"Benzo's" (Xanax, Valium etc.) and Opiates!

hcvhelp · 11-06-2003, 11:17 PM

Hi all.....was just reading through some of the posts and noticed that some people are trying to detox off of opiates using benzodiazepine's....commonly referred to as "benzo's", brand name - Xanax, Valium etc.....while others are suggesting it. I know it might seem like a good way to take away some of the side effects, but believe me when I tell you that it is an accident waiting to happen. We really have to remember that unfortunately, there are no experts on this board and everyone has really good intentions. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you how many people I have seen OD and even worse DIE mixing these two drugs. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE everyone....be careful!

Also, remember...there are some really WONDERFUL sites on the internet that DO have experts there to help you with opiate addiction. They do not judge, or call the police and there's nothing that you can't discuss.

Please know that I am not suggesting that you detox "cold turkey", but I was glad to see Clonodine mentioned as well as buprenorphine and methadone. For the person that was detoxing from Hydrocodone.....the clonodine would be PERFECT for you. Mixing the Benzo's and opiates really concerns me so much....I do not want to hear of one more person dying trying to be comfortable. Thanks for listening!!.....H.H.

Julie29 · 11-07-2003, 01:19 AM

Hi and thank you! That is very good advice for all of us here. I think alot of people here that use the "benzos" use them during the CT process when they are no longer using opiate's.

Just a bitO' info here. I am being treated my an addictionologist and he absolutely says "no benzo's" while I am in the tapering process. He also said her preferred that I not use them when I finish my "taper" and go CT. He did perscribe clonodine as well as tegretol. The clonodine is truly amazing for some of the WD symptoms I have been experiencing.

Maybe you could send an email to the moderators and ask them if you could post those links. I think that is great info. and there are so many people here that could use it! I think you can post webistes as long as they are pre-approved. Thank you again for the info, Julie

hcvhelp · 11-07-2003, 08:25 AM

Hi, Julie...thanks for the nice reply!

Benzo's and opiates are like a bad love story, lol. It's probably the #1 abused drug for those that are on methadone treatment and really something one wants to stay away from if they truly want to recover from their opiate addiction. Nobody knows more than me how uncomfortable detoxing can be, but I cannot stress enough what a bad idea it is to do it with Benzos. You think the withdrawals from opiates are bad?.....try detoxing from Benzos.....not.

The thing is.....when you're taking opiates you are depressing your respiratory system. Add benzos to that equation and it's how people die. The two of them together go hand in hand and they have found that people that get addicted to opiates have a propensity to become addicted to Benzos.....and vice versa. That's one of the reasons that taking them while detoxing CT is a bad idea.

....H.H.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julie29

Hi and thank you! That is very good advice for all of us here. I think alot of people here that use the "benzos" use them during the CT process when they are no longer using opiate's.

Just a bitO' info here. I am being treated my an addictionologist and he absolutely says "no benzo's" while I am in the tapering process. He also said her preferred that I not use them when I finish my "taper" and go CT. He did perscribe clonodine as well as tegretol. The clonodine is truly amazing for some of the WD symptoms I have been experiencing.

Maybe you could send an email to the moderators and ask them if you could post those links. I think that is great info. and there are so many people here that could use it! I think you can post webistes as long as they are pre-approved. Thank you again for the info, Julie

Philster2003 · 11-07-2003, 11:49 AM

I would like to add a different perspective or additional supplemental thoughts:

I agree that the use of a (abuse) benzodiazepine in conjunction with use of or abuse of Opiates is most likely something that should be avoided. But here is where I need to add that there are many, many folks being treated by highly professional people (DR's) that have a legitimate reason to be on Opiate based pain medications as well as a benzodiazepine and are prescribed this treatment plan based on each individual situation. These would include folks with Chronic Pain issues. Also, having had the pleasure of detoxing a few times (arrrg) and consulting with detox facilities and researching detox protocols that the use of benzodiazepine's in the treatment of "cold Turkey" detox is an accepted and approved practice. With alcohol detox Valium is the preferred benzodiazepine. With Opiates they typically use Librium or Valium because of the longer half life’s of these meds. Also when you look at the detox protocols you will usually read that the use of benzodiazepine's is limited to 3-5 days and not usually longer. This is to avoid jumping of one withdrawal issue and into another one with the benzodiazepine's. Using benzodiazepine's for 3-5 days (in a tapered fashion) normally will not cause withdrawal issues.

Like any situation when you are required to use multiple drugs n the treatment of health issues it’s extremely important to understand each medication and their interactions to avoid complications from drug interactions. This applies to opiates and benzodiazepine's also.

The words of caution from hcvhelp are well founded but I wanted to add some additional information that would allow a responsible decision by those here and not to arbitrarily not consider benzodiazepine's in the opiate “cold Turkey” detox process. If not prescribed benzodiazepine's for a health issue unrelated to opiate addiction I would not use benzodiazepine's in the tapering method of detox.

Not trying to rock the boat here or be disrespectful, just additional info and if anything an “agree to disagree” situation

phil

LaynesADDICTI0N · 11-07-2003, 03:09 PM

Actually all the treatment centers that I've been in will not use benzos to w/d from opiates, they use phenabarb and that can not touch a benzo. The problem is I take klonopin and they wont give me benzos so I can only stay the 3-5 days and by day 3 I have to have someone sneak me in a pill so I dont DIE. That's why I can never do a 28 day program. Benzo w/d is more fatal than alcohol detox and these treatment centers have their head up their a**