What are Xanax withdrawls?

[gene23]

I take 2mg a day.  I am prescribed one a day but that doesnt do anything anymore.  If I try to not take one for one day I feel pain in my chest,  not pressure just short little pains very scattered.  I get dizzy, short of breath, and sometimes twitching in my leg muscles.  Now, how did I get in this position?  First I took Extacy for years, and then I started to smoke speed and drink at the same time.  Speed for the high, alcohol for the calming effect.  What an idiot!  One night while enjoying the two I had a massive panic attack.  Thought I was OD ing I had tingling in my chest and all through my face.  I was thinking alright this is it.  None of the docs at first wanted to help me calm down because all they could see was this guy must be just a junky or something.  No I just had really messed  myself up and I couldnt calm down.  Still cant!  I remember the days when I was care free not a worry in the world.  Now Im a mental patient.  No question really just wonder if there is anyone out there that can relate.  Ive read a lot of peoples stuff on here but none of it quite on the mark of exactly what im going through.  I just know Im having withdrawls because after i take the xanax about 30minutes later I feel normal for the next 4 to 5 hours depending on whether I have ate something or not.  If I eat then obviously it does not last as long.  I just wish I could be myself again whatever that was I dont remember.  I dont blame the drug I blame myself.  Xanax has helped me recover from what I did to myself now I just have to get off the xanax.  Oh yeah and the cold beer!  Alcohol just feeds the withdrawls the next day.  Fun while your high.  Feel like Im dying the next day.  Any suggestions anyone?  

[MrGreen]

You are wondering what xanax withdrawls are and yet you are taken xanax still? There would be no withdrawls if you are still taken them. The tolerance has worn have the medication would be my best guess. That happens with xanax. But you should know because it would do nothing for you at all. But you say you feel normal for 4 - 5 hours. So that must mean they are still working for you. I am just trying to find out what your exact question is, so the next reader in can reply to the question. Have you cut down or stopped taken xanax? That is the only way you would feel any withdrawls at all. Let us know and maybe a better answer can be given.

[gene23]

In other words I feel those symptoms before each dose and yes I am still taking it daily.  If the withdrawls are not supposed to happen for a little while, then I may have done something to my central nervous system with the years partying.  Does that make sense?

[MrGreen]

I would imagine you are feeling your normal anxiety in between each dose. Xanax is normally taken 3 times a day. It is, to be honest, a quick fix form of medication. No good for long term conditions. Maybe you need something better to take. Longer acting form of medication. Plus something in between just in case you feel a panic attack coming on. You should have a word with your doctor. We are not doctors here. Just people like yourself. Who have been through the mill a few times. We can only offer advise.

