Captain Kirk

For the benefit of thoese who don’t know me allow me to say I’m a recovering alcoholic and benzo addict. I have an addictive personality and get addicted to anything.
I have been off benzo’s for almost a year now. Although I have occasionally been taking night time benzo’s when I’ve been unable to sleep.
For the past few weeks I’ve been feeling somewhat anxious. During the past few days I’ve had a couple of full scale anxiety/panic moments where my heart was really pounding and I couldn’t breath properly and I could feel the blood pumping in my head.
I know “once an addict always an addict” but would it be safe to take an occasional day time benzo for when I get these feelings? or would smoking marijuana be of any benefit? (just for the record i used to smoke a bit when i was a teenager, but i havn't had a smoke for about 10 years now) No matter how much i used to smoke i never got any effects from it at all. I've heard some people say that if you smoke when you're relaxed you'll become even more relaxed, or if you smoke when you're happy you'll become even more happy. If i were to smoke when i'm not anxious would it relieve me of becoming anxious?
I smoke cigarettes anyway so wether i'd be smoking joints or ciggys no additional harm could be done, could it?

CarolD

Certainly ...many in recovery take prescribed meds.
I do tho not for anxiety.

You must be honest with your doctor about your past
in order to find the meds that are safe for you.

Good to see you here again

Jersey Nonny

Oh, my...Aldo, I'm not prone to anxiety attacks, but I just had one reading your post!

First of all, no one here will offer any serious medical advice...that should be discussed with your doctor; and, anything prescribed should be taken as prescribed.

Quote:

I’m a recovering alcoholic and benzo addict. I have an addictive personality and get addicted to anything.

Secondly, after being a member of SR for a while, you already know smoking pot is a No-No!!! It isn't recommended, if you're really trying to stay clean and sober.

According to your sobriety date, you're sober about five months? Have you been attending AA/NA meetings? Have you run any of this by group members or your sponsor(s)? You can probably use all the support available to you. SR may not be quite enough to get you over this recovery "speed bump".

BTW...I take prescribed sleeping meds...have been for quite a while. My 28 years of sobriety has not been jeopardized...not any more than when I have to take blood pressure or thyroid meds.

nandm

IMHO, as long as the following is being done then a medication in sobriety is fine.

• Medication prescribed by the persons doctor
• taking the medication as prescribed by the doctor who wrote the prescription
• communicating with the doctor
• doctor is aware of addiction/dependency issues of present or past
• honesty, honesty, honesty, with the doctor.

Like someone said earlier smoking pot is not a solution.

But as with any post regarding medications there is always this to consider.

Taking medical advice from anyone but a medical professional is like taking my car to a beauty parlour to have the engine rebuilt. Ultimately I am going to wind up with the same result, a car that does not run; unless I wind up with that 1 in a million chance that the beautician is also a skilled mechanic.

Anna

Aldo, I know how scary panic attacks are and I'm sorry you are going through this.

Taking medication as prescribed is always okay. I don't believe we need to suffer more, simply because we are addicts. The key thing is to be really careful.

29a

I would say take an honest look inside, you know your motives, then talk to your doctor and talk to your sponsor.

I was also a drunk and a benzo addict. I personally would rather go through a panic attack than risk relapse. Mainly because I know myself, and if I took even one xanax, I would want a hundred more. Of course I am not a dr and I am not you so....

I guess my advice is be honest with yourself, be honest with your dr, and be honest with your sponsor

Dean62

Ditto 29a.

I am an alcoholic/benzo addict also. Benzo's work on the same part of the brain alcohol does. That is why they both relax us....at first. I agree that taking meds as prescribed by your doctor is ok as long as the doctor knows what is going on.

This is one you want to be careful with.

Captain Kirk

xanax was what got me started on benzo's. i begun taking .25mg a day, as perscribed. in the end i was on about 60 - 80 times that + a couple of types of sleeping benzo's
the thing is i remember how relaxed i was on Xanax and how, in the begining at least, i was able to function properly and lead a normal life. i was socialable and talkative and friendly.
however in the end the benzo's cost me my relationship with my girlfriend and i totaled my car one night after i'd been mixing benzo's and alcohol. they're a terrible drug - hence why i'm thinking and asking for oppinions before i decide to go back on them.

