Health - clonazepam to reduce seizure risk on cocaine?

[ihavequestions]

swim knows that clonazepam has been used in emergency rooms for cocaine overdoses and it is also an approved medication for those who experience seizures.

now if benzo's are used during heavy cocaine intoxication to save the user then it should also be safe to take a benzo before taking cocaine correct?

swim is just wondering if maybe taking a benzo, particularly clonazepam before using cocaine would be a good move in terms of harm reduction. any thoughts?

[Enlightenme]

It would be hard for SWIM to think that adding and mixing more drugs would constitute any harm reduction, but SWIM supposes one could help balance out the other by minimizing certain dangers SWIY is concerned about. SWIM finds that mixing drugs makes drug use a more addictive behavior for him. There is always something to balance out another thing, and it gives SWIM more reasons and excuses to keep using drugs. Right now SWIM is trying to wean down to one substance, so that he can go sober for a stretch. It's a tough battle. Each substance you use will have addiction potential, and when you mix them, the addiction seems to sink in unaware to the user, which makes it harder to control and quit. I'd say for occasional use, SWIM might consider mixing the two, but if it's more days than not, SWIM would not recommend it due to the withdrawals from benzos. That would seem like a strikingly hard combo to kick because of the effects it would have psychologically. An anxiety free coke high would probably be fun, but SWIM wouldn't want to get wrapped up in that.

[epote]

wow jesus hell and sweet lord thats a dangerous thing to do. Mixing sedatives with stimulants is NEVER a good idea.

There is a *huge* difference in using benzodiazepines in clinical settings and in recreational. For starters when one gets to the hospital with a cocaine overdose the doctors are trying to save his heart from getting into arrhythmia, secondly when in a hospital one can closely monitor breathing, electrolytes and even cardiac tone and administer the proper drugs to maintain them. Last but not least when in clinical settings the patient will probably NOT use anymore cocaine...

The single biggest problem with mixing sedatives with stimulants is that the user develops a very bad judgement of danger and overdose. Anxiety and paranoia are limiting factors to how much cocaine one can take before feeling like shit, it does provide SOME sort of boundary... remove those and how can one judge how much is too much?

No just no, especially with clonazepam, MAYBE a low dose of a more anxiety focused sedative like alprazolam but seriously, this is using a drug to cover another drug one should be using in the first place, if cocaine makes you feel like crap just dont take it....

SWIE is not preaching here but polypharmacy is NEVER good. Use cocaine in moderate amounts in friendly enjoyable settings and swiy will have a fun time as simple as that

[shkwocka]

swiEpote, this has been discussed here by other people, but swim would like to know what swiy thinks about taking xanax after a night's final line of cocaine. To give swiy more specifics: Swim does between .7 and 1g of coke over the course of 8-10 hours. Then, about 20-30 minutes after the final line of coke, swim takes half a xanax. Then, about an hour later, swim take another half a xanax. The one important piece of info swim is lacking is the dosage per pill....not sure. Swim has taken these a few times, they are the little oval orange ones. Swim just knows that when he takes half a pill, it's very very mild, barely noticeable. Swim did this last Saturday and it was great. The xanax made swim feel completely normal even after many many hours of lines of coke, so swim could chill on the couch, get sleepy, and go to bed.

[epote]

ah yes well thats prety common actually, just dont make a habit out of it, benzos can be very habit forming

as far as dosage goes, aroung 1mg of xanax will be more than enough

[BoxStar]

Taking cocaine concurrently with any benzodiazepine is a really bad idea for the reasons epote has already provided; some of the worst “accidents” SWIM has experienced with cocaine were at least partially caused by being too fucked up on benzos to judge if he had done too much or if that next dose is too high.

Sedatives should be left for the treatment of overdoses. In that role they have saved many people including SWIM; using them to ease the crash and get some sleep carries the risk of developing dependence if they are used “too” regularly.

[shkwocka]

Originally Posted by BoxStar

Sedatives should be left for the treatment of overdoses. In that role they have saved many people including SWIM; using them to ease the crash and get some sleep carries the risk of developing dependence if they are used “too” regularly.

Interesting comment... if someone is only using benzos to ease the crash and go to sleep after doing coke, then they are using benzos precisely as often as coke. So the dependency risk for benzos is no greater than that of the coke. Swim would be comparatively more concerned about dependency to coke (which is fun and expensive) than to xanax (which is boring and inexpensive). Swim does coke once every 3-4 weeks, and takes one xanax at the end of the nite after the last line.

[Enlightenme]

Originally Posted by shkwocka

Interesting comment... if someone is only using benzos to ease the crash and go to sleep after doing coke, then they are using benzos precisely as often as coke. So the dependency risk for benzos is no greater than that of the coke. Swim would be comparatively more concerned about dependency to coke (which is fun and expensive) than to xanax (which is boring and inexpensive). Swim does coke once every 3-4 weeks, and takes one xanax at the end of the nite after the last line.

Benzos cause physical and psychological dependence. Coke is only psychological. When you're mixing drugs, your body and mind are more susceptible to succomb to addiction unaware to the user. It is much easier to kick coke than it is to kick benzos once you've decided to do so. Benzos will leave you with terrible withdrawals.

[scarface2]

Swim has a slight different view on clonazepam (aka rivotril) ALWAYS a good idea to have if one overdoses on cocaine and starts to shake leading up to a full blown seizure... 4mg of clonazepam should stop the shakes and give one time to go to the hospital or get other help.....better to have it than not to...!

[ihavequestions]

bad idea swim guesses then. he was only thinking of maybe 1mg of clonazepam followed by a moderate dose of coke. bit if its dangerous then he'll pass.

the seizure risk is a scary thought. if one does experience a seizure on coke though, is the seizure actualy dangerous and could cause damage of some sort? or does it just pass and all is well after the episode is over?

oh yeah, and is the possibility of a siezure related to high doasages or can it even happen in those who consume a small to moderate dose of cocaine?

[epote]

why in gods name would one want to use cocaine in amounts that could cause overdose?

souldnt the very talk of that ring some sort of "oh shit" bell?

So the dependency risk for benzos is no greater than that of the coke.

yeah well, if one tries to quit coke he will feel like SHIT for 3-4 days, then he will be depressed (managable with medication or what have you) for a couple of months and thats it.

try quiting benzos though...

[BoxStar]

Originally Posted by epote

why in gods name would one want to use cocaine in amounts that could cause overdose?

souldnt the very talk of that ring some sort of "oh shit" bell?

yeah well, if one tries to quit coke he will feel like SHIT for 3-4 days, then he will be depressed (managable with medication or what have you) for a couple of months and thats it.

try quiting benzos though...

In SWIM experience extreme cocaine use leads to a far more pronounced and debilitating withdrawal; however due his extensive and massive use he does not represent the average cocaine user.

Now talking about benzos; SWIM is physically dependant on them since age 17 or so thanks to a bunch of doctors trying to treat a severe sleep disorder without doing proper assessment of symptoms and consulting the available research. Over the years SWIM has suffered several seizures trying to manage an incontrollable tolerance to all benzos (just for example; he needs to take around 20mg of clonazepam daily); in fact he has suffered more seizures because of benzos than because of cocaine. The withdrawal from benzos is probably the very worst of all and SWIM has gone cold turkey from a huge heroin habit several times and can’t decide which is worse not to mention that benzodiazepine withdrawal lasts for months if not years and that cold turkey withdrawal can result in death.