xanax detox and withdrawal

[magua]

Help! I've tried detoxing from xanex 3 times & the withdrawal is dehibilitating. here's my story: 3 times i was hospitalized in mental health/behavioral units for detox of xanax and because of no insurance was kicked out within one week. i've been on xanax for 7 years starting out with .5 mg three times a day. i built up a tolerance & abused the drug in order to get the same effect. i was up to 6 to 8 mg per day for the past 3 years & decided i needed help getting off the drug but failed due to the short detox provided to me. the last stay began on 10-10-04. on 10-11 they gave me 1 mg of librium at night, on 10-12 1 mg in the morning & i mg at night. on 10-13 .5 mg in the morning & .5 mg at night. on 10-14 .25 mg in the morning which was my last dose of librium. in addition, they had me on 10 mg of lexapro & 50 mg of trazodone at night which i'm still taking. about 5 days after being released on 10-18, i've been experiencing shakiness, confusion, blurred vision, lack of concentration, decreased appitite, dryness of mouth, muscle twitching, weakness & a nervous-like state of mind. i'm also sensitive to light & noise. i'm concerned about the quick detox and am considering starting on kolonapin and slowly weaning off over a period of time to minimize the withdrawal effects i am experiencing. i don't feel capable of returning to work as a hairdresser at this time. please give me your detailed opinion.

sincerely,

jackie

[cindabella]

Hello there =}
I am here to tell you that I went through some horrible withdraws after I had the gastric bypass surgery in 04. The surgeon wanted me off ALL medications and to start fresh!  Well, he wasn't qualified to stop my xanex cold turkey (I was on 1mg 3-4x a day for 10 years).  I had yellow, stinky blankets, uncontrolable shaking and it felt like all the walls were closing in on me.  I was very confused so I didnt put the 2 together.  My husband couldn't leave the room at the hospital without me freaking out!  They wanted me to get up and walk after the surgery but, It seemed as if the bathroom that was only 10 ft away was hundreds of miles to get to! It was awful!  I thought that the gastric bypass surgery went totaly wrong and I was so scared!  I came home from the hospital with all kinds of horrible thoughts and could not sleep as this yellow stuff kept coming out of my body that stunk so bad! They wanted me to walk but, passing the little 1 step in my home looked like it was the grand canyon! I finally told my husband and mother that I needed my xanex they said oh no, he doesnt want you on anymore meds and its time to start a new life...yah right!  Give me a break!  I ended up threatning my Mother that if she didnt take me to the walgreens (drug store) for my meds that I would drive myself (they seen i was in no condition to drive).  She started to argue with me so we agreed to make an appt with the surgeons phyc if I could go get my xanex.  She said that I went from the floor to the ceiling in 15 min!  I felt like a whole new person!  Now let me tell you..I learned something real quick!  If a drug has that much control over your body then its time you do something about it.  I am now after 10 years of xanex going to counsling and getting "EMDR" (you can google that and ck it out) treatment with a great lady!  Ive had 2 sessions with her and I am already down from 1mg 3-4x a day of xanex to 1mg a day!!  I am taking little bites out of the bill every 6 to 8 hrs.  That is the life on xanex 6-8 hrs!  The feeling is not panic attacks that I was having it was detoxing feelings.  I am having no problems doing this on my own (weening)  Its been such a blessing that God has helped me with!  I say nibble on a piece of the xanex until you are down to NONE!  I am almost there with no affects!!!  I didn't have to go get any other meds to come off of it, just use your mind (your mind is powerfull)!!!!  Play a little game with yourself and I will guarantee you will come off the xanex completley!!  Forget doctors and other meds!!!  They obviously make money off of the drugs and your visits to them so do it for YOU!!!  I promise you it will work! If it worked for me, it will you too!  God bless!
Wendi

[reeseerenee]

