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?

[swfl_guy]

The dose of xanex was about as little of a dose you could be on. the whole seizure thing would only happen with much higher doses and also you said you were only on it for 2 months right? well 2 months is nothing and you should only have very minor withdrawals and they should subside quickly. I have a friend who was taking the 2.5mg pills 4x a day for 5 years believe it or not. He was forced to quit cold turkey and he said the withdrawals sucked but no seizures or anything that put him in any risk medically. If you had been on a higher dose for a longer period of time the doc would possibly give you something to help but what you are doing by weaning yourself down with the dosage is best thing you can do at this point. You can even start taking one every other day then every third day etc. till you feel you are good with just the zoloft. Good luck!!

[ak1219]

Thanks a lot I feel better already!

[frj]

I have been on three bars of xanex for the past nine years.  The doctor started me on it because of IBS.  I could kill her for that now.  Why xanex?  Something that has become one of my worst nightmares.  If that is all you have been on , and only for 2 months I will tell you to PLEASE stop now.  I also broke my jaw in 2004 and see a pain management Doctor.  I am now dependent on Hydro, Oxycondone, flexiral, plus the xanex.  I have more physical issues now than before all these medications for IBS and screws in my jaws.  Now I have kidney problems BECAUSE of these medications for the tmj .  Now i am physically dependent on these pain meds.  But I will tell you like my pain doctor , the xanex is the devil out of them all to come off IF you have been on it for a year or longer and is very dangerous to come off of. So Please don,t get started on it and find something that is non habit forming.  I have a battle to face myself , take care .

[justmeblue]

this is absolutely freaky!!!

Ryan... this seems consistent with other info i have read about withdrawing from xanex. I have been doing it on my own. Suffering muscle aches, anxiety...skin crawling symptoms. I was on 1 mg - 3 or 4 times daily. I was put on it for panic as well. But, found myself "needing" to take it to keep that anxiety from creeping up. When I got up to the full dosage... i realized I was becoming dependant. My panic symptoms had abated after a thyroid surgery. I was mistakenly associating the feelings of anxiety (different from panic) with the surgery.

I have cut back by 1/2 or more over the last week in increments ever 3-4 days. I have had some insomnia and discomfort... but really don't want to add klonipin. I'm down to under 1 mg. per day at this point... can i make it?  

Hanging tough - Kim

[justmeblue]

actually lets address that to your username...

Ryan... your opinion...

[debaser23]

You don't add Klonopin; you replace the Xanax with Klonopin.  Since it's a longer-acting benzo it is a little easier to taper from than Xanax.  

If you cut your dose by 1/2 in a single week you're tapering way too quickly, I'd think.  Why aren't you consulting with your physician about this?  You can definitely make it through this, but you have to do it right and have some patience.  

Best of Luck,
Not Ryan

[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'

[Free_in_ATL]

I just want to say that I am so grateful to be substance free today. I am so grateful to be able to ring in 2008 sober, and I am going to keep this site in my favorite places so that if I ever get tempted to go backwards, I can come here and read again what could happen to me next time.  I dogged the bullet this time, if there is a next time I know I won't be so lucky.

[Free_in_ATL]

That's good advice!! I didn't go that route, I took a chance and did it on my own, but I would not recommend it. I could not take off work and leave my child so I HAD to make it happen. I guess the reason why I didn't have more negative affects is that I only took my dose in the evening before bed time, I started off with .25 and made it up to 1.5 per day but I never took it durng the day.

I'm not sure why the hammer wasn't dropped on me. I used ever single night.  I am going to be so proud, next time I go to the Rx and don't get that perscription filled. I'm free of substances now.  

My sleep is still messed up. I had to take another one of those OTC's to get to sleep, they suck. I am going to the gym and I am going to have to find other ways to get to sleep. Therapist told me that they have non addicting meds to help with sleep. I need to know about them until I get my self regulated.

[bowla004]

Right now im trying to ween myself of xanax i have been taking 0.5 twice a day for 3 months do you think it will be a hard process for me. I hope i don't have seizures yikes!

[BlackDenim]

I was a Xanax addict over a year with a dosage of 12 to14 mg per every day. That´s a hell of a load and it worked like pure amphetamine. I was so high all the time that I exhausted myself and my nerve system totally. And if I didn´t get it regularly I turned into psycho. I was in a total trap and one day doc said that I´m going to die quite soon. If I don´t get rid off them. But I was also in love with Xanax because it made me a rock star-superhero 24 hours a day. Thanks to that special doc she said that she will take me in to a hospital and she will give me Xanax every day but drop the dosage smoothly. She even let me decide what medication I need for the cold turkey, massive anxiety and sleeplesness. She was so kind that I motivated at the very beginning. I lived like in jailhouse weeks and weeks but gradually I started to feel like a human being again. When I was totally clean came the saddest surprise. I even had to learn to walk again. I had terrible pains and spasms for years. etc. My whole nervous system was so kaputt after the passionate chemical romance with Xanax. And the most ridiculous thing is that my silly mind still sometimes miss that poison.... just one my mind says. That´s eventually the most awful thing.  

