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Benzos Help needed im soooooooo confused???

Zeano

Greenlighter
Joined
Jun 12, 2013
Messages
46
So ill try make this short as possible.

sufferd with panic attacks and anxiety for 5 years. 5 years ago it got really bad , was agrophobic for 3 months darnt leave the house and sufferd with constant de-realization for 5 months. Doctor gave me ssri's but all just made me feel worse and some diazepam but never did dare take them.

That being said, after a hard 6 months I got myself a job and life become somewhat 'normal' for a person with bad anxiety. Going out , not feeling to bad, usuing alchol as a crutch is a lot of un-comfortable situations, but definatly not abusing it.

Anyway, 4 weeks ago I had a massive panic attack, left me in bed for 3 days, didn't ea or hardly sleep and felt I was dieing. My dad came and finally got me up. I was actually cared to walk for passing out. But basically for 3 weeks used alcohol as a crutch, 4 cans of beer and maybe half a bottle of wine a day.....don't know how bad that is? Anyway it all came out how much I was drinking so I went to the doctor scared of getting an alcohol problem and asked if there was anything that he could give me , that would make me as care free as alcohol but meant I was drinking. He said yes 'diazepam' but didn't really ant to prescribe it. but after a long talk he gave me 7 2mg tablets. well I took 4 of them 7 in the first day to try and calm my anxiety, it seemed to work abit. I rang him back the next day and said I think they are working but the dose doesn't seem to be really taking edge off. so we agreed 5mg 3X a day for a week and then down to 2mg 3X a day for a week and then to stop. on the first 2 days I took the 15mg I felt pretty good, nit high, but just not on edge, but I soon googled and got really scared about all the W/D horror storys I hear about, so have took myself back down to 8mg a day. I have been on this dose for about 5 days now and on diazepam for about 10 days in total. It seems to be the only thing that calms me down abit. SSRI side effects make me feel horrible. Im now back at work after 4 weeks off and still getting by on 8mg a day. and I haven't had a drink of alchol for 10 days!

Im wondering if I really should b as worried as I am after only 10 days use on these things? Im excercisng everyday aswell to try combat anxiety, and im 27 year old. My anxiety can get so bad I feel like im going to snap at any moment and can really scare me, and I cant stop thinking allllllll day!

My questions are:

1) should I be so worried at this point
2) ive never took benzos before so is the tolerance thing of building it within 2 weeks true? especially when not taking recreational amounts?
3) Is their a rough certain level/ time scale where benzo addiction is bad? like do you have to take it for over 6 months and like 40mg a day to really feel bad from coming off it?
4) I currently take 2mg 4X a day.........11am, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm. but in morning especially before work I can feel anxious would it be better to just try and take 2X2mg when wake up and 2X2mg at say 7pm? Or is it better the way im doing it as it spreads the dose?

I know im asking a lot but half the people out their go on about how good benzos are for anxiety and they've been on them for years and then other people say how they have took 4mg a day for 2 weeks and are hooked, lol??? I mean as far as im aware diazepam is one of the better benzos and Xanax is quite strong....but millions of people use Xanax on a daily basis.

please help, in last 4 days ive just been reading post after post on peoples different views and would like some answers to my situation ?
 
I don't want to bump this thread so early, but I really want to know peoples opinions. Im one of them guys who takes a pill and then thinks every second what its doing inside my body, lol. I never used to be like that. done MDMA, cocaine, cannabis, but at small doses and years ago.
 
I'll try to give you a quick answer to make you feel better.

Yes, withdraw from benzo's can be awful, no doubt. But it seems you're doing well taking 8mg a day instead of 15mg. Kudos to you for great willpower. The key is not to let the Diazepam become the instant panic-attack relief pill. They are great, I've had anxiety myself. But getting to the root of the anxiety and what sets it off will be just as beneficial as the valium. I'm not bashing Valium, but in conjunction with some good therapy, it can work out well.

I don't think you need to worry about W/D's right now if you have a script and are dosing lower than that. Now, if your tolerance goes up and you don't get extra on the script, then you'll start taking more to compensate which would mean running out early. Then you would have to worry about WD's.