I want to add that when I was back n high school a psychologist Rx me to take prosac....my family doc knew me well n introduced me to xanex "the original chill pill" however back then I was very active n was not worned but told to exercise if had the chance n stead of poppin the pill. If ya can pick urself up n walk around the block get some sun n stretch n hot baths showers seem to help n combo with tapering off Meds. So far consistently deep breathing n stretching seems  very helpful n calming the nerves....this too shall pass~

[reeseerenee]

I am beginning my xanex detox fully for the first time dealing with withdrawals day 2...I came to this site after my husband had 2 seizures total with the most recent a month ago n coming off of 10mg/day. I've been between 2-4 mg a day. We have been steady abusing for 4 years. The withdrawals r hell but will b well worth it! This has nearly killed our 19 yr relationship :( I realized the dangers when last night he was jerking n thought he was seeking attention. This site described his symptoms n scared the sh*t out of me. I am a massage therapist n wk on patients with normal anxiety issues n help them daily. Deep breathing n massage did help him relax but this site was educating me that relaxation techniques will help, but will not prevent either of us from seizing! We r on kolonopin a couple times a day to reduce the symptoms. I took lunesta as I have regularly n helped me calm down but did not sleep.???? My husband seems to b ok with the first day on the new medication. I had to take another 1 mg earlier than expected. So day 2 n this will not b possible alone. Speaking to my physician we r discussing cymbalta or lexapro to b added as we wing kolonipin for..... gosh the dangers there r equally disturbing. We will c, but I must say....I ALMOST LOST HIM LAST NIGHT B/C OF THIS DRUG!!!! So blessed to have the Dr contact I have and ample samples. We have no insurance. I had no clue this would b so hard. I believe that with Christ all is possible. Meetings I fully believe is essential for us if we really wanna rid this evil from our lives....this is the beginning . We will b getting regular massages n seeking calm places n our minds as much as possible. Prayers appreciated. God b with ya'll~ updates will follow I hope to help with my story.

[JimDandy]

Hi,
I'm a 41yo, female, with no previous history of mental illness. I'm married, mom of 3 boys, alcoholic, who has not had a drink in 13 years. I've been working as a vet tech for 21 years.
I had a "nervous breakdown" in 5/03 - 10 months after a major head injury, and along side of many stresses all at once coming into my life.My GP put me on prozac 20 mg per day, and  xanax .5 mg - 1 4x's perday plus 2 tabs at bedtime; called a thrapist who told me during our session that I was to "get out of town" or be put in a hosp. I got out of town. I took up occaisionally smoking again after I had the NB and recently it has become more of a habit. On my one month post NB recheck with the GP, I was taken off prozac and put on Lexapro (because of major weight loss and general shaky/week feeling) and she told me to take the lexapro in AM instead of PM. Also put me on trazadone 50 mg in PM along side of Xanax. After one month I asked to begin to wean off Xanax. got the ok. Very slowly began to wean. Once that was done, tried and succeeded to wean off trazadone. Once that was done, I tried to wean off Lexapro. By last year, Feb. I had taken my self down by .5 mg to 15 mgs of lexapro in AM and it was then that things went seriously down hill. Wicked nightmares, shakey, panic, etc. So upped myself to 20 mg. And went back on Trazadone per the GP and the therapist. I was at this dosage for the rest of the winter. This past summer I worked the whole summer to gradually come off night time meds and reduce lexapro to 10 mgs (hoping to stay that way until spring then wean off lexapro in the spring - this would accomplish 18 mos of SSRI's as rec.  By the end of the summer I had accomplished my goal but then symptoms returned (nasty nightmares, shakey, AM panic, weightloss, etc) after 6 weeks on 10mgs of lexapro with no night time meds. So back up I went to 15 mgs. Then had to see my mom 3 times in a six week period so went back on the night xanax and trazadone. (Somehow Mom has proven to be a major stresser for me - go figure...?)Now I happen to have this uterine fibroid thing happening and so was doing some on-line search to look at options to resolve it. Started to look at my scripts just for kicks and giggles and found I didn't like what I was reading. SO, ( I didn't mean to write all that!) I've read that you cannot cut your lexapro levels by 5mg increments. That you should shave some off, go 7 days, and then shave off a little more, etc. The question is; I have all the symptoms of seratonin syndrome - now what? I shaved my 15mgs of lexapro starting yesterday. Cut the xanax to 1/4 tab last night - (probably should have waited on that...)Have apt to see therapist on Mon and GP on Thurs. Give me ammo to go with please!

