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Detox Benzos: That time has arrived

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BenzoBrain3

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 9, 2021
Messages
57
Been using street benzos daily for 7 months now. Withdrawals started 3 1/2 months in. I think it took that long because it was one dose every 24 hours. Probably 1 or 1.5 bars. Withdrawals were suppressed by 2 half bar doses during the day and 1 full bar at bedtime. But of course the progression continued and started messing with my sleep schedule. My thoughts would also get very negative and disturbing when I needed a dose.

I wasn't planning to come off literally right now but things changed and now I have no choice. The benzos are gone and I'm now just waiting for symptoms to show themselves. I'll be riding it out at home unless I start convulsing.

Here is what I have at my disposal until Monday

1. 50mg diazepam. Was told to take 10mg twice daily. But I might wait until Sunday night when the withdrawals are at their worst and take the 50mg all at once before bed.

2. 10 0.1mg tablets of clonidine

3. Niacin 6000mg-12000mg daily

4. Valarian dose unknown yet, probably 24000mg doses

5. Melatonin probably in 100mg doses

6. St John's Wart dose 1000mg+

7. Vitamin C dose as high as my bowels can tolerate

8. Vitamin B-12 injectable dose unknown yet

9.

10. Whiskey as needed



I will provide updates as things progress. Hopefully some can learn from this experience of mine.

Rx meds: 187.5mg venlafaxine, 500mg metformin, 150mg Trazodone, 50mg Aventyl
 
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The Wizard of the Creek said:
If you have diazepam use the Ashton manual to taper off benzos safely using diazepam:

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Slow tapers would drive me insane. I have other health priorities that need fixing and cannot wait months. I literally don't feel like a 29 year old man should because I have no androgens in my body. Testosterone to DHT ratio is supposed to be 90:10 but for me it's more like 60:40....no doctor will assist me with that.
 
BenzoBrain3 said:
Slow tapers would drive me insane. I have other health priorities that need fixing and cannot wait months. I literally don't feel like a 29 year old man should because I have no androgens in my body. Testosterone to DHT ratio is supposed to be 90:10 but for me it's more like 60:40....no doctor will assist me with that.
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Becareful. Its hard to say how much you were actually taking (and which benzo you were taking). Benzo withdrawal can be horrifying and lasts forever. I know from experience unfortunately. My brain is permanently altered. A single dose of benzos now makes me feel anxious for 5 days after. I was a very heavy benzo abuser however.

Perhaps gets some KSM-66 ashwagandha extract (readily available on amazon). Might help the GABA crash a bit.

Better idea would be to either get some diazepam from a doctor or some diclazepam online and taper off slower. Benzo withdrawal can cause seizures and can even be fatal.
 
negrogesic said:
Becareful. Its hard to say how much you were actually taking (and which benzo you were taking). Benzo withdrawal can be horrifying and lasts forever. I know from experience unfortunately. My brain is permanently altered. A single dose of benzos now makes me feel anxious for 5 days after. I was a very heavy benzo abuser however.

Perhaps gets some KSM-66 ashwagandha extract (readily available on amazon). Might help the GABA crash a bit.

Better idea would be to either get some diazepam from a doctor or some diclazepam online and taper off slower. Benzo withdrawal can cause seizures and can even be fatal.
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I know sourcing is against the rules but is there any way someone could pm me a hint of some kind?
 
No
BenzoBrain3 said:
I know sourcing is against the rules but is there any way someone could pm me a hint of some kind?
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Nope unfortunately, search around. You'll have to search around but you can find it probably.

However maybe you don't actually need it. I don't know how much of clonazolam or etizolam or bromazolam or whatever was in those. If its your first time with benzo withdrawal you might be able to do it with what you have.
 
I tried getting two week supply of diazepam at the hospital but the ER doc just gave me the clonidine. I'm sure I screwed myself by showing up with a laceration above my eye while stinking of liquor.
 
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thank you @negrogesic, @BenzoBrain3 i do appreciate how difficult it is to taper from street drugs but if BL allowed sourcing under any circumstances it would go downhill very fast. please try and speak to a doctor rather than risk endangering yourself trying to taper without support.

I agree with @The Wizard of the Creek that a treatment centre would probably be the best option for you, they will help you taper safely and address the underlying psyhological issues that drive your addiction. i tried to quit using drugs without any psychological work a ton of times and went straight back, cos using was doing something for me and i wasn't replacing that with anything healthy.
 
The Wizard of the Creek said:
Is a treatment center an opinion for you? I recommend everyone go to rehab at least once in their lives whether they need to or not. You would be much better served in a place like that because of the life threatening dangers of alprazolam withdrawal. From how much you said you do and the many months you have been using daily, I would say you qualify for medical treatment.

If detox or rehab is not an option for you, and you want to do this on your own. I would really follow the Ashton Manual. That would require much more diazepam than you already have (50 mg is not enough to safely taper from the amount of Xanax you have been using). Also, look into gabapentinoids like gabapentin, pregabalin, possibly phenibut/ baclofen (acts as a gabapentiniod at higher than therapeutic doses). Gabapentin was a lifesaver for me coming off of clonazepam last fall. It acts as an anticonvulsant and is prescribed sometimes for epileptic seizures.

All of this is best done under doctor supervision. As it stands, you need help and you are in a dangerous spot at the moment. I really hope you do not decide to go this on your own. I don’t mean to scare you, but many people have died trying to quit on their own without medical supervision. Xanax is one of the most dangerous benzo to withdrawal from.

I quit from 15 years on clonazepam. I did it with help from medical professionals and I haven’t taken a benzo for 9 months and feel just fine today. I know how difficult and scary it is for you now. PM me if you want to?

