Benzos anti anxiety drugs

[zagor]

what do you recommend to take for severe anxiety if you are tolerant to benzos? Besides pregabilin/gabapentin

 

[karrotx]

Valerian root is a natural way to get relief, and can be found in a local drug store or online. I recommend getting it online, it will definitely be higher quality. If you have a big tolerance to benzos I'm not too sure how well it will work. The anxiety relief dosage range begins at 80mg and goes up to 200mg. It works on GABAA receptors which helps relieve anxiety. I've taken upto 1000mg in one dose, so you can push up the dosage as much as you need to. The higher the dose the more sedating it becomes.

If you must seek out benzos then I'd say etizolam is a safe bet. Benzos are meant to be used short term. That is because they impair memory and cognition after chronic administration. That is why I recommended the valerian root first.

What is the consistency or frequency of your anxiety? Do you feel anxious because of specific reasons, or does it seem random?

 

[supersonic89]

Benzos are meant to be used short term. That is because they impair memory and cognition after chronic administration. That is why I recommended the valerian root first.

I have always read this but I know of many cases of people who use benzos daily for years or for life. So I don't know if doctors are stupid or just don't care about their patients.

 

[zagor]

Valerian root is a natural way to get relief, and can be found in a local drug store or online. I recommend getting it online, it will definitely be higher quality. If you have a big tolerance to benzos I'm not too sure how well it will work. The anxiety relief dosage range begins at 80mg and goes up to 200mg. It works on GABAA receptors which helps relieve anxiety. I've taken upto 1000mg in one dose, so you can push up the dosage as much as you need to. The higher the dose the more sedating it becomes.

If you must seek out benzos then I'd say etizolam is a safe bet. Benzos are meant to be used short term. That is because they impair memory and cognition after chronic administration. That is why I recommended the valerian root first.

What is the consistency or frequency of your anxiety? Do you feel anxious because of specific reasons, or does it seem random?

I have chronic stress and chronic anxiety disorder. I used up benzos so they no longer work.

 

[karrotx]

I have always read this but I know of many cases of people who use benzos daily for years or for life. So I don't know if doctors are stupid or just don't care about their patients.

Tbh I'm not sure how new that cognitive impairment information is, but it just goes to show how little information doctors actually have on the drugs they are prescribing. I don't think any doctor would knowingly prescribe a medication if they knew it would be harmful to the patient. With that said, a lot of the time taking on a new medication means coming to live with the side effects because it's benefits outweigh the negatives. We turn to them and expect them to be the experts in the medical field, but we still have to look out for ourselves.

 

[Fairy of the Flowers]

The higher the dose the more sedating it becomes

Unless you eat the whole box expecting to feel relaxed and sleepy as it's known to cause insomnia then, not funny, I ate more and more trying to feel something but all it did was keep me awake

Kalms do 400mg "one a night" and also a day version which is the same but weaker and has other herbs in it too, I've took 7/8 x 400mg Kalms "one a night" and it's helped sleep, but there's a fine line between helping anxiety and sleep to Valerian doing the opposite and keeping you awake, I looked into it after laying awake for hours on end, not took that many ever since, I try and avoid them after that happened

But they have helped me withdrawll off benzos before and zopiclone, once you reach the smallest benzo or zopiclone dose, switch to Valerian it really is a helpful herb, it's been used for 1000s of years its known as "nature's valium" it's obviously no where near as good, it's just called that by quite a few people

 

[karrotx]

Unless you eat the whole box expecting to feel relaxed and sleepy as it's known to cause insomnia then, not funny, I ate more and more trying to feel something but all it did was keep me awake

Kalms do 400mg "one a night" and also a day version which is the same but weaker and has other herbs in it too, I've took 7/8 x 400mg Kalms "one a night" and it's helped sleep, but there's a fine line between helping anxiety and sleep to Valerian doing the opposite and keeping you awake, I looked into it after laying awake for hours on end, not took that many ever since, I try and avoid them after that happened

But they have helped me withdrawll off benzos before and zopiclone, once you reach the smallest benzo or zopiclone dose, switch to Valerian it really is a helpful herb, it's been used for 1000s of years its known as "nature's valium" it's obviously no where near as good, it's just called that by quite a few people

The reason the valerian root kept you awake is because you took too much. I'm not sure what dosage exactly, mostly because there are so many variables to consider, but I've definitely experienced it in the past. The important thing to adhere to is finding what dosage works best for you, not what the label on a bottle says. This can mean taking more or less then what is suggested. If 1000mg is too much and is stimulating, make note of that and lower your dose by at least 50 or 100mg

It's funny you mentioned zopiclone I've been wanting to talk to my doc to see if I could get a script for some. My sleep has gotten so fucked. You never realize how important something is like sleep until you start experiencing insomnia. In the very least mention the sleeping problem to the doc. Any suggestions?

