Benzos Xanax Withdrawal?

[Chaos21]

I know people that eat mass xanax often you will be fine, just get through the withdrawal, and DON'T eat more xanax

 

[Woodsong]

I appreciate all the comments and advice... I still feel kinda cruddy, but I think I'll be alright... Right now I'm just grateful I'm not in either a jail cell or a coffin... -_-'

 

[Aphex747]

good stuff woodsong, youll be alright man, just givde them benzos a looong break and learn from your mistake and youll be just fine. its the people who keep doing the same shit like this over and over that end up with real issues. you might feel kinda blue and hungover. get yourself a bag of cannabis to smoke and maybe a beer or two to mildly help the GABA receptor ease out of its mildly shocked state. again, im no doctor, just giving what is to the best of my knowledge, good advice. -aphex

 

[Somberlain]

yea, i get your point thomas, i was just giving an example of what a massive overdose can do to your mind and organs. im no doctor. but if i took 40 mg in one night, id be seeing one the next day. thats literally almost the equivelant of consuming an entire gram of etizolam powder in a 24 hour period. since xanax is alot stronger than etizolam.

40mg alprazolam is equal to a gram of etizolam? are you kidding? or was that just overstating to underlinde that this guy took a huge amount of alpraz?

the numbers vary a bit when you read different sources, but alprazolam should be about twice as potent as etizolam. so no, 40mg are not equal to 1000mg.

on topic: if you were physically addicted to benzos once, you're kind of sensitive for wd/rebound (at least most people are). taking such an enormous amount would give me nasty rebound-effects for 2-4 days i think, because i had a pretty heavy benzo addiction a while ago. but that's just speculation since i never took such large amounts, they would just make me sleep (alprazolam is one of the most sedating benzos for me).
but i think you'll be fine if you stay away from the stuff for a while. just nasty rebound effects, psychosomatic shit and so on. and as someone mentioned before, self medicating something like high bp is not a good idea.

 

[chrisalt]

i dont know that it can, but people who take a 40 pill bottle of tylenol pm need to get there stomach pumped. just be careful bro is all, i lost a friend and have many blackout stories that do involve driving like 90mph down the residential street i lived on. the higher you get on benzos (especially xanax) the more rowdy you get, lol i know trust me. if you dont have any symptoms that you feel are SERIOUS, just give it another day or two and see how your doing. if you have health insurance and its affordable to make an appointment, it wouldnt be the biggest waste of time, im sure. thank God for those gardian angels bro. i know ive got one looking out for me as well : ) good luck, and update us, so we know your all good. -aphex

Lol i know a little something about getting my stomach pumped. I took i think 70 extra strenght advil and almost died when i was 17 (man i was such a idiot for that one). It's not fun... plus the charcoal they make you drink to throw up the undigested pills left in you...awful just awful.

 

[Where Wolf?]

Woodsong, as someone asked above, you say you've been clean for a week - what from? If you just kicked benzos, and this was a relapse, then you might be at some risk of aggravated withdrawal once the Xanax is out of your system. In that case, I'd say get hold of a little valium, and either do a quick taper, or just keep a 10mg pill or two on you in case of sudden physical withdrawal symptoms (tremors, for example). If you just kicked something else, it's probably unlikely that you're in for anything worse than feeling shitty and spaced for a few days: but benzos are tricky, and you might be best off keeping a SMALL supply of valium on hand to deal with any sudden, harsh rebound effects.

As other posters have said, this is a learning experience: you got behind the wheel on 40mgs of alprazolam, you're lucky to be alive, free - and not to have killed anyone. It sounds like maybe you ought to swear off short-acting benzos altogether once this current crisis has passed, and stay off - I'm not moralising, I'm tapering from a high-dose Xanax habit on Valium now, and about six months ago, took 450mgs of diaz in the course of 24 hours, sleeping in three 8-hour shifts after a bad night and race to a tight deadline - but Xanax is evil for amnesia in a lot of people, and compulsive redosing can turn a Catholic schoolgirl with a license and small auto into a serial killer (I've never blacked out on anything but lorazepam and booze, but I've never taken more than 4mgs of Alprazolam at a time, though I did go through a period of dosing 4mgs 3 times a day). If you can't control your dosing, you shouldn't dose at all or you could wake up in a cell facing charges of vehicular manslaughter, DUI and destruction of property. Benzos and driving really don't mix. I'm not being harsh, just pointing out, as Erowid does, that driving while intoxicated is taking risks with other people's lives: way I see it, we're all free to risk our own lives as we choose, but putting others in danger is a whole different story. You could end up in serious trouble, ruin lives and leave a family or two with permanent grief trauma and for what? A benzo 'high'? There isn't one. That's why they're called downers.

