Benzos Long term benzo (Xanax, Klonopin) Users?

[BuprenorphineBrian]

I’m looking to talk to anyone who has been on benzodiazepines LT

I hear all these horrible stories. Yes, I have experienced benzo withdrawal and had seizures. It was terrifying.

But, it was my fault for not listening to my doctor and weaning slooww

I have bad Panic disorder and we have TRIED EVERYTHING.

The only thing that works is XANAX in combo with my Paxil. No other benzo seemed to help my TERROR. They would make me cloudy or tired but not SAFE.

Once they put me on Xanax, even though I was an opioid addict everything got better and I have been on the same dose now for 14 years (4mg a day). Before that I was on 8mg. I have never abused my scripts

My methadone/Suboxone doctor tried to get me off of them and sent me to four different psychiatrists over the years, but literally each of them wrote back saying that in their opinion, my dosage and medication was NECESSARY

So he finally gave in back in 2012.

Has anyone else had success stories with benzodiazepines because all I hear is people telling me that I’m going to become senile or develop Alzheimer’s? Or walking in in front of a bus by accident. But what they don’t understand is if you’re terrified and panicking in your head, you can’t walk safely either.

In the past decade, I have managed to go back to college graduate with two certificates and even get a bachelors degree. I don’t get all these “Xanax will make you stupid” statements? Is medication and psychiatry not much more nuanced?

 

[paltatomate]

Has anyone else had success stories with benzodiazepines because all I hear is people telling me that I’m going to become senile or develop Alzheimer’s?

for me it's not alprazolam (xanax) but clonanzepam. i have a standing script since the end of 2019 and though i don't take it daily, and sometimes for fun instead of an emergency situation, i haven't had any noticeable side effects. which might be because i rarely go over 3mg/day. or maybe 5 years is too short a time to tell.
the thing is that, even if take 3mg of clona i'm able to do most things i would do otherwise (i don't drive and i don't start drilling holes in my ceiling or stuff like that, but that's me being cautious). some things might take a little longer, some things i'm not very inclined to do, but all that goes back to normal after i come down again.

now i want to a reevaluation and confirmation of my original diagnosis and haven't asked my family doctor to renew my script because i want to hear from the neurologist first. i ran out of clonaz about three weeks ago, and my original problems are beginning to resurface, making it sometimes impossible for me to work, or go out of the house. i'm also having night terrors again.

The only thing that works is XANAX in combo with my Paxil. No other benzo seemed to help my TERROR.

i scored some xanax from mystep dad. it puts me to sleep all right, but other than that it doesn't work for me.

so no matter what people say about the side effects of benzos, i prefer to take the risk of going that road rather than to live with (preventing) the symptoms of my suppossed ASD, probable cPTSD, and very real b12 deficiency anemia.

 

[negrogesic]

If you're taking benzos that long, you should probably plan on staying on them indefinitely. Cause you'll have hell to pay if you try to get off.

The main problem with the "benzos forever" protocol is finding psychiatrists to keep writing the scripts (especially the high dose ones). As psychiatrists age out of the healthcare scene and are replaced by new ones, it's going to get harder and harder to get the same scripts written. Imagine you're 35. In 25 years I bet finding a doctor willing to write a script for 4mg/day of alprazolam will be quite a challenge.

Personally, the stop working for me, i need higher and higher doses and experience interdose withdrawal. It also changes my personality and impairs intellect. The problem is, they work so well, especially at first. Benzos have royally fucked my GABA-A receptors and I'll be forever changed by use of them. Granted I also heavily abused them, but I essentially induced brain damage whereby my GABA-A receptors are permanently less sensitive to endogenous GABA. I hope to someday get flumazenil treatment in the off-chance it would help unregulated my GABA-A receptors. Shit, if i could find flumazenil I'd probably set up the infusion myself, modeling after protocols used in Europe.

 

[Survival0200]

The main problem with the "benzos forever" protocol is finding psychiatrists to keep writing the scripts (especially the high dose ones). As psychiatrists age out of the healthcare scene and are replaced by new ones, it's going to get harder and harder to get the same scripts written. Imagine you're 35. In 25 years I bet finding a doctor willing to write a script for 4mg/day of alprazolam will be quite a challenge.