No one can tell you for sure when the addiction is "bad". Many things characterize addiction besides dosage and drug type. As far as your dosing schedule, do what works for you. It seems you are trying to be on a schedule, which can be great and keep you from taking more. But if you think you need more in the morning, try it one day and see if you still need to dose at say 3pm or earlier.

I hope I've helped a little. I can tell you WD can be bad for a lot of drugs, including this class. Just try to stay on your dosing range and not overdo it. If you have worse anxiety on some days, you actually have an extra 7mg you're saving every day, which could come in handy then. Good luck sir!
 
Stay clear of SSRI's, Cannabis, any stimulants, all drugs will make your anxiety worse, as far as valium is concerned all I can say is if you get a little high from it at all then drop your dose, its amazing how fast your tolerance will build up, I started on 15mg and felt great, now I would need at least 50, I have done 100 with no problems, tolerance with diazepam is crazy, I personally think Xanax used properly is the best benzo out there for anxiety, good luck mate, u will get there, I know how you feel I've been in ur shoes ;)
 
There are varied opinions on this but i'll give you the objective answers that have studies backing them up:

1) should I be so worried at this point

No, not at this point. However don't go over 10mg of diazepam per day if you can help it.

2) ive never took benzos before so is the tolerance thing of building it within 2 weeks true? especially when not taking recreational amounts?

tolerance will build but in general, if you stay at a therapeutic dose and never abuse them, benzos will maintain their efficacy for long periods of time, i can get a study to back that up if you want.

3) Is their a rough certain level/ time scale where benzo addiction is bad? like do you have to take it for over 6 months and like 40mg a day to really feel bad from coming off it?

anything over 6 months, especially at 40mg a day will cause a severe withdrawal. You can go a month and not have much problems, 3 months moderate withdrawal, after 6 months, it will hurt.

4) I currently take 2mg 4X a day.........11am, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm. but in morning especially before work I can feel anxious would it be better to just try and take 2X2mg when wake up and 2X2mg at say 7pm? Or is it better the way im doing it as it spreads the dose?

if you're taking diazepam then take it twice a day, it has a long half life and the anxiolytic effects will last a good 6-8 hours at least. I think twice/day is a better idea, you don't have to worry about spreading the dose out as diazepam has a long half life. If you're talking about xanax then yeah, 4x/day at low doses may be better as you'll have a decent amount of xanax in your blood at all time, you don't want the peaks and valleys as that'll bring out anxiety. With diazepam though, even once a day in the morning should set you straight for the day. Try to stay at 5mg/day or 10mg/day at most with diazepam, if that doesn't kill the anxiety, then get into therapy, make life changes and other things. Some people just need higher doses of benzos to function but you want to rule out all other possibilities before you make that leap, once you do, there's no going back, not easily anyway.

hope that helps a bit.
 
1) Good job staying vigilant on your dose! Take as little as you need to get by, if you can skip a day, do it, and try to avoid abusing them.

2) Tolerance will rise with dose + length.

3) IMO/E increasing your dose will be the largest factor in withdrawal intensity. Length matters as well, but the dose will magnify it greatly. Try to stay at or below 10mg a day.

Again skipping doses when possible is great. Use that time to practice dealing with anxiety without the drugs. Its about balancing the drugs effects and not expecting too much. You cannot expect to never feel anxious or your tolerance will rise out of control.

4) You don't have to spread your dose if you don't want to. Do what works best for you. If you don't need it, skip it or delay it.
 
Thanks guys,

best and most helpful replys yet I have received on any forum. a lot of the time I just get 'DONT TAKE THEM, THEIR HELL IN A TABLET' , and I just think if I don't, its hell in my mind 24/7. And to be honest the tablets arnt 'that' good. When the doctor gave them to me he said , problem is with these, is they make you feel too good. I guess I haven't experienced that as yet. Yes they can calm me down to a point where I am just about functioning , but they arnt making me want to get on tables and dance, or even making me want to do much.