 

[Fairy of the Flowers]

It's funny you mentioned zopiclone I've been wanting to talk to my doc to see if I could get a script for some

It depends where you live, if it's the UK they only give it out for a week or 2 when you're really struggling as it's addictive, it works in a similar way to benzos so doctors are strict with it, hence why I onlt get 10 a month that I'm meant to take once or twice a week, but yesterday I had 2 in the day for anxiety to go to see my friend, then 3 to get to sleep, yet I'm up already and have been for ages

I end up using them all in the first few days I get them lol, I'm only allowed them each month because I've had 10 a month for so long now because my doctor is okay with that, most ain't

My sleep has gotten so fucked. You never realize how important something is like sleep until you start experiencing insomnia.

Exactly, people take sleep for granted, I've needed a pill of some sort to sleep for off and on for years, mostly on but I then stopped pills, till the start of the pandemic, before that for a food couple of months or so I was even sleeping okay without pills, but then cause soon as something like a killer virus is out there, thats enough to end up back on sleeping medication, as I'd be laying awake thinking the world was going to end, I went back on mirtazapine, thats good for sleep, its a sedating antidepressant

Only suggestion I'd say to your doctor you're struggling to sleep, tell him the truth as to why your sleeps fucked, unless it's fucked because you do uppers, etc then obviously don't tell him that

He might suggest the zopiclone strait away, or he might ask if you're depressed and then try a sedating antidepressant, if not he might start you off on a sedating antihistamines such as Promethazine, but you can buy that over the counter at most chemist's, or he might give you a slightly stronger one called hydroxyzine that's only available on prescription, it's for anxiety and sleep but that stuff caused me nightmares too, so does zopiclone, loads of medication does cause me nightmares

 

[fugme]

Opioids help with anxiety but have their own drawbacks which you should research before using. Beta-blockers can be used to aleviate symptoms of anxiety. Considering benzos hit GABA-A receptors you could use GABA-B agonist like baclofen.

 

[Fairy of the Flowers]

Opioids help with anxiety but have their own drawbacks

Do not touch opioids I was a heroin addict for 4 years I'm 19 years clean, then this year found oxys, always wanted to try oxys but never had the chance, but I stopped after ten days taking them because of BAD BAD itching my skin off and tolerance went up to sniffing 80mg a day from 40mg then they made me hyper, which was strange as when I first started them I liked them as they was a downer

 

[karrotx]

It depends where you live, if it's the UK they only give it out for a week or 2 when you're really struggling as it's addictive, it works in a similar way to benzos so doctors are strict with it, hence why I onlt get 10 a month that I'm meant to take once or twice a week, but yesterday I had 2 in the day for anxiety to go to see my friend, then 3 to get to sleep, yet I'm up already and have been for ages

I end up using them all in the first few days I get them lol, I'm only allowed them each month because I've had 10 a month for so long now because my doctor is okay with that, most ain't



Exactly, people take sleep for granted, I've needed a pill of some sort to sleep for off and on for years, mostly on but I then stopped pills, till the start of the pandemic, before that for a food couple of months or so I was even sleeping okay without pills, but then cause soon as something like a killer virus is out there, thats enough to end up back on sleeping medication, as I'd be laying awake thinking the world was going to end, I went back on mirtazapine, thats good for sleep, its a sedating antidepressant

Only suggestion I'd say to your doctor you're struggling to sleep, tell him the truth as to why your sleeps fucked, unless it's fucked because you do uppers, etc then obviously don't tell him that

He might suggest the zopiclone strait away, or he might ask if you're depressed and then try a sedating antidepressant, if not he might start you off on a sedating antihistamines such as Promethazine, but you can buy that over the counter at most chemist's, or he might give you a slightly stronger one called hydroxyzine that's only available on prescription, it's for anxiety and sleep but that stuff caused me nightmares too, so does zopiclone, loads of medication does cause me nightmares

I'm in the US and they seem more strict here about prescribing anything that could possibly be addictive. Anxiety? They prescribe hydroxyzine or something else not very potent. I just need to make an appointment and be honest with the doctor. I do use stims sometimes, but it's not all the time. maybe it's making my hormones go out of wack?

