Benzos etizolam withdrawls??

[Cosmic Trigger]

Greetings, I took a little vacation into benzo land which is something new for me. I have a painful disease and I take about 30-40 mg oxycodone per day most of it at night as I have some sleep issues which can be bad at times. So I went on vacation and wanted to have fun and get some solid sleep and so for almost three weeks I took 1mg etizolam per night also. I slept like I was in heaven (7 to 8 hours with only one or two awakenings). Now I'm back and I realized that three weeks might be long enough to have some withdrawls if I were to quit which I have and for four days I've had some real trouble sleeping and some flaring of the pain issues. Do you all think this is some mild withdrawal? This is the fourth day now and I really need some sleep of more than 2 hrs per night.

OK so here's why and what I want to know. If this is mild withdrawal then how long might this last and since I want to keep using etizolam for occasional use how often can I take .5 to 1m per week without fear of any dependency? Also if I am in withdrawal can I say take a .5 mg tonight to get one night of rest and then continue on with the withdrawal without dragging it out?? Thanks so much guys for your help. It's greatly appreciated.

 

[Ziiirp]

I would taper down to a minimal amount and substitute/cycle off with L-Theanine + maybe low dose Melatonine (200-800 micrograms) or Diphenhydramine/Doxylamine at night.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

Yes, 3 weeks is enough for mild withdrawals to set in, but it's impossible to tell how long it'll, if you're lucky it's just rebound symptoms that'll take a few days max.

Well, benzos kindle, meaning that each withdrawal will get worse and the time 'till you're in for withdrawal will decrease, so I guess once a week would be your best bet.

Have you tried hydroxyzine for sleep ? I take 12.5mg every night and I sleep longer and don't wake up as often.

 

[Cosmic Trigger]

I have tried it and it' only helps a tiny bit. My wds seem to be over and I slept good last night. The pain flaring is almost back to normal. Thanks for the advice. I'll try to keep it to once a week or less.

 

[morphine-dreams]

Speaking only from my experience, I wouldn't even use weekly unless you have *perfect* self control with this one. Especially if you're using it for insomnia. I fell into that trap because once you can get a good nights sleep, it's god damn hard to let go of that. I've abused the hell out of it for over a year and was ok, took it on a weekly-bi-weekly basis for several more months and still no issues. It caught up to me after about a year and a half.

Just use it rarely, when really needed. Having a benzo "schedule" sounds likely to lead to dependence imo. You're still not in too deep, keep it that way. You're better off dealing with the mild WD you could be going through now (though it may be psychological, a rebound effect, or related to something else-keep that in mind) than the more serious dependence you'll develop if you keep going, even responsibly.

I really don't mean to lecture you, it's just that I was once a weekly benzo user, and here I am now needing 4mg a day just so I don't have panic attacks and probably seizures.

 

[Cosmic Trigger]

I appreciate your lecture and after talking to my doc today he agrees. He said it's in his experience ten times worse than opiates. He told me twice a month would be pushing it and he wouldn't even recommend that. So I'm going to let this wd play out and quit while I'm ahead. I have enough on my plate with opiate addiction. Thanks so very much for the wise words and your concern. I really hope you find a way out of your dilemma. Just know you've helped someone.

 

[morphine-dreams]

I'm glad I could help

And as a former opioid addict, I agree with your doctor. As much as CT opioid WD sucks, I know I can do it. Benzo WD is another story entirely, nip it in the bud because one fuck up means it's probably time to taper. At least if I fuck up with opioids, I know I'm just going to have a shitty week and then be ok. I think benzos a few times a month max are totally fine, but any type of weekly/bi-weekly schedule is not worth the risk because your tolerance will likely grow anyway until one day, you're dependent. Like I said, it took me over a year but it happened anyway.

 

[CfZrx]

Speaking only from my experience, I wouldn't even use weekly unless you have *perfect* self control with this one. Especially if you're using it for insomnia. I fell into that trap because once you can get a good nights sleep, it's god damn hard to let go of that. I've abused the hell out of it for over a year and was ok, took it on a weekly-bi-weekly basis for several more months and still no issues. It caught up to me after about a year and a half.

Just use it rarely, when really needed. Having a benzo "schedule" sounds likely to lead to dependence imo. You're still not in too deep, keep it that way. You're better off dealing with the mild WD you could be going through now (though it may be psychological, a rebound effect, or related to something else-keep that in mind) than the more serious dependence you'll develop if you keep going, even responsibly.

I really don't mean to lecture you, it's just that I was once a weekly benzo user, and here I am now needing 4mg a day just so I don't have panic attacks and probably seizures.

Yes, this is a good lecture actually

I appreciate your lecture and after talking to my doc today he agrees. He said it's in his experience ten times worse than opiates. He told me twice a month would be pushing it and he wouldn't even recommend that. So I'm going to let this wd play out and quit while I'm ahead. I have enough on my plate with opiate addiction. Thanks so very much for the wise words and your concern. I really hope you find a way out of your dilemma. Just know you've helped someone.

Yeah mon, best to just keep it around for occasional anxiety attacks, yours or someone you love. IME these kind of attacks only happen once or twice a year if I'm lucky