# So how do Benzos make you feel?



## sash (Nov 16, 2009)

Do they make you feel as relaxed as alcohol? Do they put you in a good mood? How long do they take to wear off? Can I just use them once in a while and they would still be effective?


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## spaceygirl (Dec 4, 2009)

In terms of the physical response from taking ativan, it never made me feel super happy or high, just spacey and generally non-chalant about things (oh, and really tired). It didn't do much for me at all when I started taking it on a regular basis. I would've had to keep upping the dosage which I wasn't prepared to do. It does help physically relax you, like if you're having a panic attack, but overall I don't think it helped much with my social anxiety because it didn't solve anything in the long run. For myself, I always keep some around but only if I'm having some sort of physical anxiety issue like my heart is racing or I feel like I'm about to have a panic attack. Also I stopped taking them because I developed restless leg syndrome in between doses when the last dose would start to wear off.


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## Positive (Jun 29, 2009)

Ativan works really quick.
.5MG can buzz you a tad. Within 15-30 mins, you'll feel it, in another hour you'll feel the full effects.


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## Saqq (Dec 1, 2008)

no effect unless I take like 10x my recommended dose (6-10mg of Xanax) - prescribed as 1mg as needed.


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## RedMan (Oct 30, 2009)

I'd compare it to alcohol. More of an overall relaxed feeling than a head-buzz however.

In my opinion they should ONLY be taken as needed. Seems to last for about 4 hrs (Xanax anyway).

Not sure i'd say it puts you in a good mood, but you're more likely to be happy when not as anxious. Theres definately potential for abuse so please be careful. It does make you a little spacey, slow and possibly tired depending on the dose.

Your milage may vary....
RedMan


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## gillettecavalcad3 (Jul 9, 2009)

Sum it up in one word for you, .......normal.


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## Got2GetGoing (Dec 10, 2009)

I take Klonopin and it just makes me feel normal I can talk to people going in public without feeling self conscious and not really depressed because of that the only problem is my doctor prescribes me 1.5 mg a day and I usually take 3mg which means I run out and life gets rough again.


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

I take 1mg of clonazepam daily makes me calm but I dont do it anymore since I get tired of being drugged.


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## Got2GetGoing (Dec 10, 2009)

MavenMI6Agent009 said:


> I take 1mg of clonazepam daily makes me calm but I dont do it anymore since I get tired of being drugged.


But don't you feel worse without it? Or are there other Meds. helping? :idea


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

Positive said:


> Ativan works really quick.
> .5MG can buzz you a tad. Within 15-30 mins, you'll feel it, in another hour you'll feel the full effects.


i love u :clap:clap
man 2.5 has me buzzing but no the doc will not give it to me cuz its like heroin for my body, it absorbs it and the normality and social butterfly in me is released and i feel on top of the world

the thing with ativan as wonderful as it is, you need 5mg then 10 mg then 20 and so forth, but i tried to limit myself to 2.5 then 5MG but over the months i took it, the effects became less and less

oh and Saqq i do not blame you 
1mg may not do squat to be honest
i would change to atitivan or klonopin, which i am on
1.5-2mg a day and i feel normal which i have not done in years whatever normal is anyway


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## work_in_progress (May 16, 2005)

Ativan makes me sleepy. Kind of just takes the edge off of everything...My brain feels like it's working slower, which can be awesome, or crappy depending on the situation. 
It also has a tendency to make me feel kind of sad and out of it, depending on how much I've taken.


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

Got2GetGoing said:


> But don't you feel worse without it? Or are there other Meds. helping? :idea


Prolixin and other antipsychotics pretty much calm me down.


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## belfort (May 3, 2009)

benzos by themself just make me very slow and calm, too calm..in fact i am tired and my motivation is gone...i turn into a zombie basically..they slow my thoughts too making me dumber, not as witty..


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

Benzos are, in my experience, an incredibly subtle class of drugs. It takes a pretty high dose to really "feel" anything at all. When you do, it's kind of like alcohol without the unpleasant nausea, dizziness, and room-spinning effects.

Benzos act as muscle relaxants so obviously, they are a relaxing drug. The anxiolytic effects work to relax the mind as well. So relaxing is a good description of it. If I could use only one word to describe the perceived effects of benzos, it would be _comfortable._

Asking how it makes you feel is kind of useless though. Only thing you can really do is try it out for yourself, and everybody reacts differently.

As for using them only once in a while - yes, you can use them like that, and in fact they work BETTER when you don't take them regularly.


