Short term Xanax habit - need help

[Old Man Legit]

Hello,
I've been taking xanax for I think about 2 months. I've gone a few days here and there without taking them. some days i take as little as .25 but for the last couple weeks I've been taking 1mg up to 1.5mg. If I've been using xanax for roughly 2 months, mostly heavily the last 2-3 weeks, do i need to taper? What should I expect? I really want to to stop, I don't need this, and I don't want to get hooked bad. I have a few bars left so I was thinking about taking .25/day for the next week and a half and just toughing it out. I have buspar prescribed to me, so you think that would help??

Wondering if anyone else has had a short term addiction to xanax and could give me some tips and advice and what to expect.

Thank you so much for reading,

Blessing.

 

[WarChild]

I've come off Xanax once and Valium 3 times and i've got it worked out.

Do NOT go cold turkey on Xanax. I made that mistake and had a minor seizure. Cigarettes and booze i advise cold turkey but NOT xanax.

The trick is go SLOW. Start with 1mg if that is enough to get you through the day. If thats not enough then start with 1.5. Then drop the dose incrementally in three week goes. So if you're starting with 1mg go to ,75mg for 3 weeks, then .5 for 3 weeks, then .25 for three weeks, and finally if you can cut them up small enough then .125 for three weeks. If you go that slow in little increments then you'll hardly notice it.

There are two tools for if the anxiety and withdrawal starts to fuck with you... dont laugh - but Chamomile Tea and Valarian! As a combo they KICK ASS on benzo withdrawal. My psychiatrsit recommended them. As sleeping aids they are shit but they REALLY help with benzo withdrawal.

Number two is obvioius - exercise. Get on your bike, join a gym, go for a run, whatever. A good 30 mins of intense exercise, work up a sweat, REALLY hammer it for 30 mins, and you'll feel heaps better.

So yeah taper off SLOWLY and use the tea/valarian/exercise as aids.

PS - A lot of doctors in this situation will transfer you to valium then get you to come off valium, which IS smoother as it has a longer half life, but you'll spend at least a few weeks transfering over and you'll end up on heaps of valium, so in my opinion just come straight off the xanax.

Be prepared for it to suck a bit. Just remember when the anxiety and wd is severe, that it is temporary, and usually in half an hour you'll feel a little better, it does seem to come in waves for most people. When youre off it have a fucken party! And stay away from it in the future. Those that have been addicted to a benzo will get addicted again VERY easily and quickly! so just be cautious. Take them if you need them but not more than 2 or 3 days in a row.

Hope all this helps! PM me if you have any questions or if you just need support. Good luck buddy, you don't need benzos in your life! Not every day anyway.

WC

 

[T. Calderone]

Hi Old Man Legit, You didn't say whether the Xanax was prescribed to you. But only having a few bars left you could divide them so you would be taking .5 mg. I'm not sure how this will work for you since they are very short acting.

Perhaps your doctor could prescribe you something specifically to help you taper. I've read that buspar is sometimes used but it's a medication I'm not familiar with. Also gabapentin (Neurontin) or pregablin (lyrica.) There are many threads here addressing this subject. Here's one:

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/522372-What-drugs-are-given-for-benzo-withdrawal

It's a difficult withdrawal and I've only been through it one time. I binged for less than 2 months and it made opiate withdrawal feel easy. I didn't use anything to get me through and it was brutal. It's best to talk to your doctor if you can and don't be afraid to ask for help. Wish you the best!

 

[Old Man Legit]

I feel like since I haven't been taking xanax for very long it shouldn't be that harsh? Am i kidding myself? I went 48 hours the other day and really I was just craving for some, I wasn't freaking out or having many symptoms I don't think. I've gone through some seriously intense opiate (years of continued use) withdrawals so maybe its hard for me to imagine this being a big deal since its supposed to be more subtle but longer? No I'm not prescribed it, maybe i should see my doc and just tell him the truth and ask if he can help me get off them. I've just been taking heavy doses for 2-3 weeks now, before that it was less frequent but still fairly often. I feel like I can ween down and just rough it out. does anyone have experience with a short benzo addiction and how it was getting off them??

I'm on suboxone and I really should piss clean on the 1st, I don't know what my doc will say because he has warned me about pissing dirty for benzos before, maybe i should just tell him I'm really struggling getting off benzos and I would appreciate if he helped me start a tapper?

 

[xxpurplehazexx]

I have a long-term klonopin addiction/tolerance (been on 1 - 1.5mg klonopin everyday for 4 years, but it's prescribed). I think my psychiatrist is totally batshit, but he told me if I wanted to kick benzos I should just take 0.5mg for like a week and then stop! I agree that taking 1.5mg xanax daily for a couple weeks doesn't sound like it should be that hard to withdraw from though.

After about a year on 1mg klonopin, I unintentionally went cold turkey because I had run out. I didn't really notice any strange sensations until the third day when it was time to pick up my prescription. Of course, xanax is shorter-acting. I personally wouldn't tell your doctor if it's at all possible, especially since he already warned you.

 

[Old Man Legit]

Well I'm going to be tested on Monday. I think i need to just be honest with him and tell him I'm having anxiety due to the suboxone and that I need help tapering off the benzos and then work out a plan to work something else out. I don't want to be on benzos. Hopefully he will appreciate my honesty. My life has become so amazing since I've been on subs, better than its been in years. This little benzo thing is the only problem I've had thus far. I feel like if i tell him the truth he may work with me and help me get off the benzos and continue the subs. It would be so absolutely horrible to cut my sub script off and throw me back into that world of terror. I dont think he would want to do that. I don't know i just need to see if this weening works out as planned i guess.
I was hoping someone who had a short time of benzos and then came off could chime in with some experience.
I appreciate all that has been posted so far, its been a big help, thanks everyone.
BE HAPPY BE HEALTHY

 

[T. Calderone]

My concern for you now would be how your doctor will react, especially since he's warned you about benzos before. You're treading on thin ice no matter what reasons you may have, you are taking a drug not prescribed which is known for being highly abused. I mean you could stop using Xanax right this minute but you could well still test positive on Monday. We are not supposed to discuss drug test issues here but your doctor could easily discharge you.

My best suggestion would be for you to be honest with him. I'm not sure what kind of relationship you two have but if you tell him your anxiety is due to the suboxone, why would he want to continue prescribing it for you? I can't tell you with good conscience to lie, but perhaps you're having trouble sleeping? I had my own problems with insomnia while in pain management and smoked weed.

My doctor was angry about the marijuana but gave me another chance and prescribed me amitriptyline. I'm hoping that your doctor will be sympathetic. You can go off the Xanax perhaps using the other drugs previously mentioned. Let us know what happens ok!