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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Etizolam Withdrawal

H

HourGlass22

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Joined
Dec 13, 2011
Messages
22
I have taken approximately 130 etizolam over the past month, averaging maybe 4 or 5 per day, and now have 4 left. I have 100 on order, but won't get here in the next couple days, and I'm somewhat worried about what kind of withdrawal symptoms I may experience. Before anyone jumps on me and says how terrible benzos are, I know, I know, but addiction is a bitch. I'm trying my best. With 4 left, do I need to taper, or what should I do? I have work every day 9-5 and can't be sick as fuck for multiple days in a row. I know I fucked up, at least I admit that. Please help me, BL.

Thanks
 
HourGlass22 said:
I have taken approximately 130 etizolam over the past month, averaging maybe 4 or 5 per day, and now have 4 left. I have 100 on order, but won't get here in the next couple days, and I'm somewhat worried about what kind of withdrawal symptoms I may experience. Before anyone jumps on me and says how terrible benzos are, I know, I know, but addiction is a bitch. I'm trying my best. With 4 left, do I need to taper, or what should I do? I have work every day 9-5 and can't be sick as fuck for multiple days in a row. I know I fucked up, at least I admit that. Please help me, BL.

Thanks
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I feel for you and ive been it your situation many times (Being at work whilst suffering withdrawals is like being stuck in a nightmare)

Anyway you have 4 left and a couple of days until your next batch arrives.... So its 2 a day spread out as far as you can possibly manage (IMO)
 
If it's a literal 'couple' (2) of days, then I would take 1mg etiz around 11am, and the other around 4pm. Mornings and evenings will be tough; but you aren't working then. Do this for aforementioned 2 days, and when your refill comes in - please be more careful! It's not only an RC benzo - but it's ALSO faar too easily available currently.. when that dies down a lot of people are gonna be in trouble if they don't understand "wd = doc + taper" (here diaz / valium would be ideal - very long half-life, and as anxiolytic as alprazolam - which your etiz is damn close to anyway.

Do yourself a favor - get 120packs, or (go with this one) cut that daily habit back before it bites you back HARD. And oohhh it will w/ the ole benzos.
 
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Pjkt2501 said:
If it's a literal 'couple' (2) of days, then I would take 1mg etiz around 11am, and the other around 4pm. Mornings and evenings will be tough; but you aren't working then. Do this for aforementioned 2 days, and when your refill comes in - please be more careful! It's not only an RC benzo - but it's ALSO faar too easily available currently.. when that dies down a lot of people are gonna be in trouble if they don't understand "wd = doc + taper" (here diaz / valium would be ideal - very long half-life, and as anxiolytic as alprazolam - which your etiz is damn close to anyway.

Do yourself a favor - get 120packs, or (go with this one) cut that daily habit back before it bites you back HARD. And oohhh it will w/ the ole benzos.
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I knew someone would give much better advice than me.

My Benzo use/Habit is well documented on this board, its up, down, stop, start! Not recommended and dangerous for some and possibly fatal for others, unfortunately my health professionals wont/cant provide me with a taper because my doses are so high.

Id take pjkt's last bit of advice the most seriously - "Do yourself a favor - get 120packs, or (go with this one) cut that daily habit back before it bites you back HARD. And oohhh it will w/ the ole benzos."

Good luck to you.
 
What kind of withdrawal symptoms should I be experiencing from using this amount over about a month? My last dose was last night before bed and haven't had any today yet and feel pretty normal.
 
HourGlass22 said:
What kind of withdrawal symptoms should I be experiencing from using this amount over about a month? My last dose was last night before bed and haven't had any today yet and feel pretty normal.
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have you ever had withdrawal? it might not even be too bad 1 month in. try not to take any Etiz but if it gets to unbearable pop a mg.
 
Nope, never gone through withdrawal before so I'm not sure what to expect. So far so good though, its been about 12 hours since my last dose so I'm sure the symptoms haven't fully kicked in yet.
 
If you've only used for a month i don't think it'd be too bad really. probably a good idea to stop taking it everyday before it does take hold of you.
 
IME it wasnt the amount of consecutive days that i took the Benzo for what actually had the bearing on the severity of the withdrawals, it the quantity of Benzos that i had consumed.

