2 months of xanax and drinking

[ricky15]

anyone have any experiance with alprozolam and alcohol. I was prescribed aprozolam about 2 months ago, .5 mg, obviously heard that wasnt much, but on my days that i was hung over I would take 1.5mg's and then go out drinking. I am noticing that when the weekend is over and I dont need them to help my hangover anxiety that i get dizzy, headaches, shakeiness etc.

1) can coming off that small of an amount cause these withdrawals, and have I made it much worse by taking them and drinking? is there a chance for respitory failure or seizures?

[cj29]

It is never a good idea to quit these types of medications cold turkey in my opinion, and it is not very smart to mix alcohol and these medications...it can be dangerous and that is why your prescription states not to drink while you are on these types of meds....why not go to your doctor and discuss this with him/her?

[ricky15]

I am going to go to him tomorrow, where I am its sunday night, a little difficult to find a doctor without going to the ER, I didnt realize that there were so many side effects to this when i got perscribed it, but now i have been getting severe head presure, and im not drinking today but wanted to make sure that i was just going to stop breathing in the middle of the night.

obv. anxiety is an issue here!

[greenlydia]

cj is the "good cop" and I am the "bad cop."

You asked if anyone had experience with alprozolam and alcohol. You COULD ask one of our beautiful young posters what her experience with that combination was but then I remembered.............you can't, because it killed her.

You state that "obviously anxiety is an issue here!"
Obviously, alcohol is as well.

Grow up while you still can!!

Greenlydia

[silverberg]

this is a easy response, you drink and do xanax like your doing, you DIE. period, the choice is yours buddy, hope your at the Dr. at this writing. latters.

[ricky15]

So I have stopped drinking about 4 days ago, and let me be clear to the fact that it was like 3 times a wekk not everyday, i guess that doesnt matter.

but everytime the weekends are over, and i dont really "need" the anxiety med anymore i get really dizzy a lot of headaches and headpressure, is this a side affect of withdrawal from the meds?

[Hensley258]

I have never heard of anyone ending up dead because they took 1.5Mgs of Xanax and had a couple drinks. On the other hand, if one was to take 3 to 6 Mgs and then drink a fifth of 100 Proof rum, then yes they could die.

I think the big issue here is the persons level of resistance to Xanax and the actual amount of Xanax and alcohol they combined.

If anyone has ever died from mixing such a small amount of Alprazolam and a couple drinks then I have never heard of such a thing.

One can also get alcohol poisoning and die from drinking too much too fast and Xanax is not required.

I feel really bad about the young poster in which greenlydia said died from a combination of Alprazolam and Alcohol, but I would have to ask the question of "how much Xanax and alcohol she combined?" My guess is that it was a hefty amount of both.

I take Xanax and what I can say for sure is that the longer you take it the more you need. Not only that, but I think Xanax actually makes the anxiety worse when it wears off.

Xanax is both the best and worst drug I have ever taken.

[ricky15]

thank ypou for the comment hensley, im sure that there is obviously a level of xanax and alcohol that becomes very very dangerous, but I would really like some kind of insight into the head pressure and dizziness I feel, ibuprofen isnt helping, I have cut down and tried to just take .25mg at some time in the afternoon to try and make it not so bad, but its not really working, so now i get worked up about head issues, im going to see the doc tomorrow but my head is all cloudy and dizzy and it seems like theres a lot of pressure.

can anyone help me out here?

[jakegorzen]

How much water do you drink?
Ever get checked for Vitamin Def.?

I know Ill catch some heat for this.....but have you ever took any kind of opiate?
Im assuming your going through some sort of pain "Because of the Moltrin" ever take any Hydrocodiene?  Pain killer?

It is possible it could help with your "pain and pressure" and......help with your anxiety.
Id rather see a person addicted to Opiates then Benzodiazapines.

Also......while by the book you shouldnt take Benzos and mix with other sedatives, yours is pretty low.
Your also going through intertodose/ tollerance withdraws "when the benzo dose before isnt working as good/long" as what it did before.
Dizzyness is a common sign of that.

