# How do you avoid tolerance and addiction? (benzos q)



## deltan144 (Mar 11, 2009)

I only take valium(5mg) 3x a week when needed, but i was wondering will this be enough for me to build tolerance and perhaps slight addiction say in 6 months or 1 yr or is this only a potential risk for people who take them regularly on everyday basis?

Also would it be a good idea to take keep alternating benzos every 6months, like take valium then xanax, keep switching back and forth because i plan to only use benzos for another 3.5 yrs of my uni life and want to keep the effective of the drug dose like when i first started.

Really appreciate if you guys could input thoughts and experiences. =)


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

> I only take valium(5mg) 3x a week when needed, but i was wondering will this be enough for me to build tolerance and perhaps slight addiction say in 6 months or 1 yr or is this only a potential risk for people who take them regularly on everyday basis?


Taking them three times a week shouldn't cause any noticeable withdrawal effects. It's similar to how many people drink alcohol several times per week with no withdrawal symptoms; problems arise when they drink heavily every night, then start needing a drink to "wake up", etc.



> Also would it be a good idea to take keep alternating benzos every 6months, like take valium then xanax, keep switching back and forth because i plan to only use benzos for another 3.5 yrs of my uni life and want to keep the effective of the drug dose like when i first started.


No, the primary effects of benzos are all mediated through the same subunit of the GABA(A) receptor. Each benzo may have minor effects on other systems, but this isn't generally significant.



Freesix88 said:


> Cool. I have the same question. Would klonopin 3 times a week (1mg) prevent tolerance?


That should be fine. That said, if you dose all three on consecutive days, I wouldn't be surprised if you felt minor rebound anxiety for a day or two afterwards, due to clon's long half-life and accumulation.


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## Cast Away (Feb 12, 2009)

I take klonopin 3x a week at about 4mg and have been doing so for about 3 months. I dont feel like ive built up much tolerance as ive been off them 3-4 days at a time a couple times with no withdrawl.


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## climbingupthewall (Apr 24, 2009)

No, neither of you guys are taking enough to build a tolerance or to form a physical addiction. Just watch yourself, if you find yourself taking them more often (or in greater quantity) than the prescription allows, it might be a good idea to avoid benzodiazepines altogether. If you were taking 4mg a day of Klonopin for several months, then you would have a mild to moderate physical addiction. Many people are prescribed that amount and (or even more) but would have ween off of them if they wanted to discontinue. When I was 18 I was taking 6mg of Xanax a day (legitimately prescribed)! The doctor was too liberal...I lived in a haze for about a year. It wasn't hard to get off them though: I decreased the dosage by 15-20% every 9 days. I do remember getting some really bad headaches though. That's right 'euphoria' it works on the same receptors as alcohol...just noticed your post--I might not have posted if I saw that.


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## Futurebeats (Feb 11, 2009)

Take days off, and maybe cycle with something like phenibut which works on gaba-b receptors.


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## k0mnatad0t (Nov 15, 2009)

I have a PRN ("take-as-needed") scrip for Klonopin. Taking 1 mg will almost completely chill me out when I take it on the days I feel excessively anxious. Lately, my anxiety has gotten a whole lot worse and I'm considering taking the Klonnies on a more regular basis.

My question is...if I were to take 1 mg once a day throughout the workweek to get by, and then spent Saturday and Sunday clean of benzos..would I be able to avoid tolerance/dependency issues? Because I really don't want to get anywhere close to addiction, I just want to up my use to get over a rough patch in my life right now.


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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

deltan144 said:


> *Also would it be a good idea to take keep alternating benzos every 6months, like take valium then xanax*, keep switching back and forth because i plan to only use benzos for another 3.5 yrs of my uni life and want to keep the effective of the drug dose like when i first started.


Nope, unfortunately, all benzos work the same way and tolerance to one makes you tolerant to others as well.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

climbingupthewall said:


> When I was 18 I was taking 6mg of Xanax a day (legitimately prescribed)! The doctor was too liberal...I lived in a haze for about a year.


I take 10 mg daily (also legitimately prescribed) and I certainly am not in any haze. I think my posts provide ample evidence of my clear thinking, even if many may disagree with my views.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

bowlingpins said:


> Nope, unfortunately, all benzos work the same way and tolerance to one makes you tolerant to others as well.


Agree. They're all cross tolerant.


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

You should take 2 days off a week of any addicitive med (benzo's, amphetamines etc).


