Does alternating benzos reduce tolerance?

[Gallon]

@Rivali that sounds pretty bad, man.. I too hope you are doing better.  @KAL 20 mg a day xans is a lot.   Did switching to the clons actually help you come off the xans?  How are you doing now?

 

[PTFC]

I used clonzzzzz to switch over from alpzzzz, I found it took a few days to take effect, I felt just a little uncomfortable for those few days but worked a treat for me. 

 

[Username]

I think it depends on which Benz0 you're switching from and moving to. I F'd my tolerance up by switching from Dpam/clonz to Alpz. I think if you switch from a long acting benz0 to a short one then your tolerance builds much quicker. It's was also more tempting for me to up my alpz dosage when I probably didn't need to because it hits you fast and hard and gives a nice warm relaxing feeling inside that the others lack. So in short I don't think alternating benz0s reduces tolerance but if you're cutting down it's best to go with a longer acting one.

 

[SaintAlien]

Depends how you do it.  Hypothetically:

You start out on XA

You switch to ATi

You go to DiA

You go to val

then yes (that's a taper) but hopping from one to another makes little difference other than how frequently you take them 

 

[Def_Starr]

yes and no, i am facing my biggest battle the past 2yrs trying to kick xanax

sometimes i alternate with klonopin, but i need to take it for a couple days before the med kicks in for me to i notice it, which at that time leads to me reducing my xanax dose, but not to a complete halt but just enough to take less than needed.

I also tried to take ativan over xanax, ATIVAN is strong , i didn't feel anything at 1 tab but once i took 2 or 3 2mg to equal the mg conversion of xanax would be , it knocks me out... ATIVAN is a strong quick acting benzo also 

i try to stay active as much as possible, sweat and engage in alot of outdoor activities where i get alot of SUN and Sweat going on. I notice that this helps more on opiate w/d's but for benzo w/d not so easy....

i dont think i see myself kicking this habit anytime soon, and afraid i will grow old with this med..... but is it really that bad?

theres good anxiety and bad anxiety. I just need to focus on timing the med right, and get back on DIET/NUTRITION .... i notice my xanax increases if i am on alot of caffine and redbulls and mountain dew, than i get more antsy than i start to over think, than i need xanax....

i try to alternate now one month klonopin with low dose xnx to see how low i can go on the xnx if i can kick it, or i skipp days on xanax on the weekends and take the klonopin on the offdays that xanax was suppose to be taken...its hard

rehab is not an option, if i goto rehab i got to inform my employer, feel paper work for medical leave, and than my employer will know i have an issue, and say rehab doesn't work out and i return to work and relapse and say get a drug tested for a med that i was going to rehab for ,i got alot of explaining to do or risk loosing my job....

the employer doesn't care 

current xanax intake is 2mg-4mg depending on the day 

when i alternate to cut dose down than i do

2mg klonopin

1mg xanax 

its hard! you can spend $$$$$$$$$$$$ on all the doc's ,its all about ur will power ! that will prevail! and activities, sports, and good ppl around you. 

 

[SaintAlien]

there's a high rate conclusion that longterm usage of benzo's leads to dementia - and that's frightening

 

[Guest]

Kal hit the nail on the head! I only use Clonazepam and Diazepam depending on the situation. They all work essentially the same way they affect the brain, some just vary as far as different affects. After a hard day and strained back Diazepam seems to help, with public speaking and stressful events, Clonazepam seems to work better for me. Just my Opinion. Best to you! FF

 

[VII]

Hmm, alternating benzos to reduce a tolerance to the class of medicine. That's a real touchy situation seeing they all act the same in a sense, some work faster and are a bit stronger than others but contain active ingredients which makes it hard to lower the tolerance. 

I'd assume the best way to approach this is ween yourself very slowly, 0.25-0.5mg at a time using another benzo as the stationary point to prevent panic all around. It really depends on how much you're on, if you're on an extremely heavy dose of a benzo it will be hell and back to taper it down with something else to reduce the tolerance which could take years. That's the problem with this class of medication, you have to be very careful and from what I've read you've been careful.

Regarding going 48 hours without it, that varies per person really. For me personally it was around the 48 hour period where I started to get the withdrawals due to the pharmacy being late on the refill (Xan). Nearly got put into a hospital because of that aswell. One piece of advice I can give you which is a bit off topic is maybe set aside a little bit at a time each month to kinda save up an emergency stash if you run out of anything (or everything) to prevent withdrawals until you can seek medical attention before something occurs. I assume that's merely just a rule of thumb though, might as well throw it out just incase.

I wouldn't advise taking these with alcohol at all seeing it will only raise your tolerance to the medications, not lower it. So if you do drink any shape or form of an alcoholic substance be sure to limit how much you consume - if you're able to simply not to consume alcohol at all that would be your best bet but if you have an addiction to alcohol I wouldn't sit here and say "Hey, stop the alcohol right away" seeing that can be dangerous aswell. 

All in all, to sum it all up - tapper off to a small dose using weaker benzos as needed to control panic and get your body used to a lower dosage with minimal to no alcohol consumption. This should decrease your tolerance to the class of medications to reach a better state of mind. It might even be best to get off of them if you're able to safely - not cold turkey which you're already aware about from my understanding. Based on your levels of panic, if it's not an everyday thing I'd suggest staying at a low dose and take a low dose as needed or safely change to a different medication within the same class that has the same active ingredients as the other benzos do and you'll be alright. 

Now remember, this is just personal advice not advice from a medical professional. This is all concluded from personal experience with this class of medication. It might be best to consult with your doctor to ween yourself completely off them or to take a specific kind when needed for panic. I mean if you're really looking to go back to a zero tolerance then yes, weening yourself off slowly to be completely off them for a period of time will help with that but based on the information given, your body will have a tolerance no matter what dosage your on. It will just be at it's lowest if you're fully off it for a period of time. Going back on them slowly with very small doses will provide you with the effect I assume you're looking for. 

