# Considering taking benzos once a week - please help



## emadison85 (Sep 20, 2010)

Hi,

I'm a male R&B singer in his mid-20s who have recently developed social anxiety (excessive worry, sweaty palms, tenseness, mind goes blank) due to fame / an extremely hostile environment. I've been on Cipralex for about a month now and it's not doing much for me. I've used a little bit of benzo recreationally in the past, now you've all probably heard this a million times before but I noticed that it:

- Completely removed my anxiety, good Lord what a feeling

- Uplifted my mood and changed the way I perceive the world, from a world of war and isolation to a world of peace and opportunity

- Made me supersocial, talkative, charming and witty

- Relaxed my speech organs, made my voice sound better, made me more eloquent

- Increased bodily comfort

- Increased my desire for love and sex, gave me lots of girlfriends

- Made it easier to perform on stage

I'm considering asking my doctor for benzos so I can fully enjoy the remainder of my youth. But due to the dreaded consequences of tolerance and addiction, as well as the fact that it makes me too careless for normal things such as working, learning or exercising - it's not something I'd want to take on a daily basis, but rather once a week when I'm out with my friends or on stage with my band.

What you all think? Is this a bad idea? Would I be selling my soul to the devil - a medication against anxiety whose side-effect is more anxiety? Or is it alright since I'm only planning on taking it once a week? And how long could I go on like that?

Thanks everyone!

P.S. I hope I haven't offended anybody struggling to get off benzos. I do hope, however, that there are cases where this medication has improved peoples lives for the better.


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## GnR (Sep 25, 2009)

I would just urge you to excercise caution. It doesn't take much to become dependant (and yes, withdrawal sucks). Another thing to consider: once you're accustomed to using benzos during your performance's, how difficult will it be for you to do them sober? Btw, the euphoric feeling of relief will most likely fade, even if you're only using them once or twice a week. I'm not anti-benzo, I just think you should ask yourself what will happen when you don't want to take them anymore.


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

Have you tried beta-blockers?


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

I used to take Klonopin as needed. I would get a panic attack, and take it then. Now, I take it daily, and I haven't really seen any decline in its efficacy. I haven't had a panic attack in a really long time. I still get anxious about certain things, but I haven't had a full blown panic attack. I'm not addicted to it or anything. My doctor told me it's totally safe to take it daily. A lot of his patients are taking 2-3 times the dosage that I'm taking, so I feel safe on it.


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## GnR (Sep 25, 2009)

wjc75225 said:


> I used to take Klonopin as needed. I would get a panic attack, and take it then. Now, I take it daily, and I haven't really seen any decline in its efficacy. I haven't had a panic attack in a really long time. I still get anxious about certain things, but I haven't had a full blown panic attack. I'm not addicted to it or anything. My doctor told me it's totally safe to take it daily. A lot of his patients are taking 2-3 times the dosage that I'm taking, so I feel safe on it.


 I'm just wondering, how do you know you're not addicted to it? You take it daily, no?


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## lonelygirl88 (Dec 25, 2009)

Do you think the drugs will be noticeable in your performance? What about interviews and other events related? Do you think people near you would be able to tell that you're on something? Have you tried other alternatives like just breathing/stretching/meditating exercises before?


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## Himi Jendrix (Mar 24, 2010)

My doctor prescribes small doses of Xanax for this stage fright issue to others in his practice he tells me. I have mainly panic attacks, SA, and agoraphobia and Xanax allows me to function in daily life. 

Only .25mg at a time, but I can take it 4x daily. If you take large doses of it regularly then you will get tolerant and dependent. 

Xanax stops the panic feeling basically but it only lasts for 1-2 hours mainly. There are some nice after effects. Its one of those drugs that can be too much fun if you know what I mean. 

If you dont think you can handle Xanax then perhaps look to Ativan. Doctors are much more willing to prescribe ativan as well. Especially with no documented history of anxiety.


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

GnR said:


> I'm just wondering, how do you know you're not addicted to it? You take it daily, no?


Well, I don't get that feeling of "craving" it like I sometimes get with caffeine, for instance. I just take it like the doctor prescribed it like any other medicine I would take daily. I don't get that feeling of waiting all day to get my next "fix" of it. I take 1mg in the AM and 2mg in the PM. The only thing I've really been addicted to has been caffeine, so I know what an addiction/craving to something feels like. I guess that's the only way I know how to describe it.


