Xanax withdrawal

[seaisle12579]

I have been on Xanax .25 mg  or less one time a day for more than 1 year . My doctor said that I can just stop taking it with no problems . I have stopped for almost 2 days now and am having only minor symptoms . How long will they last ??

[annemarie26]

lol now you know stay away from them sweets man they really take a toll on ya haha ♥

[seaisle12579]

Thanks ....day # 9 ....Didn't sleep well last night due to my over eating of candy , cookies and cake . Stupid me !

[Mumma2many]

You are!! I think you are doing amazing and sleep is a great sign that things are turning around. I'm so happy for you, keep on doing what you are doing. Clearly it's working! ;-)

[seaisle12579]

Now on day 8 , last night I finally had a good nights sleep .Took 3 mcg Melatonin and almost slept the night . Hope I'm almost there .

[seaisle12579]

Thanks! I will continue on to day 3 . Last night I took some Melatonin to help with the insomnia and woke up at 4 AM with some side effects which I believe was due to the Melatonin . I have heard that this also has some side effects similar to Xanax .

[my_mayberry]

when i say that i suspect a weeks worth of MAJOR withdrawal symtpoms....i don't mean that quite as it sounded. i don't think you'll actually have MAJOR w/d symptoms....what i was getting at is i think whatever the worst is that you'll experience, it will pass within a week or so.....it may be that you don't experience anything major at all. just thought i'd clarify that.

[my_mayberry]

for some people, it takes a week or so...for other's its much much longer. as your dose is very low and has been low for the entire time you've taken it, i suspect a weeks worth of major withdrawal symptoms. the problem with these meds is that we do really come to rely on them to deal with daily stress even though we don't really know we've come to need them for it. so say if your daily dose was usually at 1:00 p.m.......you may find that for quite a time after you've stopped taking it, that your anxiety levels will peak at that time and you will feel urges to take a xanax. this effect happens even with low doses if they are used for a long duration. eventually it fades and you will only have these urges when particularly stressful things happen.

if you do have problems that are persistant, you MAY want to consider asking about a very low dose of valium. this does have a longer half life. this is important during withdrawal to reduce seizure risk (though you doubtfully even have to worry about that) and its also important because it makes it easier to get clean, so to speak. xanax is a wonderful drug for PANIC ATTACKS...i've never understood why doctors allow patients to take it every day for anxiety without first trying longer acting benzos, because to be honest it doesn't do a good job of working for chronic daily anxiety....reason being for its short half life. valium, once you get to a stable dose, does a much better job of controlling ups and downs of chronic anxiety. its because it raises you up slowly and puts you back down slowly...xanax doesn't give that luxury. it shoots you up high and drops you on your head....which is ok to treat an acute panic attack but doesn't work well if you're treating every day anxiety.

anyway....should you continue on, usually the worst of the symptoms pass in a few days. if they haven't, call your doc and let them know. after that, the urges to take it at your usual time will probably continue for some time...these are easy enough to prepare for if you expect them to come and are rather mild compared to the initial w/d effects. you may even try the anxiety community if you feel a need, since it seems you were probably using this to treat a underlying anxiety condition. i found it useful when i woke up in the middle of the night with acute anxiety to visit the anxiety forum....namely because whatever i was feeling or experiencing, i could find posts there that proved i wasn't the only one. i could read my symptoms word for word. it calmed me enough to allow the anxiety to pass without popping a pill.

[seaisle12579]

Thanks for your input  .

[sudie58]

i honestly think your better going cold turkey as your dose is lower, its not that youve come down to that dose, you do need to understand the half lifes off them ,i think if you took one youd have a bit more withdrawal, and your moving on from them now , take care, bless us all x

[gnarly_1]

HI....see how it goes if your 2 uncomfortable talk to your doctor when they weened me off and I got down to your dose then they started skipping days till I was finely off try it first if not talk to your doctor about the skipping days thing it worked for me good luck and God bless....Gnarly

[sudie58]

your doing ok, the symptons wont last too long , probably a week to 10 days at most. it is good your dose wasnt so high, xanax have a short half life and are pain in the neck to get off high doses, you will certainly feel better when you are clear of them, as the symptons they can help, they can also create! if you do feel bad or that withdrawal seems too long ,your dr could give you a few vallium (low dose ) to get over the worse , but you are doing well, so good luck and stay strong!