Taking 2mg Xanax EVERY OTHER DAY. Will I become physically dependent?

[ambler16]

I take 2-3mg Xanax every 2-3 days for anxiety, and have been doing this for nearly 6 months now. On average, I take 2mg EVERY OTHER DAY. It works wonders, and I would take it every day but I am terribly scared of benzo withdrawal. However my question is this; if I continue to take 2-3mg Xanax every 2-3 days, will I eventually become physically dependent? Or is am I spacing my doses out far enough to where I will avoid physical dependency? If I continue dosing this way for a few years and suddenly stop, will I have withdrawal symptoms? I am absolutely terrified of benzo withdrawal and want to avoid it at all costs, I am unwilling to give up the Xanax altogether however. It really is my saving grace when it comes to relieving my general anxiety. Any responses/thoughts/answers will be greatly appreciated!

 

[SheWasLvL18]

I believe you will eventually become physically dependent, if you aren't to some degree already.

Xanax is a short-term medication and isn't meant to be taken for more than a few weeks, let alone years. So far it seems there are no benzos that are really effective long-term, people are just so dependent on them to avoid anxiety that they never stop taking them.

1. The Committee on Safety of Medicines and the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK concluded in various statements (1988 and 1992) that benzodiazepines are unsuitable for long-term use and that they should, in general, be prescribed for periods of 2-4 weeks only.
2. When tolerance develops, “withdrawal” symptoms can appear even though the BZ patient continues to take the drug at the same dose. In fact, it is because the patient didn’t increase the dose that tolerance develops. Thus the symptoms suffered by many long-term users are a mixture of adverse effects of the drugs and “withdrawal” effects due to tolerance
3. Unaware that withdrawal symptoms can occur during the treatment, whilst still taking the same dose, due to tolerance (This is often misdiagnosed as a worsening of the patient’s original condition or the development of another illness; resulting in the prescribing of yet more drugs and an overall compounding the problem).

 

[Red11]

That's a very high dosage for anxiety for your current duration of use. 2mg for extreme panic disorder if the doctor is a real pill pusher and you have serious issues. Tone it down though. And the fact you take it "every other day," implies you've already made a pattern. Not "as needed." You'll think you'll keep to a plan like you are, but one day something terrible is going to happen. You'll start taking a few of them in between days. Just the nature of the drug. You may not, but you'll be fighting yourself not to.

And yes you'll become dependant. The severity varies. But one day is not enough to allow your brain to fully recover its natural GABA process. Probably slowly chipping away at it. Again, if you weren't taking such a high dosage, this probably wouldn't be such an issue.

Ive taking xanax off an on for 3 years. Had good periods where I can lay off them a bit, and then there's bad spells where I live on them. Its hell. Currently trying to switch to a different medication routine because its so bad. Regular "panic attacks" are like bad LSD trips. Xanax can be extremely helpful. Can make you go crazy and want to pull your hair out too.

Edit: I was thinking you were taking 2-3mg at once. If thats spread through the day, still a moderately high dosage. Would recommend 1.5mg max. .5?3 a day. Pretty normal doctors recommended starter dose.

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

At 2mg a day for 6 months, yes you should have a physical dependence.

 

[JustBlaze420]

Depends

If you get xanax from the black market (the streets) most of that isn't even legitimate xanax to begin with its some sort of designer drug , I found it pleasant.....although I was gutted it wasn't real xanax .....but at least that made it less prone to addiction ....

Now on the other hand if you have a prescription take it as suggested from your doctor !!!

 

[JustBlaze420]

I took like 10 mg of klonopin last night

At .5 mg each that is over 20 tablets

I know I was dancing with the devil however it did absolutely nothing to me I just eventually fell asleep , no side effects the next day , no blackouts or stupid decisions..actually went for a 5k run just now..

I dont recommend this to anyone I was looking for a good time and ended up bored , maybe I'm not perceptive to benzo's

I had more fun on fake xanax , can you imagine that ..

 

[ambler16]

Update..

Thanks for the responses, I really appreciate the feedback. Just some more info; I take the dose all at once, not spread out through the day. And though I average one 2mg dose every 48 hours, I occasionally wait even longer, sometimes going 72 or even 96 hours between doses. I believe that these mini breaks have saved me from becoming physically dependent thus far. Even when I don?t take any Xanax for ~80 hours, I still don?t exhibit any withdrawal symptoms. Maybe some minor rebound anxiety, but that?s it. Very manageable. However, I totally agree that only one day between doses is not enough time for my brain to recover from the surges of GABA it is being bombarded with. Hence why I force myself to wait 2 or 3 days between doses when I can. I admit I think about it nearly every day though /:

 

[Mycophile]

I believe you will eventually become physically dependent, if you aren't to some degree already.

Xanax is a short-term medication and isn't meant to be taken for more than a few weeks, let alone years. So far it seems there are no benzos that are really effective long-term, people are just so dependent on them to avoid anxiety that they never stop taking them.

While I think you are a great poster, and of course you have those links to back you up, and I know this is conventional thinking that these meds should never be taken for more than 2-4 weeks, in some cases, such as mine, it is necessary.

When anxiety won't respond to treatment, sometimes becoming dependent is the better option if the anxiety is aggressive enough, and then later in life trying to taper off if possible.

I also disagree that benzos are not effective long term.

I've been taking Klonopin for 15 years, minus 9 months when I stopped and needed to get back on it, and they still continue to work just as well at the same dosage.

Of course, I very much want to be able to quit and taper off, but the last time I tried my anxiety was too bad for it, and I'd rather be dependent on them with their side effects than be off them and be an anxious mess.

One doctor wanted to take me off after 2 weeks, and had he done that I'd have had to deal with chronic panic attacks.

I think it is important for us to remember in our rush to promote harm reduction with drugs that the anxiety disorders that the drugs are used for also create a great deal of psychological harm, and that sometimes these medications really are the best option, even if it does mean being dependent on them and using them for years.

 

[Cbabycee]

That all depends on you. Are you taking them for your anxiety, ie just when you need to take as prescribed or are you starting to take them earlier? Do you take whether needed or not? Do you look forward to taking them? Have you looked into or tried other ways to try and manage you anxiety? Cognitive Behaviour Therapy? How long have you been on that dose? I have to say as a heroin addict, it?s not always as fast as people make out. I think it took 2 years of daily use before I was physically dependant on heroin, mentally is a totally different issue though, psychologically- 6 months. I could talk myself in and out of withdrawal symptoms. I was fine until I wasn?t busy. If this is something that is a concern to you, I would discuss a different medication with your doctor, I applaud you for asking the question. Good luck.