xanax and substance abuse addiction

[swanson82]

Hello I have been getting into drugs this past 5 months or so. I am not doing any ridiculous amounts, or even thought i was addicted. I have been taking 2-3mgs of xanax about 2 times a week for past 5 months. Occasional use of oxy's. I have stopped taking all drugs for a drug test that is coming up. Like i said i thought you would have had to take this stuff more often than twice a week for it to have withdrawal symptoms. But this past week has been bad the only times i can actually fall asleep is when i get wasted or abuse some other drug that will knock me out. During the day i feel fine with a slight brain fog that i can deal with. My main concern is my inability to sleep. And at night when i have trouble sleeping it makes me get anxious and keeps me awake even longer. Is there anyone who can tell me how long this is going to last? I understand there are some of you out there who must in going through hell if this is what happens with only using it twice a week, but i am really concerned for my well being. This has been more than enough lesson to keep me away from now on.

[vicki595]

Hi~It sounds like your sleep is disturbed from taking and then being without the pills. This is normal.  Don't force sleep with alcohol or pills. Give it some time and it WILL get better. It won't be long...probably inside of two weeks with every day getting better.
Just stay away from that junk,okay?   You're young,no need to be in a brain fog all day!

If your sleep problems don't improve,talk with your doctor and be honest...

All the best~
Vicki

[Tina1127]

It might be only a few more days... do things to relax at night like take a bath or read.. Also take nyquil if you have to.  When I ran out of my xanax I was withdrawing my doctor said because when i shut my eyes they would shut but be blinking its hard to explain but hang in there and just relax at night read or take a bath or hot shower, just watch TV and dont think about how you cant sleep it makes it worse

[Rich99]

Lets not kid ourselves here,  I believe you gotta be blunt and tell it like it is otherwise we're only fooling ourselves.    When you say """"with only using it twice a week"""" and feel thats not an addiction...well IT IS!     Its like an alchoholic saying I only drink heavily on the weekends so I'm not really addicted to alchohol.
You won't sleep properly until you wean yourself off these medications (with the help of your doctor) or in detox/rehab if it comes to that point.     I've been in your shoes and thats how it was for me.     As I look back at your post,  you say you're abstaining due to a drug test,  well then use this opportunity to continue staying off of them.

[avisg]

rich is right you are abusing drugs whether it 2 days  a week or 7 days a week and it will only get worse with time I would stay off the meds get some recovery care and stop now before its completely out of control.

[tink10]

swanson82 did say it was enough to keep away from drugs all together, lets have a little more compassion right off the bat, we all need kid gloves right off the bat, then after that is when the hard knocks come in. Anyway, they are right, sleep will come, don't fight it, give yourself permission to stay awake, but at the same time try to sleep, does that make sense? What I mean is don't beat urself up because you can't fall asleep. Second is a drug addict is a drug addict, weather it be 1 day or 365 days a year. Face the facts first, when you are able to do that you can move forward better and more honestly, there are a lot of people out here willing to help, weed through the postings and take what will help you, if you feel attacked move on to the next. I know when you are trying to quit a lot of sensitivity gets in our way, be proud of yourself and keep moving forward. If you need to do it for a test, be clean, then what kind of question should you ask yourself? I would think something like, if I can do this for a test then I shouldn't I do it for my life first and foremost. Your life is so important, and you only get one. We need to realize that our health comes first. If you have trouble staying clean, Ask for God's help, I found out that it is much easier when you have the help of God, I don't think I would of been able to quit on my own without the help of God. So good luck, God Bless and you are making great progress. Sleep will come, just accept that it may not come Tonie, but it will come.