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## meyaj (Sep 5, 2009)

euphoria said:


> Taking them three times a week shouldn't cause any noticeable withdrawal effects. It's similar to how many people drink alcohol several times per week with no withdrawal symptoms; problems arise when they drink heavily every night, then start needing a drink to "wake up", etc.
> 
> No, the primary effects of benzos are all mediated through the same subunit of the GABA(A) receptor. Each benzo may have minor effects on other systems, but this isn't generally significant.
> 
> That should be fine. That said, if you dose all three on consecutive days, I wouldn't be surprised if you felt minor rebound anxiety for a day or two afterwards, due to clon's long half-life and accumulation.


Normally I'd agree with you but we're talking about valium in particular here, which can have a really long half-life, largely dependent on the person using it. Even using it only 3 times a week could be similar to constantly using another, short-acting benzo. So it's definitely possible to develop a dependence. But on the other side of the coin, that long-half life should make for milder withdrawals anyways as the drug is very gradually cleared from the body.


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

Yeah that was an old post, I agree, he could get a dependence problem even without daily dosing of Valium.


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## Vini Vidi Vici (Jul 4, 2009)

i got .5 K-pins from my Doc, and ive taken .5mg every day since Tuesday. My memory has been pretty much fried, I can still think, its just like, my higher cognitive brain functions are just, gone. Its really weird, actually.....the feeling, of just being all chill and stuff, not feeling the constant tug and pull of anxiety whenever somebody walks by me or looks at me.....I don't mind the memory loss much, (of course i dont mind, i dont remember the memory loss) haha. I just remember, becoming, very talkative, at various point in the last 5 days on K-pin. It just destroys the normal Extreme overactivity in my brain, so i dont overthink to the point of paralysis/analysis paralysis. Im currently feeling minor withdrawal effects, I havent taken any yet today, but......I can't say, the withdrawal effects are aversive. They are just slightly uncomfortable....headache, slight jitteryness and increased RLS.....but, it feels, right, somehow, to be back to my normal self. Now I can think again, make connections, say purposeful things, instead of blurting out useless banter, because i cant contrive anything better to say. I dont even know why im writing this post...but, I guess it doesnt really matter! I guess i just wanted to share my experience with K-pin, and how it makes me manic, hyper, and gives me Alzheimer's disease.....of course, I love K-pin, no matter what it does, its my friend. I just, didnt feel right, on K-pin, blurting out words with no meaning, just because it felt good to talk. Now, I can judge my responses, think, reason, ......lol, I think i actually like it better without K-pin!!! well, we will see, later today, if I suddenly go spastically insane.


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## Vini Vidi Vici (Jul 4, 2009)

crayzyMed said:


> You should take 2 days off a week of any addicitive med (benzo's, amphetamines etc).


I think, for someone with a typical response to Benzos (unlike me, who doesnt really get bad benzo withdrawl 4 some reason) I can see how it would be extremely difficult to utilize enough self-control to take a Benzo only as needed. Specifically, Klonopin....it helps me for a whole day if i take it in the morning. But the next morning, i feel anxiety and an urge to take it again....Its the wierd time frame, of its effects, that makes it SO easy to just pop it every day and forget how many days go by.....which can be a good thing, in many situations!!! sometimes i want the days to go by quickly. On klonopin, they went by a little too quickly, though.


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

My Valium arrived today, I'll be taking it to get through the adjustment period until my meds are working. So far today I've taken 3 doses of 2.5mg, as it doesn't last long (this should change as the metabolite(s) build up).

I agree Vini, there are good and bad effects of benzos. I find them useful for short term relief through difficult situations, but they make me too slow and apathetic to be useful long term. I tried relying on them as a monotherapy before, in high doses, and it just didn't work. It just made me not care about my problems rather than resolving them. IMO dopamine, serotonin and mild glutamate blockade are much better targets - they increase my ability to function rather than decrease it. Perhaps GABA has a place as a mere afterthought to a DA/5-HT/anti-glutamate-focused regimen, but only if balanced with nootropics.


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

Also, the drug memantine may prevent or at least slow benzo tolerance.


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## James Goodson (Mar 6, 2010)

They did a crazy experiment a while ago with monkeys and stress. They took a dominant and non dominant monkey and put them in stressful environemnts. After a while they brought them back home where they had 2 levers.. one for food and one for cocaine (told you it's crazy study). So, what they found is that the societally dominant monkey took much much less cocaine, as opposed to the non-dominant one.

What this means is that assertiveness and general "leader" type qualities reduce the chance of addiction, so it makes good sense to work on those.