29a

I started with 2 of the .25's a day. but the bottle would be gone in 3-4 days. i worked my way up to 6 of the bar's a day. I think they are like 2mg or something. but still the bottle would be gone in a week max. plus i was on the seroquel ( a di-benzodiazapine) to sleep.
I like to take them during the day because I thought I had social anxiety. Turns out I was shaking because I was going through alcohol withdrawal.
So basically I had one funtional week out of the month at work, then after I had used up all my pills. I would suffer from benzo withdrawal coupled with alcohol shakes during the day. so instead of quitting, I just added vodka to my work day routine on those days when I was out of pills. Of course I also supplemented my prescriptions with "alternate" suppliers and my pills were always being lost or stolen. This is what lead up to my bottom.

it never ends. guess I just though this might remind you of how things "add up" when your using.

Marius

I never had any anxiety/panic attack issues that I know of, so I'm no help there. I'm like you when it comes to marijuana I could smoke loads of it have no effects like you. I did benzos a few times, one time I did a xanax bar and that thing knocked me on my ass, put me to sleep for a while. I've watched friends of mine eat up to 6 xanax bars at one time, and you could tell how messed up they were. So if I were you I would try to avoid them if you think you might get hooked on them again.

Change4life

As a fellow Benzo addict of over 12 I have to disagree with the idea that prescribed meds are okay. Sometimes they arent. I got addicted to zanax from a prescription. There are drugs for anxiety that arent addictive. You should ask your Dr. about alternatives to any benzos. It sounds like you kinda know in your heart benzos are a no no for you.

Good luck and be careful

Krissy 72

I have to agree with Change4life. Of course, honesty with your Dr. (hopefully) will go a long way towards what is actually prescribed, but it is still no guarantee. I was honest with my Dr., and was prescribed all sorts of questionable stuff, including Xanax. Also, prescribed meds are FAST taking over alcohol and illegal drugs in terms of the #of scripts passed out like candy and the damage they cause.

For instance, my mother, who has fibromyalgia and diabetes and who equates marijuana with heroin and has never drank more than a glass of wine in her life is currently prescribed:
Xanax
Valium
Oxycodone
Oxycontin
Ambien
Whatever anti-depressant is flavor of the month
A myriad of cholesterol, diabetes and blood pressure meds

I have talked to her and her doctor, repeatedly (I know, pot calling the kettle black, but it's my mom). I get the same answer... as long as she takes them as prescribed... To her credit, she does, but she's still obviously whacked half the time and what it's doing to her body and mind, only God knows.

Jersey Nonny is SO right - the question is, can you take them as prescribed? (Only mention it because I know I couldn't!!)

Aldo1980, I am NOT lecturing. I have the same problem with anxiety/panic attacks, plus a healthy dose of crippling depression and insomnia, and don't know what to do either. If you do find something benign that's helpful, let me know Just pleaseremember, Dr.'s are not God, so research, research, research before you take anything blindly. There are plenty of prescriptions that are WORSE than marijuana (absolutely NOT an endorsement).

Anyway, good luck to you Aldo Please keep us posted!

Goodnfast

Hang in there Aldo! Others have said it and I add my vote...SEE A DOCTOR! Real honest-to-God panic attacks can have bad consequences. Doctors know this and, if you're honest with them, they'll find a treatment that works for you.

After only two months of sobriety (today actually :=P ) I still hate it when I need to take an occassional prescribed sleeping pill because I now know that I'll feel different when I wake up in the morning.

The benzos won't have the effect you're looking for after a short while anyway.

Captain Kirk

Honestly, I don't think I could. Maybe I could for a day or two but not for a long period of time. Also because, as has been said, I wouldn't get the same effect after a week or a month or whatever if I weren't to increase the dose.
I'll talk to a doc and see if they have anything alternative to benzo's.

Jersey Nonny

Good idea! You might check out a health food store...a lot of people (alcoholics and not) swear by them. I used to take L-Tryptophan pills as a sleep aid, and was annoyed when it was taken off the shelves for some reason. Apparently, it's back on again.

Captain Kirk

Damn! I'd totally forgotten about this thread.
I was indeed craving them and I did relapse, for 2 or 3 days.
It's now sevral days I'm going through withdrawl again and I feel terrible. I hate this drug. It's a demon.
At least I now know what's wrong with me.