post your experiences

Do you mean drink Alcohol while taking Xanax?

Mixing benzos with alcohol is a bad idea. You should *never* drink while using downers.

Dangerous Black Out. Good way to lose friends or your freedom.

I've had friends who have done this, they get way too out there. Not recommended. However, I'd be a hypocrite not to say that I've never drunk alcohol since being given benzos. I just NEVER mix them at the same time. I take Klonopin in the mornings, and if I want a drink, I wait until later afternoon or night, and it doesn't bother me one bit, but I think I'm unique. And I've been on the meds a long time and they aren't very strong (for me) anymore.

Also, what is meant by "drinking" is different. My roommate thinks "drinking" means 9 shots and a six pack. I think "drinking" is maybe wine with lunch or a couple beers with late night TV. B/c everyone has a different tolerance to these substances, I think it's a bad idea to mix.

People black out, don't remember anything, end up taking off their clothes or something terribly embarrassing, or pass out and wake up in the hospital. A friend once took some of my Klonopin (without my permission!) and drank, and he ended up getting violent and weird. Not a good scene.

When I took xanax, I drank quite a bit generally. Until I had a tolerance and was taking it daily it very well could cause amnesia and blackouts. But once I had tolerance for the xanax there were no further blackouts or symptoms unless I really spiked the dosage. I don't recommend it due to some personal experiences that currently have me pretty stressed. If you do decide to do it, don't go to bars or public places.

At one point in my life I used to drink around a litre of scotch whiskey a day, it got to a point where I was using it for both social anxiety and to sleep (I am a complete insomniac) ... I then turned to benzo's to cut down on the alcohol and have a proper solution to social anxiety.

With the help of Valium I am down to around 150ml of Whiskey in the evening (used to get pissed every lunch time at work too to help me through the day) plus probably 2 x 10mg Valium pills a day.

I have never had a problem with mixing them, but thats probably my alcohol tollerance, I have at times (such as the office christmas party) drank a lot of alcohol and been on benzo's at the same time. I had no problems apart from a little memory loss of some parts of the night (which I probably would have had without the benzo's anyway). I also maybe have been a little too open to people in what I said in conversations.

Its probably not a good idea to mix the two but if you have a high tollerance to either/both then its probably not going to be fatal but can cause certain regrets the next day in large amounts of either mixed.

No, I do not drink alcohol because I HAVE to take Xanax. Mixing Xanax and alcohol is deadly and I advise everyone to read the warnings on the label. And please please, learn from someone who has to take it for an anxiety disorder. If you don't need it, don't take it. The withdrawals when you quit can be a nightmare. You will get addicted and how are you going to taper or get help if a doctor hasn't prescribed it? If you don't need it thank your lucky Stars and move on. They say it's as addicting as heroin. I can tell you some nightmares of how withdrawals feel from personal experience. It's not fun.

yes,
and in my experience it has repurcussions, including the amnograde amnesia. dont do it.

Definitely a bad idea... I have been guilty of it & generally just don't remember anything....It's when you get told what you've done that it gets worrying (although I never done anything too bad, I have done things that I would never do even if I was just purely pissed of my face..)
Oh and of course mixing booze with benzos can be fatal

That is reassuring to hear from you that mixing benzos and booze "is probably not going to be fatal."
Hopefully, those people reading your advice will not take it to heart. You are a fortunate man to be sitting there typing.
It is unfortunate that someone would even have to start a topic to see how many people drink while on Xanax. I thought this discussion board involved individuals who were generally well-educated about the drugs they take.

the words coma and death spring to mind.

They are both CNS depressants. You may fall asleep and never wake up

Be careful people.

Sikcness, I'm kind of wondering what motivated your question?

Stupidity?

Do people think they put that "Do not drink Alcoholic Beverages when taking this medication" sticker on the bottle because the manufacturers are teetotalers. Get real you can die from an overdose of Xanax alone or Alcohol alone.
Just say no.

Alot of folks have a glass of wine or a couple beers to help the Zanax, they fall asleep and wake rested. Some overdo either the zanax, the booze or their tolerance. Be very careful.

You guys ever heard of the "Darwin Awards"?

I don't drink anymore, but in the past have taken valium and drank vodka. I didn't get s**tfaced, but none the less, I couldn't remember things the next day.

