Weaning off of Xanex

[ak1219]

I have been taking .25mg of Xanex for about 2 months in the morning. I started to wean myself off because my Zoloft is starting to kick in on Friday of last week. I changed my dosage to 1/2 of a pill. I've had some withdrawal and was wondering if anyone else has had this and how long the withdrawal lasted? Also I have a big fear about the seizure thing when stopping Xanex, is there a certain dosage that you have to be taking for that to be a bigger risk?

[chadry]

I was prescribed xanax many months ago by a w.c. doc to help me relax and go to sleep for a few hours before I started to have pain from my back and neck. I do suffer from anxiety when I go to the docs. Alwyas have for years and I explained this to them. They said this would help me get a few good hours of sleep.I take .25 at bedtime. In the beginning I did not take it every night but found I slept so much better when I did that I faithfully took it every night. Then I started to read about everything here, well I decided I did not want to be dependant on this drug that is why I did not let then prescibe me the heavy duty pain meds for fear of dependancy. I started to cut my dose in half at bedtime for a few days and I had some trouble sleeping but I made it through that. Then I stopped all together the other night. I went through quite a few nights of hell.I had to take a little piece 2 times in the morning so I could get some sleep. It was horrible the way the legs and feet and skin felt. I am so upset that a doc will just give you these things without properly telling you what will happen if you take them for too long. Last night was a little better because I do have 2 mg. valium here that I was able to take to help. I took this several nights and did not feel it at all I guess because my body needed the xanax.I am hopng that I am over the worst part now because i noticed that I can actually lay down now longer and get a little comfortable without feeling really creepy. My question now is can I still take xanax on occasion if needed because it really does work well when taken on a as needed basis or should i just avoid this all together and go with the valium seems how this how more of a muscle relaxer effect anyway. Will i go through the same thing with the valium too if I do not take it. Any answer will be helpful.
Thanks
Chadry

[sis485]

my mother in law is a full blown xanex addict, went from a normal usaully happy person, to a complete off the wall manic.. pray for my family.god bless you all

[primetime428]

i stopped takin xanax today..how long till it gets out of my system,,.?

[lizzy6900]

i was addicted to xanax for 8 years. i was taking 4 bars (2mg) a day at least.  I have been clean off of them for 4 years now.  for those of you who are wondering about the withdrawal systoms, i'm not here to scare you or to discourage you but It Is TOUGH!!!!!!!!  I tried weening myself down, but as soon as something would go wrong i would pop some more and be off track. i HAD to go to a detox unit in Kerrville Texas The Kerren Home.  I spent 2 LONG weeks in that center I meet soooooo many great people after i returned home I actually missed them. OKAY to get to the point if you have tried and failed please take 2 small wks. out of your life and go to this detox unit or any for that matter.  I was so scared to have sezuries, but by the grace of God I did not. there was alot of puking and to be honest I could'nt pick and or hold my head up for about 3 days.  These BAD detox symtoms only lasted about a week though.  they do give you a anti sezuire med. for me it was called Tegretol. It did make me sick the 1st time I took it but I stuck with it & like I said a week later I was out in the back yard throwing horseshoes (feeling normal) with absoulty NO dependence.  I was the BEST feeling in the world to me.  I felt like if I could conquer this I could do anything.  now I took my dream to the next level and  I am now in college working on my 4yr. degree. It's not impossible but the longer you take to taper off the drug the longer the withdrawl symtoms are going to last, take a step further and JUST DO IT !!!!!  You have to get to a point were you are sick of it and if you r then If I can do it TRUST ME you CAN do IT.  If i can help anyone please let me know because I have been there done that ----Your Friend --Lizzy

[lizzy6900]

I ALSO WANTED YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO STOP XANAX COLD TURKEY-- BUT I'M SURE MOST OF YALL KNOW THAT.  PLEASE DON'T ECSPECIALLLY IF YOU HAVE BEEN ON IT FOR A WHILE ( 6 MTHS OR MORE)  DON'T PUT YOURSELF THROUGH THIS, THERE IS EXCELLENT HELP OUT THERE THAT WILL MEDICALY DETOX YOU THEY SAY IT IS A COMFORATABLE DETOX BUT COME ON IT'S NOT , BUT IF I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD THE MEDS. THEY GAVE ME I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE WENT BONKERS AND THEN RELAPSED. LOOK IN YOUR LOCAL PHONE BOOK UNDER DRUG DETOX AND REHAD SERVICES TO GET INFO. DO NOT GO INTO A 30 DAY PROGRAM UNLESS YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN DETOXED. THE PLACE I WENT THE STEPS WERE 2 WKS. DETOX TIME THEN IF I WANTED TO GO TO OUTPATIENT THERAPY OR INPATIENT TREATMENT CENTER. ALL I KNEW WAS I DID NOT NEED THAT EXTRA **** IF I COULD JUST GET THIS STUFF OUT OF MY SYSTEM AND FEEL "NORMAL AGAIN" I WAS GOING TO BE OKAY. ITS ALL UP TO YOU AND ONLY YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED---GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS--  :)

[Free_in_ATL]

I have been taking 1 to 1.5 mg of Xanax every single night for months and months and months (well over a year)...I was at one time drinking taking Xanax and Lunesta at night because after drinking all night I couldn't get to sleep. I can believe I didn't kill myself.  I have fallen alsleep standing straight up, I'm ashamed to say.

I quit Booze first, then Lunesta, then Xanax most recently. My last 1 mg pill was Wednesday of last week.  I felt crazy Friday, went to the health food store and got some GABA after researching that amino acid affects the same receptors of the brain as Xanax.  I took a Motrin PM Valerian and GABA to get to sleep Friday night and I slept pretty decent considering, then I found my Natural CALM which is a Magnesium Supplement and took it along with the other things and sleept realy good Saturday night. Last night I took an OTC sleep aide and my Valarian, CALM, GABA combo. I slept like a log! Couldn't believe it was time to get up so fast.  I won't take the OTC sleep aid off if I can fall off to sleep by 11:00 pm.  I'll find something boring to read (I need to be reading the AA Big Book because of my past habits!!)  

I feel very fortunate to not have the problems that I read about here today.  I did feel really funky Saturday though, I was depressed, and just wanted to crawl into a whole!  But I was fine for the most part Sunday.  Weird!  I should have had more reaction because I took those things every day!  I am still a little "thick& droopy" feeling but I don't know if that is because of the OTC sleep aide, they tend to give my "hangovers'