# Can you take SSRIs and Benzos together?



## J220 (Aug 20, 2013)

As the title says, is it safe to take a benzodiazepine while on SSRIs? Thanks


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## Cassoulet94 (Apr 3, 2014)

Yeah, it is. It's quite common to take benzo at early stage when you begin an SSRI treatment, because sometimes it can causes an increase in anxiety.

Try not to take benzo regularly for too long.


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## NumeroUno (Oct 23, 2009)

Cassoulet94 said:


> Try not to take benzo regularly for too long.


I cannot stress this fact enough. Do not take them regularly. Honestly, you'll wish you hadn't & you'll end up with worse rebound anxiety than when you started and probably end up a lifer on them with a ridiculous tolerance.

I just cold turkey stopped Benzos after just 3 months with the last month taking double my dose and then feeling like I needed more. So I quit and jesus christ it was the most intense withdrawals I've ever had for about 3-4 weeks. I *shouldn't* have stopped cold turkey and tapered...the seizure risk is real. Words can't even do that experience justice...but at one stage I was laid on my bathroom floor with buzzing in my ears, headache, no sleep for 3 days, worse rebound anxiety I ever had and I hadn't left the house in a week when I usually leave everyday. I was getting paranoia and I hadn't suffered a panic attack, but laid there I felt like the walls were closing in on me and I had to just hang my head out the window for air. Was ridiculous.


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## SenileTomato (Nov 26, 2014)

NumeroUno said:


> I cannot stress this fact enough. Do not take them regularly. Honestly, you'll wish you hadn't & you'll end up with worse rebound anxiety than when you started and probably end up a lifer on them with a ridiculous tolerance.
> 
> I just cold turkey stopped Benzos after just 3 months with the last month taking double my dose and then feeling like I needed more. So I quit and jesus christ it was the most intense withdrawals I've ever had for about 3-4 weeks. I *shouldn't* have stopped cold turkey and tapered...the seizure risk is real. Words can't even do that experience justice...but at one stage I was laid on my bathroom floor with buzzing in my ears, headache, no sleep for 3 days, worse rebound anxiety I ever had and I hadn't left the house in a week when I usually leave everyday. I was getting paranoia and I hadn't suffered a panic attack, but laid there I felt like the walls were closing in on me and I had to just hang my head out the window for air. Was ridiculous.


You say that you should not take benzodiazepines regularly, yet you stress that you had horrible withdrawals mainly due to cutting off cold turkey. What do you suggest if not benzos? Some people have such crippling anxiety (such as myself), they can barely or cannot function through life without some type of help. I would love to hear of a safer, alternative medication that would work just as well, because I have currently not found one and without benzo's I do not function correctly. When I'm on them, I am at my peak.


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## NumeroUno (Oct 23, 2009)

SenileTomato said:


> You say that you should not take benzodiazepines regularly, yet you stress that you had horrible withdrawals mainly due to cutting off cold turkey. What do you suggest if not benzos? Some people have such crippling anxiety (such as myself), they can barely or cannot function through life without some type of help. I would love to hear of a safer, alternative medication that would work just as well, because I have currently not found one and without benzo's I do not function correctly. When I'm on them, I am at my peak.


Honestly, my withdrawals were absolutely terrible. I wouldn't have wished it on my worse enemy and I'm a big advocate of not taking them religiously now. I mean, the rebound anxiety alone was worse than the anxiety I ever had before I took them. I don't suffer from panic attacks but I thought I was going to have one just sat at home and ended up just hanging my head out a window for air. I physically couldn't leave the house even to take out the trash for a week. Usually I manage to get out once daily at least even if it's just a walk.

I guesstimate I had about 3-4 weeks of hell when I came off them. Rebound anxiety, paranoia, paranoia of seizures (which happen in a lot of long term users), headaches, my sleep was ****ED - if I got 1-2 hours unbroken sleep it was a success. At one point I had about 3 hours of broken sleep in 72 hours. Depersonalization, feeling like I was walking in jelly, time going so slowly and broken up (like things that happened a week before I quit seemed to take place months or years ago - guess it's related to benzos & memory). Constantly feeling like something was wrong, like that feeling you get if you leave the house & realize you left the iron on or something. Just like heart sinking ''****!'', constantly.