Kitty, I wouldn't lie to a good friend, so yeah, that sounds pretty s**tfaced to me. I can't offend since my prescribed ambien does the same to me. Just lucky I haven't wandered off somewhere, drove to Atlantic City with money, or something crazier than waking up with chocolate cookie mattress.

sikcness are asking because you do drink or that your thinking of drinking and want to know if its safe?.

I would say if your used to drinking and or taking Xanax and still feel you need to take it at say a party and know your not going to black out etc then I think its ok.

I myself do it but I've been drinking for years and know my limits and also I've been taking Xanax for years and now I will be fine as long as I stick to my daily dose.

BUT NOT do it to get high or whatever thats crazy (not saying you are)

Not sure if people are getting the wrong end of the stick with your post do you need advise?.

If your asking because you want some crazy story's its not really the place there's other sites to do that.

either way you must be carefull.

very very hard to OD on alprazolam alone... while it is very easy to die while mixing it with alcohol.

i will agree it is quite irresponsible to put up this topic... and to anyone out there that makes it a habit of drinking alcohol with anxiety or pain meds needs a serious reality check. mixing with the alp could definitely kill you and mixing with pain meds frequently will fry the liver and you will be looking at a long slow painful death. had a friend die of liver failure and it was horrible to see and watch. (it had nothing to do with medication either) tolerance or no tolerance, it is irresponsible and should not be done.

taking a xanax in the morning and having a drink in the evening is one thing... but mixing both at one time is a whole nother story and should certainly never be done on a consistent basis.

be safe and responsible out there people.

http://www.drugdigest.org

this would be applicable to normal, prescribed doses... any substantial increase in normal dosage would surely result in increased risks

I would just like to further clarify my own post: I do not drink alcohol with benzos, do not want to be "high" (those days are long gone now), and do not advocate it. But to be honest, I did ask my doctor whether or not I could have occasional beer, and his response was that it would be fine as long as I'm super careful and do not mix. But he knows me very well and trusts my judgment.

I've never blacked out ever in my life. I don't even like the feeling of being drunk and avoid it. Weird for a college student, but I've seen what happens to other kids, and I don't want to end up in the hospital.

I do not know if the OP was trying to find out if this is a good idea or not. It seems that is the case. If so, I regret that I admitted to drinking, but do want to stress that I believe it's a terrible idea to mix xanax with alcohol, you cannot predict what will happen.

And some folks fall asleep and don't wake up at all.
For real.

"Overdoses of alprazolam can be mild to severe depending on how much of the drug is taken and if any other depressants have been taken. Alprazolam is significantly more toxic in overdose than other benzodiazepines with higher rates of fatalities. A study in New Zealand found that alprazolam was almost 8 times more likely to result in death in overdose than other sedative hypnotics as a group, with higher rates of ICU admissions and mechanical ventilation. Combined overdose with tricyclic antidepressants, alcohol or opiates or overdoses of alprazolam in the elderly significantly increases the likelyhood for severe toxicity and possible fatality."

It is Very Very easy to overdose on Xanax alone just keep taking them until your gone.

depends on tolerance, drinking a six pack and three bars and still able to function. just me. but if you did this the first time your probably in the hospital getting your stomach pumped.

I would NOT suggest drinking on ANY medication unless you have your doctors permission. I highly doubt your doctor would say, "Sure, pound a few down after you take a couple Xanax".

It's not sensible and you should know better, IMO. (In my opinion.)

Best of luck to those that do drink on their meds. I feel sorry for anyone in that position. It's simply not a good approach for your good health.

I have a note from my Doctor that says
"For maximum relief, take a couple Xanax, a couple Percs, wash down with a fifth of rum and a pair of Japanese twins"

Bit off topic, but I think I'm right in saying that drinking on barbiturates is far more dangerous & deadly... although I guess not so much of a problem these days now we have benzos...

