Prinzka t1_jegfo73 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:50 PM

Reply to comment by shockencock in ELI5: If benzodiazepines are CNS depressants, why is it so hard to die from a overdose of them alone? by psychrolute

Lol

Lorazepam has an ld50 of nearly 2g/kg.
That's the whole reason OP made this post, they were wondering why you can take high doses of benzos without dying even though it's a cns depressant.

shockencock t1_jegfze2 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:52 PM

I guess you are right. Most people that try to kill themselves with it drink alcohol too. I stand corrected. I couldn’t imagine taking 50 mg of it.

Prinzka t1_jeggj2d wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:56 PM

> Most people that try to kill themselves with it drink alcohol too.

Yeah and then you need a lot less, that's the danger.

>I couldn’t imagine taking 50 mg of it.

Tbf, I can only imagine it.
About an hour after I took the first 4mg I don't recall anything for the next day or so.
I took the rest of the bottle I had I'm assuming because I forgot that I'd already taken some.
There was never an intent to take the whole bottle, just the first ones made me not form any new memories....

wighty t1_jegvuav wrote on March 31, 2023 at 10:45 PM

IIRC the pharmacist that did our benzo lecture called it a "ceiling effect", benzos will only cause so much respiratory depression but not enough to stop you breathing. Add alcohol to the mix, though, and you absolutely can overdose yourself and stop breathing.