For instance my 2 worst experiences of Benzo withdrawal symptoms came first time last april (2011) when i spent 6-7 days of constant Xanax (Alprazolam use) using anywhere between 30 - 60mg+ a day. I stopped abruptly and then from around 48 - 120 was literally hell on earth, complete insomnia, extreme rebound Anxiety, morbid thoughts and feelings of impending doom, Auditory Hallucinations, Visual hallucinations, Closed eye visuals (CEV) the list goes on.

Then again this December just gone (2011) i binged my way through around 3000mg of Temazepam from Friday - Sunday and by Wednesday i was going through the same hell yet it felt worse, i was literally crawling the walls and was ready to throw myself out of my bedroom window, luckily enough i found a rare tub of Chinese 2.5mg Diazepam in my room which i consumed maybe 75mg worth of and it calmed me down and the withdrawal symptoms subsided.

There was also a time in July 2010 (My first attempt at quitting Benzos) Id been using various Benzos daily for around 1 month, mainly Xanax, approximately 20-30mg per day when i decided to quit cold turkey, i experienced about 1-2 weeks of restless nights, but not complete insomnia, slight rebound anxiety, agitated state and the usual increase in depression (which comes as standard for me) by week 2-3 i started to experience derealisation which was quite disturbing and a fair bit of the twitches but full blown seizures or anything (luckily) And by week 5 i was golden.

I once tried to do a successful taper using Clonazepam using anywhere between 4-10mg per day which was low dose for me, reason that i could feel this dose working was due to my infrequent/sporadic use of Benzos where ive had up to 2 months of abstinence but that slipped back into using/abusing/bingeing them, so i thought i go for the slow reduction/taper which the majority of people suggest is the correct and succcessful/safe path, anyway after a month i stopped, i suffered withdrawals but just the usual rebound insomnia/anxiety/depression which by now i had become almost used to.

Apologies about the length of the post, its just the path my life has taken with Benzos, many think the quantities ive used are psychically impossible but unfortunately my tolerance has reached those levels, i dont say it to brag, its certainly something im not proud of and i would without doubt say these past 2 1/2 - 3 years have been the worst of my life due in part to my disgusting levels of abuse.

*This post maybe edited by the mods due to the numbers ive mentioned (mg's etc)

Please dont folllow my path.

I wish you the best of luck. :)
 
^^^

First off hourglass22....don't panic your not in too deep but nows the time to back yourself out, you should be fine maybe a few shaky days at worst, but don't go back to daily use again it's not a great place to be where benzos are concerned (I know Etiz isnt a benzo but it may as well be)

Hey Pete, who's telling you you can't get off those Benzos, surely that's BS, I fully understand the levels of tolerance I've been well into the 100's on Diaz within a very short period of time, in fact IME the more times you do it and taper the quicker the tolerance rises next time, I'm sure of that is psychological and some physical.

But surely regardless of your habit you could get off, the main danger as far as I am aware is seizure and ther are a number of drugs, mainly developed for people with things like epilepsy and other conditions that involve seizures that could be prescribed. It may be that this has to be done in a medical facility but if you have doctors just telling you you have to just carry on taking massive quantities of Benzos for the rest of your life, I'd be finding myself another doctor.

They get people clean from epic habits of all sorts don;t take no for an answer sometimes you gotta fight for it a bit, you don't have to answer but what do they script you ? I was under the impression that these days in the UK it was very difficult for GPs to right repeats for Benzos, mine would laugh me out of the door. I could get a referral to the local addiction centre, I've been signed up with them before for booze and benzos, but the benzos were a bit of a side issue that my GP didn't know about, I went in with a taper plan that ended with me stopping drinking and continuing the Diaz taper so they were pragmatic enough not to give me any shit. Just the counseling sessions I needed. Normally they would have had me on Librium but there was little point.

TBH I would go for an official taper but personal circumstances just don't allow for it, having done it there would just be to many doctors appointments to explain away and my work is now quite a long way from my home town. Its the seizures that really scare the shit out of me, although given I CT'd off alcohol twice at over 20 units a day with nothing I may not be particularly sensitive to them, but who knows, havng a fit at work would be a fekin disaster so whilst I'm looking at ways to taper as fast as possible and minimise the symptoms its still that slow downward slope.

