Using Xanax to ween off of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco

[gethalp]

SWIM has been seeking to quit the all-too-common yet all-too-understated trio addiction of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes. With the exception of weed, SWIM isn't actually too keen on either alcohol or cigarettes, but they have come into play as a trinity of substances which are necessary to reach the desired level of self-alteration. This has been a roughly 8 year addiction of years on, and perhaps in total 2 1/2 years off.

Well SWIM needs to stop this lifestyle, but it is of course a struggle. All SWIM has at his disposal currently is Xanax and some ADHD medication, but the latter only drives SWIM more to the three previously mentioned excesses.

The question is then, would Xanax help ween SWIM off these other things, supplanting alcohol/marjuana/tobacco? I know Xanax itself can be very addictive, but to be honest it doesn't get SWIM high and I can't currently see an addiction to this forming (but wouldn't that be better than the other three combined?)

Thanks-

*SWIM also if need be can get prescriptions for anti-depressants, as taken in the past, but side effects can be too much to seem worth it...*

 

[OGKooosh]

maybe you should ween yourself off with heroin. jk that was mean.

but seriously your not gonna learn to be sober if your munching bars. if your having terrible withdrawal maybe the xanax can help with that but otherwise by the end of the month your gonna be hooked on benzo's and having an even tougher time getting off them, and idk from personal experience but the kick on benzo's is apparently NASTY.

 

[opium]

first off brother, dont use SWIM here, we all know its you

and benzos should not be used to kick those habits. Cigs and Weed have no real W/D's that would harm you.

alcohol if you have an 8 or so year addiction, id go to a hospital for a medical detox, because that shit can get dangerous....like seizures and death.

Chewing up some bars isnt gonna solve your problem, its gonna leave you with a whole knew addiction. then your gonna have to worry about kickin them, and benzo W/D is dangerous. As fuck. Even if you dont "See" or "Feel" yourself getting addicted, when the W/D's kick in, it could be something fierce.

My advice, just quit the cigs and marijuana cold turkey if your really serious about it..maybe some nicorette gum or a patch.

alcohol like i said, if its bad enough, seek medical detox for a safe and comfortable detox.

 

[casualuser]

I would just like to second opium's advice. A benzo addiction is the last thing you want to risk. If you feel like you can't quit cold turkey try cutting back at first, half a pack of cigs a day instead of an entire one ect. If you're having a really difficult time rehab or a medical detox would definitely be your best bet and give you the best chance of not relapsing. Good luck man.

 

[Jabberwocky]

i think that SSRI's shouldn't be used for this situation. i think they are the evil of psychiatric drugs and should only ever be used in absolute desperation of a person that is extremely depressed or has a psychiatric disorder.

as for using xanax, considering you've been using alcohol for 8 years, i'd suggest using valium at 20mg for about a week, 10mg for the next, 5 the week after and then stop as sudden withdrawal from alcohol can cause seizures. honestly i suggest checking into a detox for that but keep it as an outpatient service rather than staying there. if you see a doctor/psychiatrist regarding your problems DONT just take all the prescriptions he hands out like candy to you. you don't want to become dependant on some other crap that won't help, after all most of them are after the fees and prescription charges.

get to some meetings of AA too, i think it would help as well.

as for the weed/tobacco issue i think that you should take it one step at a time in all honesty. first get yourself off one and then move onto the other, but actively try to lower the amounts you use.

with tobacco i think the best idea would be to just quit. get rid of all the cigarettes around you. if you really want a terrific way to quit smoking that my father used (he smoked 5 packs a day for 30 years) he would pour water into the ashtray and drink it. disgusting i know. but every time you pick up a cig you'll remember it. trust me.

 

[opium]

if you really want a terrific way to quit smoking that my father used (he smoked 5 packs a day for 30 years) he would pour water into the ashtray and drink it. disgusting i know. but every time you pick up a cig you'll remember it. trust me.

wow. sounds like hes old school. How long did he projectile vomit for after that?

 

[Jabberwocky]

yeah he was old school. he would be vomit for about two hours afterwards and the taste of ash never left his mouth for the day, even with mouthwash, brushing his teeth, chewing gum anything and he'd do it every time he had a cigarette, and after two days of doing so he never touched one again in the rest of his life (50 years).

 

[opium]

jesus. mad respect for your dad. Thats a mans way to quit

 

[Swimmingdancer]

if you really want a terrific way to quit smoking that my father used (he smoked 5 packs a day for 30 years) he would pour water into the ashtray and drink it. disgusting i know. but every time you pick up a cig you'll remember it. trust me.