Did your Doctor get his degree from one of the internet sites?
Nevertheless he will probably be spending retirement in a federal prison.

i just lol'd

I need to email my dad this thread.after his heart surgery several several years back(quadrupul (sp?) by pass) he was put on xanax .5mg and he drinks a few beers a night and thinks its okay and I have told him its not safe.I hope he doesnt get offended but i am only trying to make him be safer. what do you guys think? should I email this thread to him?

well from what i read from other peoples past experience, he shouldnt have a problem since hes been on them for several serveral years, since by now he has for sure built a tolerence for them. plus .5mg is not a very high doseage at all and with all that tolerence he should be fine.

whens the last time you read about someone dying from alcohol/xanax? its not like seconal or choral hydrate the stuff is safe but addictive as [censored].

Remember Karen Ann Quinlan? Google the name..

Benzos and beer/wine/liquor is STUPID and can be DEADLY!

actually she consumed valium AND darvon pain killer with alcahol. this is also stated in her wiki,

"Pharmacists say that this is the only known case of a person actually dying after taking Valium."

so it sounds as if the worst possible thing that could happen is blackouts (memory loss of the previouse night)

That's exactly what I was going to put although she used Valium. I remember this very strongly as I was a teenager when it happened. It was all over the news, and it scared the krap out of me so badly that I never combined alcohol with medications that state no alcohol.

I've drank on Xanax, Xanax XR, and Klonopin I don't know how many times... Just made me blackout once in awhile. No big deal.

not likely to die, back in the day i had some issues where i would take 16 mg sub, 6 or so beers, 16 mg of suboxone, twenty mg ativan, a bit of xanax now and then and then to sleep twenty five mg ambien xr. pissed the bed a few times but still ticking...wife divorced me and i was hoping to die but it never happened...6 months stretch of this [censored] before i realized its time to move on because we have a two yr old. glad im somewhat responsible now. but dying from benzos and alcohol is rare....anyway loosing 6 months of your life because of drug induced amnesia bugs the [censored] out of me. but im sure there are others who have done this bs before on the board...just thought i would fade out and die but it didnt happen....pretty glad to be alive, life is not the best now but i have a roof over my head and a few friends. so suicide isnt the answer most of the time.

Over two years ago I had my second son. I also had severe postpartum depression

Anyway, I was in a psych ward for about five days. I mean, I was ready to commite suicide if I had not reached out for help.

Okay, the reason I mentioned this is that when I was being admitted there was a young male (early twenties I would say) getting discharged. He had all of his meds with him when he left. During his stay there he had made quite a few friends. Any one in the phsych ward could tell you that.

Now, to my point-finally right? Two days later another patient was in a panic to get ahold of him. Turns out he went to the liquor store, bought vodka and downed his pills with the liquor. He died just two days after getting out of a mental institution. I didn't know the guy but it still broke my heart.

I just don't drink-ever.

Thanks for the rambling

Peace

im sorry to hear that,
must have been quite a cocktail whatever he took.

Like most things, the degree to which one does something makes a difference.

A few times in the last year I've had one glass of wine with dinner, and then a few hours later I took my .25mg xanax right before bed. I remember feeling nervous the two or so times I've done this because I know it is a bad idea.

I'm glad nothing problematic happened.

I generally take .25 alprazolam to help me sleep. If I happen to get drunk, I don't take it because I don't need it. However, if I get "half drunk" I always take my .25mg, as for some reason a few glasses of wine with dinner prevents me from falling asleep.

I am a lightweight with drink but mixing them doesn't seem to effect me in any way. When i take my usual dosages of the benzo's i take. But if i up'ed the dosage then i would no doubt end up back in prison. As my tolerance to benzo's is such that alcohol don't effect me with my normal dose's. I would have to increase it to get an effect and then if i drank it would be dangerous!

Roche

i drink on them, my whole scipt was stolen, now i have none, the dr dosnt beleive me, i have to wait a entire month, ive got plenty of oc 40's, but i hate them, i would rather have morpine or xans or klonpines.


sad

xxx@gmail.com

Could your hints get any more obvious?

Yes, my thought exactly. I predict Luckn4gandors (as in "looking for gators?) will be gone before days end.....

oxycodone is stronger than morphine, and in the other thread you stated your doctor cut you off of the alprazolam prescription.

I used to drink while taking klonopin, and and I prescribed ,05 mg 3 times per day, when I was having full blown panic attacks, then I weaned myself off of it and only take it when I have to go out somewhere, but it made me severely tired when I did take it, but not as bad as Ativan did, I like the ativan because it relaxed me, but I could not function on it!