I can't see why you can;t do the same, don;t take that the wrong way what I mean is a taper is a taper it might take months or years but it can still be done regardless of the starting point, or maybe there is knowledge I'm yet to discover.

I had a bit of a bumpy weekend and didn't stick to my dose and paid the price today with a bit of rebound anxiety, how much was psychological I don't know but I'm back on the wagon today. I'm down to 70mgs a day and dropping 10mgs every 7 days, my own special atm23 version of the Ashton Manual ;)

It's a habit that has to go, with my depression and anxiety problems as well as my acutely addictive nature it's a recipe for disaster and will destroy my life if I don't put a stop to it for good.

happy to discuss via PM Pete, but ther must be a way out even if you have to do it yourself.

Best Wishes to all (sorry for the ramble)
 
Some excellent info in here from peeps with a lot of experience, hourglass!

Medical literature tends to say that physical dependency to benzos develops within 2-4 weeks. Before then, stopping may be uncomfortable, but it is unlikely to be dangerous. After physical dependency has occurred, the risk of seizures comes into play.

Although etizolam is actually a thienodiazepine not a benzodiazepine, it appears to have a similar psychopharmacological profile to benzos and it is likely etizolam withdrawals will be similar. If you only have 4 left all you can do is space them out really, but if you start to feel at all unwell you need to get some medical help, just in case. I am really not sure if there is any risk going from 4-5mg/day to 2mg/day but personally that would make me pretty uneasy. If you are worried then the safest thing is to see a doctor - 1mg etizolam is equal to 10mgs diazepam, if they have not heard of it.

Please do have a think about where this is going to lead, and listen to the advice here about cutting down your habit <3
 
Man, I'm so conflicted. These pills seem like heaven, but when I'm on them, it's never good enough. But then I come off them, and feel like I have to take some etizolam just to feel normal again. The cycle is vicious. I have 100 more already in the mail and I'm going to do everything I possibly can to take them irregularly and not make a habit of it. I love this drug and hate it more than anything at the same time.
 
^^^

IMO it's to late for moving to irregular use mate, you need to taper off now or its just going to get ugly, tolerance will rise like nothing else and that 100 will be gone in no time and you'll have a real problem on your hands.

Benzos are the devil in disguise, they creep up on you and before you know it you in over your head and just serving a habit thats giving you very little in return and unlike most other substances the real kick in the teeth is you can't just stop them outright as you your brain won;t like it and you'll likely have a seizure ( a fit like and epilepsy) not a good look at all.

Kick them now and you should avoid all that shit, lie to yourself that you can have 100 of these kicking about and just take as and when and it's very likely you'll be taking them daily and the quantity will rise rapidly, the next order for 100 will have to go in early as you can't run out. Etiz like Xanax due to its short half life is even worse than Diazepam because you have to dose multiple times a day and the WDs will kick in quicker and harder should you find yourself without.

I know this all sounds like preaching but it's just people,not wanting to see you end up in the same shit their in, it's clearly up to you but there is no element of what has been said that is an exaggeration of the crossroads your at.

Best Wishes
 
Everyone gave you some good advice! I was on Xanax for 3 yrs and now Valium a year. Plus Etizolam..but those I only take when I run out of my Valium or Xanax. Adfiction is horrible!! Without a taper plan I know I am effed. I can't even leave my front porch unless I have benzos in me.
But I'm tryin to taper and have quit Etizolam. Best of luck to us all!
 
atm23 said:
^^^

First off hourglass22....don't panic your not in too deep but nows the time to back yourself out, you should be fine maybe a few shaky days at worst, but don't go back to daily use again it's not a great place to be where benzos are concerned (I know Etiz isnt a benzo but it may as well be)

Hey Pete, who's telling you you can't get off those Benzos, surely that's BS, I fully understand the levels of tolerance I've been well into the 100's on Diaz within a very short period of time, in fact IME the more times you do it and taper the quicker the tolerance rises next time, I'm sure of that is psychological and some physical.