I have talked to psychiatrists for a few years, and it has been nearly impossible to even get an "as needed" prescription for benzos these days.

 

[Pissed_and_messed]

In 25 years I bet finding a doctor willing to write a script for 4mg/day of alprazolam will be quite a challenge.

In 25 years, we don't necessarily even have required civilization and distribution chains. Fascism, climate change and capitalism is driving towards great unknown.

 

[mal3volent]

I've been prescribed lorazepam for over a decade now, with only a few breaks in between. Only 3mg a day, which is significantly less than 4mg of alprazolam, comparatively. For several years I didn't take them daily because I was using many other substances recreationally. But for the past year or so I've settled into daily use and that has helped me finally quit drinking. I don't run out of meds early anymore, either. I have a routine and it comforts me to be able to stick to it.

Yes, I'm obviously dependent on them at this point. It would be nice not to be, and yes, I'm worried about what happens when my doctor retires etc. But for me, and I'm sure a lot of us here, we are trading one risky habit for another constantly. I feel like my overall health is better now than it has been in years. The lorazepam doesn't just help with anxiety, but with my gastrointestinal issues and nerve pain as well.

Basically where I'm at now is just living day to day, trying to continue to improve my overall mental and physical health, so if/when the day comes I have to make a change, I can be better equipped to do so.

 

[BuprenorphineBrian]

I have talked to psychiatrists for a few years, and it has been nearly impossible to even get an "as needed" prescription for benzos these days.

That’s unfortunate
Literally every psychiatrist I have seen started out with that opinion but after trying everything else ended up agreeing on the alprazolam

Even my suboxone doc is on board

 

[paltatomate]

It also changes my personality and impairs intellect.

what i have noticed (and others, too) is that i'm less intense when i take benzos.
not only on days when i take them, because i don't do it every day, but even with once every two weeks i seem much less inclined to constantly analyzing people and situations and trying to fix errors in everything including myself, than without them. i can lower the bar to a more realistic level, and and i can allow myself to let go. they act as a filter for everything that seems "too much" for me, allowing me to pay attention to those things (no mindfulness without benzos for me)

personality change? i would say so.
impaired intellect? i'm on benzos still more efficient than most people (and me without them long term)

so both are things i'm fine with.

Yes, I'm obviously dependent on them at this point. It would be nice not to be, and yes, I'm worried about what happens when my doctor retires etc

but this is something that's on my mind, too.
so i've been postponing getting a new script just to see how things work without them.

 

[xyz69]

In 25 years, we don't necessarily even have required civilization and distribution chains. Fascism, climate change and capitalism is driving towards great unknown.

Hi,
Here in Italy prescriptions are renewable, but almost no one puts a stamp on them, and you can literally take away several boxes by going to a few pharmacies. Sometimes many pharmacies give them to you without a prescription, especially if they know you.
Anyway, apart from clonazepam and intranasal midazolam, all the benzos are pretty bad (for me obviously).
I remember the 80s and 90s, when rohypnol or darkene were circulating. The best benzos I've ever tried."
Bye

 

[paltatomate]

Here in Italy prescriptions are renewable, but almost no one puts a stamp on them, and you can literally take away several boxes by going to a few pharmacies. Sometimes many pharmacies give them to you without a prescription, especially if they know you.

you can get clonazepam from several pharmacies with just one script?
here (chile) you have to show id, they look it up in a database if the script has already been used, and then the pharmacy keeps the script.

maybe it's time for me to move to italy

 

[xyz69]

è possibile ottenere il clonazepam da diverse farmacie con una sola prescrizione?
qui (Cile) devi mostrare un documento d'identità, loro cercano in un database se la ricetta è già stata usata, e poi la farmacia la conserva.

forse è ora che mi trasferisca in Italia

Hi,
Hahaha, I wouldn't move to another country just for benzos.
Anyway, yes. The prescription can be repeated six times a month, but only if they stamp it...
Otherwise, you just go to different pharmacies.
Doctors don't make a big deal about benzos, especially if you have some kind of condition (for pain, psychiatric, because you can't sleep well, ecc).
By the way, here it's approved as an anticonvulsant, but they use it off-label for the reasons mentioned above.
They cost very little. 1.45 euros for the box with 2 mg tablets, or 1.81 euros for the 2.5 mg/ml drops.
Bye"

