Benzos Will Ambien work to prevent Xanax withdrawal?

[vorpal22]

Hi all,

I am in an extremely irritating, anxiety producing situation.

I am dependent on Xanax for anxiety issues, and have essentially been taking it near-daily since 1999, so this is nothing new. My dose has typically been 0.5 - 1.5 mg / day depending on need. Please note that while I do take many chemicals recreationally, benzos are not amongst them, as I don't like the feeling of benzos above therapeutic use.

Well, I am right at the end of my script, and my doctor seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth. I have tried contacting her for a over week now via email, phone, and by dropping by her office, but she is gone. I am assuming since this is a long weekend here (Chile), she is probably on vacation, but that was unexpected and at a very inopportune time for me.

Now, I =have= gone without my Xanax before for even up to a week, and it was =mostly= okay: a bit of mental fuzziness, sweating, reduced sleep, and a little extra anxiety. That, however, was when I was unemployed and admittedly taking less, i.e. generally 0.5 instead of 1.0 as I have been over the last couple years, partly due to the anxiety of my current job (which I do love).

I'm not sure what to do and am kind of worried about the withdrawal. I have enough to get me through tomorrow, but then I am out.

A friend of mine has offered me her Ambien, and since zolpidem and alprazolam are somewhat similar in action, I was wondering if low doses of Ambien taken as needed would tide me over until I could get in touch with my doctor. Anyone have any ideas?

I also ordered some etizolam online because I just don't want to have this happen again, and that safety net will be a huge boon, but it won't make it probably until next Monday as things are notoriously slow getting here.

I will probably also go to a drop-in clinic tomorrow morning to see if they're willing to help me, but I'm not sure how that will work out, as while most meds here in Chile are dispensed like candy without prescriptions, benzos / nonbenzos are tightly controlled.

If anyone has any suggestions or info about Ambien's ability to offset Xanax withdrawal, that would be extremely useful! Thanks!

 

[Bobcom100]

The ambien should help you sleep, but ambien is not a benzo like xannax. So except symptoms. If you are totally out then ya honestly you don't really have anything to lose by taking it ONLY for taking it for a short period. But to sum this up no ambien won't cause you to not have withdraws but it might help as an aide. This should only be short term!

 

[Slow_Mobius]

I would go to an urgent care ASAP and explain your situation. You can even bring your empty pill bottles and have your pharmacy give them records so they know your not drug seeking. There's really nothing for you to lose in doing this.

Ambien will definitely help with anxiety from WD, but it does little to nothing as far as seizure prevention. This is probably the only thing about WD that you need to worry about, so I would highly recommend seeing someone.

On your dose you'll probably be fine, but don't hesitate to go to the ER or at least an urgent care clinic if you start to feel shaky and like you might be on the verge of a seizure.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

No, it won't help that much as its far more selective than benzos.

Given that you've been taking benzos for 17 years withdrawal could lead to seizures and can kill you, imo you should go to the ER

 

[Speed King]

^^Agreed. Ambien will mask a few symptoms, but it can easily end badly. If your in a real jam, go to urgent care or ER.' Benzo withdrawal can kill. Don't risk potential danger.

 

[vorpal22]

Thanks all for the advice.


Crisis has been averted. I went to the clinic and they triaged me, acknowledged that the meds were necessary to avoid seizures or other dangerous side effects without question, and wrote me up a script all in less than 40 minutes. That's faster than if I was able to see my actual doctor.