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Benzos Question about Valium

So I would need 50 mg. of Valium a day to replace the 5 mg. of Xanax a day? Yeah, I see only one shrink and fill at only one pharmacy. My shrink is a cool guy and when I tell him I want to make the switch due to the price difference he will go with it for sure. What I wonder is other than Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, and Ativan....can anyone name any other benzos that could be cheaper than Valium? I'm just wondering as it is not so much the benzo I ma taking but I need to get the cheapest one available. Thanks for your help and suggestions.

Librium is fairly cheap from what I have heard, even cheaper than Valium, maybe? Not sure, but it is very much like Valium. The drug name is chlordiazepoxide. 25 mg chlordiazepoxide (Libirum) = 10 mg diazepam (Valium), or so the charts say, which equal 0.5 mg Xanax, by most charts.
 
Librium is fairly cheap from what I have heard, even cheaper than Valium, maybe? Not sure, but it is very much like Valium. The drug name is chlordiazepoxide. 25 mg chlordiazepoxide (Libirum) = 10 mg diazepam (Valium), or so the charts say, which equal 0.5 mg Xanax, by most charts.

I have heard of Librium. Isn't that a drug given to people who are detoxing from alcohol? I did not k ow it was a benzo.
 
I don't think mixing the Valium with the Xanax sounds like a bad idea considering your high benzo tolerance. Valium is much more sedating which would be a beneficial aspect considering your situation.
 
I need help again....about Valium. So, my insurance does not cover any types of benzos. I have been on Xanax for more than a decade. I am on 5 mg. a day and pay $35 for a months supply. I found out it would be half as much as far as price to switch to Valium. For the amount of Xanax I take I would probably need 45 mg. a day of Valium. My question is....does Valium work as well as Xanax and if you had to choose which one to go with....which would you choose and why?
 
For the anxiety about the MRI machine-experience, why not take the 10 mg Valium (equal to about 0.5 mg Xanax) on top of a few extra mg of Xanax? The 10 mg Valium alone will not provide significant relief with your tolerance. I say take it, but along with maybe 1-2 extra mg of Xanax.
If your calculation is correct I would need 100 mg. of Valium a day to equal 5 mg. of Xanax. If this is true is it worth it to switch to Valium from Xanax or should I just stick with what I have?
 
Talk to your doctor to see if he is even willing to prescribe you that much valium.

Switching from xanax - valium, it is incredibly difficult to get a doctor to prescribe the equivalent if it amounts to that much.

Have you considered clonazepam?
 
Talk to your doctor to see if he is even willing to prescribe you that much valium.

Switching from xanax - valium, it is incredibly difficult to get a doctor to prescribe the equivalent if it amounts to that much.

Have you considered clonazepam?

Good suggestion. Clonazepam may be easier to switch to since the dosages are about the same as xanax.

Taylor, have you considered tapering down? Not completely off, just down a bit. In the current state of pharmaceuticals in the US, I suggest doing so. Doctors are really tightening up their prescribing amounts, and you will likely find yourself in a tough situation if you have to find a new doctor for whatever reason. When I switched from xanax to valium I first switched to xanax xr and tapered down to 1mg, then switched to 10mg of valium and was fine.
 
I have heard of Librium. Isn't that a drug given to people who are detoxing from alcohol? I did not k ow it was a benzo.


I was given Librium for detox from benzo's...shit was garbage, didn't do a thing....like many others have stated switch to a long lasting benzodiazepine...
 
I have a feeling it will have 0 effect on your anxiety (what the hell is your Dr. thinking?)
Maybe if it was a drip it would help...
You probably need 30 mg's to have ANY effect
You dont want to know how many Xanax I would use (after telling the "Dr" why) because it has nothing to do with "harm reduction' !!
depends on your tolerance. doesn't really matter the mg (well, it does somewhat) if you have no tolerance to the drug, it will probably reduce your anxiety.
 
Now that clonazepam has snuck its way into the conversation, I might suggest it over alprazolam if you want to keep on benzos. It will likely do a better job at the proper dose. If you intend on doing a taper I would switch to Valium or Librium, and yes about 100 mg Valium sounds right, however, you may want to transition slowly. For instance you could drop to 4 mg Xanax, and add 20 mg Valium. Evalute how you feel, and keep slowly switching but keeping your dose equal. If you can achieve a full transition to 100 mg Valium, I would VERY slowly taper, if you intend to get off benzos, because you have been on them for about 10 years from my understanding. You really don't want to rush a benzo taper when you have time. Your habit is large, yes, but I'd be concerned too about the length of time you have been on benzos.
 
I cannot afford Klonopin as it costs over $100 for a months supply. I have been on Xanax for so very long because it was what I thought at the time the cheapest of all the benzos. My insurance does not cover any benzos at all. I found out that Valium is half the price of Xanax and since I live on disability $700.00 a month, every penny counts. I would love to be able to switch to Valium and mix it with Xanax as I wean from the Xanax to eventually be on Valium full time but my doctor will not allow me to have both drugs at the same time. It is one or the other. I have actually been trying to wean down a bit. I can do 4 mg. a day right now. I want to get down to 3 within the next month to hopefully make transition to Valium easier and so I will not need as much.

