Benzos how to protect yourself from unexpected benzo withdrawal.. like a car accident ie ??

[Phat5o]

as an every day user of benzos, how would, or do, you protect yourself from unexpected benzo withdrawals in case you get into an accident or anything like that and you may be out for a while... especially the people on short acting benzos.
is there a way to keep yourself safe from that? like a note in your wallet or something?
i really don't feel like having a seizure as a result of an accident that lands me in a situation i have no control over and could possibly make that situation worse.
anybody out here do anything for this purpose?

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

I'm not dependent on benzos but I'll take a stab at this.

Having a note in your wallet probably won't help unless it's a doctors note. A doctor probably won't give you drugs because a handwritten note in your wallet says, "I am dependent on X, give me X." Maybe if you start having a seizure that note might be taken more seriously, but it depends on the doctor I suppose.

I would say your best chance is to give a stash to someone that's close to you that doesn't do benzos. If you were in an accident or in the hospital for multiple days they could bring the stash when they come to visit. However, this requires honesty about your use. It would only work if you can trust someone with that knowledge, and the stash of drugs.

 

[tricomb]

I'm just wondering how much benzos you take currently, if you're this worried about running out in a hypothetical disaster or doomsday type scenario, well let's just say your post raised a ton of red flags to me, why (and to what extent) are you dependent on benzodiazepines to begin with? Which benzo are you on for what diagnosis? Just curious. Cuz even if you have NO diagnoses except uh.. benzodiazepine addiction/dependence, the hospital WILL be providing their own drugs you should not have to worry about getting a stash to a friend full of of whatever you're addicted to and rely on them sneaking in your drugs.

Like seriously, do you think that they wouldn't notice that your blood toxicology reports active drugs that conflict with your first toxicology report and they see drugs they didn't administer to you? Even if they didn't, why risk taking something that might severely interact with other drugs they may have given you that you aren't aware of or don't remember receiving.

This is why patients have medical records!

 

[Screaming_Skull]

If you are worried about it, next time you have your doctors visit ask them if they could give you a card saying what Med you are taking with the doctors name and number on it. I have one of these from when I went to my Suboxone doctor on the 1st visit, always in my wallet, because the only opiate that will really breakthrough Bupe and help with pain is Fent, which would probly not be givin to someone who was just in a car wreck(most likely something like Diludid or Morphine would) which although, great, would not help me a bit. So next time you see your doc ask if it is possible for him to give you a card like that, saying what benzo your on, his name, and number on it.

 

[tricomb]

Most car wreck patients are given ketamine at the scene because there is no time to figure out if the patient is allergic to traditional pain medication and most of all, because ketamine does not slow heart rate, which opioids absolutely would do and to a person near death already as their bodies are shutting down, added CNS depression to the heart is the last thing they want to be doing.

But yeah, those cards are pretty common, as are special bracelets for those who are more likely to require emergency services, so these chips immediately alert medical personnel to a relevant medical condition, like for epilepsy.

 

[siq]

If you are worried about it, next time you have your doctors visit ask them if they could give you a card saying what Med you are taking with the doctors name and number on it. I have one of these from when I went to my Suboxone doctor on the 1st visit, always in my wallet, because the only opiate that will really breakthrough Bupe and help with pain is Fent, which would probly not be givin to someone who was just in a car wreck(most likely something like Diludid or Morphine would) which although, great, would not help me a bit. So next time you see your doc ask if it is possible for him to give you a card like that, saying what benzo your on, his name, and number on it.

Yeah I have one of those Suboxone cards as well. I always wondered how doctors would handle an emergency surgery if you're on suboxone, because it blocks everything INCLUDING fent.

So recently I had this roommate who was an anesthesiologist, and I asked him how he would put someone under who was on a blocker... He said he would hit em up with a high dose of fentanyl to knock the bupe off the receptors, along with some benzos, then just keep dosing till ur out. haha. So I guess u can break through with a high enough dose. So its not about "what", but "how much."

I know personally, the only way I can use and feel it when I'm on subs is by shooting heroin. Any other pills or mediocre opiates dont cut it. But still gotta wait atleast 12hrs.

