GFJ & Benzos: The conslusion

[bluntedskier]

So we've all seen posts and read about how grapefruit juice 'potenates' benzos, especially powerful ones such as Xanax.

I enjoy fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, but I always had a proper prescription of what I needed (at the time at least), so I never really bothered.

Now, I have a very high tolerance to benzos, which is not a good thing, and I am working on reducing this to a very small amount or none at all, with the help of my psychiatrist over the next couple months.

Anyways, I take a minimum of 6mg of Xanax a day. (Usually XR, but I have had both perscribed, along with vallium recently as well). I don't find benzos, even Xanax, to be a recreational drug at all.... I have only used it for it's designed purpose.

Now the other day, I had the highest quality mixture of white and red fresh squeezed crushed grapefruit juice happen to be sitting in my fridge. I had taken my normal dosage of Xanax for the day.... but this time I decided to take several big cups (approx 10oz) of this delicious fruit juice.

Several hours later I had come to my conclusion about this whole mild controversy. Once again I have a HIGH tolerance ex. have gone out to having $80 worth of cocktails to the face after taking a total of 12mg of xanax (had a horrific day - that's why I took so much...) and I was fine... no blackout... just normally drunk and went home and slept, woke up fine.

Now with the grapefruit juice - I DID feel the difference/effects, of taking a proper amount/type of GFJ. However I would conclude that it only potentates the SEDATIVE properties - not the effects (anti-anxiety, relaxation etc) that most people would call pleasant. Instead, I remember being a half asleep zombie and was acting like a 16 year old moaning and groaning around my house and eventually passed out at like 4pm in the afternoon....

Perhaps others have found differently, but that's my clear-cut experience. I'll be sticking to orange juice when I am taking Xanax.

 

[BananasAndOranges]

Duh. That's the point of the potentionation it will make you get full effects of the drug and stronger. It only works with certain benzos I thought and certain opiates oids or is it all of them? Either way I quit the gfj thing after I stopped nodding and started getting stable and back to earth.....reality

 

[StaySedated]

GFJ decently potentiates alprazolam, clonazepam, triazolam, flunitrazepam, and nitrazepam as they're all metabolized by the same enzyme in the P450 system that GFJ inhibits.

note that GFJ doesn't really potentiate benzos by increased absorbtion(benzos generally have high BA) but by slowing down metabolism through liver enzyme inhibition thus leading to decreased rate of clearance and increased blood levels resulting from build up of the benzos. also GFJ extends the duration of the benzo's effects by this effect, and most people find that longer durations are more pronounced than increased effects as a result of taking benzos with GFJ.

also, white grapefruit juice is stronger at this effect.

IME it only mildly potentiated diazepam, although others have said it potentiates diazepam well.

it has no effect on temazepam, lorazepam, or oxazepam as they are not metabolized by the P450 liver enzyme drug metabolism system. i wish GFJ affected temazepam, that would be nice.