Xanax vs Valium

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I know someone who has struggled with alcohol and xanax addiction for decades. I mean a falling down in the gutter drunk. About two years ago she started with a new Dr. and the Doctor took her off of xanax and put her on valium. She continued to drink but for some reason never got sloppy drunk anymore. Still alcoholic but much more manageable and not really to the point of being a problem. She would drink in the evenings only and rarely before about 7pm. She also lost her desire to take muscle relaxers with the xanax and alcohol which has a predictably disastrous affect on her.

Fast forward to the present, new insurance, new Dr. and back on Xanax. All the old problems have suddenly reappeared within days of starting back on the xanax. Has anyone else noticed this kind of correlation between the drugs?

#2

I’m confused why a doctor would prescribe an alcoholic unlimited benzos of either type.

#3

I doubt that the Dr’s know about the alcohol.

#4

Valium is itself a muscle relaxant, while Xanax is not.

Valium is longer-acting, so she may have experienced fewer ups and downs.

#5

Xanax is a muscle relaxer, too. Virtually all benzodiazepines have this property to some extent.

Anyone who has a history of abuse of one type of benzodiazepine should avoid all other types of them.

Alcoholics are at very high risk for cross-addiction to benzos.

#6

Xanax seems to have the reputation for being the most powerful.

It definitely seems to effect me more than other benzos (hard to really figure out appropriate conversion dosages)

Xanax is also implicated in many multi drug overdoses (not that other benzos wouldn’t either).

When the pill mills were popular in Florida - the big combos were:

Oxycodone & OxyContin (of course addicts prefer the former, but often both supplied to try and slide under the radar)
Xanax
Soma

Combine those three with alcohol- and they were calling it in court cases “killer cocktail”

#7

Valium is slower acting but much longer lasting. Xanax is very fast acting but wears out faster. Xanax is more addicting because of this.

Alcohol works on some of the same receptors. So she may be self-medicating with alcohol, whether she realizes it or not. The withdrawal is absolutely brutal.