Zanex help question

[yompf]

So I was feeling pretty good about myself earlier, like ... Ya..good job, don't eat anymore zanex, it's not worth it, cus I totally just thought I knew the limit.... I don't have much experience with benzo withdrawal besides what I experienced a few months ago and that was fuc*** up. I used for idk a bit more then a month or whatever..
Anyway ,. So I figured 2weeks would not do me so bad. 14th day today I didn't eat any before work... Ok... It's lunch... I remember this feeling . My brain is sizzling.
I'm ok... But God dam... I thought 2 weeks I would feel crappy but .... I'm just used to opiate withdrawl ... This is nothing like that...
I guess I should of known WHAT KIND of crappy I would feel...
So the past 13 days I ate less then .5 mg. I broke a 1 mg pill in half , and broke the corner off and ate the big piece every day before work.
So should I like.... taper over the next few days? I feel ridiculous doing that over only a 2 week binge, but I guess really i should of stopped a week ago...!!! AAAAGGGG
Will i make it worse by eating more or should I do like .1 or 2 mg before work over a few days? Or will that make it worse .. I don't WANT to eat anymore . I would like this to end as soon as possible and never happen again.
That one week sure made the difference huh...

 

[yompf]

I was also eating 10 mg of Norco a day.. I think it's just making me sweaty though...

 

[yompf]

I have a job where I need to walk alot . That was my excuse for getting the norco. It helped for the first week after I came back to work after messing my foot up. But I ate it with zanex even after till like yesterday... You know I always liked the idea of doing benzos for a week and then a mild opiate for a week.
How long can two weeks of benzos possibly screw me over for ?

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Even mild poly drug withdrawal is it's own brand of hell as the 10 hydro will potentiate the xanax a little.. IME I would use 0.25mg and smaller pieces of alprazolam (usually at night or b4 wrk) and do my best to try and skip 0.25mg days in a stagger fashion then take 0mg over the entire weekend and reevaluate before work on Mon morning. Sometimes carrying a .25mg crumb with me put me at ease knowing I had a safety net to fall back on and could therefor push myself further and further without the normal anxiety that comes with the O crap I'm all out..It shouldn't take longer than 10 days to stop the "crumb" days for good. I'd say this is the most painless way but if you are seriously determined to do this NOW, then there's no time like the present. Sometimes having a friend that can dole out 2mg per week, then 1mg per week then .5, etc can also help.

 

[yompf]

Ya... Ok thank you.... Man this is just SOOOO not worth it... 10 days??? Over 2 weeks of using ... Ug... Ok thank you... I'm into the least painless way possible. Lol. I guess I'll dull myself out... You said "stagger" like every other day... ?
Ok...il probably be adding vodka into the mix like I did last time. It really helped for work...
Idk if I can do it without drinking... I'll try but a few shots might help here and there... A couple of shots seems of gotten my brain to stop sizzling like it was I bit ago...
10 days????

 

[yompf]

But I wasn't doing that much why is it ten days?? I guess it doesn't matter, it is what it is. God I feel stupid.
Anyway , thank you...

 

[yompf]

Well at least I get to walk around all day..LOL. (for work). Getting those endorphins a flowing!!

 

[Ds]

Well at least I get to walk around all day..LOL. (for work). Getting those endorphins a flowing!!

Hell yeah! You would be suprised what some exercise can do for you. Hell by just being grateful that you get to take a deep breath while so many others sadly arnt able to anymore because they chose to do 1 more.

I keep chocolate around at all times because there are times, during the day, when i will be frustrated with something and start feeling 'some type of way' so i pause, and eat a piece of chocolate and think about happy thoughts. Then when i am done eating choclate and watching cat .gifs i get back to work.

 

[yompf]

^LOL cat gifs.. haha
Chocolate..... Maybe I will try that too.
Sounds like a good idea...
The exercise was nice , I mean it helped alot I think. Definitely grateful to be on my feet and gotta love that prana!

 

[JessFR]

I've been through a few mild Xanax withdrawal once, and it was quite unpleasent. The thing I was amazed by though is how unpleasent it was for how brief a time I'd been using it for. Dependence seems to form REALLY fast with Xanax. I also was amazed just how quickly my use of it got out of control.

After already having a serious opiate habit, and since I didn't enjoy it nearly enough to warrent how unpleasent the withdrawals were, after I got through the Xanax withdrawal I decided to never use it again. I still use Valium from time to time which I've never had a problem with, but not Xanax. It made me hate Xanax.

 

[Mafioso]

Alprazolam(Xanax) has an extremely short half-life(12 hours) which is why it is fast acting as while as highly addictive, even in short stints. It enters and leaves your body with a quickness.

Being that I've had 2 psychotic episodes and one seizure relating to abrupt Xanax withdraw, I would have to suggest that tapering down is a smart idea. The withdraws sort of blindside you and the seizures can come on without any real warning. I was taking upwards of 10mg a day though, eating 4-8mg in a single dose, though.