But surely regardless of your habit you could get off, the main danger as far as I am aware is seizure and ther are a number of drugs, mainly developed for people with things like epilepsy and other conditions that involve seizures that could be prescribed. It may be that this has to be done in a medical facility but if you have doctors just telling you you have to just carry on taking massive quantities of Benzos for the rest of your life, I'd be finding myself another doctor.

They get people clean from epic habits of all sorts don;t take no for an answer sometimes you gotta fight for it a bit, you don't have to answer but what do they script you ? I was under the impression that these days in the UK it was very difficult for GPs to right repeats for Benzos, mine would laugh me out of the door. I could get a referral to the local addiction centre, I've been signed up with them before for booze and benzos, but the benzos were a bit of a side issue that my GP didn't know about, I went in with a taper plan that ended with me stopping drinking and continuing the Diaz taper so they were pragmatic enough not to give me any shit. Just the counseling sessions I needed. Normally they would have had me on Librium but there was little point.

TBH I would go for an official taper but personal circumstances just don't allow for it, having done it there would just be to many doctors appointments to explain away and my work is now quite a long way from my home town. Its the seizures that really scare the shit out of me, although given I CT'd off alcohol twice at over 20 units a day with nothing I may not be particularly sensitive to them, but who knows, havng a fit at work would be a fekin disaster so whilst I'm looking at ways to taper as fast as possible and minimise the symptoms its still that slow downward slope.

I can't see why you can;t do the same, don;t take that the wrong way what I mean is a taper is a taper it might take months or years but it can still be done regardless of the starting point, or maybe there is knowledge I'm yet to discover.

I had a bit of a bumpy weekend and didn't stick to my dose and paid the price today with a bit of rebound anxiety, how much was psychological I don't know but I'm back on the wagon today. I'm down to 70mgs a day and dropping 10mgs every 7 days, my own special atm23 version of the Ashton Manual ;)

It's a habit that has to go, with my depression and anxiety problems as well as my acutely addictive nature it's a recipe for disaster and will destroy my life if I don't put a stop to it for good.

happy to discuss via PM Pete, but ther must be a way out even if you have to do it yourself.

Best Wishes to all (sorry for the ramble)
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Thanks for your advice, you sound like you suffer very similar problems to me.

To cut another long story short, i filled out a referal with my Drug councillor last wednesday which if her boss's ok then they will be sending me to an In-Patient Detox clinic for a stay of around 3-4 weeks.

They basically said there is 2 choices : Choice 1. Rapid 3 week taper also taking Carbemazerpine.
Choice 2. Cold Turkey using carbemazerpine.

My G.P is utterly clueless, she doesnt even talk about tapering or the dangers of stopping abruptly and seizures etc She just says you have to stop the Benzos now or else there is NOTHING they can do to help my mental health problems, a view echoed by a Psychiatrist ive already seen.

Ive asked for a 2nd opinion from another G.P who i see in 3 days and i also rang my local hospital to ask for a 2nd opinion from another psychiatrist, but ive no idea how long that will take?!

I have my next appointment with my Drugs councillor next Wednesday so hopefully by then i should know if ive been accepted by the Detox clinic.

But tbh its almost a sick joke as whichever health professional i go to see G.P/Psychiatrist/Drug councillor i seem to have vastly superior knowledge on this subject and i end up educating them! (And i dont mean that in an arrogant way.

Btw my Diazepam is not prescribed, its all purchased via other sources therefore never really knowing the quality/quantity i what i am taking.
 
but it's ALSO faar too easily available currently.. when that dies down a lot of people are gonna be in trouble if they don't understand "wd = doc + taper" (here diaz / valium would be ideal - very long half-life, and as anxiolytic as alprazolam - which your etiz is damn close to anyway.
Click to expand...

That scares me. Things come and go in the grey market, and it seems like it happens faster now than it ever has. The authorities are starting to catch on to what's going on. Up until now it's just been weird and wonderful stimulants and psychedelics, people might mourn their loss when they're finally scheduled, but it's no big deal.

But the day you can't just hop online and order etizolam is going to be a bad bad day. All these addicts will be left to fend for themselves. How many are going to have the resources and connections to get their hands on benzos for a taper? For those that can't, how many will know they can't just 'ride it out' and need to seek medical help?
 
