• Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Benzos issues with alcohol... can i quit with help of benzos (temporarirly)

frankie fresh

Greenlighter
Joined
Oct 1, 2008
Messages
41
Location
bangkok
hi bl's

got fed up with my alcohol consumption, money flies am not aware before i check my online banking the next day, feel hangover like hell, regret lots of shait (pardon my french)

i wanna quit the alcohol, i know its hard cause it so socially accepted, i used to 'abuse' benzo with alcohol (not anymore)... u guys think it would be wise to get on benzo for a while to get accustomed to the new 'life' then slowly downgrade those too ? or am i getting into more trouble ?
i am very familiar with benzo and got ready availability to alprazolam and diazepam...

my point is - if i TOTALLY refrain from alcohol and help myself with a mild benzo cure ( 1-2mg alpra and 5mg diazepam in the course of one day) u think that will help ? or am i getting from one trouble to another ? i feel i can control benzo better than alcohol (bought 3 bottles of gin in 3 different bars the other night (!?!?!?!?)..... better stay with benzo and take it easy for a while then do a taper ?
oh my the way am bi-polar II (high hypomania state), so that really increase the tendency to drugs like alcohol and benzo... dunno, i rather go out sober on a mild benzo buzz than getting wasted and feel like shait the following day.... only trouble is - alcohol is so socially accepted (thats a bitch) so it might be hard to say no to my buddies when we go out..... i also work in the hotel business so thats not a plus either when it comes to alcohol :(

guys appreciate your kind feedback am tired of this, money flies, luckily am a peaceful guy so i dont get into any trouble when wasted on alcohol

cheers everyone hope on some response
ciao
FF
 
Of course you can stop drinking! Is it possible that you could speak with a doctor about this issue? If you stop drinking and start taking benzos then I would suggest that you use only diazepam if you have enough of it. You can take quite big doses at the beginning but you must start tapering pretty fast. Worst case scenario is that you end up taking booze and alprazolam together. But we both know that isn’t gonna happen.

Good luck and don’t give up!
 
I think benzo's are usually used to help with alcohol withdrawal. Of course If you would prefer to go out on benzos then go ahead but from your OP it doesn't seem as though you are heavily addicted (correct me if I'm wrong) to booze and are just going out a lot. I wouldn't advise swapping over to benzos coz the withdrawal and addiction is a bitch. If you want to stop drinking then you can as Skelu said, might be an idea to go see your doctor.
 
benzos are commonly prescribed for legit alcholics. usually ativan or another long acting benzo. in you case valium. but honestly benzos are easy to get hooked on and harder to get off of. the hardest. physically. you wont know real mental pain until youre in benzo withdrawal so id say...either suck it up and quit the booze with the help of L-theanine to give your brain more GABA...or see a doctor and make sure theyre not an idiot. that kind of detox needs supervision. trust me, you dont want to get addicted to a benzo. i have unipolar depression. you think alcohol helped as a self medication...? youll be abusing the benzos in no time. youll be gobbling them up until that amazing release you get from them disappears. youll get hooked on benzos so effing fast, i promise youll regret it. also...dont think for a second youll be able to go out with a benzo buzz and think that will suffice. these drugs disinhibit you. youll start drinking with. my best advice is to not trust yourself with drugs. no offense. but im there myself man.

also...it doesnt really sounds like youre an alcoholic. youre just tired of drinking. youll be hooked on a benzo within a month gauranteed if youre only using them to supplant one vice for another.
 
thanks guys for d feedback.. got all ur points.. but as my psych said as am bipolar i will tend to seek tranquility from my hypomania states (despression state not that acute nor frequent) so am afraid its either one or the other (psych also told me that). been thru mild benzo w/d before (alpra) i know its a bitch... but since i got a demanding job and we all know alcohol can and will affect ur social and professional life, i figured i could go on a mild benzo cure with no alcohol and keep the 'addiction' to myself.... not that easy to hide an alcohol habit, specially in a working environment.... but a mild diazepam to keep me away from alcohol might be possible to keep to myself without people noticing... what do u guys think ??? cheers, FF
 
I am sorry but I don’t seriously know. If you are being bi-polar I wouldn’t rather give any stupid advices. But on the other hand I know a bunch of people being bi-polar and some of them are using benzos. I would say that don’t take more then you need. As you might know diazepam and its metabolites has a super long half live so it will build up in your system. Taking 30-40mg for more than few days can lead you to a whole new problem. So whatever dose you take (or rather not take) then start tapering immediately.

