Urgent:diazepam and alcohol

[Pale Fire]

Hello everyone.

I apologise for the urgency of this post - I have looked at the search funcion but there is so much information that is not quite what I am after and I am running out of time. My question will seem pointless to some, this I know, since I am about to proceed with the actions I am about to discuss. I know there can be no definitive answer(s) to my question(s) and I am not looking for some kind of false reassurance just to make myself feel better. What I hope for are honest responses so I have a better idea if I am going to wake up tomorrow - I have no death wish but today I find myself in a situation I have never been in before and I realise what I am about to do has some inherent dangers (mixing diayepam with alcohol). I'll just try and explain as best I can as quick as I can and I appreciate any response.

I am an alcoholic. The last time i drank was two weeks ago, four bottles of wine over two days. The time before that was three months previous, a five day binge. Sometimes the 'need' to drink is just overwhelming, over the years this has happened less and less but today the 'need' is there with a vengeance. It has come out of the blue. For the last two weeks I have taken 10mg diazepam as I felt stress and anxiety caused the drinking two weeks ago. I have taken diazepam at prescribed doses on and off ove the years sometimes for a week or two at a time. Never during these times have I had the desire to drink.

Four hours ago I took 2.5mg diazepam and now I have the 'need' for a drink and know I will. NO matter how much I drink there will be no more diazepam involved, you'll just have to trust me on that. How much will I drink today? I'd like to think a bottle of wine, but there is a fair chance this could increase to two bottles. Although it will seem contrary to this entire post I can say with cerainty no more diazepam will be taken and two bottles of wine would be the max, I just can't promise to stick to one!

So, I guess I just want opinions on having taken 10mg for 12 days and 2.5mg four hours ago am I likely to end up in hospital? I know benzo's and alcohol are usuallly a no-no but I can't undo what I have taken already and I know that I will soon have that wine. I just want genuine thoughts on this, I am trying my best at damage limitation.

Another time I would happily discuss furher the subject but am genuinely trying ti fight my situation, thoughts and opinions on the chnaces of me losing that fight today with the dosages I have discussed.

I'm a bit distressed so apologies for the convuluted post.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Trying2Iso]

Check heart rate often and Blood pressure if you can

If you feel ill, or weird, go to the hospital they will figure it out quickly
The hospital is my best advice, at least then you won't be alone when you might have a heart attack

Also, I doubt there are many MDs on this website, so don't rely on this website for life-threatening medical situations probably
Imean its okay but I'm concerned you came here for this, thats all

 

[pasha]

Mixing a bottle of wine with 2.5 milligrams of diazepam isn't going to be too dangerous even though the alcohol and benzo combination is never ideal.

People tend to "black-out" when they take stupendous doses of both. If you're casually sipping through a bottle of wine over an extended period of time and constantly gauging your limits there shouldn't be any problems. If you're gonna chug both bottles in the space of an hour then your probably gonna black out, and perhaps fall into respiratory depression.

Again, it's all about being self-aware of your limits.

Your real concern is that you're an alcoholic and I'm assuming you're on benzodiazepines as treatment. Perhaps it's not the best idea for you to get back to drinking alcohol. Try and fight the temptation and think about the nasty withdrawals that alcohol brings about.

Homeless -> Basic

 

[Pale Fire]

Thank you for your reply baooozs, it really is greatly appreciated.

I am not taking benzos (please forgive me, I am typing on a German keyboard) for medication re alcoholism but anxiety. I have taken them on and off for years and thankfully, apart from the alcohol, have had no problems with them. My worry was not so much the 2.5mg I took this morning but the 10mg for the previous 12 days. I have just never drank whilst being on them.

I am nearly finished the first bottle of wine and know I will drink another. But it will stop there. Although it seems from my post I have no control, for some months now I have been in damage limitation mode. You will have to trust me that the next bottle will not lead to more and going on that assumption and the fact I feel fine right now (not thinking I am fine, my girlfriend is here and I just coherently translated some English to German for her work), no real buzz etc. and the fact I will be staying in my flat with my girlfriend here, do you think - and I know it is only an opinion - but do you think with the 2.5mg, now some 6 hours ago, and the fact there will be latent residual diazepam from the last 12 days -10mg a day- that another botle will lead to serious problems?