I can see why they're so strict with prescribing it because if you get hooked on them, they don't want to be liable for anything bad that may happen. Not to mention if you run out early, like you mentioned it make sleeping without them a big struggle. Perhaps even making insomnia worse.

I already take a lot of melatonin and valerian root everyday so I think mentioning that to the doc and if he thinks I have a sleep issue I'd like to see a specialist. I'm currently prescribed 30mg mirtazepine and take it at night time.

Thanks for all the feedback! I really appreciate it :D

 

[Shady's Fox]

try kava

 

[Fairy of the Flowers]

I'm currently prescribed 30mg mirtazepine and take it at night time

I always go back to that one, start of on lower dose, keep upping it every time it stops helping sleep, but I can't go past 30mg as it then keeps me awake, well last night I took 4 or 5 x 1mg xanax, proper kasolol ones and a 7.5mg zopiclone and woke up a few hours later as I was in and out of sleep having nightmares, I can't cope with these nightmares lately

I should of stuck to what I normally buy, vallies as I'm now going to be awake all night since about I:50am uk time

I've no fucking idea, but I do not want to go back on mirtazapine as I put on weight on it, then it stops working for sleep, and it was very hard to come off I didn't eat for 2 weeks stayed in bed for weeks and had to drink special drinks off my doctor and anti sickness tablet up under my lip to dissolve, mirtazapine is an appetite stimulant so when you stop you've no appetite at all and the weight drops off, sorry if I mentioned this, I'm so tired, and I've wanted to try acid and being on antidepressants stop psychedelic drugs from working, so not sure what to do

Buy vallies I expect, longer lasting than xanax and don't remember getting nightmares off vallies, and I know I don't on mirtazapine, but if I go on mirtazapine it's back to square one again, and my acid will also need to be put on hold, and all that struggle coming off mirtazapine then using benzos for a month to come off Mirtazapine, then pregabalin to come off that now benzos just for some fucking sleep, it's so harsh

I just want to fucking sleep, dreamless sleep, or at the least no fucking nightmares, just sleep easy and wake up 6-8 hours later like normal people do, not pop pills that make me worse in the long run

Sorry to rant but I'm trying so hard and insomnia is a bitch and to get nightmares on top because you need sleep meds is adding salt to the wound

 

[karrotx]

I always go back to that one, start of on lower dose, keep upping it every time it stops helping sleep, but I can't go past 30mg as it then keeps me awake, well last night I took 4 or 5 x 1mg xanax, proper kasolol ones and a 7.5mg zopiclone and woke up a few hours later as I was in and out of sleep having nightmares, I can't cope with these nightmares lately

I recently cut my dose in half of mirtazepine because I wanted to see if I could go off it entirely, but when I got low on the dosage, in rushed a plethora of negative side effects. So I think I need them for now. Maybe I'll try upping my dosage and see if that helps any. Damn man! Slow down on the benzos if you can. I'd say if you use them for sleep, take them staggered throughout the night. By that I mean take a couple just before bed and then if you wake in the middle of the night take one then and go back to sleep. Then if you wake again take another. That way you're not taking them all at once. I never had nightmares from any medications that I know of. At least you were able to figure out that it was causing it in the first place. Id say if you can stay away from the anti depressants, unless you truly need them for depression. They accompany a whole host of issues. Ranging from making psychedelics not work to bad side effects like weight gain.

I feel ya man! I hate being so dependent on pills like this. I hope you can get some good rest tonight! Are you going to be able to sleep anytime soon? I hope so!! The upside of not sleeping means you can get a lot of shit done lol

 

[Fairy of the Flowers]

They accompany a whole host of issues. Ranging from making psychedelics not work to bad side effects like weight

Thats just the start, I've had the start of serotonin syndrome on sertraline, I can not handle SNRI or SSRI or any stimulating antidepressants as that makes my insomnia and anxiety 1000x worse

Tricyclics like amitriptyline cause nightmares, and don't help sleep unless I take them with zopiclone and the zopiclone helps sleep if I take enough, then amitriptyline keeps me asleep but causes nightmares yet again and such bad dry mouth I wake up for water constantly,

