Consuming Large Amounts of Adavan

[Devolve]

Something about Adavan makes me want to abuse the ever living shit out of it.

Someone could give me a few Xanax and I could hold on to them for a rainy day.

Give me a bottle of Adavan, poof. Gone. As are the following days.

My question,is, why do I find Adavan easier to abuse?

Anyone else find they abuse one type of Benzo more than others?

[Eden]

I only abuse one type of benzoe, the one that fit's me, and it's bad. I've binged on them, they'd last a day or two then I'd be in withdrawal and going damn near into epileptic shock. Just.. do what you will... intelligently.

[gizmo]

I found Xanax irrisistsable to misuse, but I never had any problems with klonopin, Ativan, Valium, or librium (which I'm on now). I think it's just the way a particular med kicks in to your body and how you feel when that kick happens.

I found the best solution was to have an honest conversation with my pdoc and tell them what I did/felt on the Xanax and ask that I never be prescribed that drug again. That way, there is no "hoard and overuse" chance.

I did this two years ago, and it was the best thing I ever did. When you overuse benzos, dangerous things can happen. The last time I took Xanax, I took a double dose, drove my kids to the grocery store, wandered around for an hour with my kids asking me what was going on, driving home, cooking dinner... And having absolutely no memory of it the next day. I could have killed myself or my children or someone else without even remembering it. And that was scary enough to me to immediately quit.

[thedramapolice]

Ativan is addictive. That's why it's only supposed to be prescribed on an as-needed basis. It's not for the every day maintenance of anxiety. You need BTs for that and something more like Klonopin. You can also build up a tolerance to Ativan the same as you can alcohol. Taking it too often increases the chances of tolerance and then you lose its effectiveness.

You should talk to your pdoc about this. Ativan has always made me really groggy and sluggish, so I've never wanted more than the as-needed dose and NEVER when I need to do something. Weaning is probably your best option and then switching to something a bit less addictive if you feel the need to take it all the time.

[Guest]

You need to get some help, this is an addiction issue that will only be destructive if you continue.

[WithWingz]

The trick is to switch benzos...You would have to talk to your Doctor about that, but it is protocol to switch a patient from one benzo to another when the usual dose no longer works. I have been on Ativan, xanax, klonopin, valium etc. When I was on xanax I took way more than was Rx to me..the fast acting xanax would ware off and then the anxiety would come back with a vengeance so I would take even MORE xanax...My doc said It's time to switch...so I got on klonopin. I was able to stay on klonopin for 4 years, slowly raising the dose as my tolerance level went up. WHo knows how long klonopin will work before I feel the need to pop more and more just to get the same effect. It's not so much that you are abusing it or super addicted, It's More like your brain says "Hey! that dose isn't working good, take more" simple..so don't beat yourself up or think you are a junkie...we are all in hard places, it's not easy managing pills and anxiety...I've ranted, but I don't want anybody to pin themselves addict so easily...Either try to get a raise on the dose, or express to your Doc that the efficacy is Zero and you think you need to switch. - of course everyone is different and some Are in fact addicted, but I tend to look at this as an issue of tolerance rather than addiction fueled pill popping...WE are and CAN be better than that, we should expect our brains to be the culprit and have faith in our will power....blame it on the brain!!! lol

You need to get some help, this is an addiction issue that will only be destructive if you continue.

And of course you are also right...It should be delt with, or it's all down hill from there. that's why I suggest switch meds.

[Devolve]

Hey guys

Thanks for the replies

I think I might be too ashamed to admit to my primary care doctor that I knowingly got him to prescribe me Adavan so I could misuse it.

I'm just not going to ask him to prescribe it ever again.

I was hospitalized recently because I took 9 Adavan and 2 Ambien. Not a pleasant experience. Not an experience I'd like to repete

I'm 21 and my mom rations my medication to me because I caan't be trusted to do so. It's pretty pathetic actually. Man I suck.