This can actually be dangerous, you can get nicotine poisoning (which is very unpleasant and can be lethal).

gethalp - If you mean that you drink daily and are physically dependent on alcohol, you should go to a detox. Even if you are not physically dependent, you really need to get some help because if you just try to quit using benzos you can very easily end up just replacing your addiction with an addiction (and physical dependence) to benzos. At least see a doctor or counsellor etc about this. You need to work on the mental reasons behind why you use drugs/alcohol if you want to succeed.

 

[gethalp]

maybe you should ween yourself off with heroin. jk that was mean.

but seriously your not gonna learn to be sober if your munching bars. if your having terrible withdrawal maybe the xanax can help with that but otherwise by the end of the month your gonna be hooked on benzo's and having an even tougher time getting off them, and idk from personal experience but the kick on benzo's is apparently NASTY.

Thanks for the thoughts. You're probably right. The alc/weed/cigs combo addiction I guess isn't as physically as horrendous as some of the big scheduled substances.

 

[gethalp]

I would just like to second opium's advice. A benzo addiction is the last thing you want to risk. If you feel like you can't quit cold turkey try cutting back at first, half a pack of cigs a day instead of an entire one ect. If you're having a really difficult time rehab or a medical detox would definitely be your best bet and give you the best chance of not relapsing. Good luck man.

Thank you, cold turkey has only ever worked on me when a medical emergency came up and I was forced to quit these things. Maybe I'll try and taper down, I dunno.

 

[gethalp]

i think that SSRI's shouldn't be used for this situation. i think they are the evil of psychiatric drugs and should only ever be used in absolute desperation of a person that is extremely depressed or has a psychiatric disorder.

as for using xanax, considering you've been using alcohol for 8 years, i'd suggest using valium at 20mg for about a week, 10mg for the next, 5 the week after and then stop as sudden withdrawal from alcohol can cause seizures. honestly i suggest checking into a detox for that but keep it as an outpatient service rather than staying there. if you see a doctor/psychiatrist regarding your problems DONT just take all the prescriptions he hands out like candy to you. you don't want to become dependant on some other crap that won't help, after all most of them are after the fees and prescription charges.

get to some meetings of AA too, i think it would help as well.

as for the weed/tobacco issue i think that you should take it one step at a time in all honesty. first get yourself off one and then move onto the other, but actively try to lower the amounts you use.

I actually had an Rx for valium for anxiety, but had in recent months switched to Xanax. Hopefully this wasn't too big of a mistake But I guess I can always go back to the doc and switch it up again.

with tobacco i think the best idea would be to just quit. get rid of all the cigarettes around you. if you really want a terrific way to quit smoking that my father used (he smoked 5 packs a day for 30 years) he would pour water into the ashtray and drink it. disgusting i know. but every time you pick up a cig you'll remember it. trust me.

Honestly, this is very seriously inspiring. Thank you.

 

[gethalp]

first off brother, dont use SWIM here, we all know its you

and benzos should not be used to kick those habits. Cigs and Weed have no real W/D's that would harm you.

alcohol if you have an 8 or so year addiction, id go to a hospital for a medical detox, because that shit can get dangerous....like seizures and death.

Chewing up some bars isnt gonna solve your problem, its gonna leave you with a whole knew addiction. then your gonna have to worry about kickin them, and benzo W/D is dangerous. As fuck. Even if you dont "See" or "Feel" yourself getting addicted, when the W/D's kick in, it could be something fierce.

My advice, just quit the cigs and marijuana cold turkey if your really serious about it..maybe some nicorette gum or a patch.

alcohol like i said, if its bad enough, seek medical detox for a safe and comfortable detox.

Okay, pretty much decided on not supplanting three substances with one. I guess the best thing is taking it one step at a time. Hopefully encouragement helps too. Take care-

 

[DavidWhy]

I know people always say don't exchange 1 addiction for another, but I have been an alcoholic. I was an alcoholic to the extent that I didn't eat, didn't keep myself clean, was throwing up in my bin, never had any money, was having blackouts... ONE of the ways I eventually quit was by using diazepam (which I would recommend over xanax). It wasn't the final answer and I had to do a lot of work to get sober, but that brief period of being addicted to benzos was HEAVEN compared to being addicted to alcohol. I was looking good, functioning well, piled on 3 stone of muscle in the gym, I was eating. I did eventually have to do a taper and it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad and it certainly wasn't as bad as not knowing night from day and hating myself and living in a bottle. So I wouldn't say it is the answer, but it can be, and it can help.