Help getting off xanax

i`am been taking xanax off and on about 2 to 3 yrs. and when i want get off of them i start taking a little off each day into i`am off the bad bad pill.sometimes it real hard some times it`s easy and i just take them to go sleep at night only so thats way it`s easy for me to quit when i want to.but if you a new way get off for good go that route and i hope you have the best of luck in doing so.my bad bad pill is vicks 10 per day but i`am on my 26 day and doing good it gets better each day so take it day by day

LATER: RICK
    


                                             GOOD LUCK

Oh no! That's awful! i so feel for you! (((((HUGS))))

Can you tell me how high up in dosage you are now? How long has it been?

Xanax is fast acting and has a really short half life. So, it leaves your system fast, sometimes causing reflex panic attacks. That was my experience on Xanax. It was a straight pathway down to hell. AKA; Constant panic attacks, that were supposed to be treated with Xanax? Makes no sense. It's such an annoying drug! But man oh man, the first few times I have used Xanax, it was amazing and seemed like a miracle that I could get out of a panic attack that fast. Of course, then you end up where you are,

Yes, Valium is "easier to detox off" for some people. Xanax is rough depending on how much you are taking and how long it has been.

Benzo's are tricky cause you need to taper. How are you at tapering? I mean; can you will yourself to control a taper; taking less every week? That's a pretty traditional taper off of Benzo's. They say 10% less every week. Until you aren't taking any. It really sounds as if you are ready to quit. So is there a chance you can taper?

I'd love to help you. I understand the hell you are in all too well.

Withdrawal is manageable if you taper slowly. And I highly recommend you look at the vitamin/aminos to help build up your system. Withdrawal ***** and is painful and with Benzos I got alot of strange brain zaps. And electrical energy kicks. But taking liquid multi w/ tons of B's helped alot.

I hope this helps and you keep posting. I feel badly that you are trapped in the Xanax hell. Been there. Have the Turtleneck! :)

Love and healing,
Emily

I took xanax for quite a long time..when i was abusing alot of different drugs..xanax was one of them..I was up to about @6mg/dy..I weaned off very slowly after learning a much valued lesson going cold turkey...I took 1/4 mg away from my daily amount and hel there for a couple of weeks before I dropped more..it was pretty good and I had very little w/ds...if any that I can recall..You must take your time..We are all different..and for me..although I abused it..it wasn't my drug of choice..so I did not have the "mental" cravings for it..Please don't be afraid..if you take your time and really want it...it can be done without much discomfort..I do agree that besides methadone...xanax was the worst (when i tried cold turkey) Good luck...pm me if you have any questions...Lisa

Emily,
Thank you for your reply. It helped just to get this off my chest and connect with someone who knows what this is like. I am taking appx 6 mgs per day....alot! Have been on for four years but not at this level. It has increased as my tolerance to it increased. I don't take it for a "high" at all...general anxiety at first...now just to keep from having withdrawal. I would do anything to go back to being "nervous" vs. what I am facing now. What I read about xanax w/d is awful! I can taper....I know I can do it. I just don't know how to start. Do I take 10% less in the morning, noon or at night? Should I try to change to valium so it is less painful? I have a family I need to take care of and a job I must keep so what do I do??? I know I will have to face some withdrawal but there has to be a way for it to be less frightening. Do you have a particular supplement (vitamins, etc) that you recommend? How much? Are you saying B vitamins are good? I have read conflicting info on B vitamins. I take a multi with extra B and calcium every day anyway. I am SO motivated and other than this stupid situation I have let myself get into, am pretty self disciplined. I exercise and eat well; I work out of my home for a LARGE corporation so I have to be organized and motivated to meet my objectives. I know I can do this with some support and help. I just need some advice. I feel like I "graze" on the xanax rather than taking them on a scheduled basis. I just don't know what to do....I feel like a fool for letting this happen and jeopordize everything I care about.
Thank you for your post and please reply if you will.   Allie

my name is jeffrey, i've been using benzo's for about two and a haft years...any of them i prefer klonopin, it started after coming off hard drugs then it was a couple bars a day, after finding a way to get massive ammounts of any benzo i wanted, it started to become a problem my habbit got worse. as of right now i'm up to 20 mg of k-pins a day,or a hand full of valium and xanex, i feel i traded in my sickening drug habbit in for a worse one. After reading about the withdrawl symtoms i'm really scard.....death! but i know in the back of my head i need to stop, but i can't i'm too stressed out with my marrige,my life,getting back on track(like work and ****).this habbit has gotten so bad if i don't take any benzo's i won't leave the house,look @ anyone, and probably through a fit,cry,ect.  going in public is the worse because i think everyone is laughing at me , making fun of me, or just plain talking about me, its like the habbit produced skitsofrainia(i know i spelled that one wrong) where am i going with all this, well i just want some input , like what to do? i've had so much trama in my life(loosing my twins because of an abdominal wall defect,whatever that is....my younger brother putting a bullet in his head,car wreaks) i'm not asking for sympathy, just helpful advice. then if i do get off them how do i deal with my past...thus thats why i take so many, i really don't see why the  medical field has to use these horrible drugs to cure anything, there's plenty of other routs they could take. i'm taking milk thistle to lower my toerence so i don't have to take so many(cleans your liver out) and taking acid reducer before i dose up(cimedine, bases your stomach out , you only absorb about 60% of your pills. w/ acid reducer the pills hit your blood brain barrier harder and easier thus absorbing about 90% of each pill) why do i know this because thats how bad this **** is, with that i sign off peace and good luck to you all, where all in this together, don't ever forget your not the only one ...jeffrey