I have been on xanax for quite a while. When ever I drank on them. I had total blackouts. I wouldn't recommend anyone drinking while taking xanax. I have a friend who drank while on xanax. Completley wrecked her car. Had no recolection of it at all. I was only taking .5 2 times daily. I no longer drink anymore but at that time I had a pretty good tolerance for alcohol. It didn't matter though it usually always ended in a blackout when mixing xanax. I mean absolutly no recolection of anything at all. On the other hand my girlfriend can take 2mgs and drink all night and remember everything. So I guess everyone is different. For me no way. There was nothing worse than waking up the next day having to call my friends and ask what happened or going outside to see if I wrecked my car.

I second everything harry just said.

I wouldn't drive after having either xanax or alcohol, let alone together. Driving is a whole different issue...

If youre drinking and taking a benzo, you might not even be aware of driving though. Sometimes you dont even realize you got into the car until you get pulled over or go to your car the next day and find it smashed up. Kinda like Ambien. Should have someone hide the car keys if youre going to do that.

exactly

its the stupidest thing you can ever do. i will admit back when i did not have a tolerance if i had hard alch i would black out and that would be just the beginning of the night. the worst is waking up in jail wrecking your car and not even remembering what happened until you read the police report. not coool at all.
please dont mix benzos and alcohol its very dangerous.

Geeze, lemme relate a little story here. A month ago, I was moving 1/2 hour away from where I lived. I had Soma (from OP) percocet and ativan (from my PCP). I got lost for about 3 hours, I dont even know why my sig other let me drive. A HALF HOUR FROM MY HOME! I dont even remember the move. I lost days. There was no alcohol involved, just mixing these sorts of drugs with anything else can do it. I dont drink anymore but back when I did, I had valium and alcohol and it seriously ruined my life. I cant even begin to tell you. I lost so much. Be careful.

moral of the story? when there is a sticker on your bottle of medication that states clearly DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL WITH THIS MEDICATION, might be a good idea to adhere to that suggestion.

this post is not directed at the poster i quoted, but jesus people, do not mix alcohol with powerful painkillers or benzos... you are just asking for trouble. take your medication responsibly...

you can take everything in moderation i think mixing different drugs can be very beneficial if they arent large amounts

Apparently that was not the case with Anna Nicole Smith's son. "Mixing different drugs" without the benefit of a physician's direction or a pharmacist's cross-checking can be a very bad deal regardless of the amounts involved.
And mixing with alcohol is even dumber. Even in moderation.

I totally agree. Even just taking benzos can be bad, if you are not used to them. I once took too many xanax, somehow drove to the mall, stole a bunch of stuff, then next thing I know I am sleeping doing reverse donuts in the parking lot, with a cop trying to jump in the car and stop it. I do not remember anything about that night, I woke up 24 hrs later in jail and had to read through all my tickets and police reports to patch together that night. Be careful.

LOL^^^ i drink on xanax but like u said--danger danger will robinson

I had a friend a few years ago that would drink and take Xanax and she would black out and not remember anything that she had done it was horrible. So for some I guess it causes blackouts but for everyone it does cause Respiratory depression and CNS depression. So if your going to drink wile on it please be very careful

Yes you are right about DEGREES but you can't ignore the individual personal medical reactions, known or unknown heart problems or other health factors.

Some can do handful of meds & then take a small amount and die. Many meds can build up in your system over time.

Your reactions system can change overnite. There's also can be interactions to other things consumed.

DE NILE ISN"T JUST A RIVER IN AFRICA. WATCH OUT OR YOU COULD DE DIE.

I can't drink while on them. It's very dangerous for one and the benzos cause you to get drunk quicker. Drinking isn't any fun when you're on benzos. Why drink? The benzos calm me down and I hate having a hangover. I'd rather read a good book personally.

considering you know some people that have died from this combo, why on earth would you continue to mix them? quite reckless if you ask me.

I guess you think the readers of this message board are impressed with your drug and alcohol experiences. It is always a special treat to hear about how much someone can drink, ingest Ambien, imbibe lorazepam along with "other stuff." Congrats to you (but not to the families of the couple people who died.)
Your contributions are a continuing testament to how a young drug abuser can live his life, brag about it in public and be in denial that anything tragic can ever happen to him.
Hopefully, you are not married with children.