Thanks for showing you understand and care, it means alot because so many people tell me just to go to bed shut my eyes and just relax, I feel like if they could try insomnia for a week they'd not be so quick to give their stupid advice, and all this sleep hygiene is ridiculous I've tried it all, and sleep apps, sleep music, herbs, lavender pillow sprays, cbd, everything

I feel ya man! I hate being so dependent on pills like this. I hope you can get some good rest tonight! Are you going to be able to sleep anytime soon? I hope so!! The upside of not sleeping means you can get a lot of shit done lol

Not sure, I might try and nap in a bit, I can't get anything done as my son and his girlfriend will be going to bed soon and I can't wake them by washing up and stuff lol, put it this way I'm so desperate for my cat not to leave my rug next to my bed I need a wee but I'm not getting up incase he gets up to and leaves me on my own lol, he really is my furry anxiety helper, I go from crying or feeling so down to seeing him walking in and he just makes me smile

What other meds do you take and how long you had insomnia?

 

[karrotx]

Thats just the start, I've had the start of serotonin syndrome on sertraline, I can not handle SNRI or SSRI or any stimulating antidepressants as that makes my insomnia and anxiety 1000x worse

Tricyclics like amitriptyline cause nightmares, and don't help sleep unless I take them with zopiclone and the zopiclone helps sleep if I take enough, then amitriptyline keeps me asleep but causes nightmares yet again and such bad dry mouth I wake up for water constantly,

Thanks for showing you understand and care, it means alot because so many people tell me just to go to bed shut my eyes and just relax, I feel like if they could try insomnia for a week they'd not be so quick to give their stupid advice, and all this sleep hygiene is ridiculous I've tried it all, and sleep apps, sleep music, herbs, lavender pillow sprays, cbd, everything



Not sure, I might try and nap in a bit, I can't get anything done as my son and his girlfriend will be going to bed soon and I can't wake them by washing up and stuff lol, put it this way I'm so desperate for my cat not to leave my rug next to my bed I need a wee but I'm not getting up incase he gets up to and leaves me on my own lol, he really is my furry anxiety helper, I go from crying or feeling so down to seeing him walking in and he just makes me smile

What other meds do you take and how long you had insomnia?

Sorry i had to update my computer XD Damn thats crazy about the serotonin syndrome! I've had it happen to me before but for a much different reason. Basically i was homeless living on the streets and i had a bunch of mucinex DM which only contain Dextromethorphan, if i remember correctly. They were extra strength and i was sitting at the bus depot and had some vodka to go along side the DXM. I made the big mistake of taking too much DXM and mixing it with the alcohol. I was told that i was found not breathing and someone called 911. I woke up the next day with a tube down my throat and one up my pecker. It was terrible being on that breathing apparatus for 2 days. Just long enough for the doctors to feel confident in my abilities to breath on my own. Long story short dont mix mucinex with alcohol lol

Oh yah amatriptaline i was on that stuff for a little while. It definitely helped me at the time in the particular predicament that i was in. I guess if it gets the job done then its worth dealing with the side effects. The thing that helps me the most is getting exercise. I try to exercise everyday, even for a little bit before i leave for work. As it is my job is really physical and demands a high pace and various kitchen skills. The reason i think its so essential for people to exercise is because the body wakes up with a lot of energy at the beginning of the day. Cortisol is at its highest levels in the body during the morning hours of the day. This means your heart is pumping harder, faster, anxiety may come easily. That is because the body is trying to wake up for the day and is looking to environmental queues, like the sun to wake it up. The sun provides a great deal of benefits, but helping us to wake up in the morning? The reason this is true is because the human circadian rhythm works in a strange way that it manipulates or changes someones behavior. That is the bodies ability to perceive daylight in accordance to the sun and adjust accordingly. The body slowly tapers off with cortisol as the day continues on into the evening where cortisol levels reach their lowest. For a good reason! As the evening draws on, you begin to feel more tired because the sun has set and now the stars are out and you can just start to see a crescent shaped moon.

