Need to get off Benzos, my tolerance is too high

[motherfooker]

It use to take .5mg Xanax to get me to sleep, now it takes 4mg. Not to mention I'm prescribed Klonopin 1mg a day for spasms. (When I take xanax, I don;t take Klonopin). And now I feel the klonopin is wearing off.


Heres my goals:
- To have a prescribed benzo in my name when I take urine tests
- Build a low tolerance like before.


Only thing I read here is Seroquel that will help. ANything else?


And for the spasms I had a doc previously prescribe me something else for spasms, that slightly work. I still have the pills and going to use.


Time to give me gaba receptors a break!

[the dude1]

4mg of xanax insn't too bad. You just will have to man up, not sleep a couple days and you'll be ok. It's bad when you take 8-10 mg through the day to function. Also, without a specific medical reason why do want a benzo in your name? Only to pass drug tests. That may fall into the denial addict category. I think Benzo tolerance is life long and it never completely goes away. you may try exercise to wear you out or reading a book to wind down from the day. Benzos are not lifesavers unless prescribed and used correctly. Trust me I almost really screwed up my life with them.

[zakalipo]

For your sleeping problems, you can try other type of medications like Zopiclone or Ambien. Although, if I'm not mistaken, they are benzos/related to benzos, it might lower your tolerance to the Xanax and then let you sleep.

If you are into natural supplements, try taking Melatonin. It refreshes your "body clock" and is used more commonly for people that travel a lot but I found it useful for sleeping.

[motherfooker]

4mg of xanax insn't too bad. You just will have to man up, not sleep a couple days and you'll be ok. It's bad when you take 8-10 mg through the day to function. Also, without a specific medical reason why do want a benzo in your name? Only to pass drug tests. That may fall into the denial addict category. I think Benzo tolerance is life long and it never completely goes away. you may try exercise to wear you out or reading a book to wind down from the day. Benzos are not lifesavers unless prescribed and used correctly. Trust me I almost really screwed up my life with them.

klonopin has multiple uses off label, like spasms.


benzo tolerance is life long yikes

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For your sleeping problems, you can try other type of medications like Zopiclone or Ambien. Although, if I'm not mistaken, they are benzos/related to benzos, it might lower your tolerance to the Xanax and then let you sleep.

If you are into natural supplements, try taking Melatonin. It refreshes your "body clock" and is used more commonly for people that travel a lot but I found it useful for sleeping.

ambien and zopiclone and the rest of z drugs are junk to people who took benzos. also ambien causes you to "sleep walk/drive/eat" and have no reconciliation of it the next morning

[EddieStrike]

just take them on an as needed basis....once or twice per week

[cashman1]

There is a debate about the use of Neurontin (Gabapentin) to help with Benzodiazepine Withdrawal. Also use a safe taper method. Others here have recommended the Ashton Manual's protocol.

[LiquidOrgasm]

Benzo tolerance (like anything) affects people very differently, for some it's hell to get off of (w/ds etc) others (like me for instance) I can quit and wont feel a thing, same with w/ opiates for some people, don't get w/ds...crazyness. I'm willing to bet the worst w/ds you can get are from coming off Dolophine. Kicked a 1.5year 240mg/day habit mixed w/ benzos cold turkey (I was in jail) worst experience of my life but also the best as it got the liquid handcuffs off me, if I wasn't essentially forced to get off it (and smart enough not to go back to it) id still be a slave to the clinic.

[blivet]

@motherfooker Since you want to go back to your old low-tolerance state, maybe you'd like to consider tapering down your dose. A time-honored way to do this is to gradually switch over to diazepam, then use a slow taper to withdraw from the diazepam. You can refer to the 'Ashton Manual' for tapering schedules. If you're interested in trying this, google the phrase 'ashton manual'. Last time I checked it cost about $20 to download the manual.

The tapers are slow and relatively painless, about as painless as a benzo withdrawal can be. Most people who do succeed in withdrawing won't wish to go back on benzos again, though, out of reluctance to go back to their depenant state.

[sophie30]

@blivet has good advice, I've been tapering on diazepam for some time now, its still not easy but its no longer impossible. And as stated above, once you have a tolerance, you have it. It might take a few days of use to get back to it, but you will. And each time you do its faster than the time before. (Just addiction 101).