 

[CrimpJiggler]

I'm confused about what you're asking. Are you asking if drinking with diazepam will cause dangerously enhanced sedation? 2.5mg of diazepam is a really low dose. I know loads of people who mix benzos with alcohol. Now if you took 10mg of alprazolam, you might have a problem, but 2.5mg of diazepam is nothing. My brother told me a story about how he handed out 1mg eitzolam tabs to his friends at a bar and they were stumbling over bar stools and in a complete mess, but they weren't dangerous of dying from respiratory depression or anything like that. I know it sounds crazy to people who aren't so knowledgeable about drugs, but having a bit of cocaine or speed on you is good for emergency situations where a suspected benzo and/or alcohol overdose is occuring. Works for opioid overdoses too. Overdoses of these drugs usually kill due to respiratory depression, you basically die of suffocation as your brain is deprived of oxygen. With that in mind, piracetam and vasodilators like gingko are also good for protecting the brain in these cases.

To treat your psychological addiction to alcohol, I recommend looking into iboga and ayahuasca. Low dose iboga works wonders for remedying psychological addiction, but its the high dose visionary effects (as with ayahuasca) that enable you to deal with the underlying subconscious problems leading you to feel you need to drink.

 

[Pale Fire]

Perhaps the word alcoholic made it a loaded question. I have fought 'alcoholism' for over a decade. Sometimes I take diazepam for anxiety, this is the first time I have drank on it.

For those who may be in a similar situation, I took 10mg daily for 12 days, this morning I took 2.5mg I have had two botles of wine. I am probably more sober than if I just drank the wine - however, I am in a safe situation, in my flat with my girlfriend. She is a bit worried about leting me sleep, so I am currently cooking us a late night, early morning meal. I would not recommend mixing benzos and alcohol but I am ok. 2.5mg and several hours later two bottles of wine over several hours.

I suggest not mixing the two, but if like me, you find yourself in a situation, make sure there is someone with you and if that's not possible then PM me or someone else just so we know you are awake. I would stay up to chat to anyone that's found themselves in my situation. Of course, just because I haven't passed away doesn't mean someone else wouldn't but I will be here to talk if needed. We are all in this together, right?

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

You don't have a drinking problem, you have an anxiety problem.

I recommend medical help as soon as possible, before you stray past the point of no return.

 

[missmeyet?]

??

He may have an anxiety problem (and that may be contributing to the drinking problem) but he definitely has a drinking problem also.

OP..if this is a years long problem then I'm sure you realize that anxiety contributes to these binges. As far as the safety of it and what you are asking I don't think there will have been enough buildup of the diazepam that you have taken over the course of the past week to cause any harm. As long as you don't take any more Valium or drink anymore I think you would be fine to sleep. Once the wine has had time to fully kick in and if you are still this alert and oriented then I don't think you would be in danger of respiratory arrest.

 

[Psychedelic Jay]

??

He may have an anxiety problem (and that may be contributing to the drinking problem) but he definitely has a drinking problem also.

OP..if this is a years long problem then I'm sure you realize that anxiety contributes to these binges. As far as the safety of it and what you are asking I don't think there will have been enough buildup of the diazepam that you have taken over the course of the past week to cause any harm. As long as you don't take any more Valium or drink anymore I think you would be fine to sleep. Once the wine has had time to fully kick in and if you are still this alert and oriented then I don't think you would be in danger of respiratory arrest.

He has a substance problem.

If he clearly could have anything else that would temporarily alleviate his anxiety, he is bound to no bounds, he will use anything he finds within reason.

I agree with everything else, but he needs to nip it in the butt... Before he loses control.

 

[Halif]

I am running out of time. My question will seem pointless to some, this I know, since I am about to proceed with the actions I am about to discuss.

That was a strange and roundabout introduction to a post which was labelled as URGENT, and then claims that the advice and information given probably won't have any impact on his actions.

There's useful info and there IS a valid question, but as I said, that wasn't a very encouraging into. Maybe keep it short and to the point next time.

 

[Gratuitous Grace]

I guess the emergency is over? It's early morning in Germany. Anyway, I would have made the same point that someone earlier did: 2-1/2 mg of Valium is a *tiny* amount so far as Benzodiazepines are concerned. You're safe there. Even your 10 mg per day is *well* within acceptable limits. Fine. But, now you feel compelled to chase that with ten drinks?

I used to drink like that. On top of 5 mg of Xanax a day. (That's roughly equivalent to 50 mg of Valium, I think.) I haven't tasted either alcohol or Xanax in 5 years and 10 months, however. Guess what two drugs on the planet scare me most? Check out the Ayahausca suggestion made earlier in this thread. Something like that could change your life. And you deserve that.

Just one thing to note in the meantime, however. As much as I know that your offer to help folks in need is coming from the right place, this is like your oxygen mask on a plane. Best to put yours on before trying to assist others. Gotta save yourself first.

Best of luck...