Opinions - Benzodiazepines substitutes?

[The Kid]

I am currently without any benzos or valium and I was wondering if there are any over the counter drugs or anything else that would help calm me down and lessen anxiety.

[The Kid]

My heart is racing and I can't calm down. Please, any advice will be helpful. Do you think smoking weed will help?

[azael]

Well weed will most probably calm you down but it can cause your heart to race even more.


if you had the benzos to treat some kind of anxiety then I think weed might be a bit risky. Unless your a regular weed smoker and know how you react to it

[searcher]

Drink a beer.

[Psilocybe S.]

The only substitute would be alcohol, but that too can cause ur heart to race..


I dunno. Go to a doctor and tell him you're suffering from anexity, and he'll perscribe some ativan for you. Ativanis great. lol

[OneDiaDem]

Go to a health food store and buy valarian root. It is the natural form of valium. They have tictures, and pills. The tinctur works fast, but smells like foot and ass. Next best thing to parm's.

[Cleverdemise]

Are there any other drugs and or substances that can give you a benzo like effect? Like, besides xanax, valium, kolonopin, and that tempa-something? I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, and I'm given 1.5mg of xanax daily. I'd like to save them up, but unfortuantely, i actually need them. Is there anything i can do to get the sedation/tranquilizing effect like benzos? I heard drinking beer will do that, but i'm not sure. I've also heard you can take large (not TOO large) dosages of kava kava, or valerian root to get something like that. I just wanna save up mydamn zanis lol.

[Benzhead]

I think you're seaching for 'Temazepam.'


Well, it's been my experience that most any CNS depressant will give you some of the effects of benzos.


I used to drink immense qualities of alcohol on a sporadic basis(binge drinking), and found that hangovers gave me a huge case of rebound anxiety. Of course, your mileage may vary.


Kava and valerian had no effect on me in what I would consider sane dosage levels. Many grams per dose, from the best vendors and I didn't even get a placebo effect. Again, one, or both of these plants may offer you some relief. For me, they did nothing.


There are some anti-depressants that have sedating qualities. But these can be so sedating that you'll want to nap as soon as they take effect. Mirtazapine(Remeron) is one such newer AD. Ifind thatif I take a45mg capsule, and break it half, I can get asedation that cuts my anxiety with minimal drowsiness. If I take my full 45mg dose, I'll soon want a quiet place to sleep.


I'd steer clear of Trazodone(Desyrel), as you might get a next day drug hangover thatcan leave you groggy for hours. Ireally loathed it.


Wrapping this up, I think that you'll need to get the opinions of others, and then do some safe experimenting..butremember, benzos are physically addicting, and going without your usual dosage for too long a period may result in some really unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.


Be Safe!


T

[BrandonAA]

dude, save yours up (two days worth would be 3mg,) and eat them all at once and make sure you don't eat an excessive amount of food that day, you want to have a nearly clear stomach. oncew you've done that drink some brews, or if you don;'t lkike beer make some rum and cokes. it is optimal to drink on 3mg, it will fuck you up. then blaze a little bit of trees on top of all that.


benzo, alcohol and cannabis - the whip

[morkstanley]

why smoke weed then, with all the xanax you'll end up smokin all your weed. when i'm on bars i always smoke alot cuz it takes more to get high on bars.

[greener]

Though they don't get you high and aren't exactly sedating,
beta-blockers can be helpful during a panic attack for some
people. They tend to treat the physical responses to panic more
than mental anxiety, but sometimes just feeling more comfortable
physically can really take the edge off enough to get you grounded
again. They're prescription, but due to the fact that they're not
recreational, they're easy enough to get...



And kava can be quite effective, even intoxicating. The big
problem is that you have to do everything just right in order to have
it work. Also, most of what you'll find for sale will have such a
low kavalactone (active chemical) content that it's not even worth
trying. The process to make tea can be tedious and messy, so it's
really a shame that there aren't more quality supplements. The
only decent brand I've found is made by Gaia herbs. (I hope that
saying the brand name of an ENTIRELY legal product is alright...
I mean, this stuff isn't even questionable like RCs.) The
downside is that you still have to take a lot (about 15-20 caps is a
strong yet pleasant dose for me) and as such it is quite expensive
dose-per-dose (about $20 for a bottle of 60 caps).



Even with this supplement, there are things you have to do to make sure
it works. The MOST important is to take them on an entirely empty
stomach, and not to eat for at least 45 - 60 minutes after. If
you don't, you MIGHT feel slight effects, but it will surely be
disappointing and a huge waste of money. Also, they are gooey
extracts in capsules, and I find that I get a much quicker, more
complete absorption if I put them in my mouth and bite down to break
the capsule, then swallow it all. They taste absolutely vile if
you do this, and the brown gunk inside (the goodies) will stick to your
teeth and numb up your mouth. To combat this, what I do is put a
small amount of water in my mouth, put 6 caps in, chew/bite/break them,
swallow, and take more water in my mouth, never letting it get
empty. If you do this, you won't taste the kava and can pretty
much wash it out of your mouth before you taste it.



Despite the very mixed review on kava, this is a very potent way to do
it and if done properly you WILL feel it quite strongly. It can
make you a bit clumsy and dizzy, so don't drive or anything.
Also, kava may be bad for you liver, so don't do this all the time.



After 3 years on benzos, kava is the only thing that can help me quell
my anxiety if I'm out of Xanax. (Well, opiates and alcohol do
that as well, but they're not benzo-like or even slightly adviseable if
you want to be in public.)

