Benzos Long-term diazepam user, looking for advice

[Pickledlemons]

Have you ever found a reasonable dose of any benzo effective?

Well, even 20mg of diazepam relieves the worst effect of withdrawal for me, chest pain. So idk if thats what you meant

Surely didn’t start on such a high dose of Xanax

True, it gradually increased.

Doses above 60mg do nothing but sedate me, and I’ve only taken that much a couple of times as usually 20mg is more than adequate. Unless you have very unusual brain chemistry and/or metabolism, it’s unlikely that you couldn’t get the same benefits on a much lower dose.

Hmm yeah idk I've never taken over 60mg. 115mg for the whole day does not leave me much space to do so. And even when I take more than I should, its more frequent dosing rather than higher doses. And yeah those extra doses really help with anxiety, which has become more a problem this year, for personal reasons.

And the higher dose you take for longer than more you’re just downgrading your receptors and making the drug less effective.

Yeah, I know how it works, thanks, its been 2 days out of 6 months at this point cut me some slack.

I’d try to avoid binging as much as possible and cut back on your dose whenever you can. I understand you’ll have rough days but make sure you cut your dose on your good days.

I don't know how I'd have such a huge surplus if I wasn't already doing that.

 

[fairnymph]

Well, even 20mg of diazepam relieves the worst effect of withdrawal for me, chest pain. So idk if thats what you meant


True, it gradually increased.



Hmm yeah idk I've never taken over 60mg. 115mg for the whole day does not leave me much space to do so. And even when I take more than I should, its more frequent dosing rather than higher doses. And yeah those extra doses really help with anxiety, which has become more a problem this year, for personal reasons.



Yeah, I know how it works, thanks, its been 2 days out of 6 months at this point cut me some slack.



I don't know how I'd have such a huge surplus if I wasn't already doing that.

Ah okay 20mg is much more reasonable but still a bit high I’d say. Probably that’s just tolerance though. I don’t like to take that much because while it is more effective, it means that it will cease to be effective so much faster. I can usually get by on less. And I really need to spend as a little time as possible off it entirely because without it, I’m not very functional given it’s the only thing that treats my muscle tension. Maybe the anxiolytic effect doesn’t go away as quickly as the muscle relaxant effect?

I’ve never heard of someone redosing diazepam so often. It’s quite long lasting so you shouldn’t need to. That will drive your tolerance up even faster than taking it once a day. Do you have a fast metabolism? I’m wondering if there’s a specific reason that you need to redose more frequently. Most drugs don’t last as long as they should for me but it’s sounds like you might be even more unusual at least with regards to this drug.

Not trying to be hard on you - it’s great that you’re able to stockpile. I’m just trying to understand why our experiences are so different.

 

[Pickledlemons]

Ah okay 20mg is much more reasonable but still a bit high I’d say. Probably that’s just tolerance though. I don’t like to take that much because while it is more effective, it means that it will cease to be effective so much faster. I can usually get by on less. And I really need to spend as a little time as possible off it entirely because without it, I’m not very functional given it’s the only thing that treats my muscle tension. Maybe the anxiolytic effect doesn’t go away as quickly as the muscle relaxant effect?

I’ve never heard of someone redosing diazepam so often. It’s quite long lasting so you shouldn’t need to. That will drive your tolerance up even faster than taking it once a day. Do you have a fast metabolism? I’m wondering if there’s a specific reason that you need to redose more frequently. Most drugs don’t last as long as they should for me but it’s sounds like you might be even more unusual at least with regards to this drug.

Not trying to be hard on you - it’s great that you’re able to stockpile. I’m just trying to understand why our experiences are so different.

Everyone experiences drugs different. Our metabolism and our brains are all different, so much so that drug x can have completely opposite effects depending on the person. I also need to drink coffee to counteract the drowsiness from diazepam sometimes, but I mean... most people... drink coffee.

Yeah 10 - 40mg is generally the range of my doses. I think I took 50mg once. But yeah like I said, sometimes they are quite frequent, but 99% of the time the total for the day comes to 100 - 115mg. I usually take them when I wake up, right before bed, when I take my suboxone (8mg twice a day) but it varies a lot, just based on how I feel and whether or not I have any responsibilities I need to tend to.... its easier to take less when I'm at home alone than interacting with other people.

Oh and it was actually my doctor that said it would be best to take low doses frequently over high doses infrequently.

 

[Chickens]

I agree with most of the above posters. You are on what many people, myself included, consider to be a high dose of benzos. I've been there too though, I was getting clonozolam back when it was "legal" and managed to work up to about 100mg per day. The only way I found I enjoyed benzos at all again was to take a break. SLOWLY taper down, if you've got a script, it's a little easier because the pills are dosed well. It took me months to get my dose down much at all, but stick with it and it can be done. I find I tend to forget how much benzos affect me until I stop taking them.

 

[fairnymph]

Everyone experiences drugs different. Our metabolism and our brains are all different, so much so that drug x can have completely opposite effects depending on the person. I also need to drink coffee to counteract the drowsiness from diazepam sometimes, but I mean... most people... drink coffee.

Yeah 10 - 40mg is generally the range of my doses. I think I took 50mg once. But yeah like I said, sometimes they are quite frequent, but 99% of the time the total for the day comes to 100 - 115mg. I usually take them when I wake up, right before bed, when I take my suboxone (8mg twice a day) but it varies a lot, just based on how I feel and whether or not I have any responsibilities I need to tend to.... its easier to take less when I'm at home alone than interacting with other people.

Oh and it was actually my doctor that said it would be best to take low doses frequently over high doses infrequently.

Indeed! That’s why all this information is so helpful.

Thanks for sharing more details. I assume that you have tried taking diazepam once daily and found that isn’t sufficient for you? I can’t imagine taking diazepam right on waking, but again I’m using it for a different purpose. And one of the things I like about being on the dose that I am, and taking it at night, is that I don’t get any drowsiness at all the next day. In fact, I am extra alert.