Aa
Still looking for Chezz
Chezz..we all are lookin for ya! Thoughts, prayers are for you all the way...Hope you are getting some relief hon.
Suzie
Suzie
Thanks for lookin Suz. Its a long story, and its late. I will try and post tomorrow if I can get back here. Chezz
I think Xanax is a horrendous drug. I was taking it for 6 months in 2000. I took two .5 mgs a night, sometimes three, sometimes one, and sometimes none at all. It was also very rare for me to take it in the daytime, maybe a total of 5 times in 7 months. Anyway, I have awful sleeping problems so we thought we would try it. It may have helped my sleeping a bit but for the most part, I dont think it did too much. I never understood the allure of xanax. It never made me feel high, dopey or mellow. ANYWAY, I quit cold turkey in November of 2000. I did not realize you are not supposed to do that, and I figured at such a low dose I wouldnt have many side effects. WELL LET ME TELL YOU!!! for 4 days I was so on edge I thought I was going to lose my mind! I would have never quit cold turkey if I had known. I got lucky and the feelings passed. I will NEVER touch xanax again. I have taken klopnopin every once in a while. I find it much better than xanax.
Jenn,
I am so sorry to hear your plight again. Actually, I have been wondering about you. I had an eerie feeling since you haven't posted very much since you got clean. Most people post more after they are clean.
Anyway, Where are you at with the meds? Are you taking anything else besides the Zanax?
From the dates, it looks like you took 180 Zanax in about 16 days, is that right?
So you were taking about 10 aday.
What about the phenobarbital, are you still taking it?
I would definetly work out a taper program with your PCP asap.
We are here for you. This is the Addictive Med. forum, not just opiates.
I am so glad you at least came back. Let us know how you are doing and post MORE this time so we can HELP.
I am here for you. You made it through the other meds. You can make it through this too. It will just take a little longer.
We are here for you.
Chezz
Here is the post you were speaking about. This is so people understand how DANGEROUS it can be to "taper" with these meds. If the even HELPS ONE person to avoid it, it will be worth it.
18Sept02
I personally am on this boat your are talking about right now. Its just a little different. I have 24 5mg valium, and 16 15mg restoril. Both are benzodiazepines. Valium is long acting, with the longest halflife. Stays in your system longer.So far I have been having a fairly easy withdrawl period compared to some of my last experiences. This is due to the "recipe", mainly the L-Tyrosine and B6. The Valium takes the edge off, which is good. My personal take is that we are addicts here! Your doc has prescribed you 180 Zanax, and 120 phenobarbitol. That sure does sound like a **** load of meds to "taper" down and be opiate free. It looks more like you will get accustommed to the zanax and want more. I personally will not risk my sobriety by having that many pills to help me get off of one med. Yes you will need them and they will help. But we are addicts trying to get into recovery. Yet docs prescribed a ton of **** (again) and we are back in their office in 2 weeks with a new addiction. I will be taking the meds that I currently have and when they are finished. Then I can move on. And by that I mean I will finally be "clean". No more prescription meds for this, or for that. As an addict, we will always have to watch out for signs that we see that could possibly get us back on down that road. The "sign" I see for you, is that you already know you have a shitload of meds available. Now you are just hoping you won.t have the same problems with these meds as we all have with opiates. This is just my opinion. Everyperson is different. I personally will tell you that when I got the valium, I have made sure to stick to the directions exactly. When I am finished with the 30 total that I have, I will be moving forward in my life. Not addicted again.This is my personal feeling. I think doctors WAY overprescribe ****. It is amazing to here some of the stories of people getting oxycontin for a toothache. Jenn, Personally I feel you know that is a **** load of meds to have around. That is enough meds for like 3 months probably. YOU WILL BE ADDICTED, in my humble opinion, any addict would. How are you doing with the taper thing this week. I know it has to be a *****. I just hope you will be comfortable through your withdrawls. And then stop taking the meds after the 1st week, maybe longer. Furthermore, I would rather suffer through a little extra withdrawl stuff, then to get hooked on something that I have heard is 10 times harder to quick and the withdrawls are way over the top. I won't risk it,Chezz
I am so sorry to hear your plight again. Actually, I have been wondering about you. I had an eerie feeling since you haven't posted very much since you got clean. Most people post more after they are clean.
Anyway, Where are you at with the meds? Are you taking anything else besides the Zanax?
From the dates, it looks like you took 180 Zanax in about 16 days, is that right?
So you were taking about 10 aday.
What about the phenobarbital, are you still taking it?
I would definetly work out a taper program with your PCP asap.
