Please help me withdraw from Xanax and answer a question re: it

[reallysad]

I have been taking Xanax ER for 3 1/2 years.  I was told by an

"addictions specialist" that it was "non-addictive" since it was slowly released.  I never abused it or took it other than as prescribed.  NOW I am suffering, and I do mean suffering, very embarrassingly from incontinence.  I will not go out almost at all and I live alone.  I am dying of loneliness.  I read that Xanax could cause incontinence and the docs have been unable to find a reason so they have suggested that I stop taking it.  I am just now beginning to wean off the first 1/2 milligram and am feeling terrible.  I cannot sleep and I am shaky and miserable.  I am afraid of getting worse, as I start taking less in 2 days.  I am so alone and so shaky and scared.  IS IT TRUE that Xanax can "impair urination?"  I read that on one question and I am having that problem also.  Please give me some answers and also know that I have a history of alcoholism and severe panic attacks years after that with PTSD and then severe agoraphobia.  Am I ever going to be OK?  Do I need a treatment facility?  What should I do?  Are there any "things" that I can do/ eat/ drink/ that are healthy and helpful that I might try?  Please help!

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Getting off xanax is notoriously difficult. You should do it over a three week period, gradually reducing dose. You should ask your doctor to cover you will Klonopin while you are doing that. drinking water and eating healthy will help, but it stillhas to be done gradually.

[rosetoes]

I'm sorry to say that yes you are addicted to xanax and while you can get off of them, it will not be easy to do.  You MUST withdrawl slowly.  You didn't indicate the amount you were taking per day.  When I was on xanax I took .5mg (3 times a day) and when I started to wean off of them.  I'd break the afternoon pill in half and did that for 7 to 10 days and then I cut the morning dosage in half so I was taking .25, .25 and .5mg.  I would continue to lower my dosage until I just stopped.



That is when Hell Broke Loose!  For the first 3 nights..I slept a total of 2 hours in THREE DAYS!  Heart pounding, racing heart, ringing of the ears, severe tenseness in my stomach, hot flushes, sometimes feeling disorientated were just a few withdrawls, but after a few weeks, it all subsided and I  felt a 100% better.  I was on them for 3 months.



You have to be determined and focus, many times I was scaried of how I was feeling during withdrawl and wanted to take xanax again, but I knew if I didn't take a stand, I would be on them forever.  The longer you stay on them, the harder it becomes to get off them.



It does feel great now.  Best Wishes.

[reallysad]

I forgot to say that I have been on 4 milligrams for 3 1/2 years- 4 milligrams per day.  So, I just took 3 1/2 milligrams for 10 days and felt terrible and couldn't sleep much at all, and now I'm starting to take 3 milligrams today and feel really, really bad.  My doctor doesn't want me to take Klonopin- it will defeat the purpose of me getting off this to try to get better from the other problem I'm having- and I'm so alone and I have SO much to get off of... it seems like too much.  I don't know if I can do this... can anyone encourage me?  Does it get better?

[rosetoes]

Realsad:



Yes you can get off of them...and it is understandable that you are scared, but you can't let that overcome you and you lose focus.  



4mg per day is alot and it is going to take time, lots of it so don't rush yourself.  Do start reducing gradually. And each cut can be every 10 days.  



And please don't look to take something in it's place, you will be leaving one drug for another and they all have a dependence.  Everytime I would cut, the withdrawl symptoms would appear (fighting me every step of the way), it became a battle and I was determined to win.  The alternative was to stay on xanax and the dependence would get worse.  I just didn't want to have to take anything...I wanted more control and independence of not taking anything.



You will have to look deep within yourself and make up in your mind that you want off...once you do that, they start the process.  I wish I could give you an easy out, but there just isn't one other than be very strong and focus.

[reallysad]

Thank you, Rosetoes, for your comments...I need all the enouragement I can get and the symptoms you mentioned are exactly what I am experiencing, so I do not feel "alone" or at least I know that this is "normal" for this kind of withdrawal.  It is hard.  I am determined.  I am trying to remember to pray and to breathe deeply.  Thanks for posting your thoughts.

[rosetoes]

Dear Realsad:



Just remember to take your time getting off of them.  It may take 6 months, if it does, know that everyday you are closer to your goal.  You might want to drop from 4mg to 3.75 perday.  Ex.



if you are taking 1mg four times a day, then you break one of the pills in the morning and take that for 5 to 10 days.  Then the next cut, you cut the morning and the next dosage in half (3.5) and continue to cut like that.  If you are feeling pretty good you might cut every 5 days, if it gets hard then cut every week to 10 days.  Just make the cut though but if you are having a really bad day and you go back to the regular dose for that particular day, then start back the next day where you left off.



Once you are totally off, you will experience withdrawl, but your body was getting prepared for that by the cuts that you have been making.  



