Benzos no benzo tolerance build up so far

[Lopez]

okay so i was on magnesium valproate 1500 mg/day for epilepsy and they added on 2 mg ethyl loflazepate (benzo and pro-drug to a more potent benzo). been on for almost a month.


i stopped taking the valproate as i don't have seizures (temporal lobe epilepsy causes only panic attacks and ADD for me) about two weeks ago and i feel great. the benzo has literally saved my life (i was contemplating suicide for the past few months due to the increasing, never-ending panic attacks).

i take it sublingual (crush the pill in my mouth) every dinner and immediately feel a VERY mild sedative effect (tolerance to sedation built up within 2 days) but a pretty potent anxiolytic effect, in fact no tolerance has developed to this effect like some otherwise criticized doctors claim.

although it seems a little under-dosed for my panic (2 mg = .5 mg of either alprazolam or clonazepam according to wiki) it sure makes a big difference in my life.

anyone else here on benzos long term? any side effects? did any tolerance develop to the anxiolysis for you all? only side effect i can think of is that i do find myself forgetting things quite often.

 

[Znegative]

I've been on benzos for a little bit over 3 years, I started off the first 8 months primarily using higher and higher dosages of alprazolam (until I was takin 10-12mg a day on top of 1-2mg of clonazepam), and then entered a horrible detox after which I went only 2 days without before getting bAck on clonazepam because I couldn't take the WD. I eventually tapered and stabilized after 4 months on 1-2mg of clonazepam a day and was able to stay on that lowish dose for about a year. I tried tapering further but always ended up going back to that 1-2mg. More recently I've been using more benzos than I like and it's becoming a problem again.

For me benzo's build tolerance to certain effects at different rates. Like, I've always felt that with clonazepam and alprazolam (the two I have most experience with) that the muscle relaxan properties are the first to go, and eventually as tolerance builds, I won't get much or any noticeable muscle relaxant effects. However the anxiolytic properties last a lot longer IME, but I find Xanax vastly superior to clonazepam in this regard. I've limited myself to 2mg of alprazolam a day for a month once and it never lost anxiolytic properties though they became more subtle for sure. Clonazepam on the other hand seems to lose it's effectiveness against anxiety within days before a dose will become almost completely innefective. However, when I've used primarily Xanax, replacing alprazolam wih clonazepam every now and then for a day would work great and the clonazepam actually felt a lot stronger when dosed acutely like that.

Either way though, eventually you always build a tolerance if you continue to take benzos for long periods of time. For a while I've noticed that I'd be able to go on a little binge and take much higher dosages for a week or two and then go back to the dose I had stabalized on without a problem (my tolerance would drop quickly the first two years). However it doesn't work that way anymore and it's really problematic when you need a higher dose than you are prescribed. I don't know much about the benzo you take, but just be careful. Try to take breaks to avoid dependency and if you want to lower tolerance its said that low dosages of dextromethorphan are capable of that-which is something I'm actually starting to consider.

 

[WinrWinrChiknDinnr]

Im waiting to see. I'm trying to take mine right now on split days. Like Monday- Take 2mg Tuesday- Skip(unless I have a panic attack) Wed- take 2mg in the morning and maybe one more at late night. Im trying this right now to see if it stays evened out.

 

[budsnbars712]

My situation is relative to Znegative's...I began xanax three years ago with 1 mg-2mg here or there...not everyday. Then I started to take 2 mg's a day illegally. After thinking that these were miracle pills for taking away my depression, over-thinking, and anxiety, I attempted to get them legally. I did this successfully and was prescribed a very low dose at first. .25 mg twice a day. Then over time I would feel I needed more and more to get the same affect. Peaking at 2.5 mg's a day (.5 five times daily). I now am on .5 mg's 4 times a day. 2 mgs total daily. At first, just like Znegative said, I was able to binge and go back onto my normal cycle with no problem. Now I am having just a hard time living on .5 mg's four times a day....and if I binge these days, forget about it...Ill feel amazing for about 4 hours and then back to straight hell.

If you really want to see some negative affects of benzos, look at some of my threads. They led me in the past three years to become more anxious than I was when I even started them in the first place. At first, it was all fun and all relief. Now I take them just to be normal, and even when I do take them, I do not feel the relief or affect that i should. I believe I suffer from tolerance withdrawal as I am trying to taper right now and maybe a paradoxical affect. I wake up every day wanting to kill myself and overthinking everyyyyyything. They make your anxiety worse over time. It is said that xanax should not be prescribed to anyone longer than 10 days...and benzos in general should not be used for a long period of time. I wish I listened to everyone when they said stay away from that shit cause it'll fuck you up. I didn't see how it could when all it did was give me relief, and now I am struggling to survive with 2 mg's a day......

Believe me, benzos are fun at first, and then you are addicted or dependant without even knowing it. I did not realize that what I am experiencing is withdrawal and side effects until I researched more about it

 

[Lopez]

i've wondered though... if you're on a high dose of say valium (30-60mg) and take it for years, i'm pretty sure your body can't develop a COMPLETE tolerance, right?

it's like my alcoholic friend, he drinks at LEAST 24 beers a day, and has for the past 10 years... he still gets drunk.

i think there's a point where tolerance doesn't form to at least SOME effects, am i right? (euphoria being the first to go)

 

[Lopez]

my doc is one of those who believes you can take a benzo for life at the same dose and won't develop a tolerance to the anxiolysis by the way.

