If you've built a tolerence to a benzo is it permanant or temporary??

[Neutralview]

I first started taking benzos 1 year ago in March 2016 it was prescribed to me by my doctor. The thing is I started at low doses I was taking 2mg of diazepam 3 times a day so 6mg then after a while I switched to Xanax I was given 0.5mg twice a day (1mg a day) it was working despite the low dose I was taking perhaps cause I was new to benzos so I didn't have a tolerance. So then after my psy switched me to lysanxia/prazepam I wasn't given a dosage so I was taking how much I wanted to bearing in mind 60mg is the maximum dose. Taking 15-30mg a day was effective for me. But then I switched back to diazepam & I saw a different doc who prescribed 30mg a day at first it was working but after a few months it stopped working so I upped the dose to 40mg which is the maximum dose but still nothing it wasn't working it was as if I was taking sugar pills! So I asked the doc to switch me back to Prazepam/Lysanxia he gave me between 40mg-50mg to take everyday but it was ineffective it had no effect on me I didnt feel sedated/stoned or calm/relaxed like I used to feel when I was taking a very low dosage of the same medication a year ago in 2016. So my question is if you become tolerent to a benzo does that mean it's forever or just temporary?? Another question is if you become tolerent to say diazepam does that mean I'm also tolerent to all the other benzos such as prazepam or xanax?? Obviously after a while the medication does stop working but if I take a 1-2 month break from Benzos not taking any benzos at all would my tolerence go away & then the medication would start working again if I start from scratch again at a low dosage??

[panic_down_under]

So my question is if you become tolerent to a benzo does that mean it's forever or just temporary??

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) may work again at low doses after a few drug free years, but tolerance will likely quickly build again. Tolerance is actually uncommon, most people take BZDs for decades without needing to up the dose, but some are vulnerable and it seems you're one of them.

It's a moot point anyway, imho, because BZDs are not good long-term anti anxiety meds. I'm very surprised you were allowed to get into this situation in the UK. Most competent doctors would have cut your supply long ago.

Another question is if you become tolerent to say diazepam does that mean I'm also tolerent to all the other benzos such as prazepam or xanax??

Yes.

BTW-prazepam and diazepam are pretty much the same drug as both metabolise to desmethyldiazepam which does most of the work.

Obviously after a while the medication does stop working but if I take a 1-2 month break from Benzos

If you think you could just stop taking diazepam tomorrow, wait a couple of months and start again you're probably in for one huge shock. It may take you up to a year just to wean off your BZD given the dose. DO NOT try quitting cold-turkey!!!

My advice is to get your anxiety under control with antidepressants and/or therapy and only then start to taper of the BZD. You should also know that BZDs inhibit the mechanism by which antidepressants work (also therapy to some extent) so you may need to take comparatively high doses to get a response given how much diazepam you're on.

[Neutralview]

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) may work again at low doses after a few drug free years, but tolerance will likely quickly build again. Tolerance is actually uncommon, most people take BZDs for decades without needing to up the dose, but some are vulnerable and it seems you're one of them.

It's a moot point anyway, imho, because BZDs are not good long-term anti anxiety meds. I'm very surprised you were allowed to get into this situation in the UK. Most competent doctors would have cut your supply long ago.



Yes.

BTW-prazepam and diazepam are pretty much the same drug as both metabolise to desmethyldiazepam which does most of the work.



If you think you could just stop taking diazepam tomorrow, wait a couple of months and start again you're probably in for one huge shock. It may take you up to a year just to wean off your BZD given the dose. DO NOT try quitting cold-turkey!!!

My advice is to get your anxiety under control with antidepressants and/or therapy and only then start to taper of the BZD. You should also know that BZDs inhibit the mechanism by which antidepressants work (also therapy to some extent) so you may need to take comparatively high doses to get a response given how much diazepam you're on.

I understand what you're saying however the only med that has worked for my issues/conditions are benzos ( I have severe anxiety,social anxiety,panic attacks,insomnia,PTSD,GAD) It makes me feel better/high when I'm feeling low ( a bit like alcohol/lager).

When I was in Manchester it was a struggle/hassle to get more than 10mg of Diazepam but then I moved outside London where they gradually increased the dose to 35mg.

At first Diazepam & Prazepam worked but now if I take 40mg of Diazepam or 60mg of Prazepam ( which are the maximum doses of both specific benzos) it doesn't work anymore maybe I've built a tolerence it must be sky high since I've been taking benzos for about a year/10 months.

But now I've been prescribed 7.5mg of Ativan ( the highest/max dose is 10mg) by my psychiatrist here in France ( I'm in France now) He's advised me to take it daily for my severe anxiety/insomnia but it's not working.
I don't understand cause I've never ever tooken Ativan before?? Does that mean if I'm tolerent to say Diazepam I'm also tolerent to all the other benzos too??

I'm not gonna quit cold turkey ( I'll reduce the dose gradually). But I don't wanna quit taking benzos I just want it to work again like it did when I first started taking them a year ago

[Benjammin69]

I understand what you're saying however the only med that has worked for my issues/conditions are benzos ( I have severe anxiety,social anxiety,panic attacks,insomnia,PTSD,GAD) It makes me feel better/high when I'm feeling low ( a bit like alcohol/lager).

When I was in Manchester it was a struggle/hassle to get more than 10mg of Diazepam but then I moved outside London where they gradually increased the dose to 35mg.

At first Diazepam & Prazepam worked but now if I take 40mg of Diazepam or 60mg of Prazepam ( which are the maximum doses of both specific benzos) it doesn't work anymore maybe I've built a tolerence it must be sky high since I've been taking benzos for about a year/10 months.

But now I've been prescribed 7.5mg of Ativan ( the highest/max dose is 10mg) by my psychiatrist here in France ( I'm in France now) He's advised me to take it daily for my severe anxiety/insomnia but it's not working.
I don't understand cause I've never ever tooken Ativan before?? Does that mean if I'm tolerent to say Diazepam I'm also tolerent to all the other benzos too??

I'm not gonna quit cold turkey ( I'll reduce the dose gradually). But I don't wanna quit taking benzos I just want it to work again like it did when I first started taking them a year ago

Hi, how was you sourcing the xanax? As that is not available on the NhS so psychs and docs cannot prescribe this? You also state you upped your diazepam from 30 to 40.. what this done by a doctor or yourself?

If I'm honest on reading this - if your doctor has been prescribing these all for you and some of the amounts then I think they have been quite negligible and have not followed the bnf guidelines for benzo prescriptions.....

What else have you tried for your anxiety? I am not anti benzo and I know there use can be great - I've taken diazepam last few days to help me get back to work but for the purpose that you are taking them and the length they are not designed for that usage?

[panic_down_under]

I don't understand cause I've never ever tooken Ativan before?? Does that mean if I'm tolerent to say Diazepam I'm also tolerent to all the other benzos too??

Yes, if you've developed tolerance to one benzodiazepine (BZD) then you will be to all of them as tolerance is determined by the BZD binding sites/receptors, not the meds.

But I don't wanna quit taking benzos I just want it to work again like it did when I first started taking them a year ago

Sorry, but this isn't going to happen.