[greenlydia]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Now that I've been nice to you, I'm going to yell at you! Not really, but I will probably say some stuff you don't like.
I think I will leave the drug use alone. Since you have already called yourself an idiot, I don't need to. I am glad you have seen the dead end road drugs took you to and hope you are done with them. And I'm glad you got off the drug train before it crashed.........it always does.
Xanax...........what we are dealing with here is that you have basically gone from the frying pan into the fire. Xanax is a great medication and it has it's place in controlling panic, but it must be taken with extreme caution and monitored very closely. Xanax is a SHORT TERM benzo in two ways. It stays in our systems no loner than 4-6 hours, after which you need to take another dose. 4 hours later you need more and 4 hours later you need more and 4 hours after that you need more...........are you seeing the pattern yet? So, it is considered a short acting benzo for that reason and one other. After you've been taking Xanax on a daily basis, after 4 months (4 being the "magical" number with Xanax) it will totally lose it efficacy! That means, in plain English, it is no longer working for you. It is doing NOTHING for your anxiety. Not a single thing. When you wake up and start to feel those bad feelings and think to yourself "oh man, I need my Xanax so I don't have a PANIC ATTACK......" it's really the Xanax playing a very nasty joke on you. It will NO LONGER stop you from having a panic attack. What it WILL do is stop you from feeling the WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS for which you are now in the throes of big time! You have developed a tolerance to the drug. And the fact that you are now having to take 2mg to stop those feelings is proof positive that is what's going on. In a little while, it's going to take you 3mg, then 4mg.............and here's the really evil side of Xanax. One day you're gonna wake up feeling horrible anxiety, worse anxiety than you're use to. You'll down however many pills you're now on to make those feelings stop and you sit back and wait for the relief to hit. Guess what? It doesn't. So you freak out a little and say "well, maybe I didn't take enough or maybe I need to take just a little extra." So you do. And again you wait. And wait. And wait. The anxiety by now is raging out of control, you've taken more than you ever have but...............IT'S NOT WORKING!  Welcome to the wonderfully terrifying world of TOLERANCE WITHDRAWAL. The Xanax has turned on you and is now CAUSING the very symptoms it was meant to control. The more you took, the worse your anxiety became. Nice drug, eh? Did your doctor tell you this would happen? Didn't think so.
I don't think you're at this point yet, but your sure as hell heading there, so I'm glad your smart enough to want off. Basically you have no option. BUT..........another fun aspect of Xanax is that if you quit cold turkey, you run the risk of seizures and depending on the dose you're on, even death. And when you talk to me about those cold beers just making the withdrawal worse the next day, I think your words were "feel like I'm dying," you don't know how close to the truth that could be.........those beers could kill you. For those of us who have been on this forum for awhile, we know, all too tragically, how that can happen. And it can happen so unexpectedly. You're out having a few drinks with friends, you start to feel some panic so you pop a Xanax or two and you're friends will just think you passed out and dump you in your bed. What they don't realize is that, well, you're dead. I'll bet they even made jokes about your "dead weight!" Stop drinking if you're taking benzos. The combination can be deadly. Shall I repeat that?
You absolutely MUST taper off Xanax. You cannot simply stop taking it. Even if you don't go into seizures, the withdrawal will be a living hell. You must taper very slowly and you must do this under the advice and supervision of a doctor. One who hopefully understands how to w/d someone from a potent benzo like Xanax. A too fast taper can create a nightmare almost as bad as stopping cold turkey.
Do not increase your dosage EVER again without the consent of your doctor, which you have already done.
I advise you to see your doctor as soon as possible and tell them you want off this drug. You didn't say how long you'd been on the Xanax, but even at 1-2mg, a taper is needed. (2mg is a hefty dose of THIS med) If they tell you to just stop or say that you only need to taper for a few days or a week.........run away. Find a psychiatric medication manager, most psychiatric clinics have one, and make an appt. with them. They understand the NEED to taper slowly and the dangers of NOT tapering slowly.
If you want to feel like your old self again, bag the street drugs, get off the Xanax, (and stop the drinking until you do) then work on getting yourself healthy through exercise, eating right and all that other stuff. If you're still having issues with anxiety, get into some therapy and deal with it that way. And don't let anybody ever prescribe Xanax for you again!
If you got off the X and whatever else you were doing, you can do this as well. Just do it right and make sure you're doc is involved!
Let us know how you're doing, OK? You could be an inspiration to many on this forum so come back and share your story.
Peace
Greenlydia            

[gene23]

I havent taken drugs or anything for over 3 years now or close to it anyways.  I have drank which i know is a drug.  I started out at first with drinking you know at least 5 - 10 drinks a night, pass out.  I was taking .5's at this time.  I stopped doing that and then I would take the xanax during the day, during the stressful parts of the day.  Then drink at night after I got home.  Wake up around 3 or 4 in the morning feeling terrible. Drop 1mg of xanax and the boom hangover gone.  Not a great way to live but I did it.  Drive to work eat breakfast with xanax still working.  Eat lunch by this time xanax is wearing off and im starting to feel the pains and aches of withdrawl.  Pop 1mg of xanax feel good the rest of the day.  Get off work and drink.  Then repeat repeat repeat.  What a lifestyle huh?  I know its sounds crazy and I dont need you to yell at me:)  Im fortunate to be alive and I am wanting to change.  Its hard when you are a 28 year old man and everyone and I mean everyone around you drinks and parties.  I have two kids that I want to live for.  My doc said something to me the other day that i thought was interesting.  He said have you thought about getting help.  I said yes I did and the guy I went to said that I wasnt exactly telling him things that were his "cup of tea".  I think i tripped him out with my fast life story.  It was kind of comical.  Anyways, my doc said have you ever tried going to church.  I was like well yeah so does that mean im hopeless that its in Gods hands now?? :)  He probably didnt mean it like that but I found it amusing.  I dont want to die but I feel like im living the fast track for it.  My mom told me if I die before her she will be so pissed off at me.  Thanks for the lecture Greenlydia I need that seriously I do.  I sometimes wonder if I was always kind of a panicy person and i found the outlets like drugs and alcohol as to self medicate myself.  Its been such a long run with them I couldnt remember that if I tried.  Im glad i found this website I am enjoying this conversation its nice to know im not alone.  When you feel the way we do sometimes its got to be one of the loneliest feelings in the whole world.  My wife always says just calm down just calm down.  Ive told her to say that to someones who is having a panic attack is probably the last thing you need to say.  We need to hear things like I love you and hear how special we are to them.  Who do you think is going to win the super bowl. ANYTHING BUT "JUST CALM DOWN"

[abby10]

I know where your are at now in regards to the xanax and alcohol. I don't know how, but one day I discovered a 2mg xanax would take away that rotten hangover, at least for 3 or 4 hours. I've always been an a "hiper" person and when I got that first ativan prescription it was a God sent. Benzo's are no God sent. Benzo's are over prescribed and it's a convenient way to keep you happy for a little while, then when it's time to help you when your addicted  "auh I dun know, you must of abused them".

