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Benzos How long does it take to be addicted to benzos?

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bryan21

bryan21

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Jul 26, 2010
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I know this is probably covered elsewhere, so feel free to move/ merge this thread.

I just got a bunch of klons and i really cant seem to stop taking them. I know i should cut back, but im wondering if its too late. Ive been taking for about 5 days straight like 3-4mg ish a day. Now ive never done any sort of benzo before this so i obviously dont hav any sort of tolerance so i dont even know if this is a problematic situation, but id still like some insight.

My question is, how long (of continuous usage such as my own) does it take to develop a physical addiction to benzos, klonopin to be specific.

I just want to know what im dealing with before i get too far into this mess.

Thanks for any replys,

Bryan
 
You'll be fine if you stop them now. Keep going and you're gonna get an addiction.
 
I know that, thanks,
I dont plan on stopping my benzo use because oddly enough, i have been depressed and hav dealt with social anxiety and stuff all my life. Klons are almost like self medication, I feel normal, my thoughts are clear and I dont worry about the trivial things of life for example i walk past a random person on the street and wonder what theyre thinking of me and stuff like that. No more on klonopin.

Thank you, but I was looking for a more quantitative response as in how many days is it ok to use without taking a break, then how long should the break be.
 
Yea i meant stop taking them daily. Taking 3-4mg daily you'll probably develop an addiction in about a month, maybe sooner. I'm no pro on benzo's but that should be a decent guess. Maybe try 4 days on, 3 off(which may be pushing it) .

Just can't take them daily at that dosage cause you're definitely looking at addiction like that.
 
^No.

There is a fundamental difference between "addiction" and "dependence". Addiction is when a drug basically takes precedent in your life, i.e it is a priority. Dependence is when your body needs a drug to function. For example, chronic pain patients who are prescribed opiates daily are dependent, but not addicted necessarily. Their body needs them, and without they go into withdrawal. But they don't abuse their meds, and if they don't have them one day they don't go out of their way to find money, find a ride, cop off the street, etc.. So by definition they aren't per se "addicts".

Now in regards to your situation. You can avoid physical dependence/withdrawals much easier than you can avoid addiction.

You could take them for 3-4 weeks daily and then stop with little to no discomfort. Any longer and I would expect some withdrawals. Don't do that though. It would be practically inevitable that you'd end up dependent and addicted.

A big part of addiction is they psychological aspect of it. And in my opinion, at this point in time you may not be physically dependent, but you are damn near becoming addicted. If you are already at the point of trying to figure out the "perfect" schedule to avoid addiction, the pills have a front seat in your mind and psychologically you already feel a grasp on your mind by the pills.

One day on, one day off is no good. That wouldn't be much better than just taking them daily.. Also you are taking a pretty high daily dose.

If I were you, your BEST bet would be to NOT use them daily. Save them for when you are REALLY anxious and cannot quell your anxiety by using other safer methods (breathing, exercise, OTC meds, etc). At MOST I would say you could take them for 3-4 days straight, and then take at least 3-4 days off.. That is still on the brink though.

THere is no right answer to this, though, since everybody is different. If you have had legitimate anxiety issues for a long time, why not go to the doctor? This way you can get diagnosed and properly medicated so you don't have to worry about making some schedule to try and cheat addiction. Believe me, I know where you are at. All of us have come up with the "perfect" schedule, only to become junkies/addicts months down the road.

I would go to teh doctor man.. There are other medications that can help with generalized anxiety disorder, other than benzos. There is no shame in going to the doctor and if you are honest and open, and have a legitimate concern, they will have no problem medicating you. So in the case that they DO think you need benzos on a daily basis, you will be uner doctor supervision and in the event that you need to stop taking them, they can taper you off properly so you can get off them as easily as possible.
 
Yeah, seeing a doctor is a good idea - you'll get the medication that you need and get to buy it from a drug store instead of getting them from the street, or wherever. What IMO makes benzos so addictive is the fact that they are simply so goddamn good medication to anxiety.
 
first off, BrokedownPalace's post is on point. following his post is the best advice i can give.

anyway, as BP said, there's no right answer to your question. my best guess is that if you continue to use daily at these dosages (3mg. - 4mg.), after ~12-14 weeks of use you will have a pretty strong dependency on those dosages. lastly, please be aware that KPIN use exceeding 4mg. a day has a tendency to cause some pretty weird effects in a lot of users.
 
I got prescribed Xanax not too long ago because I've seriously been experiencing a lot of anxiety at night when trying to sleep. Which is probably due in no small part to a healthy, long term opioid addiction. Of course soon enough I was taking them every night. Over the course of 10 days my nightly dose went from .5 mg to 1.5 mg. Even after just that short amount of time, once I decided it is a good time to slow down I had HELL falling asleep for 3 nights straight. I was wide ass awake until around 4 am each day without them. It's gotten a bit better now, but it just shows you how quickly and easily benzos can get a hold of you.

Benzo dependance scares the hell out of me, yet my chronic opiate use doesn't bother me too much, which I find a bit odd.
 
3 to 4 mg a day, try to just take one a day, like in the morning when you wake, and also like mentioned just when you really need to take one, like before going out in the publc, when your anxiety is the highest, becasue 3 to 4 mg a day for a few weeks you will start getting addicted without even realizing. Benzo's are one of the worst to come off of, and if i was you, try to find something else to help with anxiety like suppliments, if you haven't already tried that in the past.
 
At a high dose like you're describing, I have felt minor withdrawal / rebound symptoms in around 8-9 days. At smaller doses of around 0.5 - 1mg, it seems to take a bit longer IME. It isn't a set thing though; taking them at higher doses or over longer periods of time causes more addiction. Taking less at a time or taking over a shorter period prevents the addiction from developing as much. Remember that everyone's body is different and these are only vague guidelines.
 
At your current dose d 3-4mg a day, tolerance can build up much more quickly than if you were taking .5 mg a day. My advice is to slowly work your way down to a lower dose that works. 3-4mg of klonopin is enough to put me to sleep for days. Try seeing a doc and taking just .5mg of klonopin and adding propranolol 10mg with is. That will help with the physical symptoms of anxiety such as heart racing, blushing, sweating, shaking, etc. Propranolol is a beta blocker and has a low potential for abuse so it's no harm in trying it for your anxiety.

Klonopin is one of the longer lasting benzos, meaning they provide anxiety control for a longer time than other benzos like Xanax. At your current rate of
3/4mg a day, physical addiction could appear as soon as a 10 days up to a month. Taking one in the morning should keep your anxiety at bay for most of the day. If you're still struggling after reducing your dose, I HIGHLY recommend seeing a psychiatrist who could treat your problems with his/her extensive knowledge about medications and mental health issues.
 
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