I know a lot of you are saying try not to go over 10mg a day, and I totally inderstand this......IMO this seems to be the thin blue (like a 10MG tablet) line, between a mediocore dose and building up to heavier doses. Last night I had my normal 8mg by 9pm and was actually still very anxious until about 10:30pm when I fell to sleep. and I got worried about tolerance. But at moment with this anxiety I worry about anything that pops into my head.....Am I going crazy.......Could I commit suicide (I couldn't but the thoughts scare me)........what happens if I just loose it.......what happens if I die...........will I faint.........what are these drugs doing to me........ etc etc and these thoughts are round my head all day.

I am on diazepam, and I understand Xanax to be a lot more of n 'acute' drug to take. short half life, but stronger in general and much more addictive. And a lot of people say the w/ds from that a horrible. Which is why I don't understand why it is still the most prescribed drug for anxiety in the US??? im from uk by the way.....

If it is sooo terrible why are so many people taking it daily and there is sooo many posts about people taking the equivalent of say 60mg of diazepam a day which I think is about 3mg Xanax. And apart from the lots of people who say don't take it, they suck etc etc. On the other hand their is people who say, 'its saved my life' I couldn't live without them etc etc.

Im just rambling......its like haing the angel on one of my shoulders and the devil on the other :)
 
It's up to you to decide if the benefits of the drug outweigh the bad effects,

I found it helps me to have a few benzos just in my pocket if I'm having bad anxiety and that way I know I have a cure right there if I need it bad enough and I try not to take it until I really can't help it.

I found that weed is really great for anxiety but I know it's not really the best option because it's illegal and no employers like stoners, but if you can get away with it i suggest trying that for a while because it's 100x better for your body than benzos.

The first time I got valium they gave me a 50 pack of 2mg ones and I took them all in handfuls of 10 over about an hour or two, barely even felt it so I took 100mg of codeine on top, that didn't do much either but I guess it helped me sleep, I was coming off a small alcohol addiction, after this i was getting a 50 of 5mg ones about once a week or two for about 2 months, taking them daily and taking them for fun too but then one day i just didn't feel like going to the doctor to get a new script and never got any again lol

You'll know when you start to become addicted to them because you'll wake up and want them then if you can't have them you'll feel shit, if you just take them because your anxiety is bad then it's not really the same and you're not really using it to get a good feeling in your body you're using it to remove a bad feeling, you can still be addicted but I think you have less chance because you're using it for something different unless you're using it for both i'd say when the anxiety goes away you'll just take less of them without even noticing
 
they are prescribed a lot, not in the UK though but over in the US/Canada they are fucking everywhere. People do get terrrrrrible withdrawals from them but the large majority of people stick to a dose that works for them for many years without issues. If you're a drug addict though you are going to become a menace to yourself and society if you start abusing benzos, that's the risk with them.

if you need them you need them. Some people need a much higher dose than 10mg, i know i do but once you're in high dose range, you have to make sure you never run out of benzos. Benzos also create a hell of a mind fog which will create cognitive deficits, they also ruin your sex drive as well as fuck with your memory. Personally, i take etizolam because it does not cause these issues. I gave up diazepam script for etizolam, it just works much better and isn't nearly as bad in terms of tolerance or withdrawal. It should be a pharmaceutical in US/Canada/UK but isn't, so it's self medicating which is dangerous and it's not too hard to get up to doses way over 20mg, 1mg of etizolam being equal to about 10mg of diazepam, so that can get pretty scary.

So long as you can keep your shit together and not abuse benzos, then take whatever dose will calm you down, you are clearly experiencing terrible anxiety. Benzos aren't handed out in the UK often at all, so if you were prescribed them then you must have a legitimate issue. You may have to accept that you'll be on them for life though. I would most certainly recommend exhausting all other options before going the lifer route with benzos, it's a lot of responsibility to ensure you always have them with you and never run out, as you may seize and die if you do run out. Tapering off isn't exactly pleasant either.
 
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Zeano you have no space left in ur inbox I could not pm u back delete ur messages then pm me again mate ;)
 
zeano delete ur whole sentbox and inbox mate because ur still a greenlighter u can only store 5 at a time, I will pm u
 
valium really worx better 4 anxiety than xanax i think,and u end up feeling like taking more on xanax.u could try takign sum daily otc supplements that help anxiety also like kava root,phenibut ect.
 
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