Best of luck,

-VII

 

[purcell]

I use at therapeuatic doses for my SA, I switch it up every week. If i take the same too long I need to start upping my dosage. So one week diazepam, one week nitrazepam, one lorezapm. Have had good experience with oxazepam and bromezapam which have longer half lives. If I'm going out I will mix a short acting with a long acting one.

 

[Neurotix]

I was prescribed klono 1mg for quite a few years for anxiety/depression and hated them. 16 bucks for a bottle of 90 with no insurance, and I'd just end up trading them for blue footballs. X@n makes my sky blue.. it's nice to feel happy and sociable. Docs won't prescribe out here because it's "addictive." 

He tried Val for a short while. Tbh Ball felt right in the middle between klon and xan. I've never taken more than supposed to, but with the correct med.. the relief is priceless. 

I'm curious about all the other ones in that family, though. Loraz, nitraz, bromaz, ativn, etc.. never tried. Where do they fall between klon, Val and xan?

 

[purcell]

Xan makes me do stupid things so as much as I love it I try to do it in the confines of home. Yeah I get a little too friendly on those. Don't like the pins. Loraz is short acting, about same strength as vals. Vals are my go to so whenever I try a new benny it's like my first time again. Tolerance went up quick for nitraz. The rest I have nothing but good things to say.

 

[Gemini72]

True story. H0r!n is the least of your problems. Benz actually will kill upon too fast detox. Worked in one.  Bad news bears!  Be careful with x@n, short half life. Cl0mzs much longer half life. Easier to taper. This is just personal experience not advice. Not a dr just learned lots of lessons the hard way. Surprised to be de alive. Hahaha 

 

[Gemini72]

Clonazepam is what I did my taper on, tried ativan and valium but Kpins worked the best for alleviating symptoms.  Xanax is the worst as far as getting its hooks into you, you've been on a fairly low dose so it might not be that bad and you can just quit.  You will definitely have some rebound anxiety but it may be manageable, maybe not, that is up to you.  Tapering with Kpins is just that, a lot of people just end up substituting one benzo for another in which case you will have even worse WD when you do decide it is unsustainable and have to quit.  

 totally agree. i went through a hospital, they tapered me on clonz, then ativan. it was uncomfortable but nothing compared to doing it in county comming off x@n@x..Holy shit, that was a nightmare!

 

[Gemini72]

Thanks KAL. I know benzo & alcohol withdrawal are the only ones that can kill you (from seizures). I usually only take these no more than 3 times a week and at recommended doses so my question was more from curiosity than anything.

totally true, they are the ONLY 2 that will kill you from detox.  suggest hospital detox if can afford. Man hid sight is 20/20. Wish I knew then

No problem and btw I've had seizures from benz0 WD that landed me in the hospital so use with caution just like any other addictive chemical. Take Care 

I've had seizures to, really scary shit! Knocked out two teeth on a kitchen counter.  Didn't know who I was for hours after.  Luckily they were not front teeth. hahaha. Hard way to learn.

 

[Conceited]

I find that using x@N@X daily during the week at what i call a low dose 2 or 3 mg, then use di@Z on weekends, whiles not using x@N@X, but at a similar dose conversion  can help me keep mt tolerance at a manageable level. I find this helps instead of just using x@N@X all the time because mt tolerance on x@N@X can get out of control before you realize. And the wd from x@N@X is the worst with it having such a short half life.Having a break over the weekend just using di@Z keeps me from having to increase daily x@N@X use.

The thing with bnz is they can make you forgetful, so if you're using multiple different types of bnz and trying to manage your tolerance you could potential be increasing your tolerance  unknowingly. Its probably a good idea to keep a log of use if you use different types.        

 

[S!LLyM@N]

I use x@n@x a couple times a week. Usually only 2mg at a time when I'm feeling particularly stressed. I also keep diaz and ati around and indulge in those a few times a month when I feel like it, probably 7-12 times a month. Usually use about the equivalent to 2mg of alp. I don't notice too much of a tolerance in the sense that I NEED to take more to get what I want from them but I have noticed that I am definitely able to take more than the normal person and still maintain myself without getting to crazy in public. I had a terrible problem with the bars back in 2007-08. Was taking 8-10mg daily and then double that if I wanted to get weird. Bad choices galor, coming out of blackouts in random places and having no idea how I got there, stealing, forget whole weeks, getting arrested and sometimes not knowing why until someone told me. I got to the point where if you told me I did something, crazy or not, I believed you on got on with my day. Trying to remember never worked so I stopped trying. I don't have many memories from mid 2007 to almost the end of 2008. I ended up having an epiphany about what the hell I was doing and did an extremely short taper (probably dangerously short, less than 7 days) and then quit cold turkey and didnt really suffer too much, just a little cranky and moderate anxiety for a couple weeks. The more I read the more I'm thankful that I got so lucky with my withdrawals. I kicked a 2 year her0!n habit just over a month ago and that was really hard, a million times harder than the x@n@x for me, it was so bad i have urge to use opiates anymore at all. Just not worth it. Ive been liking the ati nowadays but that's why I limit my intake, I see how much I like them and I don't need anymore problems right now, and I'm known for liking things too much and taking them to the limit. Be careful with the bennies, they can be wonderful and helpful and amazing and fun but they can also be dangerous and debilitating and not just when you're trying to get off them.

 

[Guest]

They pretty much act on the same GABA receptors, so it won't really help you lowering your tolerance, but let's say you switch from a long period of time taking Valium and switch to Xanax, you will feel the more intense effects of it.