Hi all,

I have a question; I wanted to know what experiences people with withdrawing from benzo's and using Nal at the same time. I have tried it, but my not sleeping and nightmares are so heavy that I can barely function during the day. I am currently at 1/10th of my Original dosis of diazepam. When I am using Nal at the same time, my energy levels get much lower and my depression fuels. I never had a clinical depression, but the use of almost a year of benzo's has worn me out. I tend to keep waiting now untill I start using Naltrexone when I have finished the diazepam.

Anyone else having a similar experience?

Hi Girlam.....I have a serious anxiety disorder and am on time release Xanax and short term Xanax. I'm certain that my drinking became uncontrollable as a result of the anxiety and self medicating. I have been using NAL for about 5 1/2 months. It seems to have no interaction with the Xanax, and the same doctor prescribed both. If anything, the drinking negates the therapeutic effect of the Xanax, so I'm going to focus on eliminating the alcohol. But that's just me, and everyone reacts differently. Best of luck to you.
Best,
Retread

Ah retread, I might have mentioned this before and sorry if you already know this. Are you aware that someone, somewhere (I think Dr Eskapa) indicated that Benzos can reduce the effect of TSM?The medication doesn't interact but there was something about it making it more difficult to be self-aware and break the habit cycle.

I understood it as you are using something that might affect your resolve (because it relaxes you), and thus might effect your ability to realise you don't want more alcohol.

I found some old threads on Benzos which include a post by Dr Eskapa.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2682&p=40933&hilit=benzo&sid=acd7a943157b5fea3751e10896010fa0#p40933

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=349

Thanks for your answers! I am going to taper down quickly or really watching my alcohol intake again when I am at low dosis and starting Nal again.

I had a terrible experience with benzos prescribed by a doctor while I was drinking. I would be horribly hungover and take a benzo to sleep away the afternoon. I realized about a year ago that this was not going to end well so I went cold turkey off the benzos and didn't sleep for a week. My doctor kept saying they were safe but clearly they were not. Going cold turkey was not a great idea and I learned through my own research that I should have tapered but by then it was too late. If a doctor prescribed yours, you might want to ask about tapering off. I found some recommendations on the internet for tapering but might be best to use a doc.

Interesting that I found more information critical of benzos on the UK sites...not so much on the US sites. Big pharm influence?

Quote from the thread...

There is big pharm influence every where, even via the good old NHS.

Benzos are highly addictive, habit forming and I have been told that they can be worse than alcohol to get rid of. No wonder you didn't sleep for a week!

Well done on quitting!