I really hope you can get back to sleep soon! It doesnt sound like you will be able to unfortunately. Maybe time to hit the coffee machine lol

 

[Fairy of the Flowers]

I did fall back to sleep at around 5am till just gone 7am thanks

And that story about you drinking ontop on DXM sounds scary as fuck all DXM does to me on large amounts is bad watery diareah where I need to keep going to the toilet and bad thoughts and insomnia no dissociative effects at all

I know about circadian rythem and stuff so I make sure I open my curtains when I get up, but my body still don't slow down or switch off naturally at night, if I'm over tired it's worse, I don't do much exercise but keep busy most days housework and shopping et, yeah maybe I need to get more exercise lol

Yeah it's that bloody cortisol running through me keeps me awake, gives me anxiety etc, I must have excess of and not enough gaba iny receptors, but my doctor just thought giving me stuff to up my serotonin and norepinephrine would calm me down, and I try and say no, I'm not lacking in that I'm lacking in gaba, but she don't even understand what I'm trying to say this was years ago before giving out pregabalin was a thing lol

But I tried that twice now too and it's not for me, build toilerence to quick and it changed my personality a bit too, which was weird I was going to people's houses that I barely knew, just knew them off Facebook, where as before my anxiety would never of let me go to places I didn't know

Thanks for the chat, I'll let you get on with your day, I'm going to listen to some music or watch the big bang theory, which is comfort TV as I've seen it so many times

 

[sekio]

how about clonidine or tizanidine?

 

[karrotx]

I did fall back to sleep at around 5am till just gone 7am thanks

And that story about you drinking ontop on DXM sounds scary as fuck all DXM does to me on large amounts is bad watery diareah where I need to keep going to the toilet and bad thoughts and insomnia no dissociative effects at all

Oh good! I'm really glad you could get back to sleep for a little bit! Even getting a couple of hours can make all the difference in the world.

Haha yeahhhh... That whole incident with the dxm and vodka was shitty to say the least. Live and ya learn, I say. Sometimes that means learning the hard way.

That's a really good idea! I need to start opening the curtains when I wake up in the mornings. Definitely try adding some exercise to your day if you can. The body likes to be mobile.

Have you ever tried ashwagandha? It can regulate and help lower cortisol levels in the body. It can be bought online or in your local drug store. Online will be higher quality, I recommend shopping online. I know how doctors can be. They think they know everything and that the patient is clueless. Does the pregabalin help a lot? What does it do for you?

Wow I had no idea pregabalin is so powerful. I suppose a little change isn't so bad. Was going to people's houses leading to bad things happening? I can see how it could boost confidence. But perhaps it was a bit more then a boost in confidence? I feel that I am very similar in the way that my anxiety cripples me from going out and doing normal people things. Well I think that's going to change very soon! I just bought a car yesterday and I have a couple tests to do at the DMV at the beginning of October, so that I can get my license back. No more relying on others for going places!

anytime! :D I enjoyed the chat as well! Comfort TV and music! It's the best medicine.

Best regards

 

[Fairy of the Flowers]

Have you ever tried ashwagandha?

Nope I'll have to look into it, but because I've tried other herbs I couldn't be arsed and don't want to waste money on stuff that don't work but if it lowers cortisol I might need to try that, I'll look it up thanks

Does the pregabalin help a lot? What does it do for you

Made my body act drunk, wobble everywhere and slur but my head was clear, so it was shit, I felt normal but wasn't acting normal but was still clear headed, very weird

Was going to people's houses leading to bad things happening? I can see how it could boost confidence. But perhaps it was a bit more then a boost in confidence?

Yes, hadn't touched coke since January 2019 as I hate it but got talked into doing a small line, then after an hour I thought "why the fuck am I at a flat with people I barely know doing coke I hate" so I left lol, I only had a couple of tiny lines but I was so pissed off as I fucking hate coke

Then I don't even want to tell you what happened the next time I went to that place just me and the bloke who lived there, but put it this way I had to message someone to phone me and pretend I needed to get home ASAP, just so I could leave this blokes place

I've also been going to meet up, with new friends in a good way too as these seem like proper new friends, but then I've gone to pubs, I don't do pubs normally I hate HATE them, but they was smaller pubs not many people, and the last time I wasn't on pregabalin just a few drinks and that helped my anxiety, oh on top of 2 zopiclone as that helps anxiey too

I just bought a car yesterday and I have a couple tests to do at the DMV at the beginning of October, so that I can get my license back. No more relying on others for going places!

That's so exciting good luck with that, it will help with anxiety being being able to drive around to shops and things, it's like freedom