Tell your Doc to give you something stronger then Moltrin, see if that helps.


O, and yes you can be addicted, and withdraw from THE SMALLEST amount of Benzodiazapine.
They now have a "warning" just on Ativan about addiction within 3 days.......Fyi
Imagine the potential of Xanax

[ricky15]

Hey jake thanks for the input, My head just really feels messed up, I dont take any other type of drugs like opiates etc, im alergic (allergic) to anything with synthetic codein in it i.e. hydrocodone etc.

my head just feels really pressurized and i feel dizzy and just unnable to focus, it feels like a morning hangover everyday that im cutting down on the xanax.

i am going to see the doc tomorrow switch it up.
I havent checked for vitamin def. i do drink a crapload of those vitamin waters, may sounds dumb, but since i havent been eating a lot because my heads a mess, i figured it was the best way to get fluids and vitamins, ive had blood work done as recently as a year ago and everything was fine on their charts.

so i guess i should assume this head pressure and dizziness, and slow reaction is due to weening off?

[Hensley258]

Ricky are you sure that the symptoms of Head pressure and dizziness are not from your actual condition itself? I know my severe depression and anxiety cause horrible dizziness and head pressure. It feels like my temples are being crushed in a vise.

I'm just saying that these can also be symptoms caused by your depression and anxiety and may have nothing to do with the Xanax or the alcohol.

[jakegorzen]

I think its fron the Xanax

Try to...forget about it....when it really hits, "I imagine mainly in the morning" Do something intense.
Also...those Vitamin Drinks do nothing for vitamins.
Stop eating meat for a week, eat nothing but whole grains, fresh veggies and fruit "Make sure you wash the $hit out of em"
ween yourrself from the Xanax.
A good multi B, and a C will help you after about a month

[Ariom63]

Could be the xanax..but seriously doubt it!  However the best person to ask would be a doctor..only him /her would know for sure. I hate repeating the same thing..but alcohol is playing a bill role on what you have been feeling, it alters the affects of any medication.  I know you said you have cut down and you were only drinking 3 nights a week...well that is more than enough already!  ONE drink is way too MANY on Xanax or any benzo!  

I would see your doctor and put your mind at ease.  Hope you get to feeling better!

[jakegorzen]

99% of Doctors are Benzo illiterate.
This is a question you can ASK YOURSELF
To many people put there faith blindly in a Doc/Physc.
Go to cchr.org   for more info on PHYSC DRUGS, so you "and everyone else" can educate yourself.
You seem like a smart person, so I trust you'll make a good choice.

[Prizma]

Alcohol increases the effects of many drugs; that's why the say don't drink while taking medications.

As for the xanax, I agree with the comment of "it's the best and the worst medication I've ever had". All of the symptoms you're experiencing are withdrawal from the xanax. Even though you were on a low dose for a short period of time, it does affect you. Xanax is a short term & short acting benzo.

How bad is your anxiety that you were prescribed the xanax? Often is a knee jerk reaction from doctors to prescribe it when they hear "anxiety".

[Hensley258]

I should mention that about 4 months ago I tried to stop Xanax by tapering down slow. I was taking 3Mgs a day and the taper went ok until I hit 1mg a day. At that point I became VERY sick. My body was shaking, hand tremors, horrible severe irritability (felt like my skin was crawling) I also was VERY agitated and I couldn't sit still even though I was exhausted. I tried to ride out that withdrawl, but after 7 days it still didn't feel any better.

No increase in "head pressure," but considering that because of my severe depression I have always had head pressure that perhaps I didn't notice that withdrawl effect.

I would rather do a hard withdrawl from Heroin than from Xanax. So I failed in getting off the Xanax. I couldn't help it because my anxiety started kicking my *** and the Xanax was the only way out.

I also take antidepressants and mood stabilizers but they don't help with the anxiety. Only Xanax helps the anxiety.

It is a nasty drug to get off and the more you take, the more you need.