying in South America, after which I decided to flush all my xanax and ativan down the toilet and quit. (I had no idea what tapering was until later) .

This cold turkey detox was the most difficult thing in my life. I felt like I had died and was living like a zombie, not dead or alive, like time had stopped and the world went on with me only present as an observer. Almost like I was living in another evil dimension. I was shaking, having tremors, feeling extremely depressed and not eating for nearly a week and finally I saw the light shine through.

The next few months would be difficult but after about 2 months I stopped having waves.

It has now been 3 years and 8 months and I feel normal and I am tempted to have a drink even though I told myself I would not drink for 4 years.

There is no magic time for how long your body takes to fully recover (I have read 36 months in the worst cases) but there are people who's withdrawals last longer than that though rare.

Has anybody been able to drink without getting sick post benzo withdrawal? No one in the entire internet has discussed this topic for years!!There are no new stories or information. Please share your stories and ask me any questions you have!

Thanks a lot %)

 

[Erikmen]

Yes I have. And first of all, congrats for having gone that far!

I'm a benzo survivor and opiates survivor as well, so to speak. I trust time will tell, but I'm pretty confident as I keep it outside of my life for over 2 years. Even though I have never had problems with alcohol I don't think it's good to drink alcohol post benzo withdrawal or any other substance that has caused you withdrawals. We tend to be less judgeful about our own problems and our minds sort of 'bend' easier when you drink. It's tricky to say the least. So imo, definitely easier to relapse.

Of course this is from my own experience. But yes, it's difficult not to be sick with alcohol when we have developed an addiction. Like I said whether you have never had problems with alcohol or not. Some say that there's nothing alcohol won't make it even more difficult, something like that.

Being scared is not that bad especially considering you have gone that far. I believe we should always be concerned as that helps you to remember what you have gone through. But don't overthink too much.

I can relate to you with so many things like being an in a foreign country when some of that happens (withdrawals). And also for the lengthy period of time I was sick. Methadone was particularly difficult when I compare to other opiates. Also quitting for me was the most challenging experience I've been through so far. So my my hats off to you for managing to stay out for almost 4 years.

I personally think it makes sense to be worried when you are sober for that long. You don't want to go back only start all over again. I'm off opiates and benzos for more than 2 years and I'm always worried that something might get in the way. So I learned to detect things that could trigger a relapse.

Unfortunately I have learned this from relapsing, but once I decided to take it seriously, and remind myself everyday about the future I want for me and to my family it started to make more sense and it worked. It's all up to us although a lot of people don't agree with me on that issue.

I find it quite true when you say there's no magic time for how long your body takes to recover totally. Coming off of methadone was particularly more difficult than any other opiates and the post withdrawal included sadness and depression. So yes, quite a challenging and I assume it was tougher because of the benzos all together. I had been allowed to use some of them in the very beginning but not when I needed them most. After all they do make things easier and better when you are trying to quit.