[Guest]

The trick is to switch benzos...You would have to talk to your Doctor about that, but it is protocol to switch a patient from one benzo to another when the usual dose no longer works. I have been on Ativan, xanax, klonopin, valium etc. When I was on xanax I took way more than was Rx to me..the fast acting xanax would ware off and then the anxiety would come back with a vengeance so I would take even MORE xanax...My doc said It's time to switch...so I got on klonopin. I was able to stay on klonopin for 4 years, slowly raising the dose as my tolerance level went up. WHo knows how long klonopin will work before I feel the need to pop more and more just to get the same effect. It's not so much that you are abusing it or super addicted, It's More like your brain says "Hey! that dose isn't working good, take more" simple..so don't beat yourself up or think you are a junkie...we are all in hard places, it's not easy managing pills and anxiety...I've ranted, but I don't want anybody to pin themselves addict so easily...Either try to get a raise on the dose, or express to your Doc that the efficacy is Zero and you think you need to switch. - of course everyone is different and some Are in fact addicted, but I tend to look at this as an issue of tolerance rather than addiction fueled pill popping...WE are and CAN be better than that, we should expect our brains to be the culprit and have faith in our will power....blame it on the brain!!! lol

You need to get some help, this is an addiction issue that will only be destructive if you continue.

And of course you are also right...It should be delt with, or it's all down hill from there. that's why I suggest switch meds.

The problem is, this is more than someone using the prescribed dose and building a normal tolerance. This is someone abusing their script in big ways, so switching benzo's all the time will not address the fundamental issue, which is that this poster has a problem with using benzo's to deal with difficult emotions that should be dealt with in other ways. Switching benzos doesn't address issues of abuse.

[vanderk]

Hey guys

Thanks for the replies

I think I might be too ashamed to admit to my primary care doctor that I knowingly got him to prescribe me Adavan so I could misuse it.

I'm just not going to ask him to prescribe it ever again.

I was hospitalized recently because I took 9 Adavan and 2 Ambien. Not a pleasant experience. Not an experience I'd like to repete

I'm 21 and my mom rations my medication to me because I caan't be trusted to do so. It's pretty pathetic actually. Man I suck.

Line #3 is the kicker. I strongly encourage you to be honest with your doc about this. Honesty with your treatment providers is an important first step in recovery.

[crtclms]

I tell all my docs that I like fioricet waaaay too much. I don't know what it is about that med, but I just love the way I feel on it. So no one should ever prescribe me fioricet.

But I wouldn't have realized I was prone to abusing it if I hadn't been prescribed it in the first place. It's just that I immediately started fucking around with my dose. I had to admit right away that I had abused it, and that's why I wanted to stop it. My neuro was really nice about it, and just made a note of it in my chart, and gave me something else (less effective, but what can you do?).

Now my docs know fioricet isn't even on the table.

[WithWingz]

The trick is to switch benzos...You would have to talk to your Doctor about that, but it is protocol to switch a patient from one benzo to another when the usual dose no longer works. I have been on Ativan, xanax, klonopin, valium etc. When I was on xanax I took way more than was Rx to me..the fast acting xanax would ware off and then the anxiety would come back with a vengeance so I would take even MORE xanax...My doc said It's time to switch...so I got on klonopin. I was able to stay on klonopin for 4 years, slowly raising the dose as my tolerance level went up. WHo knows how long klonopin will work before I feel the need to pop more and more just to get the same effect. It's not so much that you are abusing it or super addicted, It's More like your brain says "Hey! that dose isn't working good, take more" simple..so don't beat yourself up or think you are a junkie...we are all in hard places, it's not easy managing pills and anxiety...I've ranted, but I don't want anybody to pin themselves addict so easily...Either try to get a raise on the dose, or express to your Doc that the efficacy is Zero and you think you need to switch. - of course everyone is different and some Are in fact addicted, but I tend to look at this as an issue of tolerance rather than addiction fueled pill popping...WE are and CAN be better than that, we should expect our brains to be the culprit and have faith in our will power....blame it on the brain!!! lol

You need to get some help, this is an addiction issue that will only be destructive if you continue.

And of course you are also right...It should be delt with, or it's all down hill from there. that's why I suggest switch meds.

The problem is, this is more than someone using the prescribed dose and building a normal tolerance. This is someone abusing their script in big ways, so switching benzo's all the time will not address the fundamental issue, which is that this poster has a problem with using benzo's to deal with difficult emotions that should be dealt with in other ways. Switching benzos doesn't address issues of abuse.

Oh ok, My bad! I didn't realize that this was the case...So Sorry. I thought he/she wasn't sure if he/she was abusing or not. Well, If it's one thing I dislike about myself, Is I ASSUME too much.