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.