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## GnR (Sep 25, 2009)

wjc75225 said:


> Well, I don't get that feeling of "craving" it like I sometimes get with caffeine, for instance. I just take it like the doctor prescribed it like any other medicine I would take daily. I don't get that feeling of waiting all day to get my next "fix" of it. I take 1mg in the AM and 2mg in the PM. The only thing I've really been addicted to has been caffeine, so I know what an addiction/craving to something feels like. I guess that's the only way I know how to describe it.


 Well, clonazepam has a long half life, so I wouldn't expect you to be craving it between doses. But 3mgs a day is a pretty high dose, and if you're going to be on it daily, you can expect to become dependant on it. I'm withdrawing from it currently and it is not fun (and I was on a lower dose than you). The only reason I bring it up is because it seemed like you may not be fully aware of the physical dependance issue.


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

GnR said:


> Well, clonazepam has a long half life, so I wouldn't expect you to be craving it between doses. But 3mgs a day is a pretty high dose, and if you're going to be on it daily, you can expect to become dependant on it. I'm withdrawing from it currently and it is not fun (and I was on a lower dose than you). The only reason I bring it up is because it seemed like you may not be fully aware of the physical dependance issue.


Ya, I am aware that there is physical dependence and withdrawal issues if I ever want to get off of it. Maybe my definition of "addiction" is a little off from the true definition. I've never had to experience withdrawal from a benzo, but I've had to from SSRI's/SNRI's, so I do know that withdrawal from medicine can be hell. My pdoc said that he has some patients on as much as 12mg a day . I couldn't even imagine that! I looked up the maximum "safe" dosage, and it's apparently 20mg/day.


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## emadison85 (Sep 20, 2010)

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories and giving me all this wonderful advice!

I've decided to suck it up like a man and lay off the meds. I've decided to spend less time in the studio making music, and more on sharpening my social skills to Obama-like proportions, so that whenever I talk, people (me included) light up. So that whenever I talk, haters immediately know this dude ain't to be ****ed with. This success will, in turn, make my brain produce all sorts of natural chemicals that no med can ever come close to. As they say, "once you find your natural self, you're gonna be alright".

Thanks again everyone!


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

emadison85 said:


> Thank you all so much for sharing your stories and giving me all this wonderful advice!
> 
> I've decided to suck it up like a man and lay off the meds. I've decided to spend less time in the studio making music, and more on sharpening my social skills to Obama-like proportions, so that whenever I talk, people (me included) light up. So that whenever I talk, haters immediately know this dude ain't to be ****ed with. This success will, in turn, make my brain produce all sorts of natural chemicals that no med can ever come close to. As they say, "once you find your natural self, you're gonna be alright".
> 
> Thanks again everyone!


Haha. "Obama-like proportions". :teeth I wish I had good public speaking skills/charisma like him. Of course, I think he uses a teleprompter, which would help some. I don't like his politics, but he does have charisma, I'll give him that much.


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## gordonjohnson008 (Nov 2, 2008)

IMO there's no shame in having a beer (or a benzo) before going on stage in front of people, but if you can get by without it by all means do so. Taking once a week should not build any tolerance at all, but you could become a victim of your own success - what if you ended up doing more than one show/week? And yes, if you can get by without meds and still dominate out there, that will really build confidence and that is the real, long-term, sustainable solution.


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## CopadoMexicano (Aug 21, 2004)

I dont take my clonazepam as directed just to avoid feeling drugged all the time. so ill take a break from the daily dose of 0.5mg and skip doses a lot. but ive noticed it doesnt work as good for my panic attacks if i dont take it daily..:um


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

MavenMI6Agent009 said:


> I dont take my clonazepam as directed just to avoid feeling drugged all the time. so ill take a break from the daily dose of 0.5mg and skip doses a lot. but ive noticed it doesnt work as good for my panic attacks if i dont take it daily..:um


I used to take it as needed (when I had a panic attack), but now I take 1mg in the morning and 2mg at night. I haven't had a panic attack ever since I started this regime. I've been doing this for about 6 months, so I don't think I've built any tolerance to it, and I don't feel "drugged" like I did when I started on this dosage.


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## Recipe For Disaster (Jun 8, 2010)

> My doctor told me it's totally safe to take it daily.


your doctor is an idiot.


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

Recipe For Disaster said:


> your doctor is an idiot.