[mimi]

@blivet - I agree with you that a slow taper off of 4mg of Xanax seems a lot safer than just dropping the 4mg cold turkey. @motherfooker - dropping 4mg of Xanax cold turkey doesn't seem very safe to me, especially if you've been on 4mg for a long period of time. Everyone has different body chemistries, and dropping 4mg of Xanax cold turkey could potentially cause horrific withdrawals (I don't know if going cold turkey off of 4mg of Xanax could cause seizures or death, but if you've been on that much for an extended period of time, maybe it could since we all have different body chemistires?). All I know is that it seems unsafe to go cold turkey off of 4mg of Xanax, especially if you've been on that much Xanax for a long period of time. A slow taper off of the Xanax seems so much safer in my opinion. I'm not a medical professional, so these are only my thoughts on dropping the Xanax. Take care.

[sophie30]

It can DEFINITELY cause seizures and death if you've been taking that much everyday. That's a pretty large daily dose, doesn't really matter why you use it or that its only at night, you're physically dependent at that dose.

[temp]

4 mg a day is a high dose your best bet is to taper off slowly. If you are using just for sleep I would recoment just tapering off. Also I have problems sleeping I take an all natural supliment that helps me its called Super Snooze its made by puritans pride, along with this I also take a time released Melatonin pill. I take this once I get into bed then read and usually within 30 minutes I am out. And unlike the over the counter sleep aids and prescrition sleep pills I dont wake up with the groggy hang over. Hope this helps.

[TenaciousE]

@blivet no need to pay $20 to download the manual. The info is all over the net, including tapering schedules for FREE. Plus there are forums like Benzobuddies that will help you devise a taper plan.

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@motherfooker the only thing Seroquel will do is make you sleep. It is an antipsychotic used for BP and other mental disorders. It comes with a ton of dangerous side effects. It will alter your neurotrasmitters. You might be confusing Seroquel with Gabapentin/Neurontin. Many people report that Gabapentin helps with WD and it might help with your spasms if the pain is nerve based. Do a search on Seroquel and Gabapentin/Neurontin there have been some interesting discussions about both in the last month.

[blivet]

@Aven Ah, good to know that. I already bought the manual, and I'm no longer dependant on benzos, but I'll look for the supplementary info you mention, maybe it adds something to what I learned from the original manual.

[Quaalude]

4mg of xanax insn't too bad. You just will have to man up, not sleep a couple days and you'll be ok. It's bad when you take 8-10 mg through the day to function. Also, without a specific medical reason why do want a benzo in your name? Only to pass drug tests. That may fall into the denial addict category. I think Benzo tolerance is life long and it never completely goes away. you may try exercise to wear you out or reading a book to wind down from the day. Benzos are not lifesavers unless prescribed and used correctly. Trust me I almost really screwed up my life with them.

As mentioned in an earlier post, some quack GP I was being treated by had me on 6mg (3 bars) daily and so out of it, my family became concerned. The little pr*ck didn't even bother to offer nor mention tapering me off slowly to possibly avoid seizures or any other potential complication. I stopped (like an idiot cold turkey) and was able to lay around for a couple of weeks "detoxing" if you will. I did have pangs of anxiety, lots and lots of sleeplessness, and a lot of ringing in my ears (really odd, I thought). I chose to get off cause I couldn't function and obviously the physician could give two sh*ts about my overall healthcare. I still do take a benzo (Klonopin) but monitored closely by physician and it works great for me. The initial side effects (drowsiness/tiredness) have pretty much subsided. As @the dude1 mentioned above, I guess I just manned up and got the Xanax monkey off my back. To read this, it kind of sounds like I just traded one benzo for another since I started Klonopin but dosage, monitoring, indications, drug half-lives, etc are everything. And needless to say a great physician helps. I really don't consider myself an addict in denial just works well with my body chemistry and does wonders for my panic disorder (along with some counseling). My objective is NOT to make them a life-long necessity but they do serve a useful purpose for the proper indication, dosage, diagnosis, and DURATION. I realize that over time and with enough therapy, panic disorder can be treated successfully without the need of medications with sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy.

[lilylola]

That's a high dosage. Here's an alternative to the Ashton method that might be easier for you:

The easiest way to taper Xanax or any other benzo

I've done Xanax w/d after over a year of 1mg per night for sleep. I believe doctors who prescribe benzos longterm for sleep are totally irresponsible, because they stop working for that purpose. Attending AA also helped for the support I got. However, due to intractable insomnia, I got on Seroquel, which really helped right away. Unfortunately, that caused worse sleep issues, so I wouldn't recommend going that route. Although, you could try the above method and use Seroquel short term to overcome the worst of the sleep issues. Just don't stay on it for more than a month.

