Short term Serax withdrawal

Hi, my name's Kip, and I'm brand new to the forum.

I was on Klonopin for a couple years, and managed to taper from 3 mg's a day to .5 mg's.  Then, late this last March I started drinking again.  I quit drinking three days ago, and my psychiatrist prescribed Serax for the alcohol withdrawals (and to prevent seizures).  This is my fourth day on Serax and I've been taking a ton of it to feel better.  Today I'll take 120mg's, and that's a reduction from yesterday and the day before.

I'd like to know if it's safe to taper quickly due to relatively short time I've been on it.

Thanks a lot.  I'm really glad I found this website.

Hi Kip,

Welcome to BenzoBuddies! I am not familar with this med, but as always, we recommend slow and steady tapering. You did not specify how much you took the day before but will take 120mg today. You didn't say how fast and when you tapered from the klonopin.  Even though you have been on serax for a short time, you should be mindful of quitting too fast, due to possibility of seizures. Normally, you would taper off 10% of your total dose over 7-14 days off any benzo, but you will have to determine how you feel to be able to determine how fast you taper. What did your dr recommend for a taper?

T2

Hi Kip,

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

Serax (Oxazepam), is about half as potent as Valium. So, 120mg Serax is equivalent to about 60mg Valium - this is considered a pretty large dose around here. If you have been prescribed Serax to prevent seizures, it is very important that you only stop under medical supervision. To answer your question - in general terms - if you are safe to quit, then yes, an accelerated taper should be fine after short-term use. If you have been taking it it for just a week or two, I would expect that you could taper off over a similar period. Again, I stress, you need to discuss this with your doctor though. If you have been taking it for only a short period, then I agree, you owe it to yourself to get off as quickly as possibly whilst at the same time keeping safe.

Thank you very much for your helpful comments.  My doctor basically just says take what you need to (up to two 30mg tablets every 4 to 6 hours), and you might try taking less if you feel like you can handle it.  Nothing definite.  I'm sure the plan is after a week or so to move me over to Klonopin (joy), which was the same thing that happened last time.

Since I've been on Serax such a short time, I want to be as aggressive as possible in withdrawing to avoid addiction, but I don't want to risk a seizure. 

Do any of you know how long it takes to get addicted to short-acting benzos like Serax?  I've been on a pretty high dose since Wednesday.

Also, are there any signs (warnings) that you're about to have a seizure?

Thanks again.

Hi,

I don't think there are any reliable signs (or even unreliable signs) that you are about to suffer a seizure due to alcohol or benzodiazepine withdrawal. The important thing is to find out how long you need to take the benzos to avoid seizures due to alcohol withdrawal. Once you are safe, this is when you should consider your benzo withdrawal.

It is not possible to give an exact timeframe of when benzo addiction will set it. It appears that some never become addicted, whilst others are dependent after a couple of weeks. More typically, dependency sets in after some months of use, and is likely to to be a gradual process, where the level of dependency grows over time.

Dependency is probably not greatly affected by the half-life of benzos, although 'addictive' behaviour is generally more associated with 'quick hits'. However, short acting benzos (and z-drugs) were (still are) marketed as less addictive, but they are at least as addictive as long half-life benzos at best, and possibly more so.