 

[tricomb]

At the right dose of fentanyl or another similar drug of similar potency and binding affininity, buprenorphine doesn't block everything, but your proposed method from your FORMER Anesthesiologist friend? who's best idea was to floor your brain with more and more fentanyl in hopes of knocking the bupre off the receptors and somehow not kill you in the process?

Do you think you can just break through buprenorphine, skipping over the horrific precipitated withdrawals that would happen as any opioid is ripped out of it's receptor? It doesn't work like that.

Just because hypothetically you can "break through" using the right chemical at the right doses, doesn't mean that it's safe or in any way short of stupid. It's one thing for people to use heroin on top of methadone or buprenorphine, but fentanyl??? Absolute insanity! The line between how much and dead is razor thin, why on earth would you want to use FENTANYL to cancel out the buprenorphine in you? Why do you even take buprenorphine if you have to risk your life and are willing to just to try and break through it?

It's one thing for anesthesiologists to use such extreme methods while they are in a controlled environment in a hospital while they have complete monitoring of the patients vitals, O2 saturation, and the life saving equipment and mechanical ventillation to revive a person if they have to. To attempt to replicate this yourself by yourself outside of a hospital just seems so unsafe I don't see what you could possibly be getting out of such a risk on your life. As soon as you induce the PWDs how will you be continually adding fentanyl reliably without a PCA pump?

Also, even if this method was able to get the bupre off you and the fent into you without killing you, the amount of fentanyl you will have taken will probably send your tolerance to opiates so high through the roof that there is literally no point in breaking through....

$0.02, I just never really understand the lengths people are willing to go to just to break through methadone or suboxone, why be on maintenance while you're still using it's just adding even more danger to what you were already doing before. Be safe buddy!! This does NOT seem worth the trouble.

 

[mzmay]

get an emergency braclet...you can order them to say watever your med emergency may be....like if someones on suboxone this is a good idea,are u perscribed the benzos??Im really strugghlin with be wnns myself.. also take subb..my doc has me takeing propanolol it really helps...actually i think its better than xanax and far less side effects.i also take subs,but not thru my own doc.this is hard benzos too me are worse than opiates,the wd from benzos can kill u just like with booze....now with the propanolol,its a blood pressure medicine so it has done a WORLD of good 4 me,but i still take benzos wenever i can,...thats also why i just recentl joined this group 2 because it seems like ALOT of you guys can relate....peace and namaste friend!!

 

[speedballs_over]

12-mg/day bupe. Gunshot wound to hand. ER -> ICU, titrated to 1.5-mg/hr fentanyl. Yes, mgs/hr on a drip, kept me blissfully at the edge of death to keep the pain at a 6 out of 10. Left hospital 40hrs later on 680-mg mixture of oxycodone(s). Stayed at that dose two weeks. Going back to bupe was not fun. It can be done, my g/f and medical records which i had sent to me to copy and have handy for someone to take to ER if i get hurt again, it clearly states the difficulty of treating my pain and the amounts i was given and the scripts I left with. Fent can beat bupe it just takes an insane amount most ERs wouldn't give you, i was fortunate my bupe doctor told them to do it... And i literally signed my life away (had to sign a death waiver, seriously - after 32-mg dilauded did shit, and still in full pain ).

 

[sekio]

Any ER doctor or anesthesiologist will have respiratory and blood oxygenation/pulse monitors, (& access to naloxone and all the other tools) making them way more equipped to use fentanyl to break through suboxone than someone sitting in their living room trying to bang the gel from Mylan patches...

Anyway (sounds flippant) the best way to avoid getting in a benzo related withdrawal situation is to keep your tolerance at a level where you won't seize and die if you stop suddenly. If you keep chronic usage at low doses you will be way better than the guy who needs 144 mg of Xanax to get through the day. Using longer acting benzos (clonazepam, diazepam) will also help prolong the time you can go between doses.

You could get a medical alert bracelet but there's no guarantee that will result in you being fed benzos if you get into a serious accident.

