Benzos Benzos (xanax) causing obessive thoughts?

[Znegative]

Wow, I've been using benzo's for a pretty decent amount of time (lets see, started seven years ago, been addicted for the last three years) and I never experienced obsessive thoughts like you mention, unless I was in acute withdrawal. I should also mention that I have struggled with OCD since I was 9 or 10 years old, and I've always found Benzo's helped my symptoms, although they surely aren't the long term solution for such a disorder.

I only skimmed through this thread so I apologize if this was brought up before, but you could be going through inter-dose withdrawal. Inter-dose withdrawal occurs when your tolerance rises and you suffer withdrawal symptoms between each dose, and when you do dose, you don't get the full relief you used to. I went through this when I switched from clonazepam to Lorazepam (aka Ativan). You might want to try switching from xanax (which is even shorter acting than Lorazepam) to Clonazepam/klonopin, or Diazepam/Valium. If such a switch doesn't help than it could be possible that you just react poorly to benzo's in general, or have OCD or a similar anxiety disorder.

 

[budsnbars712]

It's been a few weeks and hopefully your situation has improved. Judging by time I'd imagine you are still in the process of tapering xanax/valium. Understand that it has to get worse before it gets better, but that what you are experiencing is a normal and temporary symptomatic response. Please trust us when we say it will get better. Years ago I was up to as much as 10mg of xanax a day, and often as much as 20-50mg of valium on top of that. It was hell, but I got off of it and the positive change in my quality of life cannot easily be expressed.

When anxious or obsessive thoughts begin to take over, remind yourself that they are only thoughts. You don't have to act on them or even acknowlegde their validity because sometimes thoughts are irrational. And this is true for everyone, as is the thought "Should I just skip the gym today?" I'm obsessive when it comes to fitness these days and I still sometimes find myself at work at 4:30 trying to come up with a justifiable excuse not to exercise when I leave the office. But honestly you should be doing intense cardio exhaustive workouts instead of or in addition to just lifting- sprints, cross training, high resistance eliptical or distance running etc. Wearing yourself out like that and getting the right nutrition helps tremendously with restoring balance to your hormones/neurotransmitters and also promotes massive releases of these which have an immediate calming and anxiolytic effect.

Also meditation can help a lot more than most would think, but I admit it can be difficult. However, you can apply those priciples to your usual conscious thought processes throughout the day, and instead of overthinking everything negative, think of nothing. Get out of your own head.

First off, I would like to say thank you for helping me with all your knowledge and thoughts...to EVERYONE on here.

I have not tapered anymore of the xanax as I was on 2.5 mg's (plus binging often) a day.....Now I am on 2.0 mg's a day and have not binged (although sometimes I would like to). It is very encouraging to hear that there was a positive change for you once you got off of the benzos. This gives me a little more hope. As for putting myself through intense cardio....to be honest, since I suffer from depression/anxiety, it is hard for me to just even get through my weight training routine let alone add more intensive training in. I believe that If I had a little more positive outlook, that would give me the motivation to push forward...but I don't as of now, and I am trying to work and find the right psychologist to help me look at this world through a different light...

I have been on a steady 2.0 mg's now for over a month which I am pretty proud of myself for doing considering I was higher before and have not binged....I seem to be handling this dosage alright and was thinking about dropping another .25 or .5mg. At the same time, like I stated in the beginning of the thread, I am in a fragile state that If one thing severe happens (hear or go through something traumatic), I will have a meltdown..........to the point of maybe loosing realization as I feel I am almost already there and I am still stable. I AM still in a tapering process, I am just going very slow and I am not sure on how to go about my next step. I hear alot about these mini withdrawals that znegative mentioned people get from short-acting benzos, and also this tolerance withdrawal since my body most likely needs way more than it is receiving (even before the tapering process began I felt that way).

One thing I am very unsure on what to do is if I should switch over to valium to taper. A lot of people recommended doing this as I will be more stable throughout the days and not be going through up and downs like I have been from years of multi-dosing xanax daily....but the one thing that I don't like is that I hear you don't start to feel withdrawals from the valium till about day 14!!!!! Since I feel like I am already experiencing withdrawal everyday with tolerance withdrawal from the short-acting xanax, shouldn't I just keep on this track and try and taper just using xanax? Then I read on ashton manual and other threads that it is not possible to taper from xanax successfully.....This is one thing I am absolutely unsure of what to do about....

I have a lot of issues. And I believe that depression is the core of it all. I know I have to fix the inner problems more than ANYTHING to feel normal, but I alsot have to get off of these drugs....

 

[inkfreak74x9]

Hi there Budsnbars. Does the buds in your name refer to Weed? I know with the way I am and my mania I had to cut out smoking because it would make me crawl into my head and obsess about every little thing. Just wondering and thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[opiatekrzy]

i have had this, when i drink alcohol and get drunk, i get stuck on a thought or whatever, and i keep thinking about it over and over, its because im drunk and my inhibitions are lowered, i think same applies for xanax, they both effect same receptors and basically is alcohol in a pilll

 

[Dunno]

IME it is not xanax. Maybe because I just have a high tolerance but it was not the drug that made me do all kinds of crazy shit. I'm still on it to this day & I'm as calm as anything...a big wake up call changes everything & makes you realize it's not xanax.

