xanax withdrawals / Emergency Room

[lisa20020]

I have been out of Xanax for a week now.  I have already been to the Emergency Room where I was given 10 Ativans.  That lasted for 5 days at 2 mg per day.  This is day one with no anti anxiety medications at all.  I was taking xanax for years at 3 mgs a day and moved to another state 2 months ago.  I have no money and no insurance yet and thought my body was going to give out yesterday as the withdrawals started again.  I feel like an animal that can get no help.  My blood pressure medication helps slightly (Clonidine), I feel a little better than yesterday but I don't know if I will make it.  I feel detached from my body, my heart is racing, every part of my body feels tingly with hot flashes, I am sweating and feel I will die. My body is exhausted from fighting this feeling. Will it be easier this time since I have been on Ativan for a week now with no Xanax.  Should I go yet again to the Emergency room or WAIT TILL I DIE FOR THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY TO HELP ME?????????????????????/  I have called NAMI, I have called all the numbers I have been given for medical help as referrals all with dead ends.  That was over 20 #'s.  Should I just tough this out ??? I am so embarrassed over this.  How many times can I go to the ER?  

[abby10]

Good grief!!!

[Paxiled]

All benzos are addictive.  I think you're thinking of ssris, which have terrible withdrawal problems but aren't addictive.  On the other hand, if you need them to have a life, it doesn't really matter if they're addictive.  This is the same for opiates -- if you need them you need them, but that doesn't make them not addictive.

[lisa20020]

  Thanks for your comments.

At first yesterday was going really good. I was seeing glimpses of normalcy throughout the day without my medication. I thought, "I can really do this, I have this beat!" Then it just hit me all at once. The withdrawal symptoms came back full force right when I was getting ready for bed. One minute I am fine, and the next I am having every panic attack that the Xanax suppressed over the last 8 years.

I went to the Emergency Room last night about 10 pm. I was honest and told them I was there about a week ago. I again explained the situation of desperately needing a doctor.

After seeing a doctor who gave me a 1mg Ativan tablet and 2-1mg to go, I felt better but worn out. The doctor, oops I mean "Clinician" informed me it was now ok to go cold turkey off the benzos because my vital signs were all normal. I came in with my blood pressure in the 180's and after the ativan it went down to 108. He told me it was all mental and not physical. SIGH!! He even went on to suggest rehab. I sort of snapped at that because I was really frustrated and told him I would have went to rehab in Michigan if that is what I wanted for my life. WHO IS HE to dictate what I should do?

I just want to feel normal again.

I am aware I need to switch to something longer acting and taper down. I just can’t do it on my own.  He gave me a number to call Monday morning and a clinic that is free.  I can’t wait till yet another place tells me they cannot prescribe any benzos.  Hopefully, my appointment July 29 at a Mental Health Care facility will put an end to all this chaos.  I want my life back.  I can’t even continue looking for employment with the state I am in.

As for the original doctor back in Michigan, I talked to him last Thursday and the office assured me they would call the Pharmacy and tell them to give me my last refill.  It is not like I came to another state unprepared.  My mother told me Utah has one of the highest drug abuse rates in the nation, and that is why I am having so many problems.  Who knows if that is true because she is an unmedicated Bi-Polar mess without any clue to what is going on.  Anyway, they never called it in or bothered to call me back and let me know what was going on.  I called back Friday and still no response.

I have enough Ativan to get though Monday, and then I will see what happens.

Sorry for rambling on and thanks again.

[abby10]

I'm sorry for your situation, but your story is all too familiar. See the site I recomended and you can find benzo sites from there also. Or look up the word benzodiazepine. You'll learn more about these drugs. They are powerful as you have found out. A slow taper with a longer acting benzo is better on your brain and will do less damage in the long run. What's happening right now is hurting you. You are not alone, many others have made it through your horrible situation.

There needs to be a federal law enacted to prevent doctors from "yanking" people off these drugs. They can have seizures and long term damage. Why would a doctor want to do this?

btw, the rehabs will do an inadequate fast taper as most don't know how long it takes to properly come off benzos and they aren't set up for the time it takes.  And many doctors don't know and don't take the time to find out how long it takes to taper. Or it's just too much work. The Pharmas supress the information from the public as that would make sales decline. So people just don't know.........

Hugs,

abby

Hang in there and pm me if you want to let me know how it's going.

[RubyWitch]

Call your old pharmacy back and tell them you did NOT receive any medication! This "oversight" on their part is totally unprofessional and their lack of compassion, which is more likely ignorance, is unacceptable! I would call them every hour on the hour until a script was faxed to a pharmacy! They obviously have no idea what you are going through..................

As for the doctor, (or clinician) you saw in the ER, his ignorance of benzo withdrawl is frightening, to say the least, and his attitude is abhorant.

I will hope the clinic you're going to on Monday will be a bit better informed on these types of Meds and help you until your appointment with the Mental Health Care facility. If they don't, call that clinic and tell them you have an emergency that the ER is NOT helping you with. I think once you explain the nature of your problem, they will help you. If not, go back to the ER and to bloody hell with their attitudes! YOUR well being comes first!

I wish you the best of luck!
Peace
Greenlydia    

[nursegirl6572]

So sorry you are going thru this mess.  It really is a shame.  I agree with lydia that you need to stay on the prescribing doc until something happens.  Especially b/c you are wanting to get off the Xanax in the first place...and yet no one is helping you do that safely.  What a shame.  :0(

Paxilled....I don't want to waste valuable space in lisa's thread...but just to clarify what I was saying.  Of course I am aware that benzodiazepines are addictive.  What I was trying to say with my intitial comment is that "addiction" and "dependency" are two different things, and while both require treatment...the treatment vastly differs.  Addiction is a pattern of misuse, seeking the drug for reasons beyond what it is prescribed for...often taking it NOT as prescribed in order to obtain a certain "feeling", where dependency is our body's physical NEED for a medication that develops over time....so much so that withdrawals will develop if stopped abruptly. Addicition involves a much different treatment plan, with intense aftercare.

That was all I was trying to get at.  "Addicition", "tolerance", and "dependancy" are words that are often erroneously used interchangably...and while there are a lot of similarities, there are vast differences between the three terms.

:0)