Posted by yxibow on March 19, 2007, at 2:49:52
In reply to Who just a takes benzo's, posted by jealibeanz on March 18, 2007, at 6:11:35
> Is your doctor comfortabl with this? Is there a long term plan to get you off?
Yes-No, and Yes-No. (and the same can be said for my own views)
I take Valium, in high doses for a particular reason in combination with Seroquel which is in limbo at this moment due to side effects. As an aside, this is a hard time and depression and other things have increased because of Seroquel reduction.
I don't have a psychotic disorder; however high doses of Valium have been noted in literature for psychosis and that was conceivably one impetus for switching to Valium from Klonopin. It was partly my asking because I didn't feel Klonopin was doing enough anxiolytic relief. And if you really didn't understand the condition one could say its pseudopsychotic. But it isn't at all, my feet are firmly on the ground. It is a Somatiform disorder, anxiety translated into real bodily effects and feelings.
It would take a lot to explain the particular trainwreck Somatiform disorder that sprung upon me but basically my brain isn't filtering out what everyone else does visually -- so traffic lights are brighter, etc.
I don't like taking high levels of a benzodiazepine because I have to be more careful with heavy machinery, etc. However I have taken it for an extended period of time and have acclimated to it. Has there been some habituation, conceivably yes. Will it be easy to moderate it, no, not at all, and that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with habituation, although that could be so.It has definately been proven that the level of benzodiazepine dulls the visual stimuli just as the Seroquel acts in concerto (plus a host of other auxilliary agents).
So to sum up, yes, I have taken at least seven benzodiazepines before in history and know their effects personally -- Tranxene, Restoril, Dalmane, Klonopin, Valium, Ativan, and Xanax.Benzodiazepines are probably the safest psychoactive substances out there. They have been in the lab since 1958, and we know an extensive safety history of them. Their side effects are probably also among the lowest, primarily cognitive and reaction time, depending on dose and acclimation in part. These should though be paid attention to, definately. They have high LD50 (toxicity), but for reasons of the board I will not post examples. They can cause respiratory depression, but usually only in combination with alcohol, depending on the strength of the alcohol and the agent in question. Thus, they are safer and were a replacement for barbiturates. Still, massive doses can cause comatose states, so please don't go there.
Some agents are lipophilic (fat storing), some aren't as much. There is chemistry surrounding this and why some agents are more powerful.Generally long acting agents like Valium are best for long term use rather than Xanax, yet still some people do take Xanax long term because it helps them more. Personally, I believe Xanax should be saved for PRN (pro re ne, as needed) for bad anxiety.
That about sums benzodiazepines for me.
poster:yxibow
thread:741928
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070314/msgs/742068.html