I don't think that taking .5mg or even 1mg a day for 2 weeks would put you at serious risk of seizure or psychotic episode, but I am not certain about this. I would imagine getting a dose lower than .25mg to be difficult, so if you were taking .5 every day maybe drop down to .25 every other day for a week then .25 only as needed for the next week. Really listen to your body. If you start hearing things, can not sleep for days at a time despite feeling exhausted, or can not eat or keep food down then it may be necessary to up your dose. It's not going to be pleasant but it will only get worse the longer you are on it. The point of a taper is just so that your body is shocked so much by discontinuing use, you may still experience things like rebound anxiety and mild insomnia.

 

[yompf]

^thank you yes I just broke a .25 mg piece in half. Not an even break but a small piece seemed to help...
I'll try and skip tomorrow... See what happens.

 

[Mafioso]

If roughly 12.5 mg seems to help I would think you are on your way to freedom.

How'd your day go? Were you able to make it without anything? Hope you're doing well.

 

[yompf]

I drank a half a fifth of vodka and passed out yesterday. I woke up at 3am and could not sleep. It was pretty bad.the worst i have felt. I ate a tramadol.. I think it calmed my opiate nerves... The piece of zanex I ate didn't really help. This is the forth day. I hope this is just the peak or whatever, and it doesn't stay this bad.I haven't stopped drinking... It helps..
Idk what time I ate that piece but I won't eat more till tomorrow I guess...
Alive and kickin

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Hangovers can exacerbate benzo W/D's and vice versa as they both effect similar regions of the brain. If you are a regular drinker I would use the xanax crumb the next morning or say 8-12 hours apart. If your drinking because the benzo W/D is particularly bad then maybe up the size of that xanax crumb to a half. I def don't want to sound preachy but the less you drink during this w/d phase, the smoother it will go. The less up's & down's the better if that makes sense. Keep fighting the good fight!

 

[yompf]

I think I feel like I'm so drunk and hungover combating hangovers with more vodka... I'm just stuck here .. I can't handle the w/d. Drinking is instant relief.also I only have about .5 mg left... I can go out and get more ...it's gonna be a real pain...i could get k pins easier... But... I just feel it's counter productive.... So you think upping the dose?, or I guess I could switch to kpin so I don't have to scam my mom and the vet... Lol.... I guess I have work tomorrow, (sat)and I'm off sun , then work till fri again... I really can't drink there... I'm bad on vodka... Really bad... I was gonna try to just bring a little ..but that turns into more ....whatever I guess I can handle NOT drinking if I up the benzo dose... I'll be safer and won't lose my job .... being a little down vs rude , rebellious and violent.
So I'll switch to kpin?? Cus that's what I can do right now...
Like what .5 or something?
But wait .... I honestly don't know if I can do this without drinking... I guess I'll try... So just eat more if I REALLY can't handle it?? And I'll still be able to kick it right?? I don't want to suffer unnecessarily

 

[Mafioso]

kpins have a longer half life so they will be in your system longer so I would think it is better than xans for your situation.

 

[yompf]

Maybe I won't need them the kpin.i broke a 3rd off of a .5 today and ate that . This is day 5 Gonna try not to drink . I'm just more tired then anything ..

 

[Ds]

Hey yompf have you tried replacing the vodka with something else? Well besides cola and stuff, they do make energy/relaxing type drinks that you can find in most gas stations. Not sure if you ever heard of the herb called kavakava, it really does work wonders for anxiety. They sell it in capsule form at most health food/herbal stores. Maybe give it a shot? I know there for a while i took it daily and could really tell that i wasnt under as much stress while on the kava.

Maybe try mixing your own non-alcoholic cocktail before going off to work, some redbull here, some 5hr energy here, and some relaxing herbs there, and stir well!

As for the kpins, i agree that cutting back is always good, and i also agree that some people need medicine to get through the day. Have you spoke with a doctor about anything?

 

[yompf]

I actually slept... I think that's a good sign.
@D's, yes in the past ,just for anxiety I ordered some kava and I'd take it with me to work. It helped when it got bad. I think I might order some more.. thanks that's a good idea. I'm gonna need it. I sure can't keep drinking. My roommate already had a "talk" with me and I just moved in... I can tell some of my co workers feel bad or something too...I definitely embarrassed myself and I'm so cross with everyone when I drink , usually I'm just really quiet, sober....the vodka really helped the zanex withdrawl though, Yes it made it worse too , later on, but in a pinch it HELPED.
I'm hoping the worst is over. I definitely don't think I'll be needing any kpins to finish tapering...
Very glad I tapered and didn't just stop. Thank you for the advice @Jekyl Anhydride and Mafioso. @JessFR, ya I'm surprised too how intense this was after only a couple weeks. I can't say I hate zanex though cus it's the only thing I've tried that makes me feel normal. But I sure won't ever use it for more then...maybe 5 days....geez....
@D's I haven't talked to a doctor,I considered it but people said ssri's can make you numb and I might have to try different ones to find what works... i dont like the sound of that. What if I have a terrible experience , and I get stuck in zombie land. .. Idk I might still try it ... I'm undecided...
So I have SOME self control , now adays.. I can put down the bottle and not take pills... And if I do decide to , I can avoid this nasty hell I just went through( and am probably still not out of) but anyway, ya, lol ,
I can NOT do this again and still enjoy a little zanex or Norco or something every now and then... (Just not for 2 weeks). I'm not insane anymore where if I just eat one of anything it's all over...
God dam drugs.....make you feel all nice and then rip you a knew one....