And what's so bad about taking it daily? I've been taking it daily for 6 months, and nothing bad has happened.


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## Recipe For Disaster (Jun 8, 2010)

it will damage your GABA receptors, which are essential to normal brain function. once this happens, your brain will lose its ability to calm itself down without the drug. you may experience problems like depression, anger, mood swings, irritability, loss of self confidence, emotional instability, stomach problems, skin problems, muscle problems, cognitive and memory problems, loss of ability to focus (just to name a few, there are seriously 100s of symptoms that can arise). as you gradually become sicker and sicker, you will eventually decide you want to get off klonopin. that's when the real fun begins. benzo withdrawal is the worst drug withdrawal known to man, and it often goes on for years and in many cases never fully resolves. if you want to know more, just ask. i am nearly 14 months off benzos after a taper and am still in pretty extreme pain every second of every day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome


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## Rasputin_1 (Oct 27, 2008)

wjc75225 said:


> And what's so bad about taking it daily? I've been taking it daily for 6 months, and nothing bad has happened.


Ive been taking 1 mg a day for around 5 years. Now its like any other drug I need more then that to feel the same effects as when I started. Taking 1mg just makes me feel "normal" or like I did before I started taking anything.

You can be dependent on a drug and not addicted. Dont take any Klonopin for a week and see how you feel. I did and figured it was just my anxiety coming back and reinforced my belief that I needed to be on klonopin. But in reality I was/am experiencing klonopin withdraw.


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## hensley258 (Apr 24, 2010)

emadison85 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm a male R&B singer in his mid-20s who have recently developed social anxiety (excessive worry, sweaty palms, tenseness, mind goes blank) due to fame / an extremely hostile environment. I've been on Cipralex for about a month now and it's not doing much for me. I've used a little bit of benzo recreationally in the past, now you've all probably heard this a million times before but I noticed that it:
> 
> ...


Nice plan, but after awhile you won't be taking it just once a week. The allure of putting down that anxiety is just too powerful.

Not saying that you would be selling your soul to the devil. Pleanty of people like me take them everyday. The real question isn't so much "can I take them just once a week," but rather "if I feel the need can I take them once a day at the same dosage and not raise that dosage?"

Sure you will build some tolerance, but if you stick to a lower dosage and don't raise that dosage then your ok. What you experienced that night on Benzos is what I call the Honeymoon phase. You feel so warm and focused inside, but that feeling from them fades in just a few months into a drug that simply helps a little with your anxiety.

I remember the first time I took Xanax. God, I felt so good. I was at complete peace, my mind felt clear, and all was well in the world. Then I ended up at 3mgs a day and just couldn't get that feeling back.

Who knows, maybe you can do it just once a week, but if I had money to wager my bet is that you couldn't after a few months.


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## kazzy (Sep 25, 2010)

i wish the doctors wud give me benzo's , im on beta blockers at the moment but im not allowed to be on them for long, they really help calm me down and stop my heart palpatations and stop my heart from fluttering. lol your lucky x


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## JohnG (Sep 3, 2010)

Recipe For Disaster said:


> it will damage your GABA receptors, which are essential to normal brain function. once this happens, your brain will lose its ability to calm itself down without the drug. you may experience problems like depression, anger, mood swings, irritability, loss of self confidence, emotional instability, stomach problems, skin problems, muscle problems, cognitive and memory problems, loss of ability to focus (just to name a few, there are seriously 100s of symptoms that can arise). as you gradually become sicker and sicker, you will eventually decide you want to get off klonopin. that's when the real fun begins. benzo withdrawal is the worst drug withdrawal known to man, and it often goes on for years and in many cases never fully resolves. if you want to know more, just ask. i am nearly 14 months off benzos after a taper and am still in pretty extreme pain every second of every day.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome


For how much time did you used benzo? And, which of them ?


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

Me? 3mg of Klonopin daily for around 6 months.


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## ambidexter (Jul 17, 2010)

wjc75225 said:


> Me? 3mg of Klonopin daily for around 6 months.


But you took it before that, no? For panic attacks? How much/how often? If you feel like saying.


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## Recipe For Disaster (Jun 8, 2010)

JohnG said:


> For how much time did you used benzo? And, which of them ?


a few mgs of xanax per day for a year and a half


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

ambidexter said:


> But you took it before that, no? For panic attacks? How much/how often? If you feel like saying.


