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Is Alcoholism Related to Benzo Withdrawal Problems?


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Some people can drink every day and never become alcoholics. Others become drunks very quickly - after their first drink, basically. It's a lot like benzo withdrawal. Some people can take benzos for years and then quit cold-turkey with no problems. Others become dependant after just a few weeks - or even days, according to some stories I've read here. But actually, alcohol problems are not merely comparable to benzo dependence. The two problems may actually be related. I wonder how many people who have had trouble withdrawing from benzos have also had problems with alcohol, or have a family history of alcohol problems. I know in my family there have been several problem drinkers, and I myself have never been able to drink very often. My body just doesn't metabolize it that well, and I've always gotten a sort of burnt-out jet-laggy type of hangover that lasts for days after just a few drinks. So there might be some connection. Has anyone else wondered about this? Are there any alcoholics in your family?
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Before I took a benzo I was a casual drinker. Maybe 2 beers per night. After starting benzos I started drinking more. I was never what I would have considered to be an alcoholic, I was fully functional etc but when I was on benzos I drank considerably more, instead of 2 beers it was 6 vodkas.

 

After I came off the benzo I started losing my tolerance for alcohol and eventually it started to flat out make me sick, so I essentially quit drinking 7 years ago.

 

When I stopped drinking it was business as usual- it didn't seem to affect my health one way or the other. It seemed odd to not drink for awhile just because it was a habit for me but since I didn't feel any different physically or mentally I concluded that I was not in any way dependent on alcohol.

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My father was an alcoholic for 25 years. Drank every single day. After his 2nd DUI (and wrecking my truck) he quit cold turkey and stayed in bed for a month. Today he is functional as ever.

 

Must have my mother's genes.  :-\

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I've been considering the possibility that people who have problems with benzos are the same people who have problems with alcohol, while people who can drink and drink and never have a problem are the same people who can take benzos and then quit cold-turkey with no problem. Could benzo sensitivity and alcohol sensitivity actually be manifestations of the same problem? Could the way a person deals with alcohol be used as a marker of how they'll fare on benzos? If so, imagine how that might help doctors decide whether or not to prescribe benzos. Just an hypothesis at this point. Gathering evidence.
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For me the theory does not fit at all.

 

I also doubt the theory that one is only an alchoholic if you cannot function any more or if you cannot stop it anymore. I know alcoholics which are highly functional and stopped several times but then started again after some months. The fact you do not have a physical horrible withdrawal does not mean you are not an alcoholic. Addiction is more than just feeling withdrawal symptoms like we do here on bb.

 

 

 

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For me the theory does not fit at all.

 

I also doubt the theory that one is only an alchoholic if you cannot function any more or if you cannot stop it anymore. I know alcoholics which are highly functional and stopped several times but then started again after some months. The fact you do not have a physical horrible withdrawal does not mean you are not an alcoholic. Addiction is more than just feeling withdrawal symptoms like we do here on bb.

 

I'm looking for  any alcohol problems, and their possible connection to benzo withdrawal problems, since both alcohol and benzos affect the GABA receptors, and for that matter, also affect glutamate release. When you say for you the theory does not fit at all, do you mean that no one in your family has ever had any problems with alcohol?

 

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For me the theory does not fit at all.

 

I also doubt the theory that one is only an alchoholic if you cannot function any more or if you cannot stop it anymore. I know alcoholics which are highly functional and stopped several times but then started again after some months. The fact you do not have a physical horrible withdrawal does not mean you are not an alcoholic. Addiction is more than just feeling withdrawal symptoms like we do here on bb.

 

I'm looking for  any alcohol problems, and their possible connection to benzo withdrawal problems, since both alcohol and benzos affect the GABA receptors, and for that matter, also affect glutamate release. When you say for you the theory does not fit at all, do you mean that no one in your family has ever had any problems with alcohol?

 

Some family members are alcoholics, some are not. Some could take benzos and stop ct without any problem. So with my mum being an alcoholic I would fit into your theory. But with the other part of the family, starting and stopping things without problems, I would not fit in. And I am more like my mom genetically than like th other part of the family. But when it comes to mental strength I am more like the other part, maybe that's why I never had a setback. If I say no, I do mean no.

A friend of mine comes from the most healthy family I know, no illnesses in 3 generations, recovery from flu or fractures in the shortest periods of time, unbelievable... she stopped lorazepam CT. Still suffering. So, with your theory she would have to be in the group "no GABA activation" - but wasn't.

Really interesting though.

 

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Completely anecdotal but I believe my brain has been sensitized and kindled because of my previous issues with binging alcohol. When I drink alcohol now after being clean for many years, I immediately get a burning face and anxiety. When I dosed by Klonopin, I felt the same way. The two withdrawals are similar in many ways, but different in others too.
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