Dude, please have a think about this.. where is it going to go? With addictions like this tolerance will set in and you will need higher and higher doses. At some point you'll end up needing a crazy high dose just to feel normal and not withdraw. WDs will be horrible, and can actually kill you too. Do you want this drug to be in control of your life? The fact that you are saying "these pills seem like heaven but when I am on them it's never good enough" and "I love this drug and hate it more than anything at the same time" makes it pretty clear that it is becoming a problem for you..

How do you plan to manage to take it irregularly when you already have a psychological addiction and a physical dependence to it? I don't mean that in a harsh way, but as something for you to think about.. benzos are very seductive as you have found. What is it you want out of etizolam?

Good luck <3
 
@Pete, I discussed this policy when I wanted CBT but had to stop drinking first, it seems its common policy.

When I spoke to the drug councelor, who also happened to be training in CBT he said he didnt agree with the policy, the logic is that you would get more out of the CBT (in this case) if you were not drinking as alcohol impairs memory, cognition etc. but given most of the people he saw were drinking or taking drugs because they had problems that needed the counceling to sort out he said he would apply the same criteria he applied for his sessions. If you turn up and your in a reasonably fit state then thats fine if not he would just make another appointment and polity send you away as there is little to be gained by trying to counsel someone who is off their face.

I guess it's all about money, they think they get better value by doing it that way, but it seems there is a internal disagreement in the medical profession as to whether this is the right approach, given some people get caught in that system and never move on from the addiction because they desperately need therapy of some sort.

Are you able to take up either of those options? sounds like it would be for the best, if you work maybe you could take holiday, I'd definitely go for the taper if it was me, its short but its bound to be a bit less unconformable and at least you know your in safe hands if things get really out of hand. Some seem to find it much less of a problem than others, it even seems ther are some that don't suffer WD at all, maybe you'll be lucky, either way you've got a life to lead and you need off so try and find a way, this sounds like a ticket to ride, if possible I'd take it. It's not going to solve your situation as I'm sure you have underlying reasons for ending up where you are but its a start.

Sorry for hijacking the thread a bit but its all good info for the OP as to the ultimate dangers of getting into daily benzo use, HourGlass22 you do need to think carefully about why you started all this, if you think you have seem underlying issues that you were self medicating for start trying to get those dealt with or its likely you will either go back to Etiz or something else.

Best Wishes to all
 
@atm.

Thanks again for your replies/support.

I always turn up at my drug councillors in a fit state (well there was this 1 time!!!:!

She tells me that from all the information she has gathered from me over the 9 months or so that she has passed on to her superiors and the detox clinic, there recommendation is In-Patient Cold Turkey Detox with Carbamazerpine.

Also i do work and they have been very understanding, they asked me to take sick leave and come back when im fit and ready however long that may be, they dont know about my Benzo abuse but they do realise that im not mentally stable/well and have not been for sometime, even though its something id tried to put a brave face on and hide for 15 years, eventually your gonna crack.

Also you mention about councilling/CBT etc It was for these reasons my doctor originally prescribed me AD's, as she said the short term plan was for the AD's to take effect and then they would hopefully put me in the right frame of mind for councilling/CBT/Psychotherapy to actually work and have a positive effect.

The Anti Depressants have not worked (well the 3 ive tried have not worked) infact i thik i feel worse now than i did when i first went to see her in June 2011.
 
Wow man* thats incredible... Its amazing you can say youre not mentally stable... Cause I know I'm not... but I've just seeen way worse than me.

For me my drug of choice was adderall... then I got myself RX'd CLonazepam 2mg and I'd order them off the internet. I've never taken more than 4mg. I love the stuff.... but its just helpful for me. On the other hand Stimulants have worn down my soul. But i'm doing better. I would probably go to A/A or a detox doctor and do everything simplified to get totally clean. But your condition is way different. My dad ended up getting addicted to my klonopins and his ambiens together and went through hell on earth for a month. He is the CEO of a company and almost couldn't do his job. NOw were both on stimulants , klonopin, valium , and soma all from the same dr. and i'm scripted vicodin 5s too. Polydrug use coctails .... always chasing that dragon!
 
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