Apparently there is a camp that believes benzodiazepines (such as diazepam, lorazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, and etc.) should simply be outlawed in the same way that heroine and cocaine are due to the fact that the risks of long term use outweighs the benefits of long term use. I myself have taken Xanax in the past (alprazolam) but only for about 4 weeks, during a very rough period of time in my life and it was prescribed by my physician. I feel as though it saved my life in that brief time, and I didn't get addicted. Nor did I get "stoned" or any experience any sort of "high" from taking it. I developed no physical dependence and it seemed like a miracle drug almost. So why the hate on benzodiazepines? For acute anxiety, they are effective. Use this thread to discuss benzodiazepines, if you have taken them, if they helped you, and if you think they should be more or less regulated.
Alprazolam (AFAIK) isn't known for causing dependance in the same way that some of the other benzos can, it's also faster acting than most of the other Benzos, taking a week or less to begin having a clinical effect. There are a number of causes of 'problems' when it comes to benzo withdrawl, including addictive personality types, non-panic diagnoses, (for example, using it to treat depression rather than panic attacks), how long you're administered the drug, high doses carry higher risks. how quickly you come off it (sudden discontinuation is not generally recommended), which Benzo you're talking about (As previously mentioned Xanax is not known for causing problems, while other Benzos have withdrawl rates as high as 100%), pre existing neurosis, and so on and so forth. As an example see Rickles, Shweizer, Case & Greenblatt If you want to consider another Benzo, consider, for example Diazepam (Valium) who's side effects can include changes in Libido, rage, violence, self harm, and suicidal tendencies or acts. Marruso, Marruso, Rachel & Biggio Rx List My personal experience with Benzos is through a third party, from when I worked in Mental health. Long story short, I worked with an Epileptic who averaged several seizures per day. There was a protocol in place where if the seizures lasted more than X minutes, Diazepam was to be administered, however that protocol was reviewed because the individual began to fake seizures because of the addictive effects of Diazepam. So while some benzos are 'safe' to take in low doses for short periods of time (which sounds like what your experience was) this isn't true of all Benzos, and the risk of addiction and/or withdrawl increases as the dosage increases, frequency increases, or duration increases. As previously mentioned, certain personality types are more prone to addiction, and different Benzos affect the same person differently - your experience, for example, might have been very different had you been given Valium (Diazepam) rather than Xanax.
I have Temazepam 30 mg prescribed to me for sleeping but i try to avoid taking them unless i really need them, i kinda don't want to become dependent on them.
yay another drug which works thats banned because it mightt have some adictive properties. so what? there are epileptics who must be constantly dosed witth diszaphram because otherwise the keep siezing. what are you going to replace it with for anxiaty disorders? beta blockers which dont work well except for phobia pts and have massive side effects if the pt happens to get injured or has asthma or anaphalaxis sure there are people who abuse it but there are people who abuse all analgisics too, should we ban pain relief and make people suffer?
Flunitrazepam is my favorite, hard to get anymore. I used to keep a bottle handy all the time. It was helpful for me.
I take clonazepam every night- have for a few years now. No addiction, no withdrawl... I can either take 'em or leave 'em. Last time I went to the shrink I mentioned "they were not working"- I say that because I asked for something to put me to sleep and he put me on them... bottom line is they don't do anything for me.
I can purchase Valium without a prescription in Cambodia and usually have a box of it at my apartment. Its useful if you want to sleep or relax. I tend to take one on long haul flights. Nevertheless I have not found using a 5 or 10mg valium to be addictive nor could I see a reason to use it everyday or even often. I think that many drugs can be addictive with prolonged use but I would think that this depends wholly on the user.
A followup. A few nights ago I took about a dozen clonazepam pills to see what it would do. The only thing I can report is short-term memory loss: apparently I made myself spaghetti and ate it some time after midnight. Still don't remember making or eating it.
alot of the benzos cause amneasia which is great if your about to give a fully concious person 100 j of electricity straight across the heart because they are in concious ventricula tachicardia
Read the newspapers and see if any of your neighbors met grisly deaths. (OK, that was primarily a joke but......) http://www.benzo.org.uk/violence.htm I think it's perhaps not wise to do these kinds of experiments on oneself. With clonazepam the violence tends to turn inward on oneself.
Valium (diazepam) and Dalmane (flurazepam) have a 36 hour half-life. So if you take 10mg every day, at the end of two weeks you'll have 40mg in your bloodstream at all times and 50mg right after you take your daily dose. If I take a Dalmane at night to sleep, I'm still groggy the following afternoon. This is why. I've still got 2/3 of the original dose!