I also wanted to say that you all were right about that 10 mg. Valium. It did nothing for me for that closed MRI and I ended up having to cancel the test because I had an anxiety attack. I was pissed!!
 
Different people react differently to benzos - for me specifically though both are equally anxiolytic. I would much prefer valium to xanax for a long-term scenario for two reasons.

First, as TommyBoy mentioned, the longer half-life of valium means you have it in your system for longer, making inter-dose WDs (or sudden emergencies limiting your access to the meds) much easier to cope with.

Secondly, since you're already reducing your benzo dose successfully, it would be a good idea to continue this until you either get completely off or at the lowest possible dose that will leave you functional and feeling fine. Your brain will benefit immensely from this.
It is much easier to slowly taper off valium than it is off xanax, again because of its longer half-life (has a much more gentle "slope" regarding how fast it leaves your system), and because mg. per mg., you need larger quantities of valium making it easier to quantify a reduction in dose (it's easier to go from 40mg valium to 39mg valium in week 1, then to 38 in week 2, etc. than it is to calculate microgram reductions of xanax).
Since you would hypothetically be taking valium doses as high as 40-50mg I'm assuming you will be given 10mg pills - there is nothing stopping you from attempting a titration taper (do a quick google search, but basically it involves making a liquid solution out of your pills with a known mg:ml ratio and using an oral syringe to calculate your doses).

You say you've been on xanax for decades, so you're in no rush to get off benzos. If a taper is done correctly and over a suitable length of time, it can be painless. It might take you two years of slow, steady tapering to get off benzos (or to reduce to a minimal dose) but why not try? You can always go back if you feel it's not working out, and if it does work out, you'll be free and your brain will, as I mentioned before, benefit greatly.

My panic levels are so bad that I cannot leave the house without panicking which is why I take this drug. I have many phobias. I once tried to taper to see how low I could go and when I got to three mg.s I started shaking again and having nausea and fear of leaving the house. So I gave up. But even now I have gone to 4 and I am mostly okay. I start having withdrawal symptoms if I am even a hour or two late on my dose. Probably because of the short half-life. I constantly worry if something happens in this country and there is a natural disaster and I cannot get to a pharmacy...what would I do?? That is why I am trying to wean down so that it would not be a life or death situation. But I also have to have enough benzos to make me not have bleeding ulcers and panic. These drugs can be a double edged sword.
 
Valium is definitely a better choice if an hour is all it takes for inter-dose WDs to kick in. If you do choose to continue tapering down once you're on valium, plenty of people on BL can give you help and advice. I'd suggest starting a new thread/digging around to see what info is already out there (not necessarily just on Bluelight, in fact your doctor might be/probably would turn out to be helpful). Good luck man.

Thanks bro..I will need it!!
 
yes. tho benzos their physiological 'function' is slightly dif, my guess y yr dr. didn't up yr xanax. take it 1/2 hr tops b4 test. if not working yet u hav the rght to ask 15 more min, since you'll assure them u will b incapable of taking the test. words are powerful, remember. not 'difficulty,' '...INABILITY to proceed. . ' TELL YR DR. YOU'VE DONE RESEARCH AND IT'S RECOMMENDED U B ON A DRIP. HE/SHE WILL LIKELY BE ADVERSE TO THIS, SO THEN ASK FOR AN ORDER OF 20 MIL MORE IN PILLS AVAILABLE 'JST IN CASE.' again he will be aDVERSE TO THIS SO HE MAY MAY COMPROMISE BY OFFERING 10 MORE 'IN CASE.' explain it sounds dumb, makes no sense, and u prob. won't need it, but 4 some reason yr anxiety is manageable just knowing it's there in case. if you meet with resistance ask to please be admitted and put 2 sleep for the test. trust me it's way unlikely he'll do this as they get flak - even fined - 4 unnecessary hospitalization.' lastly please know yr not weird, a baby, or unnusual. also they will stop the test if u suffer panic or need to stop. just tell the techs. yr not the 1st. U WILL BE OK ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. so take a breath, trust in yrself and yr ability to get thru it. or out. u may not b as comfortable as @ home, but it sounds you've learned to manage uncomfortable moments if yr taking x since ten. u can do it. the fact u function @ all is proof yr stronger than most. u can do it. go online for others who can offer assistance like relaxation, deep breathing, meditating, imagery, even accupuncture. u will be ok. U WILL BE OK. find support group. U WILL BE OK ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. promise.
 
grammar, spelling and paragraphs are your friends. I don't mean to be a dick but, ok, you caught me, I kinda do ;) From what I did get out of it, I'm sure you have something constructive to add here dahkstar, it's just that it is kind of hard to understand your post.

P.s. One thing to note is that, unless you have a really push over type doctor or one who you've established a REALLY good working relationship with, telling them what to do generally doesn't work out so well. Better to tell them exactly what's going on to you and, if they're worth half their sap, they'll do what needs to be done to keep you as their patient happy, healthy and well cared for. Doctors don't like being given orders, they like thorough honest feedback so they can do their jobs, or at least that seems to be my experience with those of them that are worth being called "doctor."
 
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