Ya, I used to take it just as needed when I had a panic attack. That was probably for 2 years. When I had an attack, I would take 0.5mg-1mg. I probably averaged 2 to 3 panic attacks a week that were severe enough for me to need to take the Klonopin. More stressful weeks (like during exams in college), it may have been as many as 4 attacks in a week. It's easier to take the Klonopin daily because all of my panic attacks have disappeared, but I didn't have any idea that it could have such bad consequences down the road until I read the link that "Recipe For Disaster" sent. My doctor advised me to take it daily instead of as needed, so that's what I started doing.


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## hensley258 (Apr 24, 2010)

Recipe For Disaster said:


> a few mgs of xanax per day for a year and a half


I've been taking them for 14 years so by your Logic that makes me brain dead which I am not.


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

hensley258 said:


> I've been taking them for 14 years so by your Logic that makes me brain dead which I am not.


Ya, I don't get it. On one hand, he called my doctor an idiot, but on the other hand, he takes a benzo daily, too. I read the article about long term benzo use. While it worries me a little, it says it doesn't affect everyone in such a way. Also, it gives no indication of what dosage will "kill" your brain. Would even 0.5mg daily of Klonopin eventually "kill" my GABA receptors?


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## hensley258 (Apr 24, 2010)

wjc75225 said:


> Ya, I don't get it. On one hand, he called my doctor an idiot, but on the other hand, he takes a benzo daily, too. I read the article about long term benzo use. While it worries me a little, it says it doesn't affect everyone in such a way. Also, it gives no indication of what dosage will "kill" your brain. Would even 0.5mg daily of Klonopin eventually "kill" my GABA receptors?


I understand his comment on benzos killing GABA Receptors, and I know this data was taken from a valid study. What the study does not indicate is the actual amount of Benzo taken each day and for exactly how long.

For example Alcohol can and will kill your Liver over time if your drinking a half gallon of Vodka everyday for years, but what if a person has just two drinks a day? Will that kill his liver in 10 years? I don't think it would.

Dosage is everything when speaking about this subject. I could imagine brain damage if a person was taking 6Mgs a day or higher of Xanax for years, but what about the Guy taking 1Mg of Klonopin for many years?

The study isn't that long term to determine if death of GABA receptors will happen on low dosage. Several years ago I got off my Benzo with the help of an addiction doctor. I was only taking low dosage, but still had withdrawls and needed his help. I asked him how bad my situation was with this and he smiled and said, "I have patients that have been taking massive amounts of Benzo for years and they kicked the habbit."

I don't think these patients he was talking about ended up disfunctional because of this. There's just not enough meat in that study to cover all situations for all users.

You also don't see any long term studies regarding antidepressant usage. I don't care what anyone says AD's over long periods do cause damage to the nervious system. Over time I know they make it harder for your brain to naturally produce neurotransmitting chemicals such as Norephinepherine and Serotonin. This might explain why my first 10 years on AD's were very effective, but the following 10 years I slowly became AD resistant to all classes of AD's. You can only squeeze so much juice from that orange until no more OJ comes out.


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

hensley258 said:


> I understand his comment on benzos killing GABA Receptors, and I know this data was taken from a valid study. What the study does not indicate is the actual amount of Benzo taken each day and for exactly how long.
> 
> For example Alcohol can and will kill your Liver over time if your drinking a half gallon of Vodka everyday for years, but what if a person has just two drinks a day? Will that kill his liver in 10 years? I don't think it would.
> 
> Dosage is everything when speaking about this subject. I could imagine brain damage if a person was taking 6Mgs a day or higher of Xanax for years, but what about the Guy taking 1Mg of Klonopin for many years?


Ya, exactly! Dosage and length of time are everything like you said. I've been taking 3mg of Klonopin daily for around 6 months. My pdoc said he has some people on as much as .. I think he said 8 or 9mg daily ... nonetheless, some patients are on a lot more than me. The FDA said some people use 20mg in order to avoid seizures, so 3mg just seems like a low dosage to me. I like your analogy to alcohol. I drink some, but I don't drink enough or often enough to destroy my liver.


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## mike8803 (Feb 21, 2010)

once a week wont help expect for that 1 day you take it.


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## hensley258 (Apr 24, 2010)

wjc, if you do plan on staying on either Klonopin or Xanax long term, it would be a good idea for you to still try to get that dosage down to 2Mgs or less a day.

