Benzos Super low level Xanax withdrawal feels like a cup of coffee?

[indelibleface]

I've been taking Xanax every day, between 0.25mg and 0.5mg twice a day, sometimes a little more, since last week on Monday (almost two weeks). This is my first day off of the medication, and I feel a little jittery, but mostly just like I've had a large cup of coffee. Actually, I feel rather good. My mood is stellar.

Is this normal? Can very, very low level benzodiazepine withdrawal be a positive experience?

Or is it just my imagination and, in reality, I'm feeling no withdrawal at all?

I'm a bit confused.

 

[tricomb]

Hey there,

In my non-professional (but heavily experienced) opinion, it is likely mostly placebo.

1) 2 weeks is not long enough to cause dependency
2) your dosing was very responsible and you exercised self-control.

I don't think you're experiencing any withdrawal at all, if you feel "rather good", or even "stellar", then these terms pretty much disqualify you from the horror that is benzodiazepine withdrawal.

Although, the first day you go without taking a benzodiazepine should definitely feel a little "off", regardless of whether your actually dependent.

 

[indelibleface]

Yeah, placebo sounds accurate. Thanks tricomb.

If anything, I just feel slightly dizzy.

 

[tricomb]

Oh yeah, dizziness, now that is probably from the benzodiazepines.

So yeah, it is most likely that you are, understandably, feeling some discomfort upon discontinuation. Your brain gets used to the soothing effects of benzodiazepines, so when you take that away, I can totally understand feeling a bit jittery.

 

[moe.ron]

My guess is that it is probably in your head, but I would not be surprised if even just two weeks of low dose benzodiazepine was enough to throw off your brain out of homeostasis, even if just slightly. Just for instance, when you take benzodiazepines daily your brain makes much more adrenaline then its suppose to, to compensate for the massive cns depression. Take away the benzos not only are you not giving yourself the cns depression your brain is expecting, but also it has to deal with unnatural amounts of adrenaline being produced until homeostasis is returned (this is my very general understanding).

So what this *could* transfer over into benzo withdrawal symptoms are things like elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, sweating, insomnia, frequent adrenaline rushes (can feel like a dizzy spell), constant waking through out sleeping (waking to feeling your body being pumped with adrenaline), or perhaps in somebody who only used small doses of benzos for a short period of time, a mild feeling of energy increasing. Who knows though.

Another possible explanation is you just got "use to" the whatever (if any) depressant effects the benzos were giving you, and upon a return to normalcy you seem to experience sober reality through a comparisson to your benzo intoxication making the world seem new, and appearently as if you're on a cup of coffee. Cause lets face a sober person might as well be on a stimulant if your comparing him to somebody almost knocked out on benzos.

 

[MoreEnergyThanHer]

if you're feelin ok its not w/d, hurrooo!

 

[teological]

I used Xanax in a similiar fashion to you, for a little longer than 2 weeks but no longer than 3 weeks, continually for sleep on a nightly basis. I used 0.5mg up to 1mg a night. On my last few nights, I went up to 1.5mg.

I stopped suddenly and the next day I had WD symptoms. I am naturally prone to anxiety so maybe this could have been greatly pronounced, but I experienced some disgusting nausea and anxiety present inevitably, no matter what I was doing for almost two days.

I think it is very low level WD.