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MedHelp Member's Question

Xanax

by Terry, Sep 30, 2000 12:00AM
A friend has been on xanax for several years.  They got up to 5 to 8 mg a day.  They had been hording the medication and started committing fraud to get the meds.  Now the police are involved and all meds were removed from the house.  What are the symtoms of withdrawl.  What would be the danger signs that we need to get them to a hospital? and how long does withdrawl take? detox wont take them til they decide whether or not to charge them with a crime.  I called a crisis center they couldn't tell me much.
Member Comments (24)

by loanne, Sep 30, 2000 12:00AM
well, i'm no dr.  altho i feel like one since i've had quite a bit of experience with almost all drugs that can be aboused.  that's a pretty small dose compared to what i was taking.  still, symptoms can be serious.  seizures are sometimes a symptom.  also, anxiety, tension, etc.  wish i could help with more

by tom to Terry, Sep 30, 2000 12:00AM
having been busted for something similar, what could they be charged with?



You have reason to be concerned about the withdrawal symptoms from xanax. Xanax is one of the benzodiazapines, others being Valium, Librium, Klonopin, Ativan.



Four days into cold turkey from Ativan, I had a seizure, something quite common with these drugs. I almost died and still have a compressed vertibra from the experience. If they've been on the stuff for a while (what other rx's do they use?), they are real candidates for this. Can you consult any doctor about it? I don't want to alarm you, but you really do have reason for concern.

by barbara to pain and lortab, Sep 30, 2000 12:00AM


That high of dose requires immediate in-patient detox or she or he could die of seizures and DT's. The withdrawal symtpoms are nauseas, vomiting, high fever possibly, fluctuating high blood pressure, severe agitation and seizures. He or she will literally tear the walls down and may even kill anyone in their way if they go into the Delirium Tremens. The brain cannot take that severe of reajustment from sedation to activity.



It is the same for any benzo, Klonopin which I am on 8 mg of by Doctors prescription, Valium, atavin and so on.



Alcohol withdrawal is the same but I found Klonopin withdrawal worse.



He or she needs medical assistance right away. Worry about the legal stuff after the detox.

by Chad B, Oct 01, 2000 12:00AM
They have a problem, No Doubt.  Try and get help.  When the "Man" is into the situation, it is a problem.

by Mariah to Tom, Oct 01, 2000 12:00AM
Hey!  Where have you been?  Did you get my good news???  I tried to go to that site you gave us & it wouldn't work.  It says they are moving the site or something...  Write me back, PLEASE!!!  Does that sound like I'm yelling?  I'm not!  he-he  Talk to you later!

Mariah  :)

by daiseyhfree, Oct 02, 2000 12:00AM
Why is it that when the "man" gets involved, they do not get treatment?  If the "man" would help us GET TREATMENT,  maybe we could stop committing crimes to get our stuff.  Until some kind of change is made , NO ONE IS GOING TO GET BETTER!!  Illness & disease need treatment, NOT Punishment!!!

by Lynn to Neena, Oct 02, 2000 12:00AM
I unwillingly had to stop taking xanax when my supply ran out. I relied on a 5 mg. tablet to put me to sleep every night for about   a year. I am on day 3 and the worst withdrawal symptom I've found is insommnia! I dread going to bed at night because I know I'm going to toss and turn. And NOTHING helps. Hot baths, exercise, tea, milk, NOTHING. My body feels like I got beat up, I can't even walk up a flight of stairs, yet when I try to go to sleep my eyes are like two cherries in a bowl of yogurt. I hope this will pass, I am climbing the walls. (And yes, I am the same Lynn who is also addicted to Percs. What a mess I'm in) Can somebody relate?

by tom to Mariah, Oct 02, 2000 12:00AM
yes, I read your good news. Great job! Doesn't it feel good to set out to do something and actually accomplish it and have it turn out better than you even hoped? An understanding doctor without the usual drugie-phobia can make things so much easier. I'm not sure what's going on at the other site. I wish there was support to save this site. I guess Brian got bored and found something else to do. He's still be active if this site supported more threads.

by barbara to pain and lortab, Oct 02, 2000 12:00AM


You can have withdrawal seizures as long as two weeks after stopping the Xanax. You should see a doctor for something to help you withdraw safely!

