Benzos Dependency question

[Iota]

I currently take about 10 or 20mg of diaz before bed to help me sleep about at least two thirds of the time during the week.

There have been times when I've taken 50mg to knock myself out and at times when being on psychs gets a bit too much I've taken a 1mg tablet of alprazolam or 10mg of diaz.

These don't cover all the scenarios where I would take a benzo and how much of it. It's been at the point where my boyfriend has suggested that maybe I'm taking too many and then we later dismissed what had happened to lead up to suggestion as a result of having too much 4-Aco-DMT a day or two earlier.

Basically I was just wondering how often and how much/many benzos you would have to be taking to become dependant on them and then to suffer withdrawel coming off.

 

[ThePharmicist]

Benzo tolerance and physical dependence happens quite fast.

I suggest reading the Benzo Megathread and posting your question there.

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

It really depends on your personal chemistry, what benzo you're taking, how often, and why you're taking it.

Your mileage will really vary. The good thing you have going for you is you're taking diazepam, which is very long-acting and therefore less likely to have you redosing a few times a day (unlike, say, alprazolam). Still, the risk of becoming dependent is very real. The fact that you've had to bring your dosages up to 50mg to knock yourself out may be a sign that tolerance is already there, although diazepam is one of the weaker benzos on a mg-for-mg basis.

I am prescribed lorazepam 1mg daily but I don't take it daily for that reason. Even so, I am probably more or less psychologically dependent on it already...but your definition of dependent is probably different from mine and will probably be different from whoever else replies in your thread.

I guess the short version of my rambling is this:

-I can't exactly tell you if/when you'll be addicted to benzos, but they are addictive and moreso than most people (and doctors) realize. Be careful, and only take them when you really need to. That's my 2 cents.

 

[grink]

they are powerfully addictive. I took xanax in college, a lot. I stopped cold turkey. NOT FUN.

taper the dose over time if you intend to quit. If you cannot do it on your own, get help.

 

[morphonorconic]

If you are taking a Benzo 3-4 out of seven days of the week, and you feel like you need them to sleep most of the time, then you are already addicted, or at least dependent.

 

[suessmayr]

It depends on your physiology and, importantly, on your attitude. If you've used sedatives/opiates in the past, or if you just really enjoy the benzos, you can become addicted completely in a week. On the other hand, if you are using them solely for sleep and not for fun, you could go for months theoretically and quit with no problems.

Usually, though, the fact that a person is asking a question of this type in an online drug forum can be taken to indicate that they're feeling a little sheepish/guilty and hence already well on their way to addiction.

S

 

[matchpoint88]

To be honest, I think your use if perfectly fine. My doctor prescribes 80% of his patients diaz or alpraz because humans today arent living as they were supposed to in earlier times. We are confined to a sedentary life-style, even the tri-athletes among use cant escape this. We were made to chase our food and then bring it to our jaws, not sit at a table and bring our jaws to our food.

As long as you aren't downing a six pack or two bottles of wine on diaz you should be fine. I've been on them for yearsss and i'm fully functioning right now even as I knock out a whole bottle of wine. I will even be able to wake up at 5:30am and be in the office early with no side-effects, then again everyone has a different tolerance. For reference I am a 22 year old 150lbs male.

 

[Tommyboy]

To be honest, I think your use if perfectly fine. My doctor prescribes 80% of his patients diaz or alpraz because humans today arent living as they were supposed to in earlier times. We are confined to a sedentary life-style, even the tri-athletes among use cant escape this. We were made to chase our food and then bring it to our jaws, not sit at a table and bring our jaws to our food.

As long as you aren't downing a six pack or two bottles of wine on diaz you should be fine. I've been on them for yearsss and i'm fully functioning right now even as I knock out a whole bottle of wine. I will even be able to wake up at 5:30am and be in the office early with no side-effects, then again everyone has a different tolerance. For reference I am a 22 year old 150lbs male.

The OP is worried about dependence. Many people can function fine at their prescribed dose of valium, the problem is when that dose no longer works, and/or you want to get off of the drug.

 

[matchpoint88]

True

True about the OP. All benzos have a come down and should be weened down properly with the help of your Dr.

