• Neuroscience & Pharmacology Discussion Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Recent Journal Articles Chemistry Mega-Thread
    FREE Chemistry Databases! Self-Education Guide

  • N&PD Moderators: Skorpio

Mixing benzos and opioid antagonists

synthesis

synthesis

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 5, 2001
Messages
49
Q Re Opioid antagonists with Benzos

Hi,
I was wondering if anybody here knows what/how taking Naltrexone(to stop alcohol cravings(in an effort to maintain alcohol abstinence)),
would affect/effect the use, feeling and effect of a reasonably/moderately high dosage of benzodiazepines(20>70mg diazepam & sometimes up to 8mg alprazolam daily)?

I know Naltrexone is used medicinally as an opioid antagonist, in an effort to assist people in getting off opioids.

I was wondering if & how benzodiazepines affect/effect the areas of the brain affected by opioids and so what would taking Naltrexone do upon the self during the same time?Assuming no opioids are taken at the same time.

Thankyou for your help.
:)
 
Last edited:
First off, you should lay off the benzos cause your post is barely legible. Looks retarded.

No, alcohol effects opiate receptors but benzos do not.
 
Peace be with you

Dear high on stemz-nseeds,
If you could read more properly, you would be able to follow my statements, and see that they be of perfectly understandable High English Grammar.Maybe it is you who is partially retarded in your reading skills?Various trains of thought may be expressed at the same time, one just needs to have a good attention span and reading ability.
Honestly, if you can't say anything nice to me, then please do not communicate with me.I am looking for an answer, not abuse.

So what evidence do you have to say:
alcohol effects opiate receptors but benzos do not.
Click to expand...
I would like to know how you might think this.

PLUR

:D
 
Ok, it was sloppy.. not retarded.

I know that benzos are more specific to binding to certain GABA receptors than alcohol; i believe alcohol is more general, and binds to more.

This is what I think, from my research and reading. If you want sources, thats something you can do. I don't remember where i read these things.
 
If you have an alcohol addiction, and you use benzos frequently, I wouldn't bother trying to quit alcohol by-itself, because I can easily invisage your addiction swinging to benzos.

Naltrexone has limited effecacy in getting people off alcohol. It may help in the short term, but very studies have shown any effect in the long term, and it is almost certainly not as effective as cognitive behavioural therapy.

In answer to your question, 50mg a day is generally the dose given.

If you're just taking the benzos to help with alcohol withdrawals, then I would get someone to make sure you don't double dose... and make sure you have the XR version!
 
Interesting

Thankyou for your responses;

Some more questions..

So what are the different actions upon GABA and serotonin by alcohol and benzodiazepines please?, and

Why is CBT more useful? I was told by a doctor that CBT does not really work until one is off the benzodiazepines.

How about Fentanyl?

Thankyou.
 
Last edited:
Your question about GABA/5-HT actions of alcohol and benzos would require about 200 pages to answer fully. On a simple level, benzos and alcohol potentiate the action of certain GABA receptors, and alcohol probably messes with with certain ion channels. Further down the line from that it just get exponentially more complex.

I say CBT is more useful because the clinical data says that it is. I suspect that your doctor is full of shit. I suspect that CBT will not only help you pluck up the courage to go cold turkey on benzos, but it will help you quite.

I can't even imagine why you would want to take Fentanyl to help you quit benzos, but it is undoutabley one of the worse quiting ideas I have ever heard.... Replacement therapy does not work!
 
CBT is useful because feeling overwhelmed, panicked, indecisive, bored or sad are reasons for substance use & abuse. By taking a step back to examine the train of thought that led one to feel miserable and wanting to do something that is destructive to one's self or others, you can calm down, look at alternatives, and econsider options.

Addiction, depression and anxiety are real, but they are also learnt forms of helplessness.
 
^ That's a big fucking call man... one that I don't think there is much evidence for at all, apart from anxiety.
 
1. What is CBT?

2. I may be missing something here... but how does nalextrone help you stop drinking? I didn't even know alcohol touched opiate receptors at all... its effect there must be negligible at best... right?
 
1. Cognitive behavioural therapy, I said that 6 posts ago.

2. No ones really saying it does help that much. Alcohol doesn't directly effect opioid receptors. Clinical researchers like simple answers, some like to think addiction is all about endogenous opioids.
 
Naltrexone has been shown to stop the urge for further drinking in people that are pre-disposed towards that; after one or two drinks.

Dear BilZ0r,
I do not appreciate it when you state
I suspect that your doctor is full of shit.
Click to expand...
In fact I find it quite offensive.
This is a complex issue and does not need offensive remarks against highly professional people nor others.

Peace.

When I said Fentanyl, I had actually meant to say FLUMAZENIL; the BZD antagonist.

Anyway,
My concern now is regarding "The effect of opioid antagonists upon endorphins"; especially those naturally achieved through exercise. (Maybe I should start new thread.?.)

Thankyou,
Peace be with you.
:)
 
Get offended. Thats your choice. I'm sure it will do you a lot of good.

