Need to stop mephedrone addiction, using Xanax to lessen withdrawal?

[Raymonde]

I'm addicted to mephedrone, taking up to a gram a day (usually less) and have got far too reliant on having a consistent ability to talk productively with just about anyone. I've also had a few three to four day binges, the four day one giving particularly nasty comedown effects.

Since then I've stopped doing more than 36 hours on it, but I'm aware that although I can function perfectly normally doing this once or twice a week, it's not going to last and there's only so much my body and brain will take.

So I've made the conscious decision for the second time to stop it, today being the first day. My withdrawal/comedown symptoms are anxiety, fatigue, excessive emotional responses and feeling my pulse randomly about my body (possibly the same thing as "muscle zaps" I've read about on here).

I have access to Xanax (alprazolam) and made the decision to take .5mg at 11.30am, just prior to starting work in an attempt to handle the anxiety. Although this made me a bit drowsy, it wasn't extreme or unhandleable, so overall it helped. By about 4pm I was feeling like I was about to pass out (obviously partly caused by the Xanax, but a familiar enough feeling from lack of meph), so I went home.

I've read more "official" recommendations that dependence on Xanax is unlikely with less than eight weeks' continued use, presumably at the suggested medical dose of .5mg three times a day, but I don't trust this one bit.

I have something of an addictive personality, drugs I'd say I've had a problem with in the past include ecstacy (eight years ago, only weekly usage but to the point where I'd get far too fucking wrecked and alienated a lot of people), alcohol (drinking everyday to a moderate level, e.g. four to six cans of lager a night) and ketamine (again caring more about living in a k-hole than maintaining important relationships). I've also got a massive physical nicotine addiction that was still psychologically strong after nine months the one time I quit.

So there's the background, and these are the key questions I have:


* How long are the various meph withdrawal effects likely to last for, in terms of overall duration and also intensity?

* What's a realistic timeframe with a good margin of error for Xanax addiction? However unpleasant I feel now, I'm aware that a benzo dependency is going to be a million times worse.

* I also have access to diazepam and zolpidem. I chose the Xanax because it's more anti-anxiety and less sedating, but any comments on these as alternatives are welcome.


Absolute bottom line, is it worth the risk taking Xanax to help come off meph, or should I try to ride it out?

 

[Kallisti]

I'm not real familiar with meph, having only had it a few times. But, if you are looking at short term benzo use I think the valium you have would be better that the xanax. I find valium to work better on controlling anxiety than xanax if you are going to be taking it everyday for a couple weeks......xanax just seems a lot better taken at as needed for panic attacks. You may find you only have to take one valium a day because of how long it is in the body. But, everyone is different and both are addictive so be careful. I would avoid the ambien altogether.

 

[sid3]

I agree, Valuim lasts a lot longer and isn't as addictive as the xanax, a lot of people can't tolerate the xanax it can make you feel even worse. Just be mindful of not taking any benzo too much or too long.

 

[Raymonde]

Thanks for the replies guys, the valiums I can get are 10mg, and there's the knockout factor involved there. Hypothetically if I could get a few days off work to get enough diazie tolerance to avoid passing out, how long could I function sensibly on it without risking addiction/dependency/fucking my life more than the time I thought selling K was a good idea?

Also, I'm kind of terrified by the 20-100hr half-life of diazepam, and the reported onset time for withdrawal symptoms of a week or so. I'd hate to think I had no drug problems then suddenly get fucked in the ass by the benzo demon.

 

[sid3]

If you have no benzo tolerance than you can cut the tens in half. Taking them for more than a week shouldn't create any problems. That's the problem with taking any drug to change the way you feel, there is always a chance it can come back to bite you in the ass. If your concerned about the knock out factor of valuim, reconsider taking any if your job puts you or anybody at risk of physical harm. Otherwise take the lowest dose that alleviates your wd. Don't make it a custom of having a way to manage wds in between binges you'll only dig yourself a deeper darker hole that will be much harder to climb out of. I have a benzo dependence, it svcks balls.

 

[Raymonde]

My job's in a call centre, and I'm encouraged to get on with and sell things to perfect strangers, so being sedated isn't a brilliant idea, whereas being on meph makes me incredibly good at my job.

Sid, as you say doing 5mg Valium for a week (once daily, or more?) should be fine, but I'd rather use the Xanax just because it's less sleepy. However this seems to be accepted at the most addictive benzo, so I really want to avoid stepping over the line with it. Which benzos did you start on/are you on now, and how much?

 

[sid3]

the first time i tried a benzo it happened to be xanax. I didn't feel too good really made me feel like shyt but everyone responds differently. After that i tried Ativan and found that it wasn't as intense as the xanax. i started on 1mg about five years ago and now i take 3.5-4 a day. I have never taken them for a high, I've tried tapering several times but there is just too much real stress in my life. So until something changes, i do my best to not take more even though the tolerance only grows. Just be careful with the xanax, remember it can create a bigger problem than what your using it for and you'll be fine.

 

[Raymonde]

Last night, I had a small amount of MDMA crystal. It wasn't measured*, but it was in the form of three bombs made by my girlfriend. Whilst the MDMA didn't make me feel especially awesome, today I find that none of my mephedrone withdrawal symptoms have returned.

This may well be only temporary, but it could be that the serotonin stimulation has helped me reach closer to baseline. I'll report back as to whether the meph symptoms return, but this could potentially be a nice shortcut for anyone experiencing similar 4mmcat withdrawal.

I also took 0.5mg Xanax at around 4pm today (it's now 10pm), this might be relevant. Note that I took the Xanax as a largely precautionary measure as I felt a slight hint of oncoming anxiety whilst shopping in town.


*she normally makes 8 bombs per gram, but she says she put less in than normal so a completely unscientific estimate would be 150-200mg total MDMA. Whilst I was feeling fairly nonplussed but sociable enough, she was quite high on the same amount. We're roughly the same weight, and neither of us has had much MDMA recently. She's bought 2 grams since it reappeared, and I've had no more than a quarter of this, mainly because I believe (perhaps incorrectly) that meph is an SSRI and taking SSRIs with MDMA is a waste of good drugs.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

I would only use Xanax to get sleep, and I would use OTC antihistamines to lengthen the amounts of sleep you're getting.

Mephedrone is a horrible drug IMO, don't even risk taking Xanax if you can, if you can't, use it as needed for no more than a week, or two weeks if you're not using it daily (and only use it once per day).

For Valium, definitely do not take it every day unless you only intend on using it for 3-4 days max. Still don't use it more for than 2-3 weeks on an every other day sort of basis (beyond the first 2-3 days where it would be OK to take it every day).

 

[Raymonde]

As regards the benzos, I've run out but i'm planning on getting more today. I should stress that i'm not taking them at regular intervals, or even every day. It's more something that's useful to have at hand if needing to sleep or too much stress happens. I've not had any more withdrawal symptoms per se, but having said that this weekend I have had three blue cupid pills (i think pillreport says they're mostly piperazines, but they feel more like MDMC, certainly much more agreeable than pipes I've had before), a little GHB and some weed. And a couple of Xanax. The fact that this weekend felt fairly light on the drug use is slightly worrying.

 

[bignbrown]

valium would be better than xanax, and better overall (more relaxtion, muscle relaxtion etc), plus benzo addiction is nasty yes, but it would take a while before physical dependence sets in, you could use them for 2 weeks fine just dont go over that.