[jrain63]

Hi.  The Klonopin withdrawals are horrible.  Don't let them run out completely without very slowly easing off.  I just got myself off of Serzone after 8 years. I started 12 years ago on .25mg of Xanax 2X/day.  Over the years I have tried to
get off of the Xanax. My doctor finally prescribed Klonopin 1mg 2x a day.
I am in my 4th day of withdrawal right now and it is horrible. My purse was stolen with 6 days left of my medication.  My doctor would not refill earlier than 30 days, so I have had to wait and suffer horrifying withdrawals.  My prescription was finally called in to my pharmacy yesterday (hopefully) and the pharmacy doesn't open until 10:00am,  I have had no real sleep for sleep for days.  I had to leave my job because I cannot function without it(Klomopin).  I am so disappointed it was ever prescribed at all.  It is now almost 7am and I don't know how I am going to get to the pharmacy.  I am dizzy, shaking, seeing things, my throat sometimes feels like it is closing. It is such a powerful and addictive drug.  I am so scared to try to drive and get it.  My kids are with their dad so there is no one to drive with me.  This is the worst withdrawal I can imagine. Now
I sympathize with Heroine addicts.   So please don't go cold turkey.  Talk to your doctor about easing off.  You will be better off.  We are the victims of Western medicine and I am angry that I now cannot even function without it. Hopefully I will make it to the pharmacy safely.  I used some Tylenol PM to try to sedate myself.  There are still spinning stars, brain function is difficult.  I have to keep the light out, even the
computer screen is hard on me. And I am probably not making sense because I can't think straight.  So to the one waiting for the Klonopin to run out, call your doctor first.

[dogma]

I'm in the middle of it myself.  For only the past year I was on 2mg if xanax 3 times a day.  That eventually went 6-10mg.  Sometimes less, sometimes more.  Over the summer of 2004 I started noticing the backlash of xanax.  

In the past. I had taken valium for longer than a year and never suffered any adverse effects when I stopped so I was confused as to wether this was even related to the xanax at first.  But when the twitching and confusion stopped all together when I was given more xanax, I knew.  I tried to come off it slowly but it was very easy to over medicate.

I went to this outpatient Dr that helps people detox and sure enough it was the xanax.  I was put on 1mg of clonazapam, 3 times a day for 3 days, then 2 for 3 days. then 1 for 3 days. I was also given gabitril.   A few days into it I was still feeling the heebeejeebees and was given clonadine.

Anyway, it's been 9 days now and that horrid feeling is still in the back ground.  At least I'm sleeping.  I'm hoping it will be gone by the time the clonazapam runs out in a few days.  I was told that I still twitch a little in my sleep which is odd considering I take the meds before bed.

Before a Dr's assistance I was well into a second week with out xanax and I only seemed to bounce between good and bad days.  Nothing seemed to change.  I'm not looking forward to that happening again.  I wonder if I can take valium in place of the clonazapam.   I still feel completely useless and haven't left my house in days.  I suppose the Effexor XR helps but it's only the end of the second week.

Does anyone know what to expect.

F

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Jackie, my detailed opinion is quite simple..you are still in withdrawals but you are also taking some new medication, lexapro, that can cause some of those same symptoms.  Before adding another medication I suggest you talk to your doctor about taking you off, or down, on your lexapro to see if that helps.