There is a web-site called benzo.org.uk and they deal with everything related to benzo addiction and withdrawl.  It did me alot of good to read the different threads about withdrawl and what to expect.  The only thing that I didn't agree with is that they want you to start using valium in place of xanax.  Valium is a benzo it just last longer than xanax.  I just couldn't think to get off of one to start another.  So I didn't, I got off of xanax and that was that.



It is absolutely possible to get off of xanax and not take anything else....I'm living proof!  While you are weaning off of xanax do learn about anxiety and panic attacks and how to deal with them, deep breathing, positive thinking, etc.  This will help when you get off of them, you will be able to handle the anxiety that you will feel at first.



Best Wishes and please let me know how you are doing!

[jilly b]

Hi,

My name is Jilly and I just got here...

OK...I once, just once, ran out of Xanax after having been on some sort of Benzo for about 8 years...my Dr.wouldn't see me, as i was in the middle of changing one, (yes, i think illegal of her),and my new Dr. appntmnt. wasn't for 5 days... and I went through withdrawal that I would not wish on anyone. I was taking 3 mg a day for anxiety and a sort of mood stablilzer for bi polar II, (which I found out from my great new Dr. can exacerbate and even cause mania every now and then) Again, a reason to find a great Dr.  

ANYWAY, my withdrawal went like this:

1.Throwing up for about 2 hours

2.Body pain for 2 days that felt like every cell in my body was being pounded with a nail

3.Shaking

4.Drooling

5.Yelling out odd things with no control

6.Lack of muscle control, and spasms , like arms and legs flying around for no reason

7.Throwing up for 3 days, with nothing left of course

8.Finally after 3 days, things started to dissipate and I finally fell asleep, waking up, able to handle eating a Pedialyte pop..which I am hooked on now..



I guess, my point being, do it really slow.and if you are wonderng why I didn't get medical help, it's because, believe it or not, I used to work in a Free Care HIV/Mental Health/Drug Addiction Clinic, so I knew what was happening, and to expect, and that i was not going to die.

Plus, I was scared they would think I was an addict, and semd me to rehab! I've seem it happen.

So I guess this is long enough.

In my 12 years of taking every Med out there,(as I'm sure most of you have too) i strongly recommend always tapering of for a matter of months.

Thanks for listening, and i hope this rambling helped at all...

[rosetoes]

It is a wonder that you didn't have a seizure...they say stopping cold turkey can cause seizures.  Well anyway, glad that you survived the withdrawl of benzos....it is scary but doable.

[I need sleep]

I find it hard to believe I am posting this at all, as I only used Xanax one time a day for three months and I cut a 0.5 mg pill into four pieces, thus only taking .125 mg at night to help with anxiety attacks and inability to sleep at night.  



I never increased that dose, but began to notice that I was sleeping less and waking up very early.  I have since gotten through my crisis that I needed the medication for and determined I would stop taking the medication.  I was not concerned about withdrawal as I took such a low dose and I am amazed that I have had a full spectrum of withdrawal symptoms, such as upset stomach, constipation, irritability, headaches, jaw pain, muscle aches angry outburts and mood swings, as well as not being able to sleep at all for four nights in a row.  I am really tired and I just want to fall asleep.  



Does anyone know the shelf life/saturation level of this drug and how long it will take me to clear out the low dosage of >125 mg per night that I took for three months.  It's unbelievable that people can be affected this way by this drug, even when they use it consciously and take low doses.  I would not suggest the use of this drug to anyone.



If there are any doctors out there or anyone who has knowledge regarding this, I would love to know when I will be able to get a good night's sleep again and how long this withdrawal will last.

[espresso]

rosetoes your posts give me a lot of hope and courage. i tried to go cold turkey with my generic xanax but it was unbearable today on the tenth day. i realized I misjudged how bad the withdrawal would be since I was on a low dose of .25 not even every day. The alprazolam was not working well and so althugh I took one today and it has calmed me somewhat, I asked the dr to prescribe real xanax and I will just cross over gradually to the diazepam as recommended. I was afraid of switching after cold turkey to another drug as they do not act the same. I will make the gradual change. This has been one of the worst periods of my life - trying to get off the little bit of alprazolam i was on. I don't know if I could do it cold turkey another second unless I was in a hospital with constant nursing. They don't offer that and we have to do it alone.  My husband has ms and I was telling him I would trade him this for that anytime in a heartbeat. I thought that because it is manageable and doctors don't treat you like trash when you have it, they give you good care. Being addicted to pills that are like heroin, after being ordered by doctors to take them for ten years, and the pills make you totally unable to function when they start affecting you, well, that is worse to me than cancer or ms or anything. Maybe I'm not being sensible, but my life has been ruined by these small pills.

[espresso]

PS I am assuming that the withdrawals you experienced after making small cuts are not as harrowing and unbearable as the cold turkey withdrawal