joined to post my story

[sinister]

Hi ya all

I recently stopped taking zanax thanks to this and other forums and wanted to share my story of withdrawl.

I went from .5 mg 3 times a day down to .5 one time a day for 6 months. Then i quit cold turkey!

This was not recommended by a doctor, i personally wanted to get off the pills.
 
First i made sure to modify my diet. I started eating nuts like almonds, drinking protein drinks with milk, and eating organic cereal with 1000mg omega-3...lots of fiber...and vitamins b and c.

I avoided all caffeine and sugar(coffee, chocolates, etc).

I posted daily how i felt and am posting it below, hope it helps.

Pre -- sore muscles, back has been sore for at least 6 months, headaches (all the time…major off and on), breathing not smooth-seems to flutter with heartbeat. 50%

Day 1…. (Friday 9:00 am) – 38 hours
Light headed, hard to focus mentally, sore muscles, back sore, difficulty using hands to grip credit card, headaches (all the time…major off and on), breathing not smooth-seems to flutter with heartbeat. Had to wear sunglasses outside in the snow even though it is cloudy. 50%

Day 1 ….38 – 48 hours – sleep (very hard to go to sleep…in and out of it for 2-3 hours before falling to sleep).

Day 2…. (Saturday 9:00 am) – woke up with no sore muscles and minimal back pain. Very slight headache (almost non-existent), light headed just a bit at times, able to focus (85%), hand function 100%, breathing is smooth and does not flutter with heartbeat, feel smart and ready for mental challenge, feel healthy and like I’m 30 years old…not 70 years old! If this is the worst of the withdrawls I am done with xanax. 80%

Day 3…. slight light headed (more than on day 2), little more pain in back, almost positive the withdrawl symptoms are what kept me taking xanax upon awaking, mistook withdrawls for anxiety, still out of it off and on…spoke too soon about above report. 65%

Day 4…. minor withdrawl symptoms as described above. Sleeping good. 70%

Day 5…. woke up feeling ok but rest of the day was foggy. Groggy, medicine head feeling all day. 75%

Day 6…. Feel pretty good. By this time I have no more sore muscles or back pain. Headaches gone. Breathing is “normal”. 80%

Day 7…. Felt on edge all day, medicine head feeling. Felt too crappy to update on the 7th. Work is fast paced and made it hard to be at ease. This is definitely the peak of my withdrawls other than day 1. 55%

Day 8…. Feel normal. No signs of withdrawl. 90%

Day 9…. Feel normal. No signs of withdrawl. Just noticed my nose is not so plugged up anymore, breathing through nose is easier. I also came down with a cold so I feel crappy due to being sick. 90%

[Cuchculan]

In allowing the post above to be approved we thought it would be wise to state to all readers of the post that the method used in the post was one made by the poster himself. It was not suggested by a doctor. Never just stop taken your medication. Always consult your doctor and together you can work out a right plan of action for coming off medication if you ever feel you have to come off your medication. There is right ways and there is wrong ways. Granted in the post above all worked out well. But we are all different. The method above would not work for everybody. It is a self made method. Not a medically made one.

[sinister]

FYI. Doctor knew i was quitting cold turkey and did recommend the method.
 
I meant the doctor did not recommend i quit taking zanax, i wanted to quit.

[sinister]

I jumped the gun on the first post above. About 2 weeks after stopping zanax cold turkey i did go through withdrawls. some were mild and others were intense. I had to take a pill at 110 days (.25 mg) and day 112 was the worst. On day 112 my brain was tingling like crazy and i told myself it was probably my Gaba levels returning. I hope i was correct because i'm now on day 120 and have felt "normal" with no symptoms of withdrawl since day 112 and anxiety is almost non-existent.

I strongly recommend anyone who wants to quit to consult a doctor and Taper!

On day 110 i had to take a pill when i lost my balance at work and almost fell to the ground. Scared the crap out of me!!

Good luck to all who plan on doing the same.

[insights]

About 2 weeks after stopping zanax cold turkey i did go through withdrawls.

I question whether this was really withdrawal. Xanax has a short elimination half-life of about 11.2 hours (range: 6.3 to 27 hours) which means that, at worst, it should be completely out of your system in under a week unless you're taking another drug that prolongs its half-life such as fluvoxamine (Luvox). Withdrawal symptoms normally begin well before total clearance, for Xanax typically within 24 hours.

Ian

[sinister]

Hmmm, i have read that withdrawls can last from 6 to 18 months.

Who do i believe? I know what i'm feeling and have never felt most of these feelings before being medicated.

[insights]

Hmmm, i have read that withdrawls can last from 6 to 18 months.

I'm sure you have, but I bet a valid explanation of how this can be isn't offered.

However, even if it was true, withdrawal begins when levels of the drug drop below that required to maintain the actions of the drug. They don't begin weeks after all traces of the drug are eliminated.

Ian

[sinister]

I'm on day 130.

I feel like crap and have a lot of the symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome but will continue fighting and see if things improve over time.

[insights]

I feel like crap and have a lot of the symptoms of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome

Given the the symptoms of the claimed syndrome are the same as those of anxiety, how do you differentiate them?

Ian