I've blogged about it a bit more fully here: http://www.calmclinic.com/news/hidden-factor-causes-the-use-of-drugs/


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## elise314 (Mar 6, 2010)

I have been taking Zanaz for about 4 years now. I started @ 1mg a day and I now take 3 mg's a day. I had a baby in 2008 and I had to wean my self off of them. I felt awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was the worst ever. I didn't want to talk to anyone, I was depressed and NOT myself. My daughter is 14 months old now and I SO wish that I would not have started taking them after she was born. They do help me with anxiety, BUT they are so addictive and you build a tolerance to them quickly. When I take them, I can't even tell that I have, but when I do NOT take them I notice a major difference. I also have been known to take way too many, which I know I should not do, but at then towards the end of the month I am out and so frustrated with myself. I would NOT recommend this medication to anyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nor any Benzo's!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are highly addictive and after a month or so you want more... Just my experience!!!


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## crayzyMed (Nov 2, 2006)

James Goodson said:


> They did a crazy experiment a while ago with monkeys and stress. They took a dominant and non dominant monkey and put them in stressful environemnts. After a while they brought them back home where they had 2 levers.. one for food and one for cocaine (told you it's crazy study). So, what they found is that the societally dominant monkey took much much less cocaine, as opposed to the non-dominant one.
> 
> What this means is that assertiveness and general "leader" type qualities reduce the chance of addiction, so it makes good sense to work on those.
> 
> I've blogged about it a bit more fully here: http://www.calmclinic.com/news/hidden-factor-causes-the-use-of-drugs/


I fully agree with that study, being socially dominant is like a drug itself, and is also the biggest reason for my druguse. Ppl with psycological issues are more likely to abuse drugs.


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## flapjacker (Nov 30, 2008)

stop taking them 

I keep my doses low, and not exceed the usual dosage. I limit myself to once a day for my more stressful job. However, I also use kratom for its mood enhancing and anxiety relieving properties, so I kind of get to variate.

Benzo w/d is no fun just feels like going backwards, so if I stick to a routine, its most beneficial.


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## Positive (Jun 29, 2009)

k0mnatad0t said:


> I have a PRN ("take-as-needed") scrip for Klonopin. Taking 1 mg will almost completely chill me out when I take it on the days I feel excessively anxious. Lately, my anxiety has gotten a whole lot worse and I'm considering taking the Klonnies on a more regular basis.
> 
> My question is...if I were to take 1 mg once a day throughout the workweek to get by, and then spent Saturday and Sunday clean of benzos..would I be able to avoid tolerance/dependency issues? Because I really don't want to get anywhere close to addiction, I just want to up my use to get over a rough patch in my life right now.


im kind of in this situation, but i dont really take my benzos at work unless i was really stressed or in panic. it has happened recently though, but i try to fight it. drugs are drugs, so matter how u cut it, it's going to have an effect on you.

weekends, im totally off it. if i had a social thing, i would be on it, but i dont.. duh.

glukc.


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## Jjcc1221 (Sep 2, 2015)

bowlingpins said:


> deltan144 said:
> 
> 
> > *Also would it be a good idea to take keep alternating benzos every 6months, like take valium then xanax*, keep switching back and forth because i plan to only use benzos for another 3.5 yrs of my uni life and want to keep the effective of the drug dose like when i first started.
> ...


I had this idea and tried it with my doctor. I was prescribed on Xanax for 2 years at 1mg 3x a day however never used it that much. The doctor put me on Ativan and so far it's worked well for me. I'm not as tired as I was on the Xanax (this happened a year after being prescribed). Now Im taking them sparingly and when it stops working I'll probably just ask to be switched to another one. They all are similar chemically but each one has a slight different tweek. I guess that's all it takes for me. I don't think you need to rule something out entirely just because it's in the same category. I've been on Ativan 2 months from today.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

I see benzos as a fire extinguisher for anxiety and use them only when I absolutely need to. This avoids most tolerance and avoids dependence. Addiction is different from tolerance and dependence. Addiction implies uncontrolable self-destructive drug seeking behaviour. Physical and mental dependence will occur with almost any psych drug if you take the drug for long enough. I have never had any addiction to any drug.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Noca said:


> Addiction implies uncontrolable self-destructive drug seeking behaviour.


Well, there's nothing self-destructive about my benzo use.

This thread is 5 years old, so an update is in order: you're free to read my posts and decide if my mental faculties are still intact.

I think you will find that they are, even if you may well disagree with my personal opinions.


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