Xanax Withdrawal - PLEASE HELP!!!

[abinormal]

Hi All,

I HATE XANAX!  I really need some help.  I have been taking it every day for 6 weeks.  I have only been taking .25mg 2-3 xs a day.  As soon as the xanax leaves my system, I begin feeling dizzy, anxious, like I have the flu, horrible stomach ache, headache...you get the picture.

I am down to 1 pill a day right now and basically feel sick all the time.  I see a psychiatrist on Thursday and hope to be completely ready to come off of this in a week.

Can someone else please share their xanax withdrawal experience with me so I know what to expect and how long it ususally lasts?  Also, did anyone's doc prescribe ativan or anything to help you get through this?  If so, did it work?

I feel worse now than my anxiety has EVER made me feel on its own.  Nobody believes me either, but I never had these symptoms before xanax and they only go away when I take it and come back as soon as it leaves my system.  To me, there HAS TO BE a corelation.

I hope to hear from someone soon.  I am miserable!

-Abbie

[gloomy]

Sounds just like the withdrawal from effexor.  Its worth asking if there is a lower dosage in a liquid form.  So you end up on a drop or two.  I did a lot of homework on my own because I had done a lot of University study on how mind altering drugs work and which parts of the brain they stimulate.  I am not advocating in any way what I did nor am I telling you to do it.  I actually ended up taking once a day codeine (30/500) with paracetamol.  I could not get them over the counter but my husband has a prescription for them so I took his.  I can hear you all gasping in outrage now but I was desperate.  because codeine hits the same part of the brain it relaxed me and made me feel better,  unfortunately a weaker dosage did not have the same effect oly the 30mg of codeine to every500g of paracetamol did the trick.  I have to say though I had taken this drug before for after pains of childbirth so I knew there wouldnt be an adverse reaction in that sense.  Codeine has side effects on its own such as supressing breathing so any chest and lung problems probably couldnt take it. It can be addictive also so that is something I had to bear in mind.  I never told my doctor.  It didnt get rid of all the withdrawal affects but it certainy tackled some of them.  There may be people on this board who know much more about meds than me and will probably tell me I am wrong if that is the case it may have been wishful thinking and positive thought on my part.  Dont despair the withdrawal cant last forever.  Always take the advice of your doctor.

[basm101]

poor abi, i hope you are over the worst of your withdrawal from the xanax now. It does sound just like the effexor withdrawal, what with the flu like feelings. I found taking a benedryl helped with dizziness when I was coming off effexor - but maybe it was just a placebo effect.

Anyway, I hope someone who has experience of coming off xanax replies to you soon and you can get some idea of how long it might take to feel better again.

[NightOwl]

I cut my klonopin in half the past 4 or 5 days and it is in the class as xanax, but for me it has made me feel sooooooo much better.  Sometimes I feel so good coming off of stuff.  I was scared I was going to have these withdrawal symptoms also.

Hopefully you stopped having them by now. 

[anxiousinfla]

Xanax is a nasty drug to detox from. It has such a short life span, so after a few hours without it, your body starts the detox stages.
I went off it six years ago, (6 mgs. a day) in a hospital,  and am not proud to say that I was actually kicked out of the facility as they didn't have enough staff to monitor the patients and my detox was violent. Needless to say, I was in another hospital the same day and put on Klonipin. Yes, another Benzo, but the life span is much longer.   
I give you a lot of credit for coming off it on your own. The formula is usually no more than 1/4 mg. a week while cutting back. Your Doc may try a mild sedative while you are coming off. Ativan and Klonipin are the same thing as Xanax, so if you want to be off Benzos try something besides those.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.

[NightOwl]

Xanax is a nasty drug to detox from. It has such a short life span, so after a few hours without it, your body starts the detox stages.
I went off it six years ago, (6 mgs. a day) in a hospital,  and am not proud to say that I was actually kicked out of the facility as they didn't have enough staff to monitor the patients and my detox was violent. Needless to say, I was in another hospital the same day and put on Klonipin. Yes, another Benzo, but the life span is much longer.   
I give you a lot of credit for coming off it on your own. The formula is usually no more than 1/4 mg. a week while cutting back. Your Doc may try a mild sedative while you are coming off. Ativan and Klonipin are the same thing as Xanax, so if you want to be off Benzos try something besides those.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.