[lorzapmail]

SWim has found no Benzo sub. Years ago Seconal, Tuinal amd qualudes didn't make you care if you seen a benzo ever again. The past is just that. Read the new threads about the lower grade meds for W/D's. Some can give relief. Maybe due to pain meds, Swim hates alcohol now. So Scratch that one. Swim has been down this road many times and the last timeSwim was out was 2004. Plan ahead. Simple..........

[RaverHippie]

Originally Posted by lorzapmail

SWim has found no Benzo sub. Years ago Seconal, Tuinal amd qualudes didn't make you care if you seen a benzo ever again. The past is just that. Read the new threads about the lower grade meds for W/D's. Some can give relief. Maybe due to pain meds, Swim hates alcohol now. So Scratch that one. Swim has been down this road many times and the last timeSwim was out was 2004. Plan ahead. Simple..........

It's common practice and courtesy not to dig up REALLY OLD threads since the posters who originally posed the query will never read them and new discussion will likely find a better home in a new thread dedicated to the specific topic. This is true in all cases unless there is a new development integral to the discussion of an existing thread where the prior posts would serve as good background info for the future discussion.

[Ilsa]

a few ppl on this thread would benefit from reading the rules regarding self-incrimination here

that said swim agrees that valerian and kava can both have sedative qualities--but in high doses. the problem here is that if the large amounts of inactive ingredients ingested along with the active component(s) can stress the live and kidneys and thus should not be used for long periods of time. benzo's are great anxiolytics, but dependence potential is moderate to high and rebound anxiety is a bitch--as are seizures in extreme cases of benzoo withdrawals. swim finnds that smoking a bowl and breathing excercises work wonders. not as exciting but at least swim it works and doesn''t require a doc's visit.

[lorzapmail]

Originally Posted by The Kid

I am currently without any benzos or valium and I was wondering if there are any over the counter drugs or anything else that would help calm me down and lessen anxiety.

.............. Swim thinks beer/alcohol is no help unless you an alcoholic. Please avoid first person staements. Sorry benzo withdrawal relief is not easy to find. Maybe soma???

[8balls936]

Originally Posted by The Kid

I am currently without any benzos or valium and I was wondering if there are any over the counter drugs or anything else that would help calm me down and lessen anxiety.

Not over the counter but, will help, Buspirone or, Buspar in the U.S. will be your best bet. Doctors prescribe it all the time to people who are addicted drugs especially Benzos and, treating generalized anxiety disorder. Your local doctor will most likely prescribe it to you. Because it shows no potential for addiction and abuse. Its effects are most compared to Diazepam.

[Uncle Getafix]

Greetings. SWIM has been taking benzos for 8 years, reducing from 4mg lorazepam to 20mg diazepam currently.

I have a few tricks up my sleeve that may assist SWIY, they have asssisted SWIM in his 8 year taper!!

Firstly, SWIM would visit a good Medical Herbalist(modern witch haha..), and SWIM gets a kava/valerian 50/50 tincture which will get you to sleep. Has euphoric effects when first taken, that wears off. SWIM was referred to Herbalist, herbalist has MA in Pharmacology, so is good.

Possibility of severe liver damage on kava-kava so be very careful of dose-that is why a herbalist is good.

That should take SWIYs edge off.

If SWIY is a weed smoker, cannabis can be excellent, if one can break through the 15 minute paranoia barrier, its all sedation from there. If someone is suffering from anxiety, just bear in mind"I've just smoked a massive blunt, thats why I feel anxious, I'll ride it through for the sedation its just the cannabis"

And after 15 minutes, it will take the edge off.

At the end of the day, a one mg monthly taper is the best way of solving the problem..SWIM would be happy to take diazepam forever if it gave him the initial buzz..now its just a boring maintenance dose!!

Thats a few hints SWIM found useful having been in your situation daily a few years ago..SWIM finds cannabis much more fun, but would not recommend cannabis to a non pot smoker suffering from anxiety or depression..that won't be a good effect.

Good luck man.

[rocksmokinmachine]

Originally Posted by The Kid

I am currently without any benzos or valium and I was wondering if there are any over the counter drugs or anything else that would help calm me down and lessen anxiety.

There are no real substitute for benzodiazepines. Ethyl alcohol and barbituaters act less descriminately on the GABA receptors (benzo's act on a specific sub-unit of these receptors).

Smoking cannabis is just going to increase your anxiety. It seems like SWIM has a dependency to his/her diazepam. Go to SWIY's local drug clinic and look at detoxing. Alternatively, look at my diazepam detox schedules.

http://www.drugs-forum.co.uk/forum/s...ad.php?t=45539

[Uncle Getafix]

SWIM would respectfully comment that SWIY was asking for anything that may help fill in some time between scripts or medication.

SWIY would probably already be aware that SWIY suffers from dependency, as SWIY is asking for assistance in a rough patch.

SWIM agrees using Ashtons tapering system would be ideal..if SWIY does actually wish to cease benzo use.

Smoking cannabis will increase anxiety if you are not a regular ganja smoker. I found ganja very useful in getting perspective on my anxiety, and controlling it. SWIM would only reccommend cannabis to an experienced smoker, or it will definitely increase anxiety!!

SWIM was reccommended a Kava/Valerian tincture from TRANX(Health Clinic), mixed by a medical herbalist. It did ease withdrawal. SWIM said tasted awful, but frickin worked sweet as.

SWIM would suggest a mellow taper if SWIY is interested, obviously SWIYs choice as everyone has different circumstances. All the best.

[tiramisu4you]

How about Benadryl (diphenhydramine)? Or Soma (Carisprodol)?