🧙‍♂️
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I'll pm you later if I need to. And yes there is a plan in place for me to go to a detox facility and receive a more aggressive diazepam dose 60-80mg daily plus an unknown amount of gabapentin. I will be allowed to bring my tablet with me and use their wifi so I can keep posting he
I'll have to just tough it out until something happens with a package in the postal system .. The detox plan isn't a long term thing either, it's going to be 3-7 days to assess things and then discharge me as an outpatient.
 
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The Wizard of the Creek said:
That sounds good! Just make sure you can get a bed when you need it when you have your shit squared away and you are ready to go. I’ve been there man and they will square you away through the life threatening part. It’ll be a good time to get some support networks setup. I really needed those in early recovery. I’ve been through rehab six time so far and am clean from heroin/opioids, crack/cocaine, benzodiazepines.

I still struggle with alcohol but I have some sober time there. I first got the crack off my back (9 years clean), then hurt my back and got heavily into heroin/opioids (7 years clean), then started drinking daily to cope with methadone withdrawals. I’m still struggling with alcohol.

I got off of benzos last fall after 15 years of being prescribed them (no rehab necessary for the benzos though, all through my doctor using the Ashton Manual). I fortunately got help each time for each of those addictions in subsequent rehab visits. I was always only addicted to one thing at a time, and was lucky enough to kick each of them off my back through my thirdies.

None of this was easy man, and I always swapped one addiction for another. That’s pretty common. Just understand that recovery from these addictions wasn’t pretty for me, but I kicked them so far. I still struggle with alcohol sometimes, but I’m still in the mindset of recovery and understand that it’s been a messy process throughout.

Biggest thing that I can recommend is having a good sober support network in early recovery (whatever that means to you).

This is what I love about bluelight, it’s recovery support/addiction help and harm reduction.

Happy to have you here @BenzoBrain3, Welcome!

🧙‍♂️
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After reading your post Wizard, you have given some hope to continue my detox off dope. Today I am 5 days clean. I have been using for 18 years. Spent two years in prison and that was the only

time I was clean. Took only a week out of the pokey to start up again. Biggest mistake ever. So, here I am 8 years later trying yet again. The good thing about getting clean now, is that I kept

my usage super low. I used to do a 1/2 gram to a gram a day. And managed to make a gram last 10 fucking days!!! So, with the help of clonidine (which for me is really a game-changer, if taken

correctly), gabapentin and prescribed xanax, I don't feel too bad today. Problem is, I don't know who the fuck I am anymore. Did dope so long it was ingrained in me. But, one day at a time.

Kinda proud of myself. :)
 
Day 2 and things are mostly progressing as expected. Unfortunately my reliance on alcohol is much more than I expected or wanted. The diazepam and clonidine plus all the supplements are still not enough to avoid withdrawals that are getting worse by the day.

The people I live with don't know shit about any drug withdrawals and were astonished when I rapidly consumed 750ml whiskey and didn't show any signs of intoxication. Not even 1 slurred word. So yeah, the next alcohol purchase was 75$ for 60 ounces of whiskey which won't last very long either because of the transition from acute withdrawals to the next stage which will be more dangerous
 
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Take whiskey out of the picture. Once you've been heavily addicted to benzos, alcohol will fucking ruin you, and not in the good way. Your brain needs to heal its GABA pathways, and alcohol is harsh as fuck on those. If you keep trying to drink away benzo withdrawals, you are going to be a shaking, anxious, seizure-having mess.

You may need inpatient. I almost died coming out of an etizolam binge 7 years ago, and I'm still not right in the head. Be careful. Phenobarbital and gabapentin got me through the worst of it.
 
And I'm really praying hard for you RedRum. This addiction shit is no joke. Did we all not have enough toys to play with as children??! If I can get on the other side of this shit after 18 years....

you can too. Heroin defines me and I hate fucking "feelings", thus the dope. But each day is actually getting easier, mostly because I kept my dosage so low and that in and of itself is a mother

fucker to do. YOU WILL WIN!!!!!!
 
RedRum OG said:
Take whiskey out of the picture. Once you've been heavily addicted to benzos, alcohol will fucking ruin you, and not in the good way. Your brain needs to heal its GABA pathways, and alcohol is harsh as fuck on those. If you keep trying to drink away benzo withdrawals, you are going to be a shaking, anxious, seizure-having mess.

You may need inpatient. I almost died coming out of an etizolam binge 7 years ago, and I'm still not right in the head. Be careful. Phenobarbital and gabapentin got me through the worst of it.
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Well, pretty much exactly what you just told me is all happened already except for those seizures...but I'm sure they're on their way here soon enough. Constant delirium, tremors, vision is getting really blurry. I went to the hospital like 48 hours ago and they were pumping me with IV diazepam, gabapentin, some other drugs I wasn't even aware about. But I still ended up signing the form saying I am leaving against medical advice..and I basically walked straight out the door. But whoever that ER doctor was stopped me first and wrote liist of medications and he still knew I would be drinking alcohol with those meds because that's exactly what I told him. But he still did it anyways.

Can't really expect much more than that?
 
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The Wizard of the Creek said:
What did the doctor give you as take home meds from the ER?
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Can't really remember... but there was some diazepam, gabapentin, and other meds too. Probably some vitamins because of the dehydration. I just took the piece of paper and shoved it into my pocket lol

But the doses weren't that big because...I'm not in detox right now. I mean I wasn't expecting to be given 80mg daily diazepam because he'd probably get flagged for doing that. Even my own psychiatrist wouldn't do that and he was the one who told me I should be on those doses. Wow. But I got like 20mg per day.
 
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Oh shit..another symptom has arrived. Nausea and the gravol probably won't be enough..fml😵

See you in a couple weeks..maybe
 
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