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## hiimnotcool (Apr 28, 2009)

Yeah, I take them only once in a blue moon when I have an interview or something. They definitely make you feel good and confident. Beautiful.


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## Saqq (Dec 1, 2008)

Arisa1536 said:


> i love u :clap:clap
> oh and Saqq i do not blame you
> 1mg may not do squat to be honest
> i would change to atitivan or klonopin, which i am on
> 1.5-2mg a day and i feel normal which i have not done in years whatever normal is anyway


I've tried them all, or as many as possible, none are effective except extremely high doses or 10mg~ (which itself is extreme) of Xanax. I don't use them daily, maybe twice a week.

So far: Clonazepam, Lorazapam, Phenazepam (those crazy russians!), 1 other I can't remember right now

The psych.doc wants me to stick to Xanax (Alprazolam) anyways since it seems to be the only one that works.

I have no alcohol tolerance (I was an alcoholic at work for like 2 weeks straight, and thats about it other than casual drinks at social gatherings), maybe the alcoholic gene (if there is such thing?) from my grandpa is screwing things up...

eitherway, I'd rather stick to weed at this point, cheaper, lasts longer, more social (imo), and tastes so good (I usually vaporize)


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## Got2GetGoing (Dec 10, 2009)

MavenMI6Agent009 said:


> Prolixin and other antipsychotics pretty much calm me down.


What other kind of antipsychotics do you take if you don't mind me asking?
I'm scheduled to see my doctor Monday and would like to ask him about similar Meds, that help me to remain calm.


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## martyboi (Sep 18, 2009)

Benzos are only good for people who panic. IMO, its a very risky drug to take...depending on the situation you're in, the people you are around and you're attitude...it can either be a life saver or ruin your life. In my case, when i used to take benzos, they would bring out my supressed emotions. Usually anger and hostility toward other people. They would make me more talkative, relaxed and comfortable socially...but people were less comfortable around me because i would just say what i felt and id be less discrete about my behavior. It ended up costing me the best friendship i ever had and for that reason...i will never go near a benzo again. They destroyed my life and made me in to a more depressed person than i ever was or could imagine myself being. IMO, they're evil.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

meyaj said:


> Benzos are, in my experience, an incredibly subtle class of drugs.


Finally, somebody who says basically the same thing I've said so many times before.

I remember the first time I ever took Valium 9 year ago. I was expecting some serious effect. After all, Valium is about as iconic as Dirty Harry's .44 Magnum. Well, I tried Valium and it was an anti-climatic as could be. It would be like trying a .44 Mag and finding it to have as much kick as a BB gun. Benzos are so over-rated. They don't even come close to living up to their legendary status.


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## k0mnatad0t (Nov 15, 2009)

Yeah, I'm pretty much in agreement with most people here. Benzos are overrated. They only really help me when I'm so stressed out that I'm feeling physical tension all over my body. When that happens, I'll pop 2 kpins and it takes the edge off. If I add a beer or two, I actually get a very subtle but pleasant euphoric buzz :3

They're also pretty helpful when coming down from stims.


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## RockiNToM (Jun 15, 2009)

The only time I tried a benzo really thoroughly was when I was in hospital for an operation and they gave me mega doses of valium to calm me down and it did absolutely nothing at all, which worried the nurses and surgeon - and I never even taken any benzos before in my life so it wasn't like I had a built up tolerance or anything!

I've actually had more sedation from a anti-depressant than from valium...

I'd need something quite a bit stronger benzo wise if I was to use a form of benzo. I think Xanax and Klonopin would suit me but the UK health system says no so that must be it; valium or nothing I guess.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

RockiNToM said:


> The only time I tried a benzo really thoroughly was when I was in hospital for an operation and they gave me mega doses of valium to calm me down and it did absolutely nothing at all, which worried the nurses and surgeon - and I never even taken any benzos before in my life so it wasn't like I had a built up tolerance or anything!
> 
> I've actually had more sedation from a anti-depressant than from valium...
> 
> I'd need something quite a bit stronger benzo wise if I was to use a form of benzo. I think Xanax and Klonopin would suit me but the UK health system says no so that must be it; valium or nothing I guess.


+1
Benzo's are weak imo.

Ive tried allmost any benzo that exist.


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## sash (Nov 16, 2009)

martyboi said:


> Benzos are only good for people who panic. IMO, its a very risky drug to take...depending on the situation you're in, the people you are around and you're attitude...it can either be a life saver or ruin your life. In my case, when i used to take benzos, they would bring out my supressed emotions. Usually anger and hostility toward other people. They would make me more talkative, relaxed and comfortable socially...but people were less comfortable around me because i would just say what i felt and id be less discrete about my behavior. It ended up costing me the best friendship i ever had and for that reason...i will never go near a benzo again. They destroyed my life and made me in to a more depressed person than i ever was or could imagine myself being. IMO, they're evil.