However, I honestly believe there is no harm in taking them everyday as long as you don't abuse them. Stress has been proven over and over again in medical research to cause many chronic illnesses. Benzo's have been around for over 60 years, and in their time around, they have helped many more than hurt.

If you want to be drug free awesome! I wish I could be one day, but know that if you live a stressed life your chromosomes will shrink and you will age faster, benzos can slow and even stop this process restoring life back to a healthy equilibrium if taken as prescribed.

 

[Iota]

If you are taking a Benzo 3-4 out of seven days of the week, and you feel like you need them to sleep most of the time, then you are already addicted, or at least dependent.

I take them to sleep because my sleep patterns are completely out. I'm just trying to make sure my use isn't excessive.

Usually, though, the fact that a person is asking a question of this type in an online drug forum can be taken to indicate that they're feeling a little sheepish/guilty and hence already well on their way to addiction.

The reason it came up is because as I described in my original post, my boyfriend brought it up because I was displaying horrendous mood swings and such after taking about 50mg of benzos the night before, but we did later dismiss that as the comedown off the horrific amount of 4-Aco-DMT from a couple of days prior.

I really just wanted to know so I can keep an eye on my usage and not let it get to that point.

Thanks to everyone for the input. And matchpoint, I tend not to drink alcohol unless I'm on a night out so diaz doesn't even come into the equation so I think I'm good there.

 

[Z Y G G Y]

At least 2/3 out of 7 means to me that you take benzos 5-6 nights out of the week. Valium has a very very long half life so even if you take it [20–100 hours (36-200 hours for main active metabolite) acc. to wikipedia] Valium Wiki

The difference in half life depends on individual differences between people (their metabolism). So in some it can be 1.5 days (main metabolite) and in some 8.3 days and everything in b/w. So as you can see valium stays around for quite a while.

So by taking it pretty much everyday you are having quite a build up. Even if you took it with a 3 day break it would still mean that you always have valium floating around in your body getting you dependent.

The doctor that I used to get benzos from would not give me a script for longer than 2 weeks because he said that more than that time and you are at a high risk of dependence.

You probably are already dependent and it will be difficult for you to stop. But the earlier you do that the easier it will be to stop. each week really adds to your dependency.

Think about the half life and its extreme length.

 

[Iota]

At least 2/3 out of 7 means to me that you take benzos 5-6 nights out of the week. Valium has a very very long half life so even if you take it [20–100 hours (36-200 hours for main active metabolite) acc. to wikipedia] Valium Wiki

The difference in half life depends on individual differences between people (their metabolism). So in some it can be 1.5 days (main metabolite) and in some 8.3 days and everything in b/w. So as you can see valium stays around for quite a while.

So by taking it pretty much everyday you are having quite a build up. Even if you took it with a 3 day break it would still mean that you always have valium floating around in your body getting you dependent.

The doctor that I used to get benzos from would not give me a script for longer than 2 weeks because he said that more than that time and you are at a high risk of dependence.

You probably are already dependent and it will be difficult for you to stop. But the earlier you do that the easier it will be to stop. each week really adds to your dependency.

Think about the half life and its extreme length.

2/3 of the week was an exaggeration then sorry. At most to help me sleep it's more 2-4 nights. Other times is for anxiety and overwhelming stress where I need to calm down. So my usage varies from week to week. There have been weeks in the past where I've taken none at all and been fine.

I'll definately keep that half-life info in mind, though I have no idea what my metabolism is like. Thanks for the detailed input.

 

[morphonorconic]

I take them to sleep because my sleep patterns are completely out. I'm just trying to make sure my use isn't excessive.

No, I wouldn't say your use is excessive by any means. My sleep patterns are all out of whack too. Benzos are great for occasional relief of insomnia. It's when you get used to them and start increasing doses that you run into problems.

 

[maximumstrength2]

if you are taking them for sleep I would think about switching to one of the z hypnotics like ambien. while they are just as addictive comeing off of them is much easier or atleast it was for me. and from what i know they say that daily us of benzos for 4 weeks or more your body is most likely to become dependent to them