Benzos Using alcohol to come off of benzos, is this going to work?

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I've been suffering from horrible anxiety and I was having physical pains from it. The doc put me on 3 mgs of Lorazepam a day, but they didn't help the problem. I went back and got put on Paxil. The paxil worked and took the pains away, which is all I care about. I still suffer from severe anxiety but I just dont want the pains.


So anyways, I became physically dependent on the lorazepam. I got a two month supply. 200 pills. Ate all of them within a few days, saved JUST enough to not fuck myself over entirely. I cut back to 1 pill a day, and this weekend I started only taking half a pill. I want to get off of these things for good. Kind of dont have a choice now unless I went out and bought some, but I dont want to.


Now, Ive been drinking since Ive started taking the half a pill a day. It helps the anxiety and coming off of them has been going smooth so far, i think. Now, am I doing more damage by doing this or will this work for me? On friday I woke up covered in sweat shaking, feeling depressed as hell. And I've been crying and going nuts for the last week but lately Ive been kind of bouncing back in terms of happiness.

Can anyone here help me with this?

 

[sekio]

You're only replacing one drug with another if you have started drinking. Alcohol is far more toxic for you than benzodiazepines are, I would avoid getting totally wasted to deal with withdrawal.

 

[HdoubleODeezy]

alcohol is usually dangerous during benzo w/d's because it does help against seizures (which is what makes benzo w/d so serious) but it wears off quickly and the seizure threshold rebounds making it more likely to have a seizure. I hope that made sense, i've been up for 3 days.. im trying my best lol.
I would stop the alcohol and just finish the taper without it because you could also replace the benzo addiction for alcohol addiction which is just as bad if not worse.
Try to get some opiates and take a low dose but high enough to lift your mood, and only take it once in a while (remember you don't want a new addiction) and only use the opiates while going through the w/d's and stick to it.
You will be outta this shortly, just hang in there.
Good Luck.
Be Safe.

-HOOD %)

 

[EndlessSummer]

200 pills within a few days!

That's seriously extreme. I'd suggest really trying to moderate your drug usage. Addiction is no fun and benzo addiction is no joke as it can end up being fatal.

When it comes to benzos I take them very seriously and would advise anyone who wants to use them to do the same. It surely is not that hard to swallow literally handfuls of these pills, especially given the potential consequences. It is a matter of willpower, though taking that many in such a short amount of time very well might make one physically dependent on them.

I would advise taking a low dosage over a fairly long period of time and begin to taper it off to get off of them entirely to be honest. I'd take the advice of a doctor on that.

As for alcohol being a substitute, I suppose it will work given the function, but I'm not positive and it generally is a bad idea to replace one addiction with another. You might even end up with two.

Best of luck to you though.

 

[Pegasus]

Alcohol does not substitute for benzos in withdrawal. Benzos do substitute for alcohol in withdrawal, but not vice versa.

From personal experience, alcohol actually makes the benzo withdrawal sensations considerably worse...

 

[MikeySpikes]

Bro, I hate to say it but my best advise is to check your self into a detox. They will monitor your vitals and taper you off harm free! Substituting or as I like to call it " switching seats on the titanic " might cause serious harm and perminent damage. Please at least talk to a professional or take your self to the er. If you don't have insurance there are free clinics out there or Medicaid or other governmental social welfare aids out there. If your afraid of getting cought , well you can't save your ass and your face at the same time.

 

[redsweater]

only way to get off benzos is taper slowly, eat healthy and don't fuck with alcohol it will make it much worse

 

[hnyc]

@HdoubleODeezy, thanks for great advise! Your post shedded light on what I've been struggling with the last few days; to use alcohol or not when coming off xanax.

alcohol is usually dangerous during benzo w/d's because it does help against seizures (which is what makes benzo w/d so serious) but it wears off quickly and the seizure threshold rebounds making it more likely to have a seizure.

Graspable logic why not to use alcohol when coming off benzo. Cheers and best of luck to you!