Some people who are on them for long term end up with 1-3 YEARS of withdrawals and still aren't the same. Some people just react horrifically to them. I knew I had ****ed around enough when I watched a series on YouTube of some guy who quit then released update videos - one was years later and he still had windows of withdrawal symptoms & didn't feel the same. That was enough for me to stop but he had took valium for years. Someone else took them for about the same time as me and still had some symptoms 6 months later - at that point too I was like ''ooookay, what have I got into here? ****''. There's entire forums and videos just dedicated to coming off them.

*However*, I guess you don't hear the horror stories & I came off Cold Turkey - what I should have done is taper. I don't say it to be overly dramatic and scare people for no reason. I'm sure some people are fine being lifers on them, but I couldn't cope with that. They're only supposed to be used what, 2-4 weeks when required? I'm honestly not sure what to advise. Only take them when necessary - interviews, events, knowing you'll be out all day for example and not daily. I wish I could follow my own advice, but the only way you'll truly get better is just exposure imo. Essentially social practice. Benzos I found just acted as a band aid and at least for me it got to the point I would have to take them even if I WASN'T doing anything. Just because they're there.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Yes, it's safe to mix SSRIs and benzos. Tens of millions of patients do it.


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## Cassoulet94 (Apr 3, 2014)

UltraShy said:


> Yes, it's safe to mix SSRIs and benzos. Tens of millions of patients do it.


Ten of millions of people smoke and that's not safe, so i don't think your argument is very serious.

But yeah, anyway, it's safe if you don't abuse them.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Cassoulet94 said:


> Ten of millions of people smoke and that's not safe, so i don't think your argument is very serious.
> 
> But yeah, anyway, it's safe if you don't abuse them.


I amend my statement to: Tens of millions of patients take them together safely without any adverse effect.

Good enough for you, Mr. Wisea**?


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## Cassoulet94 (Apr 3, 2014)

yeah, it's allright for this time. But don't do it again.


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## UKguy (Sep 30, 2013)

NumeroUno said:


> I cannot stress this fact enough. Do not take them regularly. Honestly, you'll wish you hadn't & you'll end up with worse rebound anxiety than when you started and probably end up a lifer on them with a ridiculous tolerance.
> 
> I just *cold turkey* stopped Benzos after just 3 months with the last month taking double my dose and then feeling like I needed more. So I quit and jesus christ it was the most intense withdrawals I've ever had for about 3-4 weeks.


wtf is up with this forum lately. It is either full of people telling everyone to pop benzos like candy for the rest time.... OR people on the other side of the argument basically saying benzos are evil and your life will be ruined if you ever so much as look at one.

The truth about benzos is somewhere in the middle - they can be very helpful but not without some risk.

Some personal responsibility is required here, if you take a medication that is widely known to cause tolerance, dependence and withdrawal it is up to you to NOT escalate the dose if you notice this happening. Likewise it is up to YOU to taper off sensibly. You ramp up the dose quickly, then watch some hysteria and youtube and decide to go cold turkey and you are surprised you felt like **** for 3 weeks?

You say you aren't trying to scare people but your posts read exactly like you are.

I've been on Ativan over a year. I use it as required, I have not had to increase the dose and I don't crave them. I'm going to stick my neck out here and say for every person like you there are plenty like myself who can use them carefully as a tool to manage anxiety without abusing them.


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## UKguy (Sep 30, 2013)

And no I wouldn't recommend benzos as a first line defense against anxiety. 

But I feel frustrated that many people with treatment resistant anxiety/depression, that have failed with antidepressants and therapy are being denied the chance of ever trying a benzo because of the hysteria surrounding this class of drugs.


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## NumeroUno (Oct 23, 2009)

UKguy said:


> You say you aren't trying to scare people but your posts read exactly like you are.
> 
> I've been on Ativan over a year. I use it as required, I have not had to increase the dose and I don't crave them. I'm going to stick my neck out here and say for every person like you there are plenty like myself who can use them carefully as a tool to manage anxiety without abusing them.


The difference being MOST people who want to take Benzos either plan on taking them daily for extended periods of time OR don't have the willpower to only keep them for special occasions. Hell, even GP's these days are completely clueless and many will just take you off them cold turkey or keep you on them for extended periods - most ''support'' groups have even started listing ''Benzo smart'' doctors as most seem pretty clueless. At first it's easy enough, sure. But it's so easy for it to spiral out of control - and it happens to all kinds of people in their thousands, ''responsible'' or ''irresponsible'' from all walks of life. If someone lurking reads my post and actually does their research as a result and it stops them getting hooked then that is an ideal scenario. I never had that when I started.

