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Benzos Alprazolam and Diazepam tolerance question.

J

Jm014800

Greenlighter
Joined
Aug 9, 2017
Messages
19
I was prescribed 0.5 mg of Alprazolam (Xanax) and have been taking 1 mg everyday since Sunday (4 days). How long does it take for a noticeable tolerance to build? I plan on taking 0.5 mg tomorrow and then stopping to prevent a tolerance and in order to save the medication for when actually needed. Is it safe to say that I could have already started to build a tolerance just after 4 days of use? I am not a crazy hardcore benzo user or anything. I am also prescribed 5mg of Diazepam witch I have not even touched yet, I have only used the Alprazolam. I am also aware that there is a cross tolerance between benzos and want to avoid this. Does anyone have any advise on how I could use these medications without developing a tolerance and needing higher doses to get the desired effects?

Thanks
 
If you are only using the Benzodiazepines intermittently in the manner that you claim, you should have absolutely nothing to worry about. You really are using the drugs in the way that they were meant to be used. Typically, to develop a dependency upon Benzodiazepines, you're going to need to use them daily and fairly constantly. Good for you for being cautious. You should have nothing to worry about.

I will mention, that you should be thinking about how you're going to get to sleep when you can no longer use Benzodiazepines. For instance, I smoke Cannabis every night before bed and when I don't have bud, it's hard for me to go to sleep. Just food for thought.
 
Tolerance and dependence are different things. You can increase your tolerance for alcohol by drinking beer every day, but until you drink so much beer you get too shaky and anxious to work, you aren't dependent.

Then again, if you've convinced yourself you can't fall asleep if you don't have your nightly stinger on the rocks (in a proper Sazarac glass) then you might be psychologically dependent (although if that's your nightcap, then you are an alcoholic anyway).

I'm not sure what to tell you otherwise cause I don't know what your "desired effects" are, which sound like they might be something other than what's on the prescription bottle. Those two benzos have loose-and-overlapping indications, so it makes some difference how you take them.
 
There's no secret calculator for this or anything. It's all subjective. You may become dependent (unable to quit taking the medication w/o feeling withdrawals) after just a few weeks of daily use. IMO after taking benzos on and off for years I've developed something that's like a permanent tolerance meaning I can take larger amounts and very rarely do I blackout anymore. This is just from abusing them for years, it's not nice. I also rarely w/d or feel these horrible side-effects people talk about once discontinuing usage.
 
I would like to remind OP that "larger amounts" is relative, and still shouldn't cause blackouts--that's reserved for "excessive" or "after a lot of beer".

A half milligram of Xanax per day should never lead to withdrawal symptoms. Maybe an extra fifteen minutes getting to sleep, or some slight bitchiness the next day, at most.
 
I found it happens over a few months and is very gradual. First .5 a day works a month or so, then .5 a few days a week and 1 a few days a week, just when you need that extra kick, then 1 most days a week, then 1 every day...and so on and so forth. You'll catch yourself all of a sudden 4 months later taking 2mg a day. This was just my experience. I started to convince myself that just tonight 2mg is ok because I need to get to sleep for work. It's a platitude but it really is a slippery slope, make sure you keep up with your doctor and just be mindful that tolerance is real and if you do feel that you need to take more, see your doc first. Don't just start taking more.
 
Keif' Richards said:
If you are only using the Benzodiazepines intermittently in the manner that you claim, you should have absolutely nothing to worry about. You really are using the drugs in the way that they were meant to be used. Typically, to develop a dependency upon Benzodiazepines, you're going to need to use them daily and fairly constantly. Good for you for being cautious. You should have nothing to worry about.

I will mention, that you should be thinking about how you're going to get to sleep when you can no longer use Benzodiazepines. For instance, I smoke Cannabis every night before bed and when I don't have bud, it's hard for me to go to sleep. Just food for thought.
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what do you do if you need weed and benzos to fall asleep and dont have both ?!
 
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