benzo withdraw

I am on 24 mg suboxone-900 mg tryliptal-50 mg zoloft per day..was in rehab for opiate addiction 6 months ago and have not taken anything except suboxone for that---HERE IS THE PROBLEM---i will take .05 up to 1.0 mg zanax for 3 or 4 days in a row and then none for 5 or 6 days to be clean on my drug test--i realize this is stupid and want to stop the xanax completely---i also take 300 mg seroquil per night but still don't sleep unless i take the small dose of xanax which i am not supposed to do---on average i take around the equivalent of 16 xanax per month(roughly)  Will i have xanax withdraw if i stop them completely???After i pass the drug test i go right to the xanax and take it for 3 or 4 days and none for 3 or 4 days==PLEASE ADVISE ABOUT WITHDRAW AND SYMTOMS (symptoms) IF I STOP XANAX!!

[J T Junig, MD PhD]

Xanax (alprazolam) leaves one's body pretty quickly, as you've found with your drug testing.  Withdrawal generally occurs within a couple days, if it is going to occur at all-- so no, I would not expect you to have significant physical withdrawal if you avoid returning to Xanax after your 'Xanax vacations'.  BUT...you are getting a good look at the sneaky addictiveness of benzodiazepines.  People who are 'stuck' on them have a hard time saying why it is that they need them;  they just need them, period.  You will likely find it difficult to simply stop, even in the absence of withdrawal-- for reasons that you will likely have a hard time pinpointing.  

My recommendation is to realize that your habit will eventually grow;  controlled use of an addictive substance almost always grows out of control at some point.  Remember just how miserable it is to be brought to your knees by addiction, and try to use that memory to reinforce the need to stop Xanax.  Try to gain conscious awareness of the danger of your illicit use of Xanax.

If you can't sleep for a few days, that's OK-- it won't kill you.  Find a comfy spot and read a good book-- you'll end up sleeping eventually!