Benzo long term success stories?

[barq2]

This is a difficult one... For most people they probably shouldn't be prescribed longer than a month. Then again, some of us who haven't been helped by other medications have been helped by benzos. I guess the problem is that for some of us they are "too helpful".

I view it as a kind of Faustian pact. I've been taking diaz for 15 years and am still on quite a low dose. I'm very lucky it is still effective for me - many would not get a therapeutic benefit after so long. (I'm not even going to attempt to separate out placebo from pharmacological effect!) After working my way through a lot of SSRIs and TCAs my anxiety was treated with benzos. For a long time I planned to quit after the next milestone was achieved. But life just carried on getting more and more complicated, so of course it was never the right time.

The best I could do was keep the dose low. I really have stuck to that aspect and suspect it is why this hasn't turned into a really major problem. In those 15 years I completed a PhD and developed a career. I honestly would not be where I am today without benzos. Of course how this story ends is another matter... will I eventually manage to taper off, will the issue suddenly be forced, or will I somehow attempt to continue this for the rest of my life? The latter seems hard to imagine, but obviously I am addicted so life without is also very scary. If I could go back in time I would try to get more psychotherapy. That may turn out to be the solution in the future to properly deal with the underlying issues. I've controlled them very well with benzos to have a high functioning life, but they haven't *cured* me.

[Chicci]

Wow Barq,

Very intresting and insightful post!

[Rattzo]

Two or 3 mg of Alp or clon is success to me- the same way my 100mg of methadone are. It's keeping me out of withdrawal and out of trouble. I wish they would have the "Valium clinic" where you could go get your benzo daily in a safe environment

[mxray]

HI’ve been on benzodiazepines for along time it helps when my anxiety starts to raise its ugly head. I’ve used a combination of lexapro along with small amounts of alps this combination seems to work really well for me. I was always afraid of high doses for fear of having a seizures so I just manage with small amounts.

[iNsom]

Hi long, out of curiosity, what do you find that Loraz does better than val? If you don’t mind me asking :-)

[Glousck]

Things certainly do get easier. Around the 3 month mark of sobriety is when cognitive abilities begin to restabilize and the looming sense of dread starts to fade. Progress in recovery from benzos is not linear - you may wake up one day after a couple weeks of feeling great and suddenly feel like you're back at square one. Something that is helpful is to make a list of the mental and physical symptoms you're experiencing and then review that same list a couple months down the line. Helps you realise just how far you can come in a small space of time. I wouldn't wish benzo withdrawal on my worst enemy and I wish the best for anyone going through this. You are strong and you are destined to get through this through your strength.

[LostInTheMix]

I have been through so many meds and nothing helped my anxiety like B's.

Readying this makes me think I may want to switch.

I have had short periods in the past, a few months, and very low dose so coming off was not bad.

I have currently been on them longer than ever before. I have been through so many meds and this is the only thing that works.

Reading here and other articles the thoughts of withdraw gives me anxiety.

It really is a double edged sword. I wish I was well enough to not take anything and that breathing exercises & meditating did it for me.

[Mountain07]

What's the slowest release Benz0 out there? I've struggled with anxiety for many years, tried quite a few things and would be great to find something that acts gradually. Saw diazepam is slow but anything less noticable?

[barq2]

What's the slowest release Benz0 out there? I've struggled with anxiety for many years, tried quite a few things and would be great to find something that acts gradually. Saw diazepam is slow but anything less noticable?

Hi Mountain,

Not sure if any benzos come in modified release form in your country? But regardless, diaz is the go-to among approved medications for long half life (which is why so many people use it for tapering down). It is a complicated medication because it has active metabolites, so it isn't just the half life of the diazepam (although that is the main factor).

I suppose some of those research chemicals had long half lives. I was going to say phenazepam, based on those stories of people getting the powder, taking too much, and waking up three weeks later to discover all the crazy shit they'd done. But it's half life isn't that long (less than a day) and counting the metabolites 2-3 days.

Diaz is available in 2mg tablets, so I guess you could ask to be scripted those in order to take the lowest amount possible.

Good luck!

[magnet1153]

Would someone kindly explain what "half life" means as used to describe various benzos?  I've come across it in other threads and don't quite understand.