 

[budsnbars712]

Hi there Budsnbars. Does the buds in your name refer to Weed? I know with the way I am and my mania I had to cut out smoking because it would make me crawl into my head and obsess about every little thing. Just wondering and thought I'd throw that out there.

Yes, the only other drug I abuse is marijuana. And I abuse it very highly....I used to smoke all day, everyday. But now I am a security guard and am just trying to better myself, so I wait till the end of the night to smoke. But it is sad because it is a lifestyle for me....my whole life/friends revolves around weed. I stopped smoking weed for 7 days just over a month ago when i went on a cruise, and I came back thinking I should just stay off the drug. The next morning I woke up with MAJOR anxiety, the point to panic and almost melting down (so bad that I had to call in sick to work). I was shaking and shit, but I also was taking a higher dose of xanax on the cruise the week before as I was ultra depressed on there, and was trying to counter-act the depression. So that might have been tolerance withdrawal from the xanax....and also I think I was overwhelmed as I thought I can change my lifestyle with the snap of a finger, meanwhile I was just put into the same scenario/situation/surroundings. I did not smoke on the boat though and I was miserable...I was not craving that much, but I sat there and dwelled on what I did not have and obsessed ALOT during this time also....

 

[inkfreak74x9]

Buds
I was the same way when I used to smoke. I did the same thing with my job. I stopped smoking all day every day and it seemed like the less I smoked the worse my anxiety got when I did. I have been on xanax for 10 years first as a party aid then to help my insomnia when I quit partying and drinking. Well I still sort of party but with way different things now. In the end I quit pot because it doesn't do what it used to for me. It seems to help some people with their anxiety but not me anymore. I have had ADD all my life so some things have a paradoxical affect on me. I was never a chill out smoker so I guess as I got older the energy it gave me to hit the gym or ride my bike turned into paranoia.
I can't say that you are the same as me but it might be something to think about. BTW the only way I could smoke up in the last 5 years is if I took a zany before I did.

 

[opiatekrzy]

YUCK! I grown to hate marijuana when i turned 16, i really think when i picke dup opiates, i became allergic to marijuana. Weed used to make me happy, laugh at everything, wanna hang out with everyone, enjoy music, now at the age of 27 i still hate it with a passion, it makes me think of my problems more, makes me feel like what a loser i really am, and how much of ap iece of shit i am, and when im around people i think i got to be the life of the conversation, i panic like a bitch and quickly wanna go home and hide..(is this paranoid and anxieetyy?) its too bad cause i used to love the effects of weed...everynow and then i smoke weed with my fiance of 5 years (and mother of 2 kids) at night time to watch a movie, and still i get shy around her like i dont know how to act~ yuck yuck yuck!

 

[budsnbars712]

I get just like that opiate crazy...sometimes that is. But if I start thinking, wow its quiet in here, then I feel like I need to start breaking the silence....Alot of similar things. I think it is conclusive that I need to quit smoking, but it is my full lifestyle at this point...and since I am tapering from xanax at the moment, my doctor said its best to not try and quit now and overwhelm myself like I did before....

 

[opiatekrzy]

its a shame, , marijuana is such an explorable drug, esp. if u got real good bud, it can so fun of an experience, too bad for me im allergic to it, perhaps i been smoking the same old strain type all these years and havent tried indica or sativa? or higher quality.. i swear the only good weed i had was the weed that smells like a skunk, and feels smooth like piney menthol when u inhale...i've had weed that look killer out of this world, but it tasted like shit, and was garbage, makes no sense? looks like bomb, but its not! i noticed that sticky moist weed that burns forever is garbage, like its sprayed with water to increase weight for profits..then again, is real sticky moist weed good weed, or a spray job? i had weed that was so dry and had weighed less then the norm weed i got and it was bettter...an ounce literally looked like 3 ounces of regular shit..

 

[budsnbars712]

Ya man, I believe it..You said you get shy around your long time fiance....I used to be the same way, even with my girlfriend of 7 yrs. Now since I am in this bad state of mind, it only makes it worse....not all the time, but sometimes. Right now I am concentrating on getting of the xanax as I have to take one step at a time and can't just quit everything and change my life in one shot..I have successfully tapers from 3.0 mg of xanax to 1.5 daily...still on a taper schedule

 

[realxsalo]

Youre not alone. Im a benzodiazepine user and also I get mad obsessive with certain shit.
Try a SSRI like Zoloft. Obsessiveness may be caused by low levels of serotonine in the nerveous system.

 

[budsnbars712]

realxsalo, I have tried zoloft and lexapro....I tried from 50mg of zoloft all the way to 300mg withing a couple of months. I was pretty into the xanax at that point though, but still I did not see it affect me.