Wow, I'm sorry this happened. Well, what I've learned from your responses is that it really depends on the person. Thanks!


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

Benzos are disinhibiting like alcohol, and through largely the same mechanism. Generally it's the same jackasses who become dicks when they're drunk that do the same thing on benzos.

They're not "evil". They don't make you say or do things you don't want to. The loss of inhibition just means that it's letting your true personality be shown to the rest of the world. If you happen to become a a total jerk on them that nobody wants to be around, that's indicative of an aspect of your personality that REALLY needs some work. Perhaps that fear of letting everyone else see the real you contributes to the social anxiety itself. Either way, ignoring the real problem and just blaming it on the drug is lazy and is definitely not going to help you improve.


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## bben (Oct 24, 2009)

Sedating and strangely very hungry. Worthless for physical euphoria but good to escape life.


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## RockiNToM (Jun 15, 2009)

I'd also like to add after another visit to the hospital recently and was given benzodiazepine versed/midazolam in high doses but did absolutely nothing. I suppose given that it's supposed to induce amnesia as means to help a patient through a trauma and that it did nothing on me is quite worrying. Once again the doctors and nurses were shocked that it didn't work in high doses just like my experience with valium.

Am I like naturally benzo tolerent or something? Considering I have never been prescribed any in my whole life to take for anything I don't understand how when I have them in a one off situation for something they don't work. What the hell is going on?!

Annoying.


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

For me they feel kind of disinhibiting like alcohol (through GABA), they increase my energy and motivation, and occasionally they make me feel a bit dizzy, as for the buzz, I don;t personally get or desire much of a buzz from them, but I find it less reinforcing than alcohol because it lacks the endorphin buzz of alcohol.


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## RockiNToM (Jun 15, 2009)

That's weird Jim or perhaps normal I don't know. Benzos for me do nothing whatsoever! The only time something working on GABA has worked is alcohol. It doesn't make sense to me at all. It's a mystery!


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

RockiNToM said:


> I'd also like to add after another visit to the hospital recently and was given benzodiazepine versed/midazolam in high doses but did absolutely nothing. I suppose given that it's supposed to induce amnesia as means to help a patient through a trauma and that it did nothing on me is quite worrying. Once again the doctors and nurses were shocked that it didn't work in high doses just like my experience with valium.
> 
> Am I like naturally benzo tolerent or something? Considering I have never been prescribed any in my whole life to take for anything I don't understand how when I have them in a one off situation for something they don't work. What the hell is going on?!
> 
> Annoying.


You are completely like me... Whats interesting about me is that benzo's do work when i've taken amphetamine, then they are pretty potent, on their own they do absolutely nothing!


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

Benzos affect me randomly. With stronger doses this seems to be more noticeable. Generally I don't notice a thing from them but occasionally it will seem very strong. That's the only reason I keep my clonazepam prescription, despite the fact that 75% of the time I might as well be taking nothing.


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## pita (Jan 17, 2004)

They make me too sleepy.


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## Saqq (Dec 1, 2008)

meyaj said:


> Benzos affect me randomly. With stronger doses this seems to be more noticeable. Generally I don't notice a thing from them but occasionally it will seem very strong. That's the only reason I keep my clonazepam prescription, despite the fact that 75% of the time I might as well be taking nothing.


exact same way I feel. in fact I pretty much posted this in the other thread hehe


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## Efsee (Jul 20, 2009)

Xanax: emotionally stunted, spaced out, sleepy


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

RockiNToM said:


> That's weird Jim or perhaps normal I don't know. Benzos for me do nothing whatsoever! The only time something working on GABA has worked is alcohol. It doesn't make sense to me at all. It's a mystery!


Interesting coz I've read that alcohol binds to the same GABA binding sites as the barbiturates (as opposed to the benzodiazapine binding sites) so that may be a reason. Also just the general fact that alcohol hits so many other receptors besides GABA and you may be benefiting from any one of those receptors, hard to say. But for what it's worth, in my experience benzos are wayyy more subtle than alcohol, when your drunk you KNOW it, but when your on benzos half the time your not sure if youve even taken them. It may even be that your not taking enough I mean you took valium right? which is pretty weak, a 2 mg dose of klonopin is equivilent to 40 mg of valium. Anyway just throwing some ideas out there for your lack of response.


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