Posted by valene on January 6, 2006, at 15:30:08
In reply to When are benzos justified?, posted by detroitpistons on January 3, 2006, at 15:21:05
I don't want to scare you but I have been going through HELL trying to get off xanax 3mg. - I am down to 1.5mg. after one whole year.
It worries me that you are already on effexor and consider adding a benzo to make a cocktail - I know someone on another forum who is losing her mind trying to get off both effexor and valium.
I am not an alarmist, just stating the fact. Try going to the benzo@yahoogroups and reading some of the posts over there and you will see these people are really suffering big time trying to get off benzos.
Please think it over carefully before trying a benzo for any length of time! They can be very scary, ugly drugs to get off and the recovery can take many many months. In my case I was left on them for several years before I realized how much my body was addicted to them (I say addicted because it is a true physical addiction). I hate them with a passion but still need them for now. My hair has thinned way out (a benzo withdrawal symptom) and that's the least of it.
Best of luck
> I've been thinking about starting Klonopin, but I just wanted some feedback from other benzo users. I take small amounts of Xanax and I can feel better by taking as little as .25mg. However, it can make me depressed and lethargic.
>
> I'm on Effexor XR 225 mg, and it has not totally relieved me of anxiety, although it picked me up out of a depressive episode. I'm familiar with the pro-benzo vs anti-benzo debate. I guess what I'm trying to get at is this: How bad does anxiety have to be in order to justify taking a benzo? I realize this is a very difficult question to answer, but I just wanted to hear some other people's thoughts.
>
> I can generally function without a benzo (or even an AD for that matter)...I can leave the house, go to work, be in social settings with people I don't know (although rarely comfortably). In short, I can get along with life, but I never feel quite right. I feel like everything is forced. I feel like I'm operating at 75%. I probably wouldn't regard my anxiety as severe (not agoraphobic, for example), but I do think it interferes with my life and prevents me from being all I can be.
>
> Where is the line? When is taking a benzo justified? I've always been scared to overmedicate myself. In fact, it took me a good amount of pain and suffering before I broke down and tried an AD. I've never liked the idea of taking 1 psych drug, much less 2 or 3. Sometimes I feel like I'm "cheating," like the only people who should really be on meds are the ones who can't get out of bed in the morning, can't leave the house, can't go to work, etc.
>
> Can anyone relate to this sort of "psych med reckoning" I'm going through?
>
> And back to the original point, any thoughts from benzo/Klonopin users? The first and only psych med I took that worked was Effexor, and it seemed like a godsend at the time (for both anxiety and depression). Now I tried it again, and it just doesn't seem to be working as well on the anxiety. I think my condition(s) may have worsened over the past couple of years, and quite frankly, it feels like the meds may have contributed to that (e.g. caused a permanent change in brain chemistry--which I know sounds very paranoid).
>
> Any thoughts?
poster:valene
thread:594786
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051231/msgs/595841.html