We are here for you. This is the Addictive Med. forum, not just opiates.
I am so glad you at least came back. Let us know how you are doing and post MORE this time so we can HELP.
I am here for you. You made it through the other meds. You can make it through this too. It will just take a little longer.
We are here for you.
Chezz
Here is the post you were speaking about. This is so people understand how DANGEROUS it can be to "taper" with these meds. If the even HELPS ONE person to avoid it, it will be worth it.
18Sept02
I personally am on this boat your are talking about right now. Its just a little different. I have 24 5mg valium, and 16 15mg restoril. Both are benzodiazepines. Valium is long acting, with the longest halflife. Stays in your system longer.So far I have been having a fairly easy withdrawl period compared to some of my last experiences. This is due to the "recipe", mainly the L-Tyrosine and B6. The Valium takes the edge off, which is good. My personal take is that we are addicts here! Your doc has prescribed you 180 Zanax, and 120 phenobarbitol. That sure does sound like a **** load of meds to "taper" down and be opiate free. It looks more like you will get accustommed to the zanax and want more. I personally will not risk my sobriety by having that many pills to help me get off of one med. Yes you will need them and they will help. But we are addicts trying to get into recovery. Yet docs prescribed a ton of **** (again) and we are back in their office in 2 weeks with a new addiction. I will be taking the meds that I currently have and when they are finished. Then I can move on. And by that I mean I will finally be "clean". No more prescription meds for this, or for that. As an addict, we will always have to watch out for signs that we see that could possibly get us back on down that road. The "sign" I see for you, is that you already know you have a shitload of meds available. Now you are just hoping you won.t have the same problems with these meds as we all have with opiates. This is just my opinion. Everyperson is different. I personally will tell you that when I got the valium, I have made sure to stick to the directions exactly. When I am finished with the 30 total that I have, I will be moving forward in my life. Not addicted again.This is my personal feeling. I think doctors WAY overprescribe ****. It is amazing to here some of the stories of people getting oxycontin for a toothache. Jenn, Personally I feel you know that is a **** load of meds to have around. That is enough meds for like 3 months probably. YOU WILL BE ADDICTED, in my humble opinion, any addict would. How are you doing with the taper thing this week. I know it has to be a *****. I just hope you will be comfortable through your withdrawls. And then stop taking the meds after the 1st week, maybe longer. Furthermore, I would rather suffer through a little extra withdrawl stuff, then to get hooked on something that I have heard is 10 times harder to quick and the withdrawls are way over the top. I won't risk it,Chezz
I also took Xanax for 3-4 months only (and only 1 dose at bedtime) and didn't realize the serious danger you could put yourself in if you quit cold. After a couple of months of taking it, I started noticing that I just didn't care about much -- my husband went on a business trip to Canada and I could have cared less if he called, where he was, etc., and usually I miss him a lot, so I started attributing it to the Xanax.
I took myself off cold and my God, was it horrific. Like you, I thought since I only took it for a couple of months, there would be no real significant withdrawals. 24 hours after my last dose I woke up after a horrendous night of nightmares and fitful sleep to tinnitus (LOUD ringing in my ears, as if two people were blowing whistles as loud as they could in each ear, a headache from hell (actually, it felt as if my brain were swelling and would explode), skin hurting terribly, anxiety like I can't even describe, derealization, feelings of doom, couldn't see properly, no sense of balance, indescribable depression and feeling as if I were on the verge of madness. I went through this for a week not even knowing it was Xanax withdrawal because I had no cognitive ability to even realize anything I think, and then my husband was looking up some info. on Xanax and found out that these were withdrawal symptoms. For 2 weeks, I couldn't really move off of the couch, but when I finally could, I got on the net and started researching. I found benzo.org.uk, a forum support group on Yahoo for benzo withdrawal, and some other information and realized that I could have actually suffered a seizure and died. I was already 2+ weeks off and I thought out of the woods as far as danger went, so I didn't want to re-instate the Xanax. I do have to stress though that I should have gone to the doctor and of course done the SLOW TAPER.
It took me 3 months before I felt normal again, but I did feel normal. I had lingering anxiety for a couple of months, but that finally did go away. Many people overcome the symptoms in weeks, mine just lasted longer. I would urge you to consult with your doctor on this.
My heart really goes out to you, I know where you are cuz I've been there. I have to say I did find a newfound appreciation for life after going through that hell (this all took place in November of 2001), I never take things for granted because of that experience.
Please take good care of yourself and let me know how you're doing.