When I said low dosage I meant .05 to 1.5 a day. 3Mgs a day would be considered a moderate dosage while 4 to 8Mgs a day would be high dosage and above 7 or 8 would be addicted pretty bad and above even 4Mgs a day over time it may cause big problems.

Just to be safe I would try to get that dosage down a bit.


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## ambidexter (Jul 17, 2010)

wjc75225 said:


> Ya, I used to take it just as needed when I had a panic attack. That was probably for 2 years. When I had an attack, I would take 0.5mg-1mg. I probably averaged 2 to 3 panic attacks a week that were severe enough for me to need to take the Klonopin. More stressful weeks (like during exams in college), it may have been as many as 4 attacks in a week. It's easier to take the Klonopin daily because all of my panic attacks have disappeared, but I didn't have any idea that it could have such bad consequences down the road until I read the link that "Recipe For Disaster" sent. My doctor advised me to take it daily instead of as needed, so that's what I started doing.


Would you take .5 to 1 mg more than once a day or something? Just trying to understand why the daily dosage would be 3 mg per day.


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

ambidexter said:


> Would you take .5 to 1 mg more than once a day or something? Just trying to understand why the daily dosage would be 3 mg per day.


No, when I took it as needed, I'd take 0.5-1mg when I needed it, and I'd only take that much because I typically didn't have more than 1 panic attack in a day. 
Now that I take it daily, my pdoc has me on 1mg in the morning and 2mg at night. Hope that clears things up! 

Hensley, I don't really think dosage indicates "addiction". I take it as prescribed by my doctor. I would consider an addiction to be more like if I were to take a higher dose recreationally because I wanted that euphoric feeling that you get when you start a benzo. I've stayed at this dose for quite a while, so I don't have the euphoric or sedation feeling anymore. However, I take it daily because it has totally gotten rid of my panic attacks. If I only took it as needed and were out in public and didn't have my medicine, I'd freak out if I started having a panic attack. That's a non-issue as of now. At this dose, my panic attacks have totally been eliminated (attacks were a huge part of my SA). My analogy would be someone who is addicted to alcohol. They just can't stop drinking. I only take the amount that my pdoc prescribed to me and no more. 
As an aside, my pdoc told me to take it daily because I told him that sometimes I would be out in public and have a panic attack without my medicine. I'd try everything (like breathing techniques, etc.). The panic attack would last until I took the medicine. This would sometimes be 3+ hours. Yeah, my panic attacks would last until I either took the Klonopin or forced myself to go to bed. It was pretty much torture. I understand your concern about 3mg, and maybe less would still do the trick, but I've heard tapering is a nightmare on a benzo. I wouldn't mind taking it forever if it allowed me to live my life like I want to live it. Supposedly some people take 20mg/daily if they have a seizure disorder.


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## hensley258 (Apr 24, 2010)

I'm not saying your some raging addict that's trying to get high. What I am saying is that you don't have to be chasing a high in order to get addicted to benzos.

I still take 2Mgs a day of Klonopin and while I don't see myself as an addict, I was in for a big wake up call when I tried to use a slow taper to get off my benzo.

Once I got to just .50Mgs a day the withdrawls started in really hard. Not like an AD withdrawl. (AD withdrawl is nothing) It was a benzo withdrawl and it sucked. My skin was crawling, I was agitated, I couldn't stop moving my legs. All kinds of nasty withdrawl symptoms. I tried to hold out and drop to .025 a day, but after 5 days the withdrawls got worse rather than better so I gave up trying.

You can slice it anyway you like, but in the end it's still addiction. Just because a doctor prescribes it doesn't mean your immune to addiction from the drug.


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## ambidexter (Jul 17, 2010)

wjc75225 said:


