Benzos Will Weed prevent my down regulated GABA receptors from healing??

[Spadez87]

Used benzos for 11 years. i jumped off 3 days ago finally from a 2 year long taper. i started at 180mg of valium a day.

So of course my brain is benzo raped and my GABA receptors are majorly down regulated and need to heal. Will weed prevent the GABAS from healing? i read the weed might inhibit GABA release.. or parts of it? Ive done some research online but in the state I am in atm i can barely type or spell. Never mind trying to understand something that even at my best is more then likely over my head.


So i know booze is out of course, as i know it take anywhere from 3 months to 3 years around for the brain to return to normal... but what are your guys thoughts?

Will weed prevent my brain from returning to normal? or can I blaze while healing?

 

[adder]

I doubt there has been any research done, so I can only speak from my experience. A month after quitting benzodiazepines after 9 years of addiction weed caused a lot of paranoia for me, 10 months later it was much less pronounced. I rarely smoke weed now, it doesn't seem much interesting to me any more and when I smoke enough to get pronounced psychedelic effects, I'm quite lethargic on the following day and it doesn't feel comfortable at all. I started studying again so I need to be able to think clearly and I certainly feel dumber a day after smoking, so I simply don't smoke.

There's a substantial difference between how weed affected me 11 months ago and how it does now. It looks like it could be related to GABA release inhibition, which is crucial during benzodiazepine withdrawal to slowly counterbalance glutamate effects better and better (the withdrawal is actually due to lack of counterbalance for glutamate). Plain inhibition of GABA release don't have a direct effect on GABA receptors, it's more like the negative effects last as long as weed affects you, perhaps a bit longer, but it's certainly not pleasant at all. If I were you, I wouldn't smoke weed before you recover and certainly I wouldn't smoke weed for the next few months, because all it may make you extremely paranoid and increase withdrawal symptoms. You really need your GABA to start working again on your GABA receptors to recover.

 

[flyhighk]

If weed does in fact inhibit GABA release, it will help upregulate the receptors but will also make WDs worse in the short term.

If you enjoy it and/or it helps you sleep, you have no reason not to use it.

 

[burn out]

I agree with adder, it is probably best not to smoke weed in the early stages of benzo recovery. I am also a former benzo addict, I am over five years off benzos now and my brain unfortunately never returned to normal so I just started doing whatever drugs I wanted to including weed and alcohol. Weed has actually greatly assisted me in the healing process because I realized that I had become so used to being in the "benzo wd" state of mind, even as my brain healed, mentally I continued to relate to life from the point of view of benzo wd. Weed helped me to let go of some of the negative thought patterns and painful mental aversions I had developed during benzo wd and at this stage of my recovery, that has been more important than the physical healing. Other than making me tired and burnt out the next day, weed has not had any negative effects on my recovery. With alcohol, I find that I get hungover much more easily than I did before benzos. I can't really drink more than three shots of whiskey anymore (unless I spread it throughout the day, which I do sometimes), or I know I am going to pay for it the next day. Magic mushrooms also helped me heal from benzos and kratom helps with the pain and lethargy and anhedonia.

 

[《Plasticity》]

Weed only helped me in etizolam withdrawal (latter phase), though I obviously can't say if my withdrawal would've been shorter had I not, though I have a feeling weed did nothing to hinder my progress. I've never heard if weed doing so.

 

[Spadez87]

I doubt there has been any research done, so I can only speak from my experience. A month after quitting benzodiazepines after 9 years of addiction weed caused a lot of paranoia for me, 10 months later it was much less pronounced. I rarely smoke weed now, it doesn't seem much interesting to me any more and when I smoke enough to get pronounced psychedelic effects, I'm quite lethargic on the following day and it doesn't feel comfortable at all. I started studying again so I need to be able to think clearly and I certainly feel dumber a day after smoking, so I simply don't smoke.

There's a substantial difference between how weed affected me 11 months ago and how it does now. It looks like it could be related to GABA release inhibition, which is crucial during benzodiazepine withdrawal to slowly counterbalance glutamate effects better and better (the withdrawal is actually due to lack of counterbalance for glutamate). Plain inhibition of GABA release don't have a direct effect on GABA receptors, it's more like the negative effects last as long as weed affects you, perhaps a bit longer, but it's certainly not pleasant at all. If I were you, I wouldn't smoke weed before you recover and certainly I wouldn't smoke weed for the next few months, because all it may make you extremely paranoid and increase withdrawal symptoms. You really need your GABA to start working again on your GABA receptors to recover.

Makes sense. I've been smoking on and off during this 2 years and I think your right in saying it only isn't great as long as the weed is affecting you.

I've smoked on a off during these years. 90 percent of the time it's was what I imagine hell would be like for 2 hours. The other 10 percent was only just barely comfortable. Neither was pleasant. I just keep going because I never understood what was going on and I'm the type of guy who needs facts. These pills took coffee, booze and weed from me. I better get them back eventually.