I have only lowered mine to 1/4 a mg per day of klonopin and am wondering how easy it will be if I cut it totally out.  I sure hope it isn't as bad as xanax at coming off.  I am taking mcuh less than you weere taking of the xanax though obviously.  I never took even more than 1/2 a mg in a day.

[anxiousinfla]

Hi NightOwl:
As silly as it sounds, cut the 1/4in half. Now it's 1/8. After a week of 1/8, you should be able to come off of it. If sleeping is tough, try Melatonin or Valerian Root (both are natural).
At high doseages, Klonipin is like Xanax. I don't care what the Docs say....it is addictive. I have tried and can't get any lower than 6 mg a day.
Let me know how you make out with the Klonipin.

[NightOwl]

Thanks.  Yeah i thought of trying the 1/8. I am doing ok on 1/.4 right now so I will just cut back yet again when i think it's best to i guess.  I ahve felt great lately.  I hope somehow it lasts.  Mainly only time has helped me, but other things too.  A lot going better lately I guess. But I almost fall back sometimes.

I tried melatonin ONLY one night, years ago and I felt kinda depressed, which is a side effect so I ahve been scared of doing it. But I think sleepiness in general is depressing, so that may be why it is a side effect of it.  I still have some, I think....

[abinormal]

Hi All,

I have now been xanax free for 3 weeks!  I feel so much better already and will never touch that stuff again no matter what.  Now, I don't want to scare anyone who is taking xanax.  I think my reaction was more severe than others.  I have also taken ativan in the past and had no issues with it whatsoever.

Today, a lot of the side effects I had from taking xanax and from withdrawal have totally subsided.  There are a couple of things that are lingering, but I just feel so much better that I can handle this stuff.

I know we are not allowed to post websites on here but I found a wonderful page that really helped me through this tough time.  Please send me a PM if you would like this link.  It addresses pretty much any question you could have about a benzo. 

I also want to thank all of you for your feedback and support.  I am sure it is not the last time I will need it, but I hope I can return the favor in the future :)

-Abbie

[NightOwl]

That's good to hear. 

With my benzo, I felt so much better when fikrst lowering the dosage too.  Now other thigns have brought my problems back worse though, so I am unsure whether to decrease, increase, stay the same.  I am so sick of dealing with anxiety/depression, I swear.

[abinormal]

I agree night owl.  Before xanax, I never had dizziness.  When I got off of it, the dizziness went away for about a week and now it's back.  I feel like because the xanax caused it so often, now my body considers dizziness a symptom of anxiety.  Make sense.

Pisses me of too, lol.  Maybe if I live on a boat it will counteract the swaying motion....

I hope this gets better for you (for us) and I don't think any route you take will be easy, but for me, any time I made any dose change in my benzo, it made me sicker.  Maybe just suck it up, go through withdrawal and see how you feel.  You can always go back....

GOOD LUCK!

-Abbie

[NightOwl]

I just feel like it's now at a point wherwe I MUST take something.  I dunno if I should try lexapro again or what, but I abarely alive again all voer a couple issues which should not be so terrible as to cause me to feel this horrible.

I hope you feel better also.

[NightOwl]

I feel dizzy and it's so impossible to know if it's my anxiety or if it's the emds. 

[izzbozzed]

hey,

i also took xanax for a few months and elected to quit (1.5 mg/d).  It is a very nasty drug to withdrawal from.  Though at the amounts your taking I don't think it would be a problem, youu should make sure that you taper off of it (or any benzodiazapem) and talk to your docotor as the withdrawal can cause very serious problems, such as seizures.  When I stopped I had numerous horrible side effects: shaky feeling, feeling like I was going crazy, inability to concentrate on anything.   I haven't had any for a few months, and I still don't feel I have completely gotten through the rebound anxiety or weird depersonalization feeling i associate with stopping it.  i know everyone's different, but i personally HATE the stuff and find the idea of being seriously hooked on it way scarier than the initial anxiety that prompted taking it.