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Mental Health Was told it's "super dangerous" to drink at all while tapering Klonopin. True or not?

M

Mycophile

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So, I hate facebook. I always see shit that bums me out. I have been on Klonopin for many many years now. I'm on 2.5mgs now and need it to sleep, but initially really I have needed it for years for social anxiety. Part of me thinks now I would like to get off of it and it's been a goal of mine because my sleep quality is worse and I'm more tired than I should be, and life would be easier without it, but I like to drink and I also like Phenibut.

I was in a facebook group called "beating benzos" where everyone talks about how horrible benzos are and no one mentions any of their benefits, which also pissed me off. Someone started asking about whether or not they could drink while tapering off a benzo and was told not only that they could not drink while tapering a benzo but they couldn't drink for TWO YEARS AFTER THEY HAD FULLY TAPERED OFF THE BENZO OR THEY'D BE BACK IN WITHDRAWAL...that this is supposedly what the Ashton Manual says.

Now, i can stop drinking for 6 months, same for Phenibut. It's been 3 months now. But to tell me I'd have to go TWO YEARS without drinking if I ever wanted to get off Klonopin? That's more than I can imagine right now. Alcohol is just ever present and that would make social life REALLY hard. I'm not sure I could even do it.

So, I might like to taper to a much smaller amount, like 0.5--1.0mg where I have more energy, and DON'T have to quit drinking. Would that be possible?

And are these people right that if you taper klonopin you shouldn't drink AT ALL FOR TWO FULL YEARS? I mean, they are quoting the Ashton Manual which is supposedly the ultimate authority so.....

Then one guy said "yes, I like to drink and I'm tapering Klonopin" and so the mods shut the whole thread down IMMEDIATELY LOL. Typical.

I then left that group entirely. While Klonopin has made life harder in many ways due to worsened sleep quality and increased fatigue, it has also helped with my anxiety, and I'm tired of hearing everyone talk about benzos like they are the ultimate evil. I was even once forcibly taken off it by a quack doctor I should have sued but somehow was a medical anomaly and got ZERO withdrawal but ended up back on it due to social anxiety...but I wish i could have stopped.

So...does anyone relate to my situation? Do you think these people might be wrong? And has anyone here ever been on benzos for years due to some issue like me and found that while they may have had negative side effects that they didn't actually result in their entire life crumbling and falling apart? Thanks.
 
Only quiffs preface anything with "super"
besides man or
fragilisticexpialadocious
 
Maybe it has something to do with how alcohol seems to always trigger people. I read a lot of posts where people are doing great in their tapering or recovery so they have a drink or two and then the first thing they know they are off and running trying to score their doc. It lowers our inhibitions and hijacks our brain.

Knew a guy that was doing great in his heroin recovery. Treated himself to a six pack of beer and later that night he scored. Blew it all because he let the beer trick him. Also knew a lady that was a xanax and Lyrica abuser. She was doing good too ( had 3 weeks under her belt of abstinence ) . She was feeling jittery and anxious so she got a bottle of wine. Two hours later she was calling around looking for a ride to her dealers house.

When people are tapering or in recovery alcohol is not your friend. Alcohol can become your friend again only when you have told your mind that you will never want your doc again....under any circumstances. And even then you are playing with fire. Everybody is different and some people can handle it and some just can't. I quit drinking for just that reason. I trust myself sober. Implicitly. I do not trust myself under the influence of alcohol. My decision making is very, very poor on booze. Always has been and always will be.
 
Pumpkin2021 said:
Maybe it has something to do with how alcohol seems to always trigger people. I read a lot of posts where people are doing great in their tapering or recovery so they have a drink or two and then the first thing they know they are off and running trying to score their doc. It lowers our inhibitions and hijacks our brain.

Knew a guy that was doing great in his heroin recovery. Treated himself to a six pack of beer and later that night he scored. Blew it all because he let the beer trick him. Also knew a lady that was a xanax and Lyrica abuser. She was doing good too ( had 3 weeks under her belt of abstinence ) . She was feeling jittery and anxious so she got a bottle of wine. Two hours later she was calling around looking for a ride to her dealers house.

When people are tapering or in recovery alcohol is not your friend. Alcohol can become your friend again only when you have told your mind that you will never want your doc again....under any circumstances. And even then you are playing with fire. Everybody is different and some people can handle it and some just can't. I quit drinking for just that reason. I trust myself sober. Implicitly. I do not trust myself under the influence of alcohol. My decision making is very, very poor on booze. Always has been and always will be.
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No, that wasn't their reasoning, it was that it could throw you back into benzo withdrawal or screw up your taper because they are both GABA drugs, but I don't believe it's true.

But as for the loss of inhibitions question, that wouldn't be an issue for me because I cannot and have not ever gotten "high" off my Klonopin and don't have any idea how it has that effect on anyone. It's my medication for anxiety and sleep only and there's nothing else i get out of it so I'd never have any kind of craving to take more if I was drinking. I get cravings for other drugs and things while drinking, but not Klonopin.
 
Drinking after quitting benzos is certainly possible. I quit benzos recently and am back on them now and when i drank off them i had no cravings for a benzo.
 
AlphaMethylPhenyl said:
You won't want to touch a GABAergic for recreation for some time.
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That's only if you have a really BAD reaction to withdrawal.

As mentioned, I was on Klonopin for years and abruptly and criminally taken off it without a taper and got ZERO withdrawal somehow, and was then off of it for 9 months, but the social anxiety I initially took it for came back so I needed to get back on it.

During that time I drank a whole bunch of times and all I noticed was how nice it was not to get rebound-anxiety the day after drinking.

So, obviously this isn't always the case, and if I'm ever able to get off Klonopin again I hope history repeats itself.
 
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