I took myself off cold and my God, was it horrific. Like you, I thought since I only took it for a couple of months, there would be no real significant withdrawals. 24 hours after my last dose I woke up after a horrendous night of nightmares and fitful sleep to tinnitus (LOUD ringing in my ears, as if two people were blowing whistles as loud as they could in each ear, a headache from hell (actually, it felt as if my brain were swelling and would explode), skin hurting terribly, anxiety like I can't even describe, derealization, feelings of doom, couldn't see properly, no sense of balance, indescribable depression and feeling as if I were on the verge of madness. I went through this for a week not even knowing it was Xanax withdrawal because I had no cognitive ability to even realize anything I think, and then my husband was looking up some info. on Xanax and found out that these were withdrawal symptoms. For 2 weeks, I couldn't really move off of the couch, but when I finally could, I got on the net and started researching. I found benzo.org.uk, a forum support group on Yahoo for benzo withdrawal, and some other information and realized that I could have actually suffered a seizure and died. I was already 2+ weeks off and I thought out of the woods as far as danger went, so I didn't want to re-instate the Xanax. I do have to stress though that I should have gone to the doctor and of course done the SLOW TAPER.
It took me 3 months before I felt normal again, but I did feel normal. I had lingering anxiety for a couple of months, but that finally did go away. Many people overcome the symptoms in weeks, mine just lasted longer. I would urge you to consult with your doctor on this.
My heart really goes out to you, I know where you are cuz I've been there. I have to say I did find a newfound appreciation for life after going through that hell (this all took place in November of 2001), I never take things for granted because of that experience.
Please take good care of yourself and let me know how you're doing.
Hello WW! What a pleasure to hear from you after all this time. Thanks for the post from the other day. That was an extraordinarilly kind thing to say to me. I must be doing something right, even if I'm not sure what it is ... Of course, you pay me too much credit. You always have.
Do I remember you? Who could forget such an exceptional person? I read about your back problems, but see that you are well doctored. I hope things improve so you can keep intact your one-year winning streak.
Just as exceptonal is your taste in pain docs. Two docs in a row actually URGE you to take OxyContin?! I know who to see about a referral ... Seriously, I appreciate the encouraging post re: pain docs, but, frankly, to most of us, that's like hitting a hole in one twice in a row. Or, to put it in context with world events, like Saddam Hussein buying bomb grade uranium at a Washington DC Sears (Craftsman U-235).
Most of us have an experience much like Jessarpy's. He's out in the cold as we speak, having championed the integrity of plain speaking in a narcophobic world. Perhaps you can give him that referral.
Bye for now, WW. Hope to see you around.
Thomas
Do I remember you? Who could forget such an exceptional person? I read about your back problems, but see that you are well doctored. I hope things improve so you can keep intact your one-year winning streak.
Just as exceptonal is your taste in pain docs. Two docs in a row actually URGE you to take OxyContin?! I know who to see about a referral ... Seriously, I appreciate the encouraging post re: pain docs, but, frankly, to most of us, that's like hitting a hole in one twice in a row. Or, to put it in context with world events, like Saddam Hussein buying bomb grade uranium at a Washington DC Sears (Craftsman U-235).
Most of us have an experience much like Jessarpy's. He's out in the cold as we speak, having championed the integrity of plain speaking in a narcophobic world. Perhaps you can give him that referral.
Bye for now, WW. Hope to see you around.
Thomas
Man, he calls you back and offers you anti-inflams! One thing about the anti-inflam issue: when you get that doctor on the horn, you have to lay the foundation that enables him to offer you stronger meds. Before he calls think of every non-controlled substance method for dealing with your pain, and tell him you did that til the cows came home before you ever paged him. Lay it all out in one sentence before he can speak. Otherwise, he'll think you're just backtracking to evade the bullshit meds. "Doctor, my apologies for disturbing you on your day off. But I've been taking the [whatever that med is] as prescribed and it's not helping. I've tried [some non-drug therapy] plus I've been on 3 aleves every 4 or 6 hours since my last appointment. I think they're hurting my stomach ... Nothing is helping! I'm desperate, or I wouldn't have called you." He'll either come across, or he'll give you the beloved "Get thee to the ER."
If you want to be honest when you call, try whatever therapies he might suggest before paging him. Who knows, maybe one of those will actually help. If not, then your voice will "come home to him like truth."
Does you PCP know about your confession? If so, that would explain his response right there.
Thomas
If you want to be honest when you call, try whatever therapies he might suggest before paging him. Who knows, maybe one of those will actually help. If not, then your voice will "come home to him like truth."
Does you PCP know about your confession? If so, that would explain his response right there.
Thomas
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