This type of member are the reason alot of the medical community think DB is a place for only drug abusers !

If you did not post like you were abusing drugs and alcohol and were proud of it... nobody would make commets about your "improper" posts...

Legitimate patients, and the people we like posting at our site do not love their benzos + booze and other stuff...
If you can not guess it: posts like that are stupid and do not help anyone...

The avitar might also have something to do with people not taking you very seriously. Oh well, Rock on Dude!

I am addicted to both xanax and alcohol; I am not proud of it but it is reality. I take over 8 mg of Xanax a day and unless I have a cocktail or two or five, I feel shaky and have body aches. Been to rehab four times and no luck. I have already had pancreatitis twice from drinking so unless I stop I will eventually die.

To answer a previous post; why would you continue to drink and take xanax? If I could answer that I wouldn't have this problem, I think some people refer to it as a disease called addiction.

I am not giving up; I am determined to stop but it what I face every day. Cold turkey detox would kill me.

Very immature to the person who brags about it; I can handle it as well; I barely feel anything and I consume a lot in one day but it scares me to death knowing that it will catch up with me one day.

Well at least you recognize you need to work on it somemore. some people do go through that process many times, and then one time it does work.

I'm glad that I have no desire for drinking.
As you know, drinking can really effect your meds and the way you live.
I hope( another rehab program) works for you,

Askap, what did they try you with at rehab? There are a few options, such as chlordiazepoxide, clomethiazole, clorazepate, disulfiram, acamprosate maintenance, etc. If you don't mind me asking, of course.

used to work at a rehab and it gave Tranzene--a super long lasting benzo

It was absolutely a stupid post. Maybe you should spend some time chatting with "askap" with an eye toward what your future might very well look like.
lol

why not cut out the alcohol and up the benzo a bit then start a slow taper with a long acting benzo? i would never recommend anyone up their benzo intake, but in your case it could be a saving grace. i understand that some people fall into addiction, but taking 8 milligrams of a ALP and adding alcohol is not safe as i am sure you know. you sound like you want to quit.

take it one step at a time. slowly reduce the alcohol, and when you feel comfortable with just a benzo, start a taper with the ashton method. will take a while, but you will be doing yourself and body a favor and feel much better when all is said and done. i am not posting this to be negative, but just trying to help with a little support. you can do it with some support from family and friends and taking it slow and one day at a time.

i think getting rid of the alcohol first would be safer, then reducing the benzos. (i am no doc, but would think alcohol would be harder on the liver than a benzo and definitely both at the same time)

good luck man, i do not wish pain or addiction on anyone. i hope you are able to knock out one or the other and eventually both.

OUCH! WOW, that is sad and I pitty you. You have to be the one to want to change and actually do the 12 step program. You are gonna die. That is a fact. Look what has happened to you in the past. Well, it's only gonnna get worse and you will die. There is help out there but you need to be willing to help yourself and not do it for others, is what I am assuming. Yes, cold turkey detox could kill you but you can get properly detoxed at a facility and take it from there. NO MORE EXCUSES!!! You know you have a problem. Now it's time to rectify it and be done with this and live a better life. Alcohol and Xanax is different then Opiates. Not that Opiates are any better, because I know they can ruin your life,if abused, but they are not life threatening while detoxing. I wish you well. Do some research and I hope you get better!
http://uk.truveo.com/The-Illicit-Trade-Pt1/id/468374402154302605

YES, the alcohol first is the best and safest way and then the benzos! Absolutely!!

right, I get it. Although, I don't recommend ANY BENZO because sure your anxiety is almost gone while on it, but when you stop taking it, your anxiety is 100x worse then when you started!!! And tolerance builds up quickly on those. This guy drinks a lot and takes those. He has had pancreatitis twice already. So yeah, he is gonna die. Someone will find him on the couch dead or he will crash his car, et...catch my drift?

recently quit drinking got my pills (yellow bars) and nothing happened----i just figured the yellow bars were [censored]] and transfered pharmacies to get Watsons----round pills--i had to think on it and i realized i had been drinking and taking pills ever scince i started pills---then i came on here and saw that everyone loves the yellow bars---LOL i couldnt even feel my pills without my beer---oh well still not drinking----dont jump on me just posting my experiences

Ay. I had to register just to say, askap that is truly inspiring to say the least. I'm at 100mg of diazepam a day (ordered from IOPS) and I must drink a 12 pack a day, even concealed at AA meetings as green tea. Maybe they know, maybe they don't. But being on all this [censored]] makes me think 'why do i do this', and not being on it makes me wanna not interact with another human. Im too scared to get cognitive therapy. The [censored] do I do?

