Etizolam habit, advice on using phenaz to taper

daytryptr

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So over the last ~7 months i've developed a bit of an etizolam habit. It started out as having them on hand in case of panic attacks/trip abortions, but once i started using them to treat emotional problems since they were so damn effective initially, things went downhill quick. It started out at 1/4mg a day to completely alleviate social anxiety and it worked wonders at doing so. I began taking it on weekdays (2 days off a week) and this seemed to work well enough without losing efficacy. Still i knew how dangerous this is, and that i shouldn't make it a long term regular thing. Well that changed quickly once i started using it recreationally a few times a week at ~1mg.

Let it be noted i had never tried benzos before this, and had zero tolerance, am especially small, and sensitive to most drugs. Never much of a drinker, actually haven't drank in over 2 years, but only extremely occasionally before then. I smoked alot of cannabis back then, and still do to a lesser extent.

This continued for a few months, with a handful (1-2) 2mg nights a week. At this time i started to notice rebound anxiety, tolerance, and had to bump it up to 1/2 mg daily. 1/4 in the morning and 1/4 at night. Still, i knew this was dangerous and going to end badly. i began to taper off the etiz slowly until i was back down to 1/4mg a day, always having weekends off, and 1 1mg dose a week max.

More recently i just haven't been giving a fuck, been stressed as hell from my job and social anxiety (which psychs helped alot, but i had been avoiding for a few months) and slipped into a habit of taking 1-2mg daily, one day a week taking no more than 1mg. I literally was unable to sleep without etizolam. It was taking an emotional toll on my life, and getting me worried about how far i'm going to let this go.

So somethings gotta give here, i feel like shit without benzos, a total stressed out anxious mess, slight muscle twitching at times, and depression has set in. I want to stop this here, but don't trust myself tapering off of etiz alone. Its too euphoric, and too short acting. I have access to several hundred mg of phenazepam in PG solution i bought around the same time i did most of my etiz just in case this exact scenario happened. I know phenaz is not as anxylotic as etiz, and the metabolites last for days, but the anxiety relief initially provided wears off sooner than other effects from phenaz going off my personal experience the few times i did try it to replace a few days of etiz use.

Since i've currently been taking ~2mg etizolam daily for 1 week, slowly building up to that dose over 8 months, cold turkey is off the table entirely obviously, but i truly want to kick this. Its the drug i've been able to exert the least amount of self control over when using.

So i plan on starting immediately lowering my etizolam dosage, to 1/4mg in the morning, 1/5mg phenaz in the afternoon, and 1/2mg etiz 1/5mg phenaz at light. Do this for 2 weeks, assuming i don't need to adjust those doses a bit due to them being a bit high/low on the phenaz. The etiz i am adamant about not increasing. bringing me to a total of 3/4mg etiz, ~2/5mg phenaz daily.

After two weeks i want to drop the night time dose of etiz down to 1/4mg, keep the 1/4 etiz in the morning, and bump the phenaz up to 1/4mg 2x daily. Repeat this for two weeks, and start taking one day off a week of the etiz to see how i tolerate it.

Two weeks later, cut the etiz down to 1/5mg 2x daily, and leave the phenaz where its at (1/4mg 2x daily). Do this for two weeks before stopping the etiz cold turkey.

Keep the phenaz at 1/4mg 2x daily for two weeks, and then 1/5mg 2x daily for another week. Finally down to 1/5mg phenaz 1x daily for a week, then take 1/5mg phenaz every other day for a few days and hopefully i can stop there.

The goal is to avoid most of the withdrawal symptoms, and get this done in ~2 1/2 month.

Any advice, support, or suggestions on that dosing schedule, or how to go about this in the most painless way possible is very much appreciated.

I want to beat this, so i can do the same with my daily kratom habit which is much less severe (50mg of 25x daily). I just know trying to do both at the same time is going to end badly knowing my personality & low discipline.

I know exercise, staying active, proper diet/nutrition is necessary in this process, and i plan on possibly taking a few psychedelic trips during the taper. Any other suggestions to get this done effectively?

BTW all my etiz/phenaz is in Pg solution and i have more than enough of both to do this taper several times over. I know the risks of a phen blackout and how quickly that can turn to shit, so if we could leave out the preaching about the dangers it would be nice. But if you have personal experience using phen to taper i'd love to hear your input if you have suggestions or information you can offer.

Thanks BL-
 
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So you want to quit using etizolam 1mg pills, which you have a hard time controlling your usage with, with several hundred mg worth of phenazepam solution/powder?

Here's my advice: stick to the pills and keep cutting them down. Honestly your idea is not a very good one. In fact I might go as far to say that it's a very very bad idea.

Like you want us to leave out the "preaching of the dangers" while simultaneously asking for our advice? Horrible logic and impossible to separate. Don't put conditions on advice.

Fact: you will black out, take all your benzos and be left with nothing.
 
Dude, read the post. I'm talking about microdosing phenaz while tapering off etizolam. And the "hundreds of mgs" i have is in pg solution that i know how to dose properly.

There's a big difference between the kind of benzo habit i have, and the fucking idiots that take mgs of phenaz at a time to get high because they have nothing else and are desperate, then redose because they want it for euphoria. I've heard enough horror stories to not even consider taking more than 1mg of phenazepam a day. I'm talking about microdoses to make the etiz taper more bearable, its no different than using valium or another long acting benzo for that purpose. And for the record i never have, or intend to black out on benzos. Thanks for assuming otherwise for me though 8(

Don't assume i'm just going to go on a benzo binge and black out. Not everyone who takes phenaz does that, but its convenient to not have to think and just assume they will. That's where the preaching comes in. Just because a few people made some stupid fucking decisions when dosing phenazepam doesn't mean everyone will, but alot of people think like that.

Thanks alot for the help /sarcasm.
 
Ok then, dont take my advice. I read your post. I mean shit its not like you have a drug problem or anything and your way has failed to work every time in the past. Everything you just said is a bullshit justification to keep doing benzos constantly.

I wasn't even talking about phenaz being dangerous itself. I am talking about you as a self admitted drug addict, having a problem with that.

But i mean, as you said, theres a BIG DIFFERENCE between you, a benzo/drug addict, and those other benzo addicts who carelessly dose, right? Shit man, sounds like you got it all figured out! Why'd you even ask BL then mr smarty pants! Go start your taper, its flawless! Thats what you wanted to hear, right?

Good luck with your taper, i'm sure it will go well, what with vials of phenaz and stacks of etiz pills lying around tempting you 24/7.
/sarcasm
 
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i agree that you should stick to tapering with the etiz only. These are small doses you are taking anyway so tapering would certainly help you as your tolerance is low to medium. Just cut your dose by a third for a 3 or 4 days and keep doing so until you are confident without them. I read that advice from another bl member so if that person is reading, Thankyou. Stick to not taking them at the weekend. This does make me question though if you suffer no withdrawals at the weekend would the withdrawals be so bad by taking minute doses through the week? You need to gather control. You seem to have moderate control that you have not felt to up you dose above 1mg a day and you seem to have the drive to quit so i think you Will do just fine. There are other ways of combating your anxiety too. Eat right, excersize, talk to people about your problems as i believe a problem shared is a problem halved and try to stay off the weed and other drugs whilst you taper. Best of luck
 
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