 

[paltatomate]

Hi,
Hahaha, I wouldn't move to another country just for benzos.
Anyway, yes. The prescription can be repeated six times a month, but only if they stamp it...
Otherwise, you just go to different pharmacies.
Doctors don't make a big deal about benzos, especially if you have some kind of condition (for pain, psychiatric, because you can't sleep well, ecc).
By the way, here it's approved as an anticonvulsant, but they use it off-label for the reasons mentioned above.
They cost very little. 1.45 euros for the box with 2 mg tablets, or 1.81 euros for the 2.5 mg/ml drops.
Bye"

incredible.
also that my quote appears in italian.
and no, i wouldn\t move to another country for benzos. even less to an european country, though i think italy has nice places where people are still okay

 

[xyz69]

incredible.
also that my quote appears in italian.
and no, i wouldn\t move to another country for benzos. even less to an european country, though i think italy has nice places where people are still okay

Yes, I wrote it in Italian and then translated and saved it, but apparently something went wrong.
And yes, Italy is beautiful. It has everything. Sea, mountains, lakes.
The climate is generally mild, although with global warming, many seasons have changed.
So many places to visit with most of the world's works of art. It's a concentrate of culture and works of art.
Unfortunately, the political class is not great (like almost everywhere I guess), salaries are low compared to other European countries, especially if you live in a city like me in Milan, or in Rome (in my opinion the most beautiful city in the world).
And then you eat really well!
I'll move to a seaside place as soon as I can retire.
I think I'll go to Sardinia, where I have some acquaintances and relatives.
I would recommend anyone to come here, but not to work for the reasons mentioned above and because taxes are really high.
Bye"

 

[dkx147992]

for me it's not alprazolam (xanax) but clonanzepam. i have a standing script since the end of 2019 and though i don't take it daily, and sometimes for fun instead of an emergency situation, i haven't had any noticeable side effects. which might be because i rarely go over 3mg/day. or maybe 5 years is too short a time to tell.
the thing is that, even if take 3mg of clona i'm able to do most things i would do otherwise (i don't drive and i don't start drilling holes in my ceiling or stuff like that, but that's me being cautious). some things might take a little longer, some things i'm not very inclined to do, but all that goes back to normal after i come down again.

now i want to a reevaluation and confirmation of my original diagnosis and haven't asked my family doctor to renew my script because i want to hear from the neurologist first. i ran out of clonaz about three weeks ago, and my original problems are beginning to resurface, making it sometimes impossible for me to work, or go out of the house. i'm also having night terrors again.

i scored some xanax from mystep dad. it puts me to sleep all right, but other than that it doesn't work for me.

so no matter what people say about the side effects of benzos, i prefer to take the risk of going that road rather than to live with (preventing) the symptoms of my suppossed ASD, probable cPTSD, and very real b12 deficiency anemia.

Clonazepam script since 2016, started on 1 mg 2x daily, but was using lots of other drugs at the time and it was a disaster.

After sobering up somewhat, in 2019 i reduced to 0.5 mg 90 a month. Thats the right level for me because i can take a full 1 mg when needed, I never run out because I dont take it daily, and i truly take as needed not in a routine.

You have to skip days with benzos— maybe with 0.5 mg kpin a day you could take every day without issues—but i never take it more than 2 days in a row regardless of dose, and never without 8 hours between doses.

Ive got experience with the 4 main benzos, diaz, xan, loraz, and clonazepam, and they all have their uses. I find xan and loraz to have the WORST wd and fastest tolerance and dependency periods. Valium gets me high, even 5 or 10 mg i slur words. It feels too good, id abuse it if prescribed it. But it is good for anxiety stemming from depression like loss of a loved one or friend, or putting a bad experience behind you.

Kpin i find best because:
1. They dont make me high but they work
2. Best for sleep without high dosage


The downside of kpin:

1. Memory loss short term. Even 1 mg a day you can forget shit that happened and hear it secondhand as if hearing a story about someone else
2. I like they dont get me high, but thats dangerous because physically you are still impaired. That means you might drive or engage in physical activity and suddenly (almost scary actually) you realize you’re f’kd uo
3. It lowers inhibitions more than any benzo. So if you’re impulsive, have a high risk tolerance, fearless, kpin will actually intensify these traits and that can get CRAZY. In other words if you’d already normally walk into a store and grab an item and walk out in broad daylight without fear, you might be robbing drug dealers on kpin.

