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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Taking Benzos and Alcohol but on different days

V

V82

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Messages
138
If I take 0.75 - 1 mg of Clonazepam once or twice a week and have 2 - 3 pints of beer three times a week will this cause any withdrawal symptoms?

I never take benzos and alcohol on the same days, I know that is a very bad idea.

I know there is cross-tolerance. Could it cause a combo benzo alcohol mild withdrawal.

Or would I need to take both a benzo and drink alcohol on a more regular basis for withdrawal to occur.

I make sure I have 2 -3 days without benzos or alcohol a week.
 
If you stopped your habits cold turkey, in my opinion, you could likely feel some discomfort, whether it be a physical withdrawal (which probably wouldn't be severe due to your low dosages) and/or some psychological difficulties. You might struggle mentally, finding yourself suddenly not comforting yourself with your clonaz and alchol.
 
There is an incomplete cross-tolerance between benzos and alcohol, but considering the amount you are using and the frequency, I doubt you'd experience anything other than mild anxiety on the the days you do not use either.

Clonazepam has a much longer half life compared with alcohol; therefore, when taking clonazepam say every other day, you will always have a substantial quantity of the drug in your system, and it can build up cumulatively depending on your metabolism. If you were to cease using it completely, you'd probably be pretty uncomfortable. If you stopped both completely, you'd definitely be looking at some moderate w/d symptoms.
 
you may have mild wds if you just suddenly stopped and a side note if you have a tolerance to benzos and alcohol you can safely mix them in low doses
 
If you are just having small amounts (1mg or less of clonazepam or 3 of fewer beers), are not taking them together, are only taking the clonazepam around 1-2x a week and make sure to have 2-3 days each week without either, I think you should be ok (eventually it might catch up with you if you keep doing this regularly for a long time, or you might find yourself not being as strict about how often you use them and taking days off). The clonazepam I would try to limit to just once a week, since as mentioned it stays in your system for a long time and it is more easy to get a dependence to than alcohol IMO. Might be good to avoid drinking the day after using clonazepam too.

This is all assuming you have never been physically dependent on benzos or alcohol before - if you have, then you will be more likely to have withdrawals.
 
Swimmingdancer said:
This is all assuming you have never been physically dependent on benzos or alcohol before - if you have, then you will be more likely to have withdrawals.
Click to expand...

I have never been physically dependent on benzos or alcohol.

Now that I think back I was giving myself 4 days off benzos and alcohol since the beginning of January. I was having 2-3 pints of beer twice a week and having benzos once a week.

In December I used even less

It was just the last week I used benzos twice and alcohol 3 times. This week I haven't used except last night I had 1 mg of clonazepam and I'm gonna have a beer or two tonight.

Would this decrease chances of withdrawal?

Though I have been taking clonazepam for years but no more than twice a week and I've had breaks with no problems here and there.
 
IMHO what you did last night and plan to do tonight will have no impact on withdrawal. Your doses have been modest and infrequent enough that even upon total cessation I don't think you would experience withdrawal. Just some possible rebound anxiety.
 
Yeah, I'll just add to what everyone has already said and assure you you should be fine. Try to only use the clonazepam once a week but twice isn't too dreadful either. And as someone who goes out for social drinking about 3-4 times a week I can assure you that's not a problem (provided you don't get wasted each time of course).
 
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