> No, when I took it as needed, I'd take 0.5-1mg when I needed it, and I'd only take that much because I typically didn't have more than 1 panic attack in a day.
> Now that I take it daily, my pdoc has me on 1mg in the morning and 2mg at night. Hope that clears things up!
> 
> Hensley, I don't really think dosage indicates "addiction". I take it as prescribed by my doctor. I would consider an addiction to be more like if I were to take a higher dose recreationally because I wanted that euphoric feeling that you get when you start a benzo. I've stayed at this dose for quite a while, so I don't have the euphoric or sedation feeling anymore. However, I take it daily because it has totally gotten rid of my panic attacks. If I only took it as needed and were out in public and didn't have my medicine, I'd freak out if I started having a panic attack. That's a non-issue as of now. At this dose, my panic attacks have totally been eliminated (attacks were a huge part of my SA). My analogy would be someone who is addicted to alcohol. They just can't stop drinking. I only take the amount that my pdoc prescribed to me and no more.
> As an aside, my pdoc told me to take it daily because I told him that sometimes I would be out in public and have a panic attack without my medicine. I'd try everything (like breathing techniques, etc.). The panic attack would last until I took the medicine. This would sometimes be 3+ hours. Yeah, my panic attacks would last until I either took the Klonopin or forced myself to go to bed. It was pretty much torture. I understand your concern about 3mg, and maybe less would still do the trick, but I've heard tapering is a nightmare on a benzo. I wouldn't mind taking it forever if it allowed me to live my life like I want to live it. Supposedly some people take 20mg/daily if they have a seizure disorder.


I don't think that comparing your dosage to 20mg makes sense. For one thing, I suspect that the number of people *actually* taking 20mg daily for years at a time for any purpose is very close to zero. ER docs don't typically give even someone in mid-seizure a dose that high. And Klonopin is not currently recommended for long term seizure prevention, because it tends to lose effectiveness quickly.

Also, you're not taking Klonopin for seizures. Many pdocs won't go over 4mg daily for extended periods, and many would consider 3mg a high dose.

It's definitely not generally considered a low dose. You can keep telling yourself that it's a low dose because you read that it's okay to take 20mg daily, but I think that ignores a lot of relevant info.

The issue here is not about taking medicine as your doctor prescribed it. It's likely that many of the people telling you about their bad experiences with Klonopin also took it as prescribed by a doctor.

It also isn't about craving Klonopin or engaging in stereotypical addict behaviors. It's about physical dependency, which most people will develop, and side effects of Klonopin over time.

Sometimes doctors don't inform their patients that one of the symptoms of Klonopin tolerance/withdrawal is anxiety. Understandably, people who already have anxiety can misinterpret those symptoms if they are not informed.

Sometimes doctors also don't inform patients that as time and/or dosage increase, the risk and severity of side effects like cognitive impairment and depression also increase. The tendency for those side effects to linger after discontinuation increases too.

But everyone reacts to medication differently, and we all have to make the risk/benefit calculations for ourselves, IMO. It's just important that we know what the risks are, and that we know where we stand.

Regarding tapering, it might not be that hard to go from 3 to 2 (slowly), if you wanted to try it. It's usually the lowest doses as you get close to zero that are the hardest -- and you could always change your mind and go back to 3.

It seems kind of crazy that your pdoc jumped you from .5 to 1mg 2-4 times a week directly to 3mg daily in the first place. Starting at .5 to 1mg daily and seeing how that went would have been more reasonable, I think.


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## ambidexter (Jul 17, 2010)

Um, I hope the above didn't come across as preachy.

It just irritates me that doctors don't inform patients of the risks, or necessarily even know the risks, of what they're handing out. So... I guess I do mean to be a little preachy, but to doctors, not to you.


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## successful (Mar 21, 2009)

doctors are not easy on prescribing benzos.one the the few things that helps anxiety too lol. they'll just give you beta blockers that won't do anything

you do better off buying a bunch of valiums and taking them everyday or once every 2 days.

but be careful because a lot of people say they get addicted to the feeling of Valiums (even 5mg) but i can't see how that's possible,the feeling not even that great to get addicted to. I can take over 15mg with no tolerance at all and not feel anything.maybe a tiny bit calm or sleepy at the end of the day but it's not that good deep slow marijuana type feeling that a person would want.... that **** is extra extra mild but it works for anxiety


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## hensley258 (Apr 24, 2010)

ambidexter said:


> Um, I hope the above didn't come across as preachy.
> 
> It just irritates me that doctors don't inform patients of the risks, or necessarily even know the risks, of what they're handing out. So... I guess I do mean to be a little preachy, but to doctors, not to you.


I've never heard of a person taking 20Mgs a day of Xanax or Klonopin either. I shutter to think of their fate over time if they did such a thing.

I take 2mgs a night, but can get it to 1Mg at times and often do. I would say Benzos have probably made my anxiety worse. I notice when I don't have them that my anxiety shoots thru the roof.

Then again this could be my altered presception because my anxiety has been covered up with benzos and when I have to feel it as my anxiety really is that it seems worse.