You are in a good position to get your life strightened out, 2mg xanax is better that 3mg xanax a day or 8mg xanax a day...I would know.

The alcohol works on the same brain receptors as the xanax. You were drinking the "hair of the dog that bit you" by using the xanax for your hang over. Do a very slow tapper with klonipin or valium. I tried to tapper with xanax and it was a very painful and bumpy road.

The klonopin stays in your blood system much longer than xanax and valium even longer. See web site - benzo.org.uk (Ashton Manual)  there are tapper plans there. It explains how to do a "cross over" to klonopin or valium. It will take months to tapper off. You probably will think that I what to go faster and get it over with. But if you do try and tapper off to fast you'll crash and burn. I have no boubt at all in my mind that the problems I have now are because I came off way too fast. I didn't know better.

You can have your old self back again, you really can.

abby

[greenlydia]

Hey
Your story is classic. Repeated on this forum a hundred times. Any of us who have been, or are now, on Xanax, can relate to it. You are SO not alone...................

I may be much older than you, but my memory isn't totally shot. (Yet!) I remember what it's like to be young and party. But for right now, you have to make a choice. For yourself and your family. You know what that choice is and you're the only one who can make it, so I won't harp about it. What I DO believe is that your smart enough to make the right choice.

I'm sorry to hear that your first attempt at therapy was with a bloody moron! What the hell did he mean with "this isn't my cup of tea" c*r*a*p? This person acting completely unprofessional and I do hope you never went back. I also have a real issue with your DOCTOR asking if you went to church. I had a doctor I was seeing about my panic disorder and he asked me that same question! I was absolutely shocked. I literally could NOT believe he had just asked me that. I quietly stood up and said that I came to him for MEDICAL help, not spiritual guidance. I asked him if the next time I needed antibiotics or an X-ray, should I go to my priest? That ended my association with him. Perhaps the question didn't bother you as much as it did me, but either way, my advice is to find another doctor who doesn't moon light as a missionary.
You ARE on the fast track, but not so deeply you can't turn it around. You aren't in as big a mess as you may be fearing. And I realize I may have played a big part in that fear. But I've seen too many people in this exact situation continue to play the odds.......and lose. Sometimes they lose it all. I don't want that to happen to you. You are young, you have a wonderful family, you have your whole future ahead of you.......don't blow it.

Before we understand fully about our anxiety or panic or depression.........whatever, many of us DO self-medicate. Because we don't understand what is happening to us, we turn to whatever will stop those feelings. But you know now, so don't be hauling around the guilt, that's all in the past.

On the subject of your wife telling you to "just calm down," don't be angry at her. For those who have never felt the terror of panic or lived with the debilitating affects of anxiety, they just don't understand and it's not their fault. It does not make them stupid or uncaring. These are very difficult disorders to explain to someone who has never experienced them. We can talk til were blue in the face, we can give them material to read, but until and unless they experience these things for themselves, they will never truly know. The best you can do is talk to your wife and tell her exactly what you need her to do when you are having an attack. My husband use to get really freaked out and be in my face asking if he should call 911, was I having a heart attack, a stroke, was I going to pass out, should he take me to the ER.........if I was standing up, he'd tell me to lay down, if I was laying down, he'd tell me to stand up. He meant well, he was scared and concerned, but all he did was make my attack ten times worse. It wasn't until I told him what I needed from him that it got better. So have a talk with your wife. She won't know unless you tell her.  

I strongly advise you to find another doctor, lay out all the facts and your goals and begin again. Ask for a referral to a therapist who has experience dealing with drug and alcohol issues. This is NOT saying you are a junkie nor an alcoholic, but these therapist simply have more training with these issues. You're far less likely to get another moron who is freaked out by your lifestyle. Past or present.

You're going to be fine, Gene. It won't be easy, nothing that is worth having ever is. But the fact that you want it will make the road a lot less bumpy.
Write us whenever you need to. Keep us up to date on how you're doing. You have a huge fan club here and we're all rooting for your success.
Peace
Greenlydia              

[Paulina7770]

I've been coming off of Effexor for 52 days now with the help of "The Road Back" program.  I'm having SEVERE panic.  I'm told this is a major withdrawal of Effexor.  I'm 22 days with no Effexor (I tapered slowly) and I'm desperate.  Is this my original symptom, or in fact withdrawals?  I was prescribed anti-depressants 20 yrs ago. for severe panic disorder which eventually led my doctors to putting me on Effexor.  Wanted to come off because of the side effects and if I missed one dose, I would have panic and "brain zaps. I want this to end.  Any help?