I Need Advice From Benzo Experts... Not Sure What to Do Next...

[Gosia]

Dear All,
I assure you I read plenty already on this forum and I went through the manual on benzo.uk..
But I'm still not sure where to place myself in all this ?
Let's say I started benzos a tiny bit prior to my T ( what an irony..) since I'd been having troubles sleeping already.
1st week - I took Xanax 4 times for the night, but 0,125 g only. Sunday, then nothing, then 3 days in a row, then 3 days without anything...Meanwhile my T appears I don't think it may anyhow be related to such low doses of benzos. It's a coincidence, even though I have no idea where my T comes from.
2 nd week - a few of 0,125 taken. 3 or 4 , can't remember today.. all I know I was trying not take it as much as possible.
3 rd week - my ENT prescribes me LEXOMIL ( BROMAZEPAN ) . Apparently popular only in France, where I live. A dinosaur. A benzo. I only neede sth to sleep. I'm pissed today I took it. Still, fortunately I was taking only a half of what he ordered, at least this.
I took 1/4 of the pill which corresponds to 1,5mg of bromazepam which corresponds to 0,25 Alprazolam, at worst. ( Cause I also came across the info that it's equal to 0,125; but I have to assume that the worse version is true, so let's say it's 0,25 of Xanax )
I took it for 3 weeks BUT there were days when I didn't meanwhile and last week I mostly took sth like 1/8 of a pill ..not that it had any influence but before I read anything I could smell that stopping suddenly wasn't wise. Then I went into details on this forum and I fell like I definitely want to stop but am not sure if there is any sense of keeping taking it at tiny doses considering that I havent been taking it for longer than 5 weeks and not constantly?
It has a half life of 20 hours on avarage. The last time I took any benzo was 43 h ago and it was even less than 1/8 of the pill, I took a tiny piece only..Yesterday for the night I didn't take anything but some melatonine and I slept best since the onset of T. The best night ever..and my T got significantly lower also !
the truth is I'm feeling weird..''depersonalization'' they call it ? I feel like not me, a bit empty and anxhious about the future, but not anxious for no reason. Can't tell whether it can have any source in benzo withdrawal or not.
My question is : shall I continue with tiny pieces of benzo ? Does it make any sense? If I feel so much better today and my T is so much calmer and I haven't taken any benzo for at least 43 hours, can I just be sure that I won't suffer any withdrawal syndrom ? ( any worsening of T , to be precise cause I don't worry about all the other symptoms. I can take them. T would be the only one I wouldn't bear .)
My Gp said I can stop instantly, but we all know how well informed they are when it comes to the relation benzo - T..especially french doctors :/
If a half-life of my pill is MAX 28 hours that means there is none of it in me anymore , especially that I took so little the last time I took it ? The sleep was MUCH better..I just need to be sure I can stop it now without any risk. After such a short period, could it influence my T negatively? If I continue even with tiny doses, suddenly from a short term user I will become a ehh..7 weeks long user which is closer to ''monthS' - plural..
I also feel like by starting benzo I made it impossible from my body to cure from T by itself. Is that possible ?
Thank you if you read this and even more if you answer !

 

[JohnnyMx]

Hi Gosia,

First of all, if T is your big problem now, most of the people improve with time, as i did. The anxiety, depression and distress that T causes will improve or disappear with time.

About the benzos, alot of stories come, and for sure there is a strong relation between benzos and Tinnitus.

But, there is a much better source of information about benzos and Tinnitus, and for all the benzos related topic. Alot of stories around Tinnitus after tapering benzos, and how they are dealing with the problem. Also, you will find alot of info of the experience in the use of benzos, how to taper, dosages, etc. I give you the link.

You will be fine, for sure.

Benzobuddies forum:
http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php

 

[Gosia]

Thank you, Johny. However, I have an account on benzobuddies, but I didn't find any info which would correspond to mine exactly. Whatever I type in the search engine is not found and I just cannot read all the forum before I make a decission about my continuation or not I read all the general info about tapering, but since they don't operate with doses I still don't know what to do. I can't believe that absolutely any dose has to be tempered if you take it really low.
Also I cannot find an answer about the things I put in BOLD. but ok, I will keep looking there..

 

[undecided]

So you're saying that small doses of benzos might give you tinnitus and you're asking the forums whether you should discontinue their use. Well yes, you should.
Three weeks taking such small doses are hardly enough to get you addicted unless there is something seriously wrong with you.
Also, benzos should be taken according to therapeutic dosages prescribed by your doctor, not when you feel like it. Oh and for future reference do keep in mind that 0,25mg xanax = 3mg bromazepam.

 

[linearb]

Hi, in another life I have moderated and administered several benzo forums over the years.

Don't psych yourself out. You have taken small doses for a short period of time. If you're already seeing sine weird effects, then you may be sensitive to benzos... So that might be a good reason to stop using them... But if you've only taken them for 5 weeks, you presumably don't need to do an Ashton taper that takes months.

My personal rule of thumb is that it's a bad idea to spend longer tapering than you have been on the drug.

You may still experience withdrawal, and it may be weird and not pleasant, but the short duration of use is a big reason to assume it won't be that bad.

If you stay on these for a few more months, however, getting off may become a whole different beast... Be careful!

 

[Gosia]

Thank you so much guys.
@undecided ''So you're saying that small doses of benzos might give you tinnitus and you're asking the forums whether you should discontinue their use. Well yes, you should.''

( Sorry, I don't know how to quote here yet ) . Not really. I'm pretty sure a few full weeks of benzo could not give me T. What I'm not sure about is whether STOPPING it ''cold turkey'' will make it worse after such a short period. And if I can talk about stopping cold turkey given this dose.

I'm also definitely sure I never want to touch benzo again. I only wonder if I should taper anyhow, ( of course, not for months) or there's no need given the low dose and the short term becasue that's the info I didn't find in the sources generally recommended here.

And I wonder where you found that 0,25 of alprazolam = 3 mg of bromazepam ? I found one info like this and many more saying it's 1,5mg of Bromazepam. Since there is no consistency, I assume it's the bigger one, just in case. Of course , if I took only what equals to 0,125 of alprazolam, the dose was ridiculous, however I cannot be sure.
I asked in the pharmacy , they couldn't tell. They can't compare , they said cause it's dosed differently. Well, just another way of saying they have no idea.

@linearb, I'm definitely for stopping, that's the whole idea. I don't want to take it even for one more day unless necessary to avoid the rebound effect. I wish I could now if any rebound is still possible when it comes to T given that i've been ok after 48 hours without any benzo in my body. I read it stocks up in the fat. Well; I weight 46 kg, there's hardly any fat left on me, especially since T appeared

I guess I will just trust the logic and not take any bit of it anymore..and hope..

 

[I who love music]

I'm off benzos now but near the end, my T really got loud. A few days later I was back to my baseline.

 

[undecided]

And I wonder where you found that 0,25 of alprazolam = 3 mg of bromazepam ? I found one info like this and many more saying it's 1,5mg of Bromazepam. Since there is no consistency, I assume it's the bigger one, just in case. Of course , if I took only what equals to 0,125 of alprazolam, the dose was ridiculous, however I cannot be sure.

You can read this.

http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm

It states that 5-6mgs of bromazepam is roughly equivalent to 0.5mgs of alprazolam (xanax).
Therefore, half the dosages and you get 3mg bromazepam = ~0.25mgs alprazolam.

 

[Gosia]

Yep, I read this. And on many further websites I read sth completely different. Therefore it's not sure.