Benzos Benzo withdrawal questions

[chief ten beers]

So I've been using .05 of xanax every night for sleep for some years now. I only use it for sleep and hardly ever do more than the one pill a night. I normally don't sleep well otherwise, and have tried a lot of sleep aids but this seems to work the best for me. The problem now that I'm facing is I just went through withdrawals from oxycodone about a month ago and don't wish to go through something similar. Ive never experiences benzo withdrawal so I'm not sure what I'm up against. I'm going to be relocating and not sure I'll be able to get a script where I'm going so I'm worried about the dreaded benzo withdrawals I've read about. So what am I in for and what's the best way to approach getting off of them? I wonder if I'm going to have some long sleepless nights without them, and I don't want to go through withdrawals again that's for sure. Any tips and getting off of this shit? And for those who have used this for sleep what have you found as a good substitute? Lastly, am I definitely in for a major fight physically and mentally? I just went though one and sleep was my only blessing, with the aid of xanax, not really up for another serious fight. Thanks

 

[cj]

I doubt your going to withdrawal from such a small dose. At worst your going to have insomnia.

 

[shartito]

Although the dose is small, you took it for a long time.

What I would do if I was in your position is drop down to .25 daily for a few weeks. Then if you?re able to break up the pill in this manner, maybe even try .12 (basically a fourth of a .5 pill). Or maybe do the .25 every other day. Whichever you decide I would keep decreasing the dosage until your final prescription (or stash) runs out.

Hopefully you should have an easy WD since you kept your doses relatively small. But again it?s the longevity of use that would make me consider some sort of taper.

As far as your other question, I?ve had decent results with melatonin. I?ve had friends that swear by some of the nighttime herbal teas.

 

[keeping]

I doubt your going to withdrawal from such a small dose. At worst your going to have insomnia.

insomnia is a symptom of withdrawal.
if someone has been using benzos of whatever strength every day for years they will experience withdrawal.
OPs usage, if every solidly night for years will indeed result in wd, albeit a small one.

OP, how many pills do you have left?
its best to start a taper now to mitigate the effects of WD as much as possible. i don't think you'll experience anything like seizures but you will probably get some rebound anxiety and, as you mentioned, quite a few long and sleepless night.
have you ever heard of the Ashton Manual? it a guide on how to wd from benzos.
google it and check out the .pdf version and go to chaper 2 - its all about how to plan your taper.

let us know if you need any more help ༼ ༎ຶ ෴ ༎ຶ༽

 

[chief ten beers]

insomnia is a symptom of withdrawal.
if someone has been using benzos of whatever strength every day for years they will experience withdrawal.
OPs usage, if every solidly night for years will indeed result in wd, albeit a small one.

OP, how many pills do you have left?
its best to start a taper now to mitigate the effects of WD as much as possible. i don't think you'll experience anything like seizures but you will probably get some rebound anxiety and, as you mentioned, quite a few long and sleepless night.
have you ever heard of the Ashton Manual? it a guide on how to wd from benzos.
google it and check out the .pdf version and go to chaper 2 - its all about how to plan your taper.

let us know if you need any more help ༼ ༎ຶ ෴ ༎ຶ༽

Well I still have a script for now but I also acquired a script for gabapentin. I found the gabapentin makes me drowsy so what I started doing was taking a gab a few hours before bed and then usually wake up in the middle of the night and take half a dose of xanax. I think I'm going to keep doing this until I finally run out of xanax. The drug game gets tiresome after a while doesn't it? I wish I had never started down this path but wishing doesn't amount to anything, we have to deal with the cards we are dealt with.

 

[keeping]

usually wake up in the middle of the night and take half a dose of xanax. I think I'm going to keep doing this until I finally run out of xanax. The drug game gets tiresome after a while doesn't it? I wish I had never started down this path but wishing doesn't amount to anything, we have to deal with the cards we are dealt with.

you gonna keep on doing that? sounds awful - why don't you be proactive and start tapering now so you avoid some uncomfortable wd's - tbh your nightly routine already sounds like it sucks - and yeah, Romanticizing addiction comes with its costs dunit?

 

[thedukeofraoul]

If anything it's just rebound anxiety from you not dosing the alprazolam anymore. It's not withdrawals at such a low dose of .5mg and the length of time usage. Now if you were dosing 5mg a day, that's something to be cautious of.

Good luck sir, you'll be fine.

TDOR

 

[thedukeofraoul]

Well I still have a script for now but I also acquired a script for gabapentin. I found the gabapentin makes me drowsy so what I started doing was taking a gab a few hours before bed and then usually wake up in the middle of the night and take half a dose of xanax. I think I'm going to keep doing this until I finally run out of xanax. The drug game gets tiresome after a while doesn't it? I wish I had never started down this path but wishing doesn't amount to anything, we have to deal with the cards we are dealt with.

Catapress, or clonidine, would be a much better choice to help with withdrawals. Your doc seems old school.


TDOR

 

[Speed King]

Although the dose is small, you took it for a long time.

What I would do if I was in your position is drop down to .25 daily for a few weeks. Then if you?re able to break up the pill in this manner, maybe even try .12 (basically a fourth of a .5 pill). Or maybe do the .25 every other day. Whichever you decide I would keep decreasing the dosage until your final prescription (or stash) runs out.

Hopefully you should have an easy WD since you kept your doses relatively small. But again it?s the longevity of use that would make me consider some sort of taper.

As far as your other question, I?ve had decent results with melatonin. I?ve had friends that swear by some of the nighttime herbal teas.

This isn’t bad advice. .5 mg of Xanax usually isn’t a big deal. You may still be feeling opiate withdrawal. I support the idea of extending your taper. Focusing on other things like health and excercize helps greatly. The excercize will stimulate your natural endorphins. You will feel better quicker.

 

[evilbrain]

dude. .5mg xanax thats quite a managable habit/kick. just drink scotch before bedtime, and in the morning with coffee if really feel uncomfortable. benzos and booze both affect GABA. so stop the benzos completely, and drink heavily for a week. and done.

 

[OntarioGuy]

I think the gabapentin u have will help cover the withdrawal too. At the end of my taper I jumped off of 1 mg of diazepam and switched to 50 mgs of pregabalin twice a day for a couple days and had no symptoms of withdrawal at all