[Dave2004]

I have been taking Xanax for about 7 years. Taking .5mg every night to help with sleep and anxiety/panic issues. About two months ago I decided to quit cold turkey not knowing anything about withdrawal. Things seemed shaky and then I started getting lightheaded, dizzy and vertigo spells. I started to read about the difficulty in getting off these and put myself right back on them. I went to my doc which offered no help and wrote me another prescription for the same thing. I still am having dizzy spells, nausea, vertigo and feeling lightheaded. My doc told me to get an MRI of the brain.  Be very cautious and get the correct help! Still struggling....

[melodious1]

Xanax is not even approved in the U. S. for long term use, only 8 months here, and 4 months in the U.K. There are obviously a lot of uniformed doctors out there. Wean off it carefully and with medical supervision. Don't forget to add pschotherapy. The best, IMHO, is a 12 step program: costs NOTHING,  will work (if you work it)  wonders to get you off this and other stuff like it, permanently. Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous programs, when WORKED according to the suggestions, will change your life, help you to be self-supporting, give you a freedom and security you may have never known. Go to 90 meetings in 90 days, get a sponsor right away and work the steps. Your life is waiting for you!  

[TELESTRAT]

SOME OF YOU ARE SPELLING IT...XANAX..OTHERS XANEX...WHICH IS IT...I THINK THAT XANAX IS A SLEEPING PILL...COULD SOMEONE ANSWERE THE QUESTION.PLEASE.TY

[RubyWitch]

The correct spelling is "XANAX."

[MrGreen]

And here's me about to try and come the xanax. 1mg three times a day. It is like you know when your tablet time is closing in and you want that fix of xanax. I have been on them for close on 10 years. Yes, I blame the doctor. As patients we are trusting the doctors. What would we know about medication? Thus they are the ones who are not doing their jobs correctly if they continue to give us the xanax long term. They are just creating a lot of xanax junkies. I am meant to be going onto Inderella. Not even sure if I can take xanax and Inderella together. Why? Because the chemist and the doctor had two different opinions on the matter. The doctor said yes. The chemist said he thought it would be too much for the system. As if the nerves aren't bad enough. if I was weaning down on the xanax I would like to begin .75. Just short of a full whole 1mg tablet for a week or two. Then down to .5 tablets for a while. Which I doubt would have little or no effect in the system at all. Guess the real hope would be that the Inderella would keep me relaxed / as relaxed as I might need to be when coming off those other junkie xanax tablets. Good luck to everybody who is trying.

[thykingswife]

please do not assume that everybody that reads your letters knows as much as you. I DID NOT AND I COULD HAVE KILLED MY SON!!!!!  Thank God I stumble across this page and realized that my son was right and I was wronge. Folks, I begged my son to give me his prescription and to promise me he would never take a single nother one again. And my 25 year old son of a man whom I have not seen cry in several years, cried and told me he could not do that and gently said "mom, I cannot do that. It could kill me." Of course I thought it was the drug protecting it's existance in his life so I told him that I was going to have him locked up and on and on for four days this ignorance of mine persisted until I read this page and further researched my sons claim. Thank you!! Thank you!!! Don't ever think you don't have an impact. My son and I are working together now and he's going to be ok. Thank you!

[thykingswife]

I do wish all of you success in getting where you want to be and I can only hope that you all have a supportive family to back you when you need it. I am not on anything so my insight of this xanax thing is so limited. Knowing more facts has  changed everything between my son and I now. I am so glad that the internet exists. I wanted to suggest that if someone here was have a challenge with getting your loved ones to understand your struggle that maybe bringing them to this website or printing off some facts to edjucate them would help. Maybe. I truelly am praying for you all to find peace with this soon. God be with you all. Love Thy kings wife. Not God LOL my husband:)(refering to the king thing)

[peaches53]

I am a 54 year old woman on zanex for 5 years. I take 0.5 mg two times a day. I don't use them at work, it seems to make my thinking fuzzy. I have having many problems and stress in every area of my life.

What is bothering me is I don't seem as quick mentally as I once was (age or this pill?) I cry easily too, but then I always have. Thank God I have an understanding boss. Is mental confusion (even when not taking them during the day) a side effect? Thanks for any info.