First day off Xanax, need help coping with my worrY!!

[annoyingwife21]

Hi, I am new. I have been reading post on the site for days trying to find someone that has exactly my same problem but havn't been too successful. I was diagnosed with GAD in October after a death in my family. I swore I had lymphoma, leaukemia, or another horrible cancer. I got blood work done, my thyroid checked and got a clean bill of health. My PCP put me on Zoloft and Xanax 2mg per day. I decided to get off the meds because I didn't want to become addicted and just wanted to feel my normal self. I have mentally been able to quit thinking about my previous diseases but not am scarred I have MS, ALS, or a brain tumor. I want to get control of this and move forward. Today is my first day off Xanax after I tapered down and want to be on a road to recovery and enjoy motherhood.
Right now  I have tingliness in both hands and feet- I feel like I have "heavy ankles" My calves feel weak. I want to know that I am not alone and can quit worring. I also have really bad cold chills and my heart races a lot.
Please only reply with uplifting comments. Do not worry me anymore.
Thanks!

[vardnas]

Welcome, first of all.

Are you pursuing any course of anxiety treatment OTHER than the meds? 'Cause meds alone will not "cure" or "treat" an anxiety disorder, they just mask symptoms. So once you take away the meds and the underlying causes of anxiety are still not dealt with, your physical symptoms will reappear. Things like talk therapy, CBT, self-help books and the like are all good resources. It is only after you pursue this type of treatment and practice your recovery strategies for a while that you'll start to see a decline in symptoms and fear-based thinking.

A note about the Xanax. I'm assuming you're taking a small dosage if you've just been taking it since October. I took Xanax for about eight months before quitting for good, but I tried unsuccessfully to taper twice before I was eventually successful. So don't worry if you have to keep taking it—take it until you feel READY to quit. My dosage was 1.5mg a day, and that amount, for such a short time, will not usually create dependence. What I'm trying to say is don't be in such a hurry to get off of it that you don't give yourself adequate time to reduce your stress levels. You'll be okay.

[annoyingwife21]

Thanks for the reply, I am not doing any therapy. I found that a supplement of GABA has worked well for me and drinking tea. I wasn't a fan how Xanax XR made me feel and just finished the tapering process. I do not plan to take anymore Xanax no matter how bad I feel.
I might try a self help book-that's not a bad idea. I just want to be sure that the symptoms I currently have are seriously just to due to my fearful thinking. I find that once I have an understanding of symptom I can easily move past it. If there is no explanation except for a disease of some sort is when I begin to worry. 

[gcalex]

All those symptoms sound like anxiety, can't think of anything else that would present with all of them.  Relax, you're just anxious!!  (Yeah sounds contradictory I know but I think you know what I'm saying.)