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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

How much xanax to relieve nicotine wd frustration and anxiety?

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ferinox

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Aug 20, 2009
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I'm on my third day of nicotine withdrawal. I've had the last two days off and today is the first day I'm going to work in wd. I have 2 mg xanax and i have no tolerance to alcohol or benzos. How much xanax should I take to relieve anxiety and frustration while I'm at work?
 
Using Xanax to treat nicotine WDs doesn't seem like the best plan - if you end up hooked on the Xanax instead, the withdrawals are a LOT worse and can be dangerous. Be really careful! Have you thought about nicotine replacemnent products, or are you withdrawing from them?

For someone benzo naive, 0.5mg Xanax is plenty for a starting dose but I wouldn't recommend taking it for the first time at work. You don't know how it will affect you, some people are very sensitive and you don't want to become unable to work or pass out or anything..
 
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Xanax isn't an opiate. I'm not going to get addicted to xanax. I'm only planning on taking it for 2-3 days to get through nicotine wd. I've read enough benzo horror stories to know they're not the drug for me. I took it at 1 mg dose level a long time ago and that didn't make me pass out but i want to get by with the lowest anxiolytic dose.
 
If you have no benzo tolerance, I wouldn't take any at work for the first dose. I also question the wisdom of using xanax to help with nicotine WD, partly because I know that cigarettes never taste better or are more satisfying when I am on xanax . Also, you are sort of killing a rat with a shotgun using xanax to help with nicotine w/d's. I would try one of the numerous nicotine gum/patches or whatever they have out these days LONG before I'd try xanax to help - you are really playing with fire doing that . If you are dead set on taking xanax for this, take a small amount at home FIRST so you know how it is going to effect you BEFORE you try taking it at work.
 
^I'm absolutely %100 percent committed to quitting smoking but the anxiety kills me every time i try to quit. I wouldn't even know where to get more xanax, I was prescribed 2 mg to help me get through the worst part of wd. There is nothing that would make me smoke a cig right now. It wouldn't even work if i did smoke because I'm taking mecamylamine.
 
In that case, I would take .5mg or even .25mg at home first so you have an idea how functional you will be on it before taking it at work . If you were prescribed 2mg then it's probably safe to assume you were given four .5mg tablets or even eight .25mg tablets. I would even try .25 at first if possible, theres no need to be overly sedated, especially at work .
 
thanks I have a severe anxiety disorder ordinarily and nicotine withdrawal makes me completely agoraphobic as pathetic as that sounds. The xanax is working, i no longer feel anxious. Nicotine has been shown to contribute to anxiety significantly but I couldn't get over the initial increase in anxiety during wd. That's why I'm determined to make this benzo helper count, it's my best shot to quit. I already tried bupropion and NRT.
 
Ah yes. I have been diagnosed with GAD, so I am familiar with the anxiety issues . There's nothing pathetic about how you feel. It is a very real response to your environment. Are you quitting smoking or what ? You didn't mention that, nor have you addressed the possibility of using otc nicotine delivery devices like gum or patches. While I have never used those, they certainly seem to me to be a legitimate aid. Glad the xanax is working, just try not to enjoy it too much or you will end up with a much more difficult problem - did you take .5 or .25 ?
 
Xanax isn't an opiate. I'm not going to get addicted to xanax. I'm only planning on taking it for 2-3 days to get through nicotine wd. I've read enough benzo horror stories to know they're not the drug for me. I took it at 1 mg dose level a long time ago and that didn't make me pass out but i want to get by with the lowest anxiolytic dose.

Fair enough, I'm glad you've looked into it and have a plan :)

Benzodiazepine addiction can sneak up on people - no, it isn't an opiate, but it is still very easy to become dependent on something. Sounds like you've got a good plan though. If you've had 1mg before and were okay, I'd still try 0.5mg for anxiolysis, and be careful at work :)

Good luck with the smoking! It's a bitch to kick, congratulations :D
 
Ah yes. I have been diagnosed with GAD, so I am familiar with the anxiety issues . There's nothing pathetic about how you feel. It is a very real response to your environment. Are you quitting smoking or what ? You didn't mention that, nor have you addressed the possibility of using otc nicotine delivery devices like gum or patches. While I have never used those, they certainly seem to me to be a legitimate aid. Glad the xanax is working, just try not to enjoy it too much or you will end up with a much more difficult problem - did you take .5 or .25 ?

Yeah I'm quitting smoking In my previous post, NRT stands for nioctine replacement therapy so yeah I tried that. It turns out withdrawal from the monamine oxidase inhibitors in tobacco are what really cause anxiety from quitting. Nicotine withdrawal by itself doesn't cause anxiety in animal studies, only when combined with a monamine oxidase inhibitor. NRT didn't work for me unfortunately. I wound up taking .25 mg of xanax, it took the edge off but it still wasn't easy at work. Glad I made it over the three day hump now.

Fair enough, I'm glad you've looked into it and have a plan :)

Benzodiazepine addiction can sneak up on people - no, it isn't an opiate, but it is still very easy to become dependent on something. Sounds like you've got a good plan though. If you've had 1mg before and were okay, I'd still try 0.5mg for anxiolysis, and be careful at work :)

Good luck with the smoking! It's a bitch to kick, congratulations :D

As for the opiate remark, my ocd made me correct a minor error in one of your post. "opiate naive". I've been through opiate wd but looking at the benzo wd or even taper stories make me think that opiate wd wasn't so bad compared to what I see happened to those people. Luckily I'm too afraid to take xanax after 2-3 days of use. Thanks for the support, I feel like the symptoms are improving even from yesterday.
 
glad you found a dose that works for you. hope you are successful in quitting. going to close this now. let us know how it goes in the BDD social thread.
 
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