Hi Alice, I was prescribed Xanax .5 mil footballs (1/4 of a bar) when I was about 22 because of an irregular heart beat I had for a month or two at the time (since gone) .
I worked at a corporate place with a lot of pressure, these helped me greatly and I thought life was great, I had 90 a month or 3 a day, pretty soon I was taking some in the evening and gave a few to my girlfriend and friend here and there, not realising I would run out and also feel so terrible when I had none.
The enivetable happened, I ran out a week early and could not go to work, I went to pharmacy to get it refilled, no luck, called the doctor, he freaked out and said "you are addicted to these (after one month) and I am taking you off them!" thanks doc for putting me on them in the 1st place, I layed on the couch for a week in a heroin like withdrawal, it was not fun.
That was abou 3/4 of a bar a day, or 1 bar a day, so I swore I would never do them again.
Then at 34yrs old I had the oppertunity for months to a year or two to buy as many 2mg bars as I liked, so I did, several hundred, I started taking 1/4 here 1/4 there next 1/2 then eventually a whole bar, and within weeks was up to 1 and half bars a day, at this point I got scared and called a friend with Valium 10 mg  that I had taken on and off for years, and ordered those instead of xanax I cut the amount of xanax by a 1/4 bar for a week then another 1/4 bar the following week etc, untill there were none left, next morning I woke up I took a whole valium 10mg in the morning and that kept me calm in a similar but different way for most of the day, then 1/2 a valium later at about 3.00 pm each day for a while after, basically I just switched addictions for a while, my source of the Valium has since passed away, I no longer can get them without seeing doctor, I hesitate on this they dont tend to prescribe them to 39 yr old men, maybe, but I wanted off these too so I tapered down my remaining supply of 30 or so a 1/2 less every week.
I felt good for a few days but the 1/2 life of valium is far longer than xanax (a good thing) meaning when u run out it stays in your system for up to a week or so, I have been off now for 3 months and its been quite nerve racking but I have gone to work and functioned for the most part, I dont know how much longer the flu like symptoms will last and the headaches and occasional anxiety but I have felt less depressed and a better outlook, plus the symptoms of metallic taste in mouth, hearing sounds too loudly, and light looks to bright these are signs that these drugs deffinatly blunten our sences, my ex used to say I lacked emotion and love, I just sat there !, well now I can see its true, please help your self, I am reccomending valium 10 mgs to you to help control the anxt when you get off xanax, and valium is the lesser of the 2 evils, and you could stop them before you become too hooked on them in a few months, I have been taking 1 to 2 Valium for 8 years, so it is harder for me but still no where near as bad as xanax withdrawal.
Just to let you know where the 3 bars a day you are taking is headed, my youngest brother had an addiction to the xanax for a few years at the age of 18 onward  he had gotten up to 9   2mg bars a day (18 mg) that dose was close to lethal, my mom saw him passed out in his cereal bowl almost drowning, they could not wake him that night.
He told me he had no idea how many he was taking every day he said you loose count after 4 or 5 or 8 to 10 mgs a day, so before it gets any worse , taper down and dont make excuses like a company meeting or any other stressful situation to take more, your body will adjust
Hope this helps somewhat Good Luck Stu. :)

Don't worry, I was taking 6mg a day too before (sometimes more cuz my prescription end two or three days before), now Im back on 2mg, .5 in the morning, 1.5 sleep. What I suggest, (Im not a doctor but my my experience) This is how decrease the dose fast. If you still on 6mg, the next morning take the 2mg bar as normal (if you can take the half better yet).. Wait 4 hours and then take 10mg valium and then nothing more on the day. Stay 2days like that or viceverse (In my case, worst anxiety is when I wake up). Then drecrease 5mg valium, and stay with the 2mg dose of Xanax.. wait a few days and take off the valium and t\bam, you are only on 2mg.. 1mg in the morning and 1mg at bedtime. You are gonna feel with some little withdrawals but in a coupple of days the bosy will adjust to the 2mg...

Take valerian root pill in the mid day (this is optional)

Im not planning to do the same process cuz I believe 2mg xanax is very helpful on a panic disorder person like me.

Hi, my DOC is Xanax and I was taking up to 10 to 14mg a day for over two years. I managed to taper down to 7mg slowly and now I'm weaning off 0.25 every 3 or 4 weeks, I know it is slow, but the withdrawal symptoms are minimal and I don't want to use another drug as Valium or Klonopin to help the withdrawal. At my rate I will be off the Xanax in about 8 months to a year, I know is awful long, but is safe and that is what my doctor recommended.
Good luck,
Bob

hello.....I need help i hope i can find it here....about a week ago my friend scored some xanax 1.0ml... he gave me 32 of them... first day i took two and ive been taking one and half since  for 6 days i have about 17 pills left.... this stuff works wonders on my panic attacks....usually after i smoke some weed.... is it too late for me??? plz help me get off this stuff its been one week.... plz help