The other thing you could do is just plain go to rehab, where they will take you down rapidly. I feel if I had done that, I would have benefited tremendously.

So, if you're serious about getting off benzos, I would consider the above info. If you can handle the sleeplessness piece, you may get over them for good. I can't handle the sleeplessness piece, so I may be stuck with them for good. Just my .02 cents.

[blivet]

That's a high dosage. Here's an alternative to the Ashton method that might be easier for you:

The easiest way to taper Xanax or any other benzo

I've done Xanax w/d after over a year of 1mg per night for sleep. I believe doctors who prescribe benzos longterm for sleep are totally irresponsible, because they stop working for that purpose. Attending AA also helped for the support I got. However, due to intractable insomnia, I got on Seroquel, which really helped right away. Unfortunately, that caused worse sleep issues, so I wouldn't recommend going that route. Although, you could try the above method and use Seroquel short term to overcome the worst of the sleep issues. Just don't stay on it for more than a month.

The other thing you could do is just plain go to rehab, where they will take you down rapidly. I feel if I had done that, I would have benefited tremendously.

So, if you're serious about getting off benzos, I would consider the above info. If you can handle the sleeplessness piece, you may get over them for good. I can't handle the sleeplessness piece, so I may be stuck with them for good. Just my .02 cents.

@lilylola Thanks for that tapering technique. Sounds effective, and if it is, it would be more straightforward than switching to diazepam first. And I didn't know that benzos with longish half-lives caused the user to feel depressed. I've never noticed that from using diazepam, but it could be.

I'm also interested in your comments about the down-sides of using seroquel for insomnia. What are those down-sides? I'm taking trazodone for insomnia, not seroquel, but can't help thinking there might be unexpected consequences of using trazodone long-term. Do you know of any?

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@lilylola Another question: Why do you believe that going to rehab and being taken down rapidly would have been helpful for you? Sounds brutal to me. Or does rehab mitigate withdrawal discomfort with other meds?

[lilylola]

@blivet:

So, I've taken both Seroquel & Trazodone for insomnia. Trazodone only ever works for me for about 2 weeks, and causes tachycardia on occasion. Seroquel, on the other hand works amazingly. I need a sledgehammer to knock me out. Things like Benadryl or Valerian or Melatonin (I do take Melatonin anyway) don't work at all for me. Seroquel is that sledgehammer. Plus, it had anti-anxiety qualities for me. I felt so calm.

The downside of Seroquel for me was that it stopped working after 5 months, and the rebound insomnia from it went on FOREVER. I still, 8 months later, feel like my sleep is terrible because of it. Prior to taking Xanax and Seroquel for a total of a year and a half or so, I had transient stressed-based insomnia, and slept 8 hours, with good sleep pressure. Now I have actual physiological insomnia with poor sleep pressure and frequent awakenings (If I'm lucky enough to sleep at all) unless I take something like a strong benzo. Personally, I would have no trouble just continuing to take a benzo forever for sleep, but they, in my experience, stop working, too. Trazodone is totally easy to get off, with a week or so of mild discomfort. Not so with Seroquel. And Seroquel leads to Tardive dyskenesthia & Diabetes (Also weight gain) if taken long-term at higher doses. Now, there are people who stay on low doses and don't encounter tolerance. I wasn't one of them. So it's a big gamble. On the other hand, I know someone who only took it for 2 months and had no problem whatsoever discontinuing it. That's why I say it could be a short-term answer to help you with the taper.

I guess rehab isn't the greatest idea, as taking your time with a taper is the best plan to keep long-term symptoms in check. But if you want off, they will get you off of Xanax, giving you anti-seizure medication, etc.; and possible some give Seroquel for sleep.

Also, Gabapentin and Lyrica are supposed to help with benzo w/d. I haven't tried Lyrica, but Gabapentin made me twitch and kept me up all night. But plenty of people love it and don't have that experience.

Oh, I just noticed it's not you we're that I'm trying to help with the benzo taper @blivet, it's @motherfooker. But still, I think this is the best info I could offer someone...

[chris100]

Thats what im on right now my friend.... Seroquil and Trazodone. 600MG Seroquil and 100mg of Tazodone. It is doing nothing for me. I think my anxitey/ moods are so bad they need to try something way stronger than that on me. I hope my doctor i see today will understand.

[lilylola]

@chris100:

Are you sleeping with that combo?