Is there a way to lower tolerance to benzos?

[The Hunter]

Without withdrawals. I am taking 4mg of xanax to sleep, but I feel that it is not working, I have been in it for 1 year or so. I also take Phenergan 50mg together. I miss when this benzo really relaxed me. I've been thinking in changing benzo, but it seems that alprazolam is the strongest, but I do not know, I thought to switch to 4mg of clonazepam. Can anyone help or discuss sleeping pills?

 

[jake3d]

Clonazepam should be better than alprazolam as it is longer acting. The only way to lower tolerance to benzos is to take less of them (and go thru minor withdrawals).

 

[Ruffian]

If you look in the Resources thread here I think they give a benzodiazepines equivalency chart. Which would give you an idea of which medications would be around the same strength as what you're taking now. Unfortunately, benzos build tolerance very quickly, and the only way to keep getting the ability to sleep is to not use them regularly. For sleep they're only good for about 2 weeks. I think they maintain their effectiveness for anxiety though. Can you speak with your doctor about adding something else to help you sleep? 4 mg of Xanax is a pretty high dose. You may want to Google the Ashton manual, which is the gold standard for reducing or completely getting off Benzos. Dr. Ashton studied their effects a lot. But she's not some anti-drug zealot, in fact her first stipulation is that no one should be forced to go off their meds, it should be their decision. It's worth a glance if you've been on that high a dose for a year. And a disclaimer from me, I'm not saying whether you should either.

 

[barny]

if you become tolerant you need a higher dose. I find it with sleeping pills. if I dont take them for several days/a week, then they work better again as it gets out your system.

 

[TimeToDie]

4 mg of clonazepam (Klonopin) is supposedly equal to 8 mg of Xanax according to most equivalency charts, though a minority of charts put the equivalency at 1 to 1. There really isn't such a thing as a stronger or weaker benzo so long as they are given in equivalent dosages such as 40 mg of Valium equaling 4 mg of Xanax -- both will do much the same job.

As mentioned above, Klonopin is longer acting than Xanax. If this matters or not really depends on the individual. Some would likely find that Klonopin is a worse sleeping pill due to the fact that it could potentially have a greater hangover effect upon waking up due to the longer half-life.

 

[jake3d]

4 mg of clonazepam (Klonopin) is supposedly equal to 8 mg of Xanax according to most equivalency charts, though a minority of charts put the equivalency at 1 to 1. There really isn't such a thing as a stronger or weaker benzo so long as they are given in equivalent dosages

There is, half-life must be taken into account as well, it's not just dosage.

 

[Qbert]

http://www.benzobuddies.org/ has good taper info and support

 

[Ruffian]

There is, half-life must be taken into account as well, it's not just dosage.

Thank you. I meant to say something about that. I used to write really well, and a lot of times now I feel like I don't get out everything I want. Probably brain damage from failed ODs and years of psych meds. This is why I referenced the Equivalency Chart and Dr. Ashton. Hunter, Jake3d has the idea, it's about how long a drug will take to get out of your system. Since Xanax has a shorter half life than Klonipin, you would suffer for less time cutting back the Xanax and then you could go on a benzo with a longer half-life. But any way you play it, the effect on sleeping wears off quickly and you have to increase your dose again. I do believe there are certain ones better for sleep though, but again, that would be a conversation to have with your doctor.

 

[mathieu]

In my experience benzos are not great for sleep, unless you only use them about once a week. Tolerance to the hypnotic affect builds so quickly. I would suggest you find a non-benzo sleep med if you really need one like mirtazepine, quetiapine or doxepin. Tolerance doesn't seem to go back down for benzos, at least in my experience. I used them around the clock with imovane (zopiclone) for sleep when I was in a psych clinic for four months. Now I need strong doses of benzos for my anxiety. 5mg of Valium used to do the trick but now I need 2mg Xanax at a time. As for sleep, zopiclone does nothing now and it takes seroquel (quetiapine) to help with that.

 

[Ruffian]

In my experience benzos are not great for sleep, unless you only use them about once a week. Tolerance to the hypnotic affect builds so quickly. I would suggest you find a non-benzo sleep med if you really need one like mirtazepine, quetiapine or doxepin. Tolerance doesn't seem to go back down for benzos, at least in my experience. I used them around the clock with imovane (zopiclone) for sleep when I was in a psych clinic for four months. Now I need strong doses of benzos for my anxiety. 5mg of Valium used to do the trick but now I need 2mg Xanax at a time. As for sleep, zopiclone does nothing now and it takes seroquel (quetiapine) to help with that.

I swear the devil engineered benzos. They were to keep people from overdosing on barbiturates like Nembutal. I find it ironic how many people on here are here because of those drugs. And seeking Nembutal. And it's not even funny, it's tragic.

 

[The Hunter]

In my experience benzos are not great for sleep, unless you only use them about once a week. Tolerance to the hypnotic affect builds so quickly. I would suggest you find a non-benzo sleep med if you really need one like mirtazepine, quetiapine or doxepin. Tolerance doesn't seem to go back down for benzos, at least in my experience. I used them around the clock with imovane (zopiclone) for sleep when I was in a psych clinic for four months. Now I need strong doses of benzos for my anxiety. 5mg of Valium used to do the trick but now I need 2mg Xanax at a time. As for sleep, zopiclone does nothing now and it takes seroquel (quetiapine) to help with that.

I thought to ask my doctor about zopiclone, but I read about the rebound insomnia that it can cause and I am afraid, but maybe I ask for a hypnotic to take for a little while. so I have severe ocd and I'm afraid of antidepressants and anti-psychotics, my ocd will not let me take these drugs. but quetiapine has a small half-life, maybe I take it to use sporadically.

I swear the devil engineered benzos. They were to keep people from overdosing on barbiturates like Nembutal. I find it ironic how many people on here are here because of those drugs. And seeking Nembutal. And it's not even funny, it's tragic.

Yes, I did not want to have entered in the benzos party.

 

[mathieu]

I thought to ask my doctor about zopiclone, but I read about the rebound insomnia that it can cause and I am afraid, but maybe I ask for a hypnotic to take for a little while. so I have severe ocd and I'm afraid of antidepressants and anti-psychotics, my ocd will not let me take these drugs. but quetiapine has a small half-life, maybe I take it to use sporadically.

Yes, I did not want to have entered in the benzos party.

I found zopiclone pretty effective at first. If you could just avoid daily use, using it every now and then. It might help long term. Alternatively it could help if your insomnia is a short term problem (couple of weeks).

 

[cornflowerblue]

Without withdrawals. I am taking 4mg of xanax to sleep, but I feel that it is not working, I have been in it for 1 year or so. I also take Phenergan 50mg together. I miss when this benzo really relaxed me. I've been thinking in changing benzo, but it seems that alprazolam is the strongest, but I do not know, I thought to switch to 4mg of clonazepam. Can anyone help or discuss sleeping pills?

Do you have access to medical care? If you get a sleep study, they may find evidence of a sleep disorder. With a sleep disorder diagnosis, there are many more options for medications to help with sleep by actually increasing sleep quality rather than blindly knocking you out how benzos or alcohol do.

 

[Severen]

Have you thought about taking some L-Theanine with your Xanax? The combination made me fucking sleepy all the time so I had to stop or fall asleep during work.

 

[The Hunter]

Have you thought about taking some L-Theanine with your Xanax? The combination made me fucking sleepy all the time so I had to stop or fall asleep during work.

I've never heard of it, I've researched it now and it looks interesting.

 

[Severen]

I've never heard of it, I've researched it now and it looks interesting.

And not too expensive.