Posted by Elizabeth on April 7, 2002, at 23:35:15
In reply to Do Most People Like the Feeling of Benzos?, posted by fachad on April 5, 2002, at 11:20:43
I don't experience benzos as euphoric. They are calming which is nice, but I don't feel high or anything on them. I don't dislike them, either. They're just, you know, useful. For me, the effect of benzos is sort of a "negative" effect -- they *take away* anxiety, rather than *adding* sedation or relaxation.
> First I tried Temazepam, and at 30mg I felt nothing at all and I was not able to sleep at all.
I'm not convinced that temazepam does *anything*! (And this is the stuff that they give prisoners on death row shortly before they're executed, supposedly to help them with the anxiety. Wouldn't a giant brick of pure Nembutal be more appropriate?)
> Is this very common? Does it have any diagnostic significance?
No.
> I don't drink alcohol at all (don't like it either, even 1 or 2 drinks makes me feel like crap), so I expected benzos to have a powerful effect on me.
I don't drink either, but I need fairly high doses of benzos. I'm not into alcohol because it just makes me tired. I dozed off at a couple of parties in college before I decided that alcohol wasn't for me. :-}
> Any idea why they barely affect me at moderate to high doses, even though my body has never been exposed to them before?
It's sometimes called "intrinsic tolerance." You're just naturally resistant to their effects, for whatever reason.
BTW, a couple of remarks about/additions to things other people have said in this thread:
Duration of action doesn't have anything to do with the tendency of a benzo to cause memory problems or tolerance.
Xanax is more potent than Klonopin, not the other way around. 1 mg of Xanax = about 2 mg of Klonopin.
Benzos bind to specific sites on what's known as the "GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complex." This increases the effects of GABA. (GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter; that is, it decreases neuronal firing.) Benzos themselves don't have any direct effect on the GABA-BZD complex.
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:101975
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020402/msgs/102337.html