Opioid antagonists, at least broad spectrum ones like naltrexone will stop the effects of endorphins. But seeing as there is relatively limited evidence that endorphins are released by excersise, I wouldn't be too concerned.
 
BilZ0r said:
Your question about GABA/5-HT actions of alcohol and benzos would require about 200 pages to answer fully. On a simple level, benzos and alcohol potentiate the action of certain GABA receptors, and alcohol probably messes with with certain ion channels. Further down the line from that it just get exponentially more complex.
Click to expand...

Yes indeed. Ethanol is one of the psychoactive drugs whose mechanism of psychotropic action is still unknown. There is increasing evidence that delta-subunit-containing GABA(A) receptors mediate some of the behavioral effects of alcohol, in particular ataxia and loss of coordination. However, the molecular substrates of its cognitive and affective actions remain mysterious. It has been shown to modulate 5-HT3A receptors, NMDA receptors, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, potassium channels, and calcium channels, so I think it will be a while before we figure out which players are important at recreational dosages.

The mechanisms of benzodiazepine action have been worked out a lot more. Refer to this thread on GABA receptors for more info.

But these are all acute actions. I'm not even going to get into the plasticity induced by alcohol benzos.
 
It's interesting 5-HT2, a while ago you pointed out some facts about delta subunit containing GABA-A receptors... I'm doing work on the electrophysiology of them right now... It's a funny old world.
 
:) In defenve of synthesis

BilZor, what land are you in???

You say:
Get offended. Thats your choice. I'm sure it will do you a lot of good.
Click to expand...
this is a disgusting statement especially by a so-called moderator.How will it do good?????

And in regards to your statement
But seeing as there is relatively limited evidence that endorphins are released by excersise, I wouldn't be too concerned.
Click to expand...

how about this>>>>>>>>>>>>?

Google Web Results 1 - 10 of about 25,200 for endorphins released by exercise. (0.19 seconds)

Endorphins Body's Stress Fighters
Endorphins are chemicals released in the brain in response to pain or stress.
... does produce endorphins in response to prolonged, continuous exercise. ...
stress.about.com/cs/exercise/a/aa072003a.htm - 32k - Cached - Similar pages

Getting High on Exercise
... And as intensity and duration of exercise increase, the concentration of
endorphins released also increases 1. This has two side effects; ...
fitness-software-review.toptenreviews.com/ getting-high-on-exercise.html - 24k - Cached - Similar pages

Is sex good for you?- The Times of India
... Endorphins released during exercise stimulate special immune-system cells
called 'natural killer' cells, which fight diseases. ...
www.sexnews.co.za/news/15.php - 49k - Cached - Similar pages

Endorphins Q &A by Nathaniel Altman Copyright 2002 by Nathaniel ...
... Q: Is a prescribed amount of exercise needed before endorphins are released?
A: Endorphins release varies according to the individual: one runner may ...
www.healingsprings.com/ENDORPHINS.htm - 17k - Cached - Similar pages

Addiction to Exercise
... Endogenous Endorphins Hypothesis: endorphins are produced in the brain, ...
--Endongenous endorphins released after exercise occupy the opiate receptors ...
w3.ouhsc.edu/phar5442/Lectures/ Addiction%20to%20Exercise.html - 7k - Cached - Similar pages

Freedom Speakers and Trainers - Lobes of Steel: Giving Your Memory ...
... Endorphins released during exercise can also fend off depression, a major
factor in memory loss. Exercise, Heart hazards, like high cholesterol, ...
www.deliverfreedom.com/view_1408215.html - 29k - Cached - Similar pages

exercise and mood page
... Endorphins are released into the bloodstream by the pituitary ... more regularly
you exercise, the higher the body's natural tolerance to endorphins. ...
www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/ studentwebs/session5/26/HORMONES.html - 31k - Cached - Similar pages

Exercise and the "Runner's High": can it realy make you happy?
... The theory that endorphins caused the high during exercise was supported when
... Endorphins act as a pain reducer and are released when the body is in ...
serendip.brynmawr.edu/ biology/b103/f02/web1/sfrayne.html - 10k - Cached - Similar pages

HealthCentral.com - Fit or Fat - Can Exercise Make Me High? - (9 ...
... of endorphins, which are released by the pituitary gland in the brain. ...
exercise acidifies the blood, which triggers the release of endorphins. ...
www.healthcentral.com/fitorfat/fitorfatfulltext. cfm?ID=41285&storytype=CBQuestions - 64k - Cached - Similar pages

[PDF] Trust Your Endorphin Feelings Brittany Peters
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
... workout. Endorphins are released in proportion to the level of physical exertion
during exercise,. and have been described as being more potent than ...
www.wsm.ca/2003_essays/ Trust_Your_Endorphin_Feelings.PDF -



So why don't you get your facts right and be a nice person while you're at it?

Peace,
O
 
Last edited:
Oh my god.

Firstly, don't second reference things. Those websites are not original research articles, those are just peices of text that someone has decided to upload. Find original research articles, then get back to me.

My statement of "Get offended. Thats your choice. I'm sure it will do you a lot of good." was sarcasm. i.e. "Getting offended is a complete waste of your time, and I don't care whether you are offended or not".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top