No Xanax Withdrawals?

[BarClay]

I've been on 4mg/day of xanax for about 3 months now, and my recent psychiatrist
is completely against benzos, so part of her treatment plan is weaning me off of xanax.

I've been on 3.5mg/day for about a week, and the past couple days (including today)
I've found that I can go from about 9pm one day, to 5pm the next day, without any
withdrawals. I usually realize/remember that I haven't taken any xanax around 4-5pm.
so it's not that the WDs are delayed.

Is it possible I'm one of the people who can cut drugs easier than others or something?


Note: If it's related, I also weaned off of 100mg of Zoloft in 6 days without any WDs.

 

[nAON]

It's possible. Have you considered trying to stay off the xanax for longer periods of time (ie. a week) to see how it affects you?

And what is it you were scripted it for in the first place, do you have any underlying conditions that might still need treating?

 

[BarClay]

I had "extreme" GAD and Panic Disorder.

Currently on 20mg/Prozac/day and various amounts of Seroquel (<< I don't always take the seroquel, though)

And I guess I could try staying off of it, but now that I am thinking about it, it's causing me anxiety because I
feel like I *should* be feeling sick...

I'll try staying off of it for the rest of the night and see what happens. I just found it extremely odd that not only
would I not have rebound anxiety, but I'm not going through any WDs yet either.

Thanks for the reply

 

[Swimmingdancer]

You might just be lucky and be not getting withdrawals. It's possible. Everyone is different and it does depend on how long you were taking it, how much you take, your unique brain/body, your pre-existing symptoms, etc. I read one study where they said 60% of people they studied using alprazolam got withdrawal symptoms and/or rebound symptoms after 8 weeks of daily use of alprazolam. I don't recall what dose they were using, but it does show that not everyone gets withdrawals after relatively shorter-term use. If you don't currently get withdrawals when you don't take it this DOES NOT mean that you won't eventually or that you can stop all drugs easily.

Another possibility is that you just aren't feeling withdrawals because you haven't gone long enough, they don't always happen right away. IR alprazolam has an average half-life of around 12 hrs, meaning for 87% of the drug to be out of your system would take ~36 hrs. If you're taking it daily it builds up in your system, so some people find they don't notice withdrawals from alprazolam until they stop it completely for a few days.

And a third possibility is that the Prozac/Seroquel are helping somewhat. Or it could be a combination of all 3 possibilities.

I think it's good you're tapering off it now rather than later. If you do get any withdrawals they will be relatively easy compared to someone who's been taking it for years. Definitely don't feel anxious about not feeling withdrawals or cravings, that's a good thing What exactly worries you, that you will get strong withdrawals later on?

Honestly, I am in favour of treating anxiety with things other than benzos. Hopefully your psych is good and has some other ideas, ideally including non-drug treatments.

 

[BarClay]

Had a meeting with my psych yesterday and she was pretty shocked. I was expecting to get yelled at or kicked out, but instead she praised me....ha...
Anyways, she asked what dose I would be comfortable dropping down to, with these recent developments in mind, and I said 2mg/day.
She said it's really weird that unlike all of her other patients that she's weaning off of benzos, I'm actually eager to get off of it.

Thanks for your help Swimmingdancer!

Also, the only thing I'm sorta worried about now are the effects of long-term exposure to Seroquel.

 

[DavidWhy]

A lot of things can influence it. If you are young and in good health the body is a better healer. If you have never had withdrawals from other drugs before you might not. I didn't start getting withdrawal from alcohol until I was in my mid 20's and I had been on drugs and alcohol pretty much constantly since I was 14. You might not have them this time but don't kid yourself that you are 'one of those people' who aren't negatively affected by drugs EVER. Just not NOW.