I’m thinking about asking my pdoc about prescribing me a benzo for anxiety and panic attacks…
ive read that there narcotic and addictive, which suggests they actually make people feel good taking them
is that the case? or are they pharma placebo hog wash? I mean are they better than alcohol? better than primo? do they actually relieve anxiety or panic attacks? will they make feel good or euphoric?
I’ve never felt high taking benzos. No euphoria or pleasant feeling. They take the brunt of anxiety and panic and calm you down enough that you can breathe again.
But, also, I respond strangely to benzos. My body doesn’t metabolize then normally (I test false negative for blood and urine tests) so this may be why since a lot of people seem to really like them.
that was helpful…thanks.
I was just wondering what all the fuss was about.
i’ll probably just self medicate then
If you really need them or are having a panic attack,
They just kind of level you out and get you back to clearer thinking.
Or just make you sleepy.
They do make you euphoric, but I think you have to take a good bit for that,
I try to stay at the lowest effective dose so that I don’t experience that.
I’ve been on 30mg / oxazepam / day since summer. And now they changed it to 2mg lorazepam / day. The opamoxes were horrible to take because I couldn’t keep the dosage down as when I got a panic attack which I do every day, I had to wait over an hour for it to take effect. Which meant that I took too many everytime. Lorazepam is more addictive physically but atleast I only have to wait 15-30min for them to work, which also seems to me that they are less addictive on the psyche. The urge to redose on oxazepam was stronger than now on lorazepam and lasts a shorter time. This time I’ve only taken 2 days 1 too much of lorazepam, which isn’t that bad compared to that I couldn’t even have the oxazepam at home because I took too many of them.
So be sure to choose the right benzo.
The first couple of times I tried em, I felt like a God. They give you confidence and weaken anxiety. Problem is, if you take them regularly for a long period of time, they lose their effectiveness. I suggest you don’t take them and go for a more natural route like L Theanine.
I use them daily. Haven’t ever increased the dose so my pdoc is happy.
They really help me with depression and anxiety.
One thing i found was that when i stopped taking it when i was on it i got more anxious then i was before. But thats probably just my brain chemistry
I take 5 mg diazepam as needed. I have never felt euphoric, only a calmer and a little sleepy. I used to be prescribed 10 mg a day, 3 times a day, and the efficacy is reduced by taking it so frequently, as was stated above. Now I try to take it as little as possible, and 5 mg works just fine.
Yes when you stop taking them too quickly the anxiety level is increased, takes something like 6 months to return to normal according to wikipedia.
my panic attacks are rare. maybe twice a month. I’ve tried the theanine but it stopped working for me
maybe ill try valerian or catnip again. they were mildly effective
yeah I think I need something to calm me down once or twice a month…I don’t know if that is often enough to prescribe me something as needed
It takes away most of the anxiety but the trick is to not take them every single day. You’ll build a tolerance fast and find yourself having to take more to get the right effect.
They have a bad rep because they were overprescribed when they first came out and people took more and more thinking they were safe and got addicted that way. If you stay at a low dose and take is as prescribed you’ll be fine. I was on 1 mg Ativan for a year every night and quit cold turkey no problems. If you don’t plan on taking it regularly also it’s not a problem.
For me they don’t make me feel good, they simply take away the bad. So instead of feeling crippling anxiety and fear at night I’d just feel normal. They are absolutely not placebo, very well established medication, and work by increasing the amount of GABA in your brain. I forget the exact mechanism whoops.
They say benzos are highly addictive. But that’s not my experience with them. I take Klonipin as needed for anxiety. So, I only take it when I am anxious. Which isn’t all the time. I don’t take it every day. If I were addicted, I’d probably find an excuse to take it twice a day, everyday.
I don’t post much but I signed in for this one. I’ve experienced withdraws from a lot of different drugs. Not all withdraws are the same from drugs. Benzo withdraws can kill but only if withdrawing from an extremely high dose. My mom took 8 mgs of Xanax every day for 20 years.
I’ve been taking Ativan for 6 years and I regret starting. Some ways it made things better some ways it made things worse. At first I got euphoria from taking it but now I’ve built such a tolerance they don’t do anything. I experience withdraws several times a day in between doses. I feel like I’ve become immune to the drug and I only take it to keep withdraws from happening. I’ve been tapering myself down on the dose for the past two weeks.
Withdraws aren’t as bad as opioids or cigarettes but it’s still there.
I would ask the doctor for a fast acting benzo then. If it’s only twice per month speed of working is essential as you don’t get addicted if it’s only that rarely. Temestas are quite nice since they work so nice (Lorazepam).
well the withdrawals symptoms make me a little nervous to try a benzo, but if it’s only twice a month I think i should be ok. I’ll talk to my doctor and ask her about them
For me, they just take the anxiety away and make me not so worried. I do not get high off of them. They help with rest too if needed. A higher dose is required for me to fight panic attacks. It took me a while to realize what dose did the trick. They make you feel calmer too. they also double as an antipsycoticlike action for me. If I’m having an episode, they calm me down and the delusional thought goes away after and hour or two of taking them.
They make me calm or sleepy.
I take 15 mg Diazepam at the dentist
I take 10-20 mg Oxazepam for anxiety/panic
I take 5-10 mg Nitrazepam for sleep when I stop sleeping. It keeps me asleep for about 12 hours. Drunk on my ass next day. Get nothing done.
The other benzos do make me calm but not ”drunk”. Maybe a bit drowsy.