xanax withdrawal??

[blake093]

so in august of 2013 i was diagnosed with Generalized anxiety disorder and Severe panic attacks so my doctor wrote me a perscription for Celexa and Xanax, he told me to take Celexa once a day and take .25MG of Xanax as needed, i have been on Xanax since august and i take maybe 3-6 pills a week, my question is if i stopped taking xanax cold turkey would i experiance withdrawal symptoms? because i am on the lowest dose and i do not take them every day, or more than once a day, i read online the symptoms of Xanax withdrawal can be pretty severe and even cause death, which got me pretty worried, the Xanax really works to stop my panic attacks but if this drug is as dangerous as I read it to be then i should Stop taking it.... would i go through withdrawal if i have only been through 3 30 Pill bottles of xanax in 6 months?

[blake093]

i feel a lot better today, i think i just fealt wierd cuz i hadnt sleeped the night before

[blake093]

oh yeah and i coulda sworn i heard music like a ringtone or somthing going off in my dads car, and i said "dad what was that is your phone going off?" and he was like no nothings going off

[blake093]

over the last week or two i've been taking more than i normally do cuz i was in a state of higher stress which made my anxiety worse, also i got switched to a new medicine which made some of my anxiety come back, last week i took like 10 pills, i havent taken one in about 4 days because my medicine started to take effect finally, and i've been noticing some involuntary movements, twitching, my fingertips are tingling a bit and while i was sitting and eating dinner it fealt like my chair was rocking back and forth

are these symptoms of some type of withdrawal?

[Paxiled]

You should keep in mind that the dangers you're reading about are when you stop taking the drug, not while you're taking it, and given you take it only when you need it and not regularly quitting probably won't be as bad as you think.  I'd question the issue of tapering, however, should you ever decide to stop -- it's always best to be as careful as possible.

[blake093]

thank you, i spoke with him today, he said i would not need to taper off and i can keep using it the way i am without any problems because im on such a low dose and i use it so infrequently

[nursegirl6572]

Most likely, being that you weren't taking it every day, or even every other day, it would be fairly easy for you to stop taking it.  You definitely need to discuss this with your doctor.  If the doctor recommends a taper, most likely it wouldn't be a very long one.

Keep the lines of communication open with your doc during the d/c process, especially if you are experiencing any effects of w/d.

Best of luck to you...let us know how you're doing.

[cnote]

I'd talk to your Dr. about stopping xanax. I quit ativan, 4 years use under Dr's supervision. It's very important to do it under supervision of a Dr. I scared myself SO bad by reading SO MANY horror stories about ativan/xanax withdrawal. Mine was a little unfomfortable, but NOTHING like I was anticipating. I gave myself more anxiety than I needed too.

If your Dr is okay with you coming off, GO SLOW. SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE. No need to rush off it and put yourself through something you don't have to if you have control. That's just my opinion.

You should NEVER quit it though Cold Turkey. You could have a seizure. Not trying to scare you. It's just common sense with any drug to do a cold turkey. Always ween off. And of course ALWAYS under your Dr's awareness. That way if you have some uncomfortable side effects, you can just call your Dr. and he may recommend a slower ween or something to give you to take the edge off while you ween. You may not have a problem at all. It all just depends. We are all different.

I saw a Dr. who helped me ween SLOWLY at the pace I felt comfortable doing. It was pretty easy, and I did it and made it just fine! :)

Remember, we are all different. My advice, stay off the internet and stop searching horror stories. Just be smart and talk to your Dr. :)

Take care!

[nickwch]

I am recovering from Panic Disorder. I started with Lexopro and Xanax during the initial period. However, I only took Xanax when I really need to and I managed not to take Xanax after the initial two weeks. I think on your questions, it is best to ask your psycharist.