by Terry, Oct 02, 2000 12:00AM
Thanks for all the posts. I've passed the info on to his wife and they are going to a facility tommorrow.  I told her what to watch for and to go to the emergency room. I don't understand why the ins company is so slow to admitt him somewhere when the withdrawl is so dangerous.  so if they charge them with prescription fraud does anyone know what that will mean in terms of severity??



yeah so far he has the headaces, the runs and the insomnia that Lynn mentioned.  I hope he doesnt get the sizures too.

by Lynn to Neena, Oct 03, 2000 12:00AM
Yikes! Now I'm really scared. This is the fourth day I've gone without any xanex, I figured the worst was over. I cold turkey-ed  it with the xanex, now the percs are next. Barb, can you tell me what a seizure is and how I will know that thats whats happening to me? Thanks

by barbara to pain and lortab, Oct 03, 2000 12:00AM


I can only tell you what my partial zeizures are like. They start with an anxiety type felling building from the inside. That I call the 10 minute warning to shakedown. Then after about 5-10 minutes my entire body goes comletely still where I can not move at all, and the shaking starts usually in the upper part of my body first and spreads out to the rest of my body from there.



I usually have two or three in a row each lasting anywhere from 8-15 minutes.



by barbara to pain and lortab, Oct 03, 2000 12:00AM


Sorry my computer went haywire or I just type too fast and it glitches sometimes. Anyway my kind of seizures are not considered normal withdrawal seizures I am told.



I also finally, after one year found out I now have a form of epilepsy I never had before. It figures after having over 100 seizures that I would develop a problem. My Doc told me once the brain seizes in likes to seize again and again. It's likes the stimulation. Wierd but true I guess, no one in my family has epilepsy.



But to answer your question, the normal withdrawal seizure you would have you will not know is going to happen. You will just fall down or black out ,shake violently for a couple of minutes and when you awaken you will not remember the event at all. That is called a grand mal seizure and can be deadly.

by Shiny, Oct 04, 2000 12:00AM
Lynn, were you talking about another 5m pill that you took?  Xanax dosn't come in a 5m pill. Or did you mean you took 5 1m pills?  Xanax comes in 1m, 1/2m and 1/4m.  I've heard there is a 2m pill, but have never heard of anyone getting any.  I'm on 3 1m Xanax a day but I always run low.  I always make sure even if I cut the 1m into 4 small parts that I'm never really completely out of them.  The withdrawal is horrid.

by Lynn to Neena, Oct 04, 2000 12:00AM
Glad to help you. The xanax I took were the orange. I thought they were 5 mg. but I may be wrong. And let me add that the withdrawal was worst than horrible, I was up for three nights but the good news is that it is (god willing) OVER! I finally am able to sleep, somewhat, and have no desire to ever go through that detox again. I'm worried that I will have a seizure, but so far, so good. It's been since Friday. I can help anyone who has an addiction to Xanax or Percs. Been there.

by Dee, Oct 05, 2000 12:00AM
she's talking about xanax 0.5 they are orange, that's what I take

by Shiny, Oct 05, 2000 12:00AM
What you are now taking is a very small dose. I get up sometimes to 6 tor 7 a day. I always make sure that I have some, even if I have to cut them in half.  As I said the withdrawl is very hard. Since last time I swore to myself that I would never be without.  Thanks for answering my post.

by phyllis, Oct 12, 2000 12:00AM
I have been reading all the posts about Xnax. I have been on .05mg 3 x a day for the past 10 years. I initially started taking it for burning sensations in my legs and lower body which diagnosed as anxiety... Then I was diagnosed with RLS. I would love to get off the Xnax. I am at the point where I do not know if the sypmtoms I feel are from the RLS or anxiety or withdrawals from the Xnax. About 4 years ago, I started having severe jerking or jumping when I went to bed. Sometimes the jerking would be so severe, it would pop my neck. Now, I have a lot of it in my face. This is only when I go to bed or lay down for a nap.

It does not happen every night.. it runs in cycles that I have yet to determine the cause. I now sometimes require 2  .05 mg tablets at night to prevent the jerking. The Dr. who gave me these said they were not addictive. HAH!!!. Now,