Have you ever talked to your Dr. about this privately?
I would and I would also ask him not to add any of this conversation to my chart. It will haunt you forever.
He can advise you honestly. It will be a hard conversation but one you need to do. There are other meds they can keep you on long term for anxiety. It might take some time to find the right one for you but it would stop this big mess you said you're in now. If your primary Dr. is not someone you feel you can approach look for a therapist. They might help you find the right person to help you over time.
As you know doing nothing but taking the meds isn't helping really, is it?
I wish you the best of luck.
K

It sounds like the question is how badly do you hate drugs (and alcohol) and how strongly do you wish you were not an addict?
When those feelings overcome your impulse to self-medicate, the possibility of recovery becomes real.
You can wait until an overdose or auto accident slams you into reality. Or you can be proactive with a brutal assessment of the negatives in your life that are currently making you miserable. That approach is much less painful than an overdose or killing someone with your car.
Many people with anxiety problems are successful in substance abuse recovery programs. It is what it is only as long as you allow it to be.

Both of these posts are excellent! They are very well said! The question is Bam, what are you gonna do about it? Yeah you may feel akward and weird around people at first, but that will pass and I have heard MANY success stories about abstinence from these substances! It takes time, and maybe a lot of it, but isn't it worth it? About six months (max) to feel like a new person, feeling great and ambitious compared to a lifetime of using? The choice seems pretty clear to me. And not only pharmacotherapy but counseling through a licensed Psychologist will do you good. There is an underlying meaning as to why you were using at such a young age!! You can do it. The fact that you are saying you have a problem is a start!!

Have you ever considered that the drugs are CAUSING your anxiety?

You seem happy enough though, and laugh out loud any anything and everything. You seem more elated than anxious.

I know you won't believe it, but if you stopped all drugs (in a safe way), stopped binging, ate healthily and exercised, your anxiety (or what you perceive to be anxiety) may diminish significantly.

Another thing to do would be to cut off all sources of drugs, even if it means friends. If they are true friends, they will understand. And this board isn't the best place for rehab, though you will be supported if you're serious.

You see, you're determined to solve this with drugs, and won't accept that no drugs might be the answer. This has been seen before on here time and time again.

Anxiety is normal, and the 10x increase in anxiety when you briefly stopped taking drugs is probably rebound anxiety.

While ever you have this quest to find a drug to cure you, you will never be cured.

So nephro, in saying that, what drugs do you take then? If none then why are you on the forum? Although you do have very good advise to share and give us all your knowledge. If thats the only reason then its fine by me too, was just interested.

You sure have that right. Social anxiety is common. Its how people choose to deal with it is whats important. People can self medicate and basically hide from what scares them, or they can learn to face their fears and become stronger, better human beings. The weakest is always the first to run. The most outgoing people you know were all once strangers and alone, until they got past the shyness or anxiety and got involved. Besides, Someone that runs from their fears is not someone that anyone else can ever depend on.

BY facing the fear, in social anxiety, and its usually fear of rejection, people learn to handle the possible consequences and they soon learn that its not going to kill them. Everybody goes thru the very same things in life. Those that appear to not be bothered by social anxiety, are the ones that already dealt with it and are now comfortable in social situations and do not need a crutch like a drug or a drink. Who does the drug effect anyway? it does not change what others see in you, it changes how YOU see yourself. You may think that a couple drinks or a xanax makes you appear to be in control to others around you, but the opposite is true for those that know that you have to drink or take a pill just to be around them. In fact, its pretty insulting to the company that you keep, having to be medicated to be around them.