 

[Bleaney]

Yeah. Been using for more than 10 years. (Firstly mainly Etizolam, then Xanax, then Etiz again, and then Clonazepam. These options were mainly dictated by availability issues.) With one taper and 6 month period of abstinence in the first half of usage.

I'm sticking to therapeutic dose ranges since resuming and although my tolerance has inevitably increased during those periods where I couldnt manage to take days off, or lower dose days, I do now have the opportunity to do this again, and this is at least helping to keep my dose steady without needing to raise it any further.

The negatives of long term use are very real. The brains adjustment to constant benzo use by gaba downregulation is concerning, considering how long it can take for this to restore itself afterwards, if you ever try to taper and quit.

I suspect that my learning of new things, memory consolidation, retention, and recall might be at least slightly impaired.

But these things can be just as, if not more, impaired by the distractions of anxiety, so I have no true neutral or perfect or 'control' version of myself self to make a comparison from, in terms of trying to be at least semi-scientific and objectve.

If I do survive into my 60s, 70s or 80s I know my chances of developing dementia will be higher. And also of developing it earlier. Especially as this has hit both sides of my family in their very old age. My father in his very late 80s and my maternal grandmother's condition worsened in her late 80s and early 90s also. That means I also have a high genetic risk, on top of the risk posed by the benzos. Not good news, to say the least.

I'm aware of the consequences and downsides but consider the risks a price worth paying, to be able to live in much more comfort, without the severe quality of life reduction that anxiety caused me.

Obviously the medical establishmment has turned away from benzos some time ago, forcing more and more people for whom SSRIs or CBT are useless for their anxiety, on to the black market.

All forms of social media in general seem 99.9% full of people of the view that benzos are the worst evil, with very few people saying that for them, continuing to use is worth the risks.

I guess it's a similar phenomenon to smoking cigarettes. There's a lot of parallels, mainly regarding people knowing the health risks but continuing anyway, but also a lot of differences.

 

[paltatomate]

Especially as this has hit both sides of my family in their very old age. My father in his very late 80s and my maternal grandmother's condition worsened in her late 80s and early 90s also. That means I also have a high genetic risk, on top of the risk posed by the benzos. Not good news, to say the least.

I think getting dementia in one's 90's might be a normal thing. Having longevital ancestors myself, only my grandfather developed dementia in his early 80s and that was due to depression. But when nearing their 90s, they all became rapidly a little strange and dependent on others for everyday things

 

[Bleaney]

I think getting dementia in one's 90's might be a normal thing. Having longevital ancestors myself, only my grandfather developed dementia in his early 80s and that was due to depression. But when nearing their 90s, they all became rapidly a little strange and dependent on others for everyday things

I know it's very common, but I don't think it's common to the extent of being 'normal' or inevitable that everyone is going to get it, if they make it to a very old age.

 

[Dreamflyer]

I was on Xanax, Klonopin & Ativan for years and they almost killed me on a number of occasions. In all honesty though, I was misusing them badly.

Even after decades of abusing opioids and alcohol, all of the scars and broken bones I've suffered involved benzos.

 

[Dextro .45]

Clonidine 0.1mg tablets - Amazingly effective anxiolytic & sedative
Pregabalin 300mg - Amazingly effective anxiolytic & anticonvulsant, mood-boosting euphoria
Alprazolam 1-2mg - Anxiolytic & antidepressant
Diazepam 10mg- Anxiolytic & muscle relaxation
Oxycodone 5mg - Euphoric antidepressant / Opioid narcotic analgesic
Ketamine- Euphoric antidepressant mood-boosting anxiolytic
Amphetamines- Euphoric antidepressant, mood-boosting, anxiolytic, dopaminergic stimulant
Depo-Testosterone 200mg IM - antidepressant, mood-boosting anxiolytic, confidence, vigilant

 

[paranoid android]

Ive been on clonazepam and also the past year or so bromazepam since 2006 with maybe a 7 month break in there that was not fun. The only problem i had with benzos was when i was locked up in the psych ward and was made to come off 6mg's of klonopin a day cold turkey