Here are lots of people warning others about benzos, which is absolutely right because those can be evil, but it’s your choice to not keep taking them forever. Just believe in yourself and don’t let the benzos fool you, on the long run they are nothing but bad news!
 
I find people always know when I'm on benzos, it's similar to being drunk all the time without all the side effects and smell of alcohol. In many ways that makes it worse as people aren't sure what's wrong with you. If you keep your doses low then it wouldn't be noticeable but benzo addiction is just as bad as being an alcoholic and it'll affect your behaviour in similar ways. I don't find i get fucked up on 5-10mg of valium per day, mostly just keeps me from massive withdrawals, still my memory isn't great and sometimes my balance is off. It's really difficult to stick to a low dose however, I don't recommend even trying, I thought I could do it numerous times only to fail miserably each time, but everyone is different. I'm sure it can be done but I know i'd slip up eventually.
 
I don't think you should even be thinking about benzos unless your habit is significant - like 4 or more standard drinks daily for at least several months.

Using benzos for anything much less than this reminds me of people who used heroin during the 50's to treat morphine addiction. It's just replacing one thing with another, much worse thing. I say 'much worse' because, unless your alcohol habit is significant, almost any amount of benzos will be worse than the alcohol.
 
I've been through this myself recently, they only give you Benzos to stop the siezures you can get from stopping alcohol, not as a long term replacement therapy.

5-10 days max and that on a tapering dose, in the UK they dont seem to use Diaz so much anymore they offererd me Librium not sure why, but as I had an fairly nasty Diaz habit already I had to come off both as part of the same process.

suessmayr is right I was told 8-10 units everyday was the threshold for the risk of siezures so If your not drinking that much Benzos arent required.

If like me you have been mixing Benzos and alcohol dotn expect the same effect from the Benzos alone, its likely you'll juts end up with an escalating habit. I only ever drank in the evening (15-20 units on and off for a good couple of years) but took the Benzos all day
 
It is possible to be able to quit with benzos, but they are also addictive in themselves.

At the one end, it would be better to get maintained on a benzo vs. continuing drinking... but at the other end, benzo withdrawal can also be problematic.

I would use a benzo (anxiolytic, maybe a hypnotic if you prefer getting good rest instead of daytime anxiety relief) for just 1 week, then to taper off over another 3 days, and then keep the rest of any benzos you have for the future, to help with any anxiety you may face for just once in a blue moon, or as an alternative to having a social drink in the future, again, just once in a blue moon.

It is going to behoove you to be able to hold onto some benzos for the long haul, as when you need them the most, you'll want to have them on hand.

If you find yourself too likely to compulsively take them all, then give a stash of them to a loved one/family member (one who can for sure be trusted with holding onto this relatively addictive medication for you, and who can be trusted to only dispense it to you in times of great need). This way you know there is a way for you to get help if you need it, without having to rely on your own self control.

I used to do this with heroin (giving some of it to someone so I can have some left if I run through the rest of the bag on my own, which I often did).
 
benzos is very scary man im a big time benzo user i get no high from them jus get relief now i take them with suboxone but im on a taper and at the same time im tapering my benzo usage as well so if u have a addictive behavior no dont use them or if u do jus short period of time
 
You are essentially replacing one addiction with a much worse addiction by switching to benzos. Right now, your GABA receptors are hungry for alcohol. If you give them benzos, its like you are giving them a feast. You are also at an increased risk for becoming more quickly dependent on benzos because of your heavy alcohol use. I would explore alternative methods to quitting alcohol as some have suggested. L-Theanine, L-Glutamine, magnesium, fish oil...and a healthy diet + exercise. Do not go the benzo route.
 
My Dad tried to stop using alcohol by taking Valium (about 20mg per day) and now he has to take a benzo everyday or he goes into w/d's. Hopefully a doctor can help you do this the right way.....my Dad did this on his own and now he has more problems tto deal with.
 
I wish I could help answer your question but i'm about in the same boat... I've been drinking on average a six pack everyday or more for the last 6 months and am now getting 100 klonopin and 100 soma this week and plan on quitting drinking completely. I hate it. But i can't stop... It helps pass me out at night because i have insomnia and i cant smoke ganja anymore so i rely on alcohol. I know i pretty much will be switching one substance for another but I personally would much rather take benzos then to ever drink again.
 
I recently went to rehab for alcohol. While I was in DETOX for a few days many of the patients got a lot of benzo meds. The doc put me on a low dose of valium for anxiety/shakes/sleeping. In a recovery sense some of the less addictive benzos like valium or ativan can help with the withdrawal symptoms but however can also lead to further addiction. Definitely see a licensed M.D.
 
Top