 

[bdomihizayka]

I am one who believes in tolerance withdrawal. Plenty of people complain of benzos messing up their baseline anxiety, even whilst still on the benzo for some time; me being one of them...... worst drug I've ever used, and withdrew from in my life, and I took it as prescribed at a low dose for a year .5mg klonopin.

 

[chch]

lorazepam is less euphoric for me after just a few dozen uses. Actually it never was very euphoric so it's just not at all now. But that's at the same dosage. It may be that doubling the dosage every once in a while would work. Also it seems less effective for panic attacks at the same dosage. Combining with opiates and alcohol will work but you know too much is dangerous.

I think alcohol will substitute for benzos but the intoxication is the problem for daily life, and the hangovers, and pissing all the time.

 

[neversickanymore]

I personally believe there is no tolerance associated with benzos, that is if you stay away from any other drugs that effect benzos and are associated with the dopamine system that has the malady of tolerance.. I'm just going to start mentioning this at every tolerance opportunity.. If any of you bright biochemists want to cure addiction and let us all party like the world was about to end then figure out the neurochemistry behind tolerance and stop it from happening, please

 

[Lopez]

i spoke too soon, panic attack just a few minutes ago...

first major one in about 2 weeks... although this is probably because of relationship problems i'm having... every time i feel a strong emotion (happiness, fear, sadness, etc) it leads into a panic attack (probably due to the epilepsy, which the depakote doesn't do crap for)...

i'm running out of options. had my appointment with my doc today and he won't raise my dose past 2 mg, which is nothing considering i'm 220 pounds (powerlifter)...

bought some tramadol, 20 tablets of 50 mg, for 6 bucks in mexico (live across the border) and planning on going back to the occasional tramadol habit to deal with this if my anxiety attacks become a regular thing again...

 

[budsnbars712]

Look forward to being hooked on a horrible drug then....I can tell you from experience that benzos will kill you mentally and physically....and like bdomihizayka said, your baseline anxiety level goes up...Read some of my threads if you don't believe me..I am going thru major tolerance withdrawal and I have been on the same amount for years...

 

[ShaunG]

I believe Klonopin made me develop panic disorder. I took Klonopin for 3 months for general anxiety and tapered and then stopped. 3 months later I had my first panic attack. I was put on .5mg xanax as needed which slowly turned into need xanax to sleep at night. I took .5mg for about 6 months and didn't abuse it very often. I tapered and was off for 6 months and then boom...back came anxiety full blown with occasional panic attacks. Went back on .5mg per day for about 12 months and had to up the dose because it wasn't working for the panic attacks but was for anxiety. I got changed to 1mg per day which I only still take .5mg per day, sometimes .75mg, or 1mg for panic. Its been about 2 years now. I want to get off, but I know its gonna be a rough ride.

My brother did it and he was on a wayyy higher daily dose and he abused the shit out of it. Lots of vitamins, fluids, and exercise. Also, you need to keep busy and be real headstrong for about 2-3 months when you start getting rebound anxiety. He just worked out whenever it got really bad. I seen his hands shaking like a motherfucker. He is all good now. He kicked 280mg a day oxy habit and 2-6mg a day xanax. He tapered as far as he could on xanax and get switched to valium for the final stretch.

I can say xanax has lost its sedative effects for me at .5mg, but it still works to keep my anxiety low. It puts my mind at ease enough to fall asleep most nights. If it doesn't, i just drink a beer or add another .25mg. I never really abused the stuff cuz i know what hell it will be going through WDs. I will be trying to ween off in the next 3 months or so. Wish me luck. My doc claims 6 months of 7 days per week cardio and working out will completely reset my brain back to before I had anxiety. I'm not sure I buy it, but I know cardio is about the only thing that helps my anxiety other than benzos so here is to hoping he is right. Wish me luck.

 

[xxxyyy]

a lot of people have told me that they never really develop much of a tolerance to the anxiolytic effects. however, the anxiolytic effects fade pretty fast for me too. almost as fast as the hypnotic effects. i've been taking benzos for 10 years, but i never really took them daily. by now i know how to handle them halfway responsible, and one dose a week is about all i can get away with without escalating the dosage. twice a week is the absolute maximum. but in spite of this i still need about 3-4mgs of alprazolam to stop a panic attack. recently i've also been scripted brotizolam, and while it's indicated as a hypnotic, i've found that it's also an extremely effective anxiolytic.

 

[Lopez]

i've definitely developed a tolerance to the anti-epileptic effects at 1.5 months in.

starting to get even worse seizures. partial seizures mind you. i suddenly feel like i'm tripping, vision becomes surreally altered, like really stoned, and auras become perceivable...

still not much tolerance to anxiolytic effect although i've recently "converted" to buddhism so my new meditation and calmness habit may contribute to this, also severely limited my caffeine intake to just redbull as stronger energy drinks become panic attack in a can for me.

frankly, i feel like i'm high every day now... on a peaceful cloud 9, happier than i have been before, no more suicidal thoughts, once again i attribute this more to the buddhist philosophy than the benzos.