I addressed in my post that you should only take them for a reason and not just sat on your *** all day. Which lets be real, most of us are doing. Otherwise you will end up more likely to be a horror story or at the very least suffering withdrawals & then back to square one again. If you're not sat on your *** all day, say you're working and start taking one ''before a stressful day'' that quickly turns into ''why not every morning?''. The only reason I preach about them is because of that fact - I went from anxious > Benzo zombie > horrific w/d's > back to the start. Add ''extra long valium taper where you can get w/d's with sub milligram changes in dosage'' if I had actually tapered off them. I'm lucky I was on them daily for a short (ish) duration - some people don't get ''back to the start'' for a long while.

I wouldn't wish the withdrawals on my worse enemy honestly & as anxiety sufferers it's so easy to get caught in the trap of them. I quit a 4-5 year Lean/Codeine addiction and was sick but that was a week. This went on for 3 weeks acute and still a faint ''hint'' of symptoms after that.

So tl;dr - take them for one off occasions, don't make it daily. There's a good chance you WILL suffer & at the very least you're back to square one again. Preferably don't take them at all, and use other methods to combat your anxiety.


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## Caedmon (Dec 14, 2003)

SenileTomato said:


> You say that you should not take benzodiazepines regularly, yet you stress that you had horrible withdrawals mainly due to cutting off cold turkey. What do you suggest if not benzos? Some people have such crippling anxiety (such as myself), they can barely or cannot function through life without some type of help. I would love to hear of a safer, alternative medication that would work just as well, because I have currently not found one and without benzo's I do not function correctly. When I'm on them, I am at my peak.


Benzos do not _continue_ to work and over time will leave the user in a worse state (that is, back at baseline as well as a state of drug dependence).

So you're asking for an alternative to being _worse off?_ Placebo is superior to that.


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## Narparit (Dec 2, 2014)

There is no interactions with benzodiazepines and SSRIs. I've asked to my doctor before.


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## UKguy (Sep 30, 2013)

NumeroUno said:


> *The difference being MOST people who want to take Benzos either plan on taking them daily for extended periods of time OR don't have the willpower to only keep them for special occasions.*
> 
> *Hell, even GP's these days are completely clueless and many will just take you off them cold turkey or keep you on them for extended periods - most ''support'' groups have even started listing ''Benzo smart'' doctors as most seem pretty clueless.*


Personally I don't see the problem with using them daily if you have anxiety daily. The problem comes when people take them 'just because', increase the dose if tolerance sets in or just generally misuse them.

I think the generalization about GPs is unfair and inaccurate. In the UK you would be hard pressed to find any GP who thinks long term benzo use is a good idea, but many, like my own, will concede there are few other options for a small group of patients with long standing treatment resistant anxiety. They are a necessary evil for some.

It sounds like you had a history of drug abuse (codeine) and you probably shouldn't have started a benzo in the first place, as you are not able to control these things. That doesn't mean other people can't behave in a responsible way.

It also reads like you have spent too much time on very biased, anti-doctor 'support groups' like benzobuddies, which are practically cults IMO.


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## NumeroUno (Oct 23, 2009)

UKguy said:


> Personally I don't see the problem with using them daily if you have anxiety daily. The problem comes when people take them 'just because', increase the dose if tolerance sets in or just generally misuse them.


The problem is you shouldn't be using Benzos daily for extended periods of time anyway - all the literature says that. They're a quick, band-aid style form of medication that shouldn't be used everyday for months/years and preferably used for one off occasions rather than daily usage. The risk is I wouldn't say it's just people with a history of addiction that get hooked - there's people from all walks of life that barely pop APAP or asprin that get hooked on them. If you're severely anxious or even moderately anxious the feeling of freezing your brain becomes so desirable that ''just one off use/daily use for a couple of weeks'' becomes daily use for months/years. And it's pretty well documented that long term Benzo use, which is considered to be 4 weeks, and Benzo withdrawal syndrome is no joke and not something that ''cultists'' make up to justify their Anti-Doctor agenda.

I agree Benzos can be used from time to time during crippling anxiety when you NEED to function - I didn't say that was a bad idea. But they're not gonna get to the root of the problem and preferably if you CAN do without - then do without. If you do need them then space them out and don't take them everyday when half the time people are sat on their asses inside anyway, you know?


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