Kind of like how every anxiety attack you have always seems like the worse one even when you've never taken a Benzo. Much is due to our preception of that anxiety and perhaps not so much that the benzos have made it worse.

As for Benzos being hard to get....Many do have this problem, but with every P-doc I have ever seen they write me a script for them no problem. This could be that I am 40 years old and have had Severe treatment resistant depression and GAD for 19 years.

I suppose if I were a 22 year old guy just starting his battle with depression then most P-docs wouldn't write me a benzo. It's really seems like the older I get the less P-docs care about what they prescribe me and I get what I ask for.

I guess they fugure, "hey this dude is 40 and if he dies from this crap then no one will question me." I guess when your like 66 years old you can get anything you want. LOL!


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

hensley258 said:


> I suppose if I were a 22 year old guy just starting his battle with depression then most P-docs wouldn't write me a benzo. It's really seems like the older I get the less P-docs care about what they prescribe me and I get what I ask for.
> 
> I guess they fugure, "hey this dude is 40 and if he dies from this crap then no one will question me." I guess when your like 66 years old you can get anything you want. LOL!


Well, I've been able to get benzos ever since I was 20 I think. I'm 23 right now, and it's been a few years =]. I took them as needed for a couple of years, and now it's daily. I guess it just depends what doctor you go to.


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## wjc75225 (Jul 24, 2010)

ambidexter said:


> Um, I hope the above didn't come across as preachy.
> 
> It just irritates me that doctors don't inform patients of the risks, or necessarily even know the risks, of what they're handing out. So... I guess I do mean to be a little preachy, but to doctors, not to you.


Nah, it wasn't preachy .. Well, maybe a little .. Thanks for the information .. I was just comparing the 20mg to 3mg, so I guess it didn't seem that high to me. I didn't realize 3mg daily was considered high. I take 1mg when I wake up and 2mg right before I go to bed, if that makes a difference. I figured that the people who take 20mg was rare to none, but I wasn't sure. Also, he didn't put me all the way to 3mg in one go. I started at 1mg and increased by 0.5mg daily, 2 weeks at a time, until I reached 3mg daily. So, I did taper up. I really trust this doctor. However, they do make mistakes. I'm just hoping nothing bad ever does happen at 3mg because it's really working for my panic attacks at this dose. That's why he kept raising it. He would raise it by 0.5mg for 2 weeks like I said until my panic attacks completely disappeared. Not having any panic attacks is an amazing feeling. Now, I just have to work on my social skills and such, which is MUCH easier without the panic.

Also, I guess I was using the word "addiction" as craving something. Like people have alcohol, gambling, food, etc. addictions. I consider taking a drug like this "dependence" because there will be bad withdrawals if I stop, but maybe there's not really a difference between addiction and dependence? I'm not an expert at psychiatry by any means. I'm just curious, would being on something like Effexor be considered an addiction? Because getting off of that was horrible. Like, if you have withdrawals due to getting off of a medicine, is it immediately called an addiction? Or what's the actual definition?


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## hensley258 (Apr 24, 2010)

When it comes to a non-controlled substance such as Effexor the FDA and DEA use a set criteria to determine if a drug is Addictive.

In many ways this is a thin line IMO because lets say I am taking 375Mgs a day of Effexor and this keeps my depression under control. If I stop taking the drug I will get what they call, "antidepressant discontinuation syndrome." Not to mention my depression would start to return, thus making me want to reach for my Effexor to ease my depression and withdrawl.

To me that sounds like dependancy which is not far removed from addiction. I guess they figure as long as the drug can not get you high that it's not addictive.

I know you don't get high from your Klonopin and neither do I. If I took about 6Mgs at one time I suppose I could get high from it. Xanax on the other hand I can get high from if I take about 3mgs at once.

It's just related to tolerance. My wife who has no built up tolerance to benzos can take just 1/2Mg of Xanax and be high as a kite for 6 hours. It's the same for Opiates. I have no tolerance to any opiate based drug so just taking what the dentist gives me for pain is enough to get me high. A Vicotin addict can drop 20 of them a day no problem. An amount that might kill me. Good thing for me that I hate the feeling of an Opiate high.
Drugs like oxy and vicotin make my anxiety fire thru the roof.

If ones goal was to get a benzo high, Xanax with it's fast onset of action would probably be the best choice.


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