The thread topic....
I will just say this,
in my years as a young man, I attended more than one funeral from mixing things as simple as a couple valium and a few drinks. its often respiritory arrest while asleep.
is anyone really stupid enough to assume that you WILL wake up after some benzos and a few beers? have any of you that think you have a handle on it, ever heard of aspiration? drowning on your own vomit while asleep?
think about it. The cemetarys are loaded with people that also thought they had a handle on it...
I think learning how to handle a little social awkwardness is easier to live with than a lung full of puke.

Well Kryton, firstly I accept that it's much easier for someone like me to sit here and advise someone not to take loads of drugs, than it is for the patient to change their lifestyle. But it can be done, and if I can convince just one person that they can turn things around without downing bottle-loads of pills, then it's something. And it can be done, as many people who thought it could not, will tell you. It takes one hell of a lot of effort, of course.

I seem to remember joining the forum to find a source of metoclopramide injection, due to indomethacin poisoning (courtesy of a wonderful consultant rheumatologist). Unfortunately, there was nothing that would prevent me hurling up my guts around 20 times a day, every day, though I did try things like lying in a dark room and fiddling with various diets.

The waiting time for a gastroscopy was 6 months I think, and the total duration of the illness was 2 years. Those 2 years were spent beside a bucket, and were basically written off. If I wasn't actually vomiting, I was on the edge of it, and looking back, it was worse than being in constant pain.

I see nothing wrong in taking a hypnotic once in a while, if the sleep routine has been disturbed. We all have jobs to hold down, and it's no good showing up half asleep. Likewise, it's pointless refusing analgesia if one is screaming in pain, and unlike anxiety states, certain physical illnesses that cause severe pain cannot be aided by CBT and the like.

Thank you for your kind words.

I didn't see Eluded's post when I wrote that, but yes, he is right. Sometimes medication may assist in the treatment of anxiety states, but it often gets in the way.

I had never heard of metoclopramide before so did a quick google and had a read off the wikipedia site (yes, I know, not the best source for imformation at all but gives you the basics). Also hadnt heard of Indometacin either but get the need for the combo now.

My mother was prescribed a NSAID for her slipped disc and had another pill to stop the nausea along with it. Not sure of the names of the medicines she had but could possible be the ones you mentioned ... or probably not.

Why didnt the NHS give you both?

Most of the people that drink (or more to the point drank) while taking xanax or other benzodiazapems can be visited regularly at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

DON'T DRINK ON XANAX!

this site is not about getting "high". there are other forums for that.

They consultant believed that a fit young man would could take 300mg of indomethacin daily and not be damaged by it. When the symptoms began, it was too late.

If I take benzodiazepines I don't feel the need anymore to drink beer. It's one or the other. Only on occasion I might drink some, but I know when to stop.

I've heard that before about 1000 times. Famous last words.

no sh!t ! ! !

oh, sorry, did not see your correction, was going from the post above that.

i still say be careful with the booze and benzos...

not a good mix as many have said.

be safe...

I think that if you get stabilised on one benzo, with no other drugs, you have a good basis for contemplating the next step. But please, unless you have genuine pain issues, don't order that oxycodone.

Even if you are stable on high doses of one benzo, taken many times per day, it's better than polydrug use. But still try to remember: the less you use them the more effective they will be for you.

Sorry to hear about what happened to you as a kid. I may have ended up on more drugs that you had that happened to me.

Find someone you either know well, or don't know at all, and tell them your story. A problem shared is a problem halved, so they say, and it's amazing how some people prefer to talk to a total stranger about such things, especially on the internet.

Hope you get sorted.

Bamone, nephro is right. It may very well help you if you join a support group online. You can talk about it but no one knows you.

I understand you. I had a few terrible things happen. My fiance died and within 6 months 3 close friends died, two in the same car. I married a few years later and he died. After he died, I had a stillborn child. Then my father who was my hero, died. I started thinking "who cares?", we all die, some early some later but no one gets out alive. And you will reach for anything to kill that pain just a bit.

It was easy to quit. I did it thousands of times. There was a late 90s obscure band with a line from one of the songs. "You can't count the number of pills I've taken." That was me along with other stuff and I even included that song in my own set list.

I went to rehab and it was a waste of time. I just can't believe the higher power stuff. I'm the one who makes decisions. No matter how much I tried to ask my higher power and give it up, no one took it from me. I commend anyone who has been successful in 12 step programs though. However, the success rate is pretty low, like 25%. What about the rest?

