withdrawal from Alprazolam (xanax)

[helpthislady1972]

Dear Dr.

I have been on Alprazolam (xanax) .5mg 3 x a day for sociel anxiety and depression for 7 years. This drug didn't help me, all it did was make me tired. I slept all day and hardly moved or had any motivation to move (such as exercise). My Dr. knew all this and never suggested taking me off the drug. I got to a point where I looked forward to sleeping all day. Luckily I am a stay at home mother and I was able to get away with the tiredness. I am 37 yrs old and feel that my 30's were lost due to being on this drug. After deciding to try and have another baby, I told my Dr. that I wanted off the drugs. He still wrote me another prescription gave me another appointment and told me this can cause birth defects (cleft lip). Now I feel that I'm left to make these drug decisions on my own. I stopped taking  Alprazolam (xanax) cold turkey on March 5th. I called my Dr. 2 days later and let him know all the symptoms I was having such as dizziness and twitching, It was bad and I felt horrible but wanted to stay off the pill. My Dr. suggested to me that I take 1/2 a pill and ween from there. This was to stop me from having to suffer through this. I felt that if I could get through a couple of days cold turkey I will tough it out and not go back on the pill.
Here I am 1 month later and I still do not feel good. I feel better every day but still feel dizzy and a little off.  Am I at risk of seizure or stroke at this point? My head still feels weighed down and not 100% clear. I do not want to go back on this drug after making it through this far. Please tell me when I am going to be symptom free.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I totally believe that you will be symptom-free and in fact you might be symptom-free already.  You took the Xanax because of anxiety and you now you have to face whatever anxieties are occurring within your life. anxiety itself can make you tired.  Just be honest with yourself and everything should be alright.  You passed the time when there's any significant danger of seizures.

[Jaquta]

Nothing is ever that clear cut (although having a time limit would definitely make the symptoms seem more manageable).

Your doctor probably offered you the best advice.
As a lay person I would have thought the risk for seizures, etc would have been greater earlier.

This forum expert will be better able to advise you.