Cold turkey on Xanax

[D0tty]

I decided to quit my Xanax habit and yesterday was going to be day 7 but once I went back to school from thanksgiving break, my body was shaking and became overwhelmed. So I ended up taking 3mg of Xanax (alprazolam), now 6 hours later I have a huge headache. I was wondering if I am going to have withdrawals again? They were pretty brutal the first 4 days of quitting, couldn't do nothing but vomit with horrible body cramps.

 

[Renz Envy]

You should be fine to cold turkey, but if you wish, just taper off until the discomfort is bearable.

 

[cook]

From what dose did you CT and how long you been on it? You do know that cold turkey with benzo's isn't recommended.

 

[D0tty]

I was taking between 2-4 mg a day for a year.

 

[Mr.Scagnattie]

Well if you made it to day 7 and you were okay.. then it clearly wasn't that bad of a kick. If you want to make it even more bearable, ween off to as small a dose as you can. Still though, as somebody else mentioned, cold turkey detox of benzos isn't usually recommended as long-term and high dosage usage can make a lot of people prone to seizures. But, it doesn't sound you fit into this category.

 

[Pagey]

Getting off benzos CT is seriously one of the most dangerous things you can do. You're lucky you didn't have too strong a habit and if you made it so far you should be fine but if this ever happens again, taper!!! I can't stress it enough. When I came off my ~12mg/day xanax habit CT I had two seizures and landed myself in the hospital. It's no joke.
And if you want to lessen the symptoms now I'd recommend tapering anyway.

 

[cook]

Isn't the other reason why CT is not recommended that withdrawal process can be even longer and agonizing vs. tapering? At least what I've understood.

Edit:

"Anecdotal evidence suggests that a cold turkey withdrawal can increase the length of the time one might suffer from withdrawal symptoms."

So it makes no sense what so ever.. unless one is forced to do it.