Benzodiazepine | Hacker News Reader

Benzodiazepine

en.wikipedia.org

10 pointst0bia_s14 comments

If you've been on these long-term, I cannot stress enough how slowly you need to taper.

Edited to add that I wish I could contribute more to this conversation than lived experience, but saying that benzodiazepines "...are associated with an increased risk of suicide due to aggression, impulsivity, and negative withdrawal effects"[0] is like describing the sinking of the Titanic as a fender-bender.

[0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine

I've tried many drugs in my life but benzos have been the scariest that I would never do voluntarily.

Same at first it was like "Cool, no thoughts head empty, I don't feel anything anymore" but then it was "fck no thoughts head empty, I really don't feel anything anymore".

I got them prescribed by my psychiatrist (~4mg/day). And getting off of them was like going through hell, I really just wanted to stop taking them (I tried it for one day...), but I needed to reduce it by 0.5/week to not completely go berserk. But even with slowly reducing it, it wasn't a pleasent experience.

Were you able to completely stop?

Yes, I wasn't addicted (as it didn't feel good to take it) and after reducing it step by step, I was off of it (took some time). Though after that my other stuff (the reason why I got benzos prescribed) was there again, but I had no urge to take Benzos again.

The withdrawal can also kill you outright. Most other drugs can lead to a fatal withdrawal due to complications, but the withdrawal process itself isn’t lethal, like with benzos.

I take them occasionally for panic attacks and my god they are strong. A nibble off a corner normally does the job for me. I can’t imagine being prescribed them for daily use — and regular use has a whole bunch of nasty side effects.

Didn't Jordan Peterson try a experimental cure to get of them fast?

I believe he did, but I'm not convinced it went as well as he'd hoped. I'd read something to that effect, but am unable to recall what and where.

There's a theory bouncing around that the medical coma he supposedly used resulted in some degree of brain damage, causing him to really go off the political deep end.

I was once prescribed 2mg ativan pills. My doctor told me "Just keep taking em till you feel better"

Lost consciousness in missouri, came to about 48 hours later in florida on a park bench in disneyland.

Any clonazepam (clonopin) user here? Want to hear experiences.

Yep. 3 x 0.5mg a day for over ten years. Started my taper in 2018 and it took 3 1/2 years. In retrospect even that was probably too fast, because things started to go very wrong in 2020 and went catastrophically wrong at the end of 2021.

Send me a DM (email in profile) if you have specific questions. I'm more or less an open book.

Years

Decades if you don't start tapering down.

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