What will intermittent use of benzodiazepines do to alter brain chemistry

[rizmatter]

In days following use ? (cont. )

e.g 24 hours after . 48 hours after

More specifically what will intermittent use (lets say once every 2 weeks) of a benzodiazepine with a relatively short half-life do to alter the balance of brain chemicals responding to the GABA neurotransmitter.
I know GABA is the brains "quietening" or tranquillising neurotransmitter and benzodiazepine and related drugs enhance the effect of GABA. So in terms of effects - is it likely one is going to find it harder to 'relax' the next day for e.g

I'm no neurochemist but i hope someone can kind of get what im getting at here.

Thanks in advance

 

[pofacedhoe]

used with regularity i.e. two or three times a week and in time you will get rebound anxiety.

use them sparingly because once your body gets a physical tolerance to them even one off use will have an unpleasant withdrawl

 

[rizmatter]

used with regularity i.e. two or three times a week and in time you will get rebound anxiety.

use them sparingly because once your body gets a physical tolerance to them even one off use will have an unpleasant withdrawl

Hi thanks, but not what i'm looking for at all. I know all about the harms of abusing drugs espesh benzodiazepines + don't plan to have withdrawals anytime soon.

 

[pofacedhoe]

rebound symptoms would include being unable to "relax the next day". this wound happen with regular use. my personal experience was that with regular use on the dyas off i was hyper and exitable and prone the getting worried and very stressed.

 

[skillet]

Which one(s) was that with poface? I've taken clonazepam a good number of times, but not at all regularly, and can still feel it a bit the next day. When I tried alprazolam though I felt pretty irritable and tense the next day, I figured it was because of the much shorter half-life leading to a more abrupt come down and more rebound anxiety. But I only took it once, so I can't really say it was because of the drug.

 

[Savedbyiboga]

Is there even one real vent post here. I'm not gettin into detail much. 1. Lowers centre to centre-centre right CNS frequency from equilibrium which is 12-15Hz. 2. Does nothing but make the initial symptoms worse in time. 3. Affects various neurotransmitters ie. JNK gene and MAPK. 4. All depends on users definition of intermittent use. There is in my opinion a very good thread about brain chemistry in ADD. Here's the link.

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/166687-Erowid-BlueLight-Neuropharmacology-Text?highlight=Jnk3

 

[Willy31]

The simple answer is: very little. While psychoactive meds temporarily alter brain chemistry (they have to otherwise they would be inert), the brain has a remarkable ability to bounce back after drug use. Even after heavy, prolonged exposure to the more powerful benzos, like alprazolam (Xanax), the brain can and will adapt to abrupt cessation of said chemical. I was in the med line in jail once, and the bloke in front of me asked the nurse if he could have some diazepam (Valium). He explained he had been on a (legitimately prescribed) dose of 20mg alprazolam prior to his incarceration. The nurse ignored him and wouldn't give him any benzos, and not even a Z-drug, such as zopiclone (Immovne) or zolpiderm (Stillnox). The bitch wouldn't even give him an atypical anti-psychotic like olanzapine (Zyprexa) or quetiapine (Seroquel). After he had been 'served' by the nurse, I stepped up and said to her "you know that dude is gonna fit tonight, don't you? I mean, he's going to go into convulsions...." she looked at me like I was a piece of shit and told me to piss off, and mind my own business. Needless to say, about two hours after that he fitted, and the next day the same nurse was on. She couldn't meet my eyes, the bitch. The dude was ok though.

My whole point is that even someone who takes 20mg alprazolam daily (equivalent to approx. 200mg diazepam), and has it abruptly taken away, still manages to come good. After two days he was fine.

So intermittent, and I assume low-dose usage (because it's intermittent administration, it would almost haveto be low dose) will result in absolutely minimal alteration of brain chemistry, if any at all.

I find it hard to use benzos intermittently, so I try to avoid all together....but don't stress. The human brain has a phenomenal ability to adapt/recover/repair if necessary. They call it 'neuroplasticity'. In your case, the intermittent use of benzos will be having very little, if any, detrimental impact on brain chemistry.

 

[dopamimetic]

Sorry for the OT question... but in this context, to the biochemistry experts: Is it possible that NMDA antagonist (like memantine) do slow down tolerance development to GABAergic drugs, especially the BZDs -or is this pure coincidence?