It's a myth that an addict stays an addict forever. I went to one appt with a counselor when I found myself crying while driving, in stores, at work, etc. I told him my story. He said I am grieving, that grieving can be over anything, not just death but anything that was taken from you. And he said there is no timeline for grief but I had the power over my own emotions. No one or nothing can make me happy. I have to do it. I have to choose. Then he told me to go out and find something to make myself happy with. I found it but everyone has their own. And it took me 3 years to find it.

Only once have I taken it all the way down again. It wasn't the same. I had fear too. That I would kill myself right when I was happy and that I may end up in jail without having done my laundry. No clean underwear.

Now I have physical pain and I was scared to take any meds but I have gone over the dose once or twice and immediately told my PM doc. He was cool. I have never told him my story though. So I don't think I am an addict with drugs. I was addicted to killing my mental pain.

Just don't give up, bamone. You'll find the answer but you have to be searching.

Edit: No offense to anyone here but it's hard to think about what you are doing to your family when using. You don't feel anything and don't care about yourself, let alone anyone else. Only when you are clean you realize how it affected other people. My mother nor my father when he was alive knew though. They did think I got a lot of "flus" though as I was always vomiting or shaking when visiting them. I told my mother afterwards and she said "It couldn't have been that bad. You always worked." I decided not to hurt her.

Fireaway. Good reference. "The Refreshments". I think the song was White Collar Suicide or something. Excellant band/album!

Wow! I didn't even name the band because not many know them. It was blue collar suicide but what about Banditos. "Everybody knows that the world is full of stupid people." They were one of the greats.

well i OD;d on Halcion and alcohol last year--and i was referred to my current DR after that and he knows my whole drug abuse history--cas i told him---and currently taking vicodiene Soma and xanax ---all prescribed so theres still quacks out there---keep looking--- i called him a quack but really i have failed back surgery chronic back pain and panic and anxiety attacks and insomnia so---is he a good DR or a quack?

No, except the occasional remarkable patient; medicine is not an exact science. It is not worth the risk of assuming you just might be one of those remarkable patients.

If you overdosed again, then questions about his prescribing would be asked, to say the least.

you are lucky. 99.999% of docs would not touch a person with an OD under their belt. documented pain or not

Halcion is alot stronger than xanax and i dont drink anymore

Bamone, you asked about staying on benzos long term. My sister-in-law has some issues similar to yours. Her social anxiety progressed to agoraphobia once she hit 25. She has been on Xanax ever since then and I think she is 38 now. I don't know her dose but I remember her telling me about 8 years ago that they raised the dose but that was it, she was not going to let them raise it again because she was sleeping until noon and then not doing much of anything after that. They knocked it down a notch because those symptoms would not go away after several months. So now she has been on a dose that was between what she started on and what they tried to increase to.

She didn't go beyond a few blocks from her house for years. But I convinced her to meet me in Atlanta about 5 years ago and now she even travels alone. I doubt if she is ever going to function without the Xanax. But here is the thing. She refuses to go to counseling and she refuses to mention what happened. Her father is in prison for molesting over 30 children.

Sometimes, man, you just have to jump. I know you're a risk taker. Most of us here are. Otherwise we would have never taken chances with meds in the first place. Use what you have inside you. People like us have incredible strength. Do you think a wuss is going to do what we did? Do you think they could have survived what we went through? You're here, you're a survivor!

Travelman, love the lyric line. Ramble On was one of the first songs I played, then I went through most of Zepplin's songs. Cool, that Celtic sh*t.

People expect too much from modern medicine. In the grand scheme of things, some meds are just not that good. No med has been able to cure anxiety, but plenty of people have done it by other methods.

I would recommend joining a gym, and setting yourself targets. The sense of achievement is so great that you will walk down the street with your head held high, thinking how much progress you have made, and how much fitter and stronger you are compared to most of the other people who walk down the same street.

If you can't face a public gym straight away, you can get yourself in respectable shape at home. I used to run a gym, so let me know if you want any tips.

It did wonders for me when I was younger, and it can literally flip personalities. You can beat anxiety with sport and exercise, and consider drugs something you don't need.