Can anyone who has recovered from benzos drink a beer or cocktail without problems?

[bakulaflare]

Question for fellow benzo-surviors


Has anyone gone through withdrawals from benzodiazepines (Xanax, Klonopin or Ativan or any benzo) and healed completely to the point where they can enjoy an alcoholic drink without feeling sick or going back into withdrawals?


I am 3 years and 8 months clean of benzos and alcohol


I'm scared to try and drink again because 2 months after quitting cold turkey I had a beer and it made me feel sick and go into a mini-withdrawal..


A little about me...


I went through two episodes of benzo withdrawals in 2012 and 2013 and they were the most difficult parts of my life. Both were after about 6 months of weekly use 1-2x a week. I quit xanax cold turkey and went through hell for a week in a foreign country


My 6 months of benzo use culminated in a final weekend of partying in South America, after which I decided to flush all my xanax and ativan down the toilet and quit. (I had no idea what tapering was until later) .


This cold turkey detox was the most difficult thing in my life. I felt like I had died and was living like a zombie, not dead or alive, like time had stopped and the world went on with me only present as an observer. Almost like I was living in another evil dimension. I was shaking, having tremors, feeling extremely depressed and not eating for nearly a week and finally I saw the light shine through.


The next few months would be difficult but after about 2 months I stopped having waves.


It has now been 3 years and 8 months and I feel normal and I am tempted to have a drink even though I told myself I would not drink for 4 years.


There is no magic time for how long your body takes to fully recover (I have read 36 months in the worst cases) but there are people who's withdrawals last longer than that though rare.


Has anybody been able to drink without getting sick post benzo withdrawal? No one in the entire internet has discussed this topic for years!!There are no new stories or information. Please share your stories and ask me any questions you have!


Thanks a lot

 

[Xorkoth]

Moving to OD, as this is not a trip report.

TR -> OD

 

[Branggen]

I was never really a drinker so that could make this a lot different for me than you but I used 4-6mg xanax a day for about 3 months then about 30 mg valium for 4 months and after weening down and having about 1 month of no benzos I do fine with a beer or two, I dont really think it affected my alcohol addictive tendencies, don't feel any real comedown and at this point I don't think my tolerance is effected either. Just me though if you had a problem with alcohol I wouldn't risk it if you have to ask thats not a good sign

 

[ovo1024]

You had that bad of a withdrawl from a 6 month run of using benzos twice a week? Jeez i know people who used benzos daily for 6 months & tapered just fine. Though you said cold turkey but still. Anyways it's been 3 and a half years I'm almost positive you will be perfectly fine. Relax buddy

 

[Vastness]

I went through two episodes of benzo withdrawals in 2012 and 2013 and they were the most difficult parts of my life. Both were after about 6 months of weekly use 1-2x a week. ...

Do you mean 1-2x per day? Because this is the only way I can figure this makes sense, especially if you were only using Xanax, otherwise even before you quit you would be spending 5 days of every week in withdrawal.

Assuming that you do mean 1-2x per day, what dosage were you using? Without this information it will be hard for people to judge the severity of your use.

 

[barada]

Am 5 months clean off a 4 year Xanax dependency... Still having PAWS, primarily in the form of paresthesia and some leftover rebound anxiety - panic attacks. NEVER did I have those prior to the addiction. Another story for another time...
As I understand it... alcohol is shit for benzo WD. I drank some screwdrivers about 2 months clean and yes, it screwed with the WD symptoms. In my arrogance, I thought it would help the WD because benzo and alcohol both work on gaba receptors, etc... nope, left such a bad taste in my mouth I can't forsee drinking again for undertermined time.

In fact, alcohol has always been a real asshole for triggering WD syptoms. Everyone is different, but alcohol also likes to trigger nicotine wd symptoms too. In summary, I stay the hell away from alcohol.

 

[Mmp85]

I would avoid it because the positive drunk feeling you get from alcohol is similar to the positive drunk feeling you get from benzos and can make you crave benzos.