 

[chase_in_56ace]

You are pretty much shit out of luck until you become coherent enough to tell them you take medication. There's no way for them to know who is prescribing you what at the time and most ERs aren't going to take the time to check the Prescription Monitoring Database (if your state/region/country has one) to see if you're getting narcotics. They are going to simply give you what they deem adequate at the time. If you come to and you tell them Dr. Xyz is prescribing you something, they will immediately check with him and usually continue whatever narcotics you're on.

 

[Phat5o]

I'm just wondering how much benzos you take currently, if you're this worried about running out in a hypothetical disaster or doomsday type scenario, well let's just say your post raised a ton of red flags to me, why (and to what extent) are you dependent on benzodiazepines to begin with? Which benzo are you on for what diagnosis? Just curious. Cuz even if you have NO diagnoses except uh.. benzodiazepine addiction/dependence, the hospital WILL be providing their own drugs you should not have to worry about getting a stash to a friend full of of whatever you're addicted to and rely on them sneaking in your drugs.

Like seriously, do you think that they wouldn't notice that your blood toxicology reports active drugs that conflict with your first toxicology report and they see drugs they didn't administer to you? Even if they didn't, why risk taking something that might severely interact with other drugs they may have given you that you aren't aware of or don't remember receiving.

This is why patients have medical records!

i take 2mg clonazepam or 20mg of valium a day.... usually. the reason i asked myself this question too is because i just had to switch to xanax, because of availability reasons, for a couple of weeks and it seems i have to dose a generous .5mg (broke of a 2mg bar) twice a day just in order to not have withdrawals.. which sucks because on the valium and klonopin i would be fine over 24 hours... never skipped a complete day though so i don't know what that would do. so i don't take the biggest dose at all. i do have medical history of all benzos above as being prescribed to me for extended periods in my life for anxiety, up to 4mg of aprazolam etc. nowadays though i just buy my benzos in bulk because i'm also in pain management. i take tramadol, 15 50mg tabs or so a day, so i buy a fair amount of that in bulk too since i'm only prescribed 8. i don't have to take drug tests and i'm okay with tramadol as it doesn't interfere with my life/emotional well being like a lot of traditional opioids. the 15 tabs a day is straight up abuse tho to make me feel somewhat good even though it's the same dose every day. i don't actually NEED that much for pain, 8 for that would be more than enough.

i thought about this whole car accident/doomsday scenario because i had gotten a suboxone card in the past as well. also an opiate pass in a different country to carry in my wallet that listed all meds i was on.

Any ER doctor or anesthesiologist will have respiratory and blood oxygenation/pulse monitors, (& access to naloxone and all the other tools) making them way more equipped to use fentanyl to break through suboxone than someone sitting in their living room trying to bang the gel from Mylan patches...

Anyway (sounds flippant) the best way to avoid getting in a benzo related withdrawal situation is to keep your tolerance at a level where you won't seize and die if you stop suddenly. If you keep chronic usage at low doses you will be way better than the guy who needs 144 mg of Xanax to get through the day. Using longer acting benzos (clonazepam, diazepam) will also help prolong the time you can go between doses.

You could get a medical alert bracelet but there's no guarantee that will result in you being fed benzos if you get into a serious accident.

i'm somewhat glad i do take longer acting benzos usually. and i will be back on them soon enough. i don't want a medical bracelet, give someone a stash, or anything of that kind as nobody actually really knows what i take but myself. some friends/family know i take tramadol. some know i take benzos from time to time, but nobody knows the reality of it all.
plus giving a friend a stash to somehow get into my system seems like a sketchy deal lol. i'd rather just tell a close friend about my habit and to let doctors know... but usually they contact your family and a lot of times your close friends won't even find out till it's too late (in regards to w/d)

 

[Phat5o]

now that i think about it though. i do have an active script from 6 - 7weeks or so ago. went and saw a private psychiatrist for a month of valium supply for a new job i started that required drug testing. so i kept a bunch of them in there that i can't touch, in case that comes up again. ironically though they never even talked to me about it lol.... but even if i carried that prescription bottle around, based on that script i guess doctors would assume i only take them once in a while as needed since i was supposed to be out like 2 or 3 weeks ago and have a bunch left.