I think part of the reason so many of us get into trouble with benzos is that we overdose, chasing a buzz - and there isn't much of one. They're useful for short-term treatment of panic attacks, aborting bad trips and stimulant comedowns, and in treatment of epilepsy when other anti-convulsants fail, severe alcohol withdrawal and PTSD, but recreational use is pretty lame: everyone's different, of course, and Xanax is one of the more pleasant benzos (if you're not too blacked out to know you're high), but IME, only really euphoric when used to potentiate opiates, and then you're risking death by respiratory depression. They're not MDMA, or even Vicodin, just chill pills - and less is generally more, as your experience demonstrates, dramatically.

In the short-term, though, if you've just relapsed a week after kicking a benzo habit, then you're probably going to need, paradoxically, more benzos to get through it. Valium is your friend, here - Xanax is too short-acting to taper off of. So if it was a benzo habit you just kicked, rebound withdrawals could become serious - read the Ashton manual and either get hold of a supply of diazepam and decide a taper schedule, or, ideally, do so under medical supervision. A little research, depending on where you are, will probably turn up a benzo recovery specialist. In the short term, if you're going to need treatment, get hold of some valium - or if you can't, whatever benzo you can - to have on hand in case of sudden crisis. Any symptoms more severe than mild anxiety & fuzziness and you should probably check in with a doctor.

Even if you just kicked something else, if you can get hold of a tab or two of valium, and trust yourself not to just swallow them for the hell of it, it might not hurt to have them on hand in case of sudden shakiness or panic attacks as the Xanax leaves your system: just one or two 10mg doses (diazepam, NOT xanax) would get you through the worst of it, and if you stopped there, be pretty much self-tapering. But that's just being extra cautious: in all likelihood, you're just going to feel foggy, forgetful, with the lethargy and possibly nausea of a bad booze hangover, without the pounding headache. Drink lots of water to help eliminate the residue, and at the risk of sounding preachy, as someone in treatment for a benzo habit that started with xanax, benzos really are a zero-sum game when it comes to regular use. They give a lot of relief...and then take back, with interest, like one of those shitty credit cards-for-poor credit.

Glad you made it through alive and without blood on your hands: be careful over the next few days, and avoid driving if you can. If you must drive, a little caffeine and keeping your eyes & thoughts focused squarely on the road seem like a good idea. Take it easy, man, and good luck with the aftermath. Shit, 40mgs of alprazolam = 800mgs of diazepam. 80 big blues...if you'f thrown in an OC80 or a little dope, you'd be on a slab somewhere. Fucking benzos, man: shitty high, limitless capacity to do damage. Like Voting Nader in Florida 12 years ago...

 

[Aphex747]

^yea i think i was trying to say 40mg of xanax is almost equal to an entire box of 100 etilaam tabs. i got call of duty black ops the other night so i JUST got caught on my sleep. yea i kinda was overstating, even meaning 100, since it would be closer to 80 etizolam pills, give or take, i was just trying to make it clear taking that much xanax is beyond wreckless. shit. it scares me

 

[Woodsong]

@Where Wolf?
I've been on bupe for a little over a year now-- an OC80 would barely touch me regardless, though... Luckily, I've never let myself get to the point of physical dependence with benzos; opiates are a whole other story... I may have lost my job and a lot of friends and family because of Xanax, but I've somehow managed to avoid both cop and coroner in the process... You'd think I'd have learned my lesson after the first few such instances... It feels like a wake-up call every time, yet benzos seem to have a way with forgetfulness... This post will certainly serve as a reminder the next time I feel like I need to take a chill pill...

 

[RobotRipping]

i wasnt judgmental, i tried to make light of the giant mistake he made. dont you have better things to do than critique my posts? i never said he had liver damage, i said thats the worst thing i could see happenening without doing the research HE could do on his own through google even, and i never said it did give him any kind of damage. i gave him good advice, i dont need to sugarcoat harm reduction. thanks for trying to correct me. quite helpful

Sorry man no offense or anything. I didn't realize 40mg in one day, won't kill you or damage you but will make you quite fucked up. Wasn't trying to undermine you or anything.

Eitzolam is as potent as xanax, mg for mg i believe

 

[jambabomba]

benzos do not cause liver damage, maybe some brain damage but those studies are controversial. 40mg of xanax in a month is nothing.

Definately very controversial. Studies that have tried to implicate benzos might be neurotoxic are mostly epidemiological studies done with abusers of short-acting hypnotics. You might speculate that when abusing something and especially short-acting hypnotic there is mostly binges with going from severe sedation shortly to severe agitation (rebound) like it with booze. It has been also mentioned that by being drunk on constant basis is much more healthier to brains than binge drinking wich causes more damage due excitotoxicity. Same thing might be with short-acting hypnotic abusers.

So what is mostly wrong with those studies (in my opinion) they didn't count the effect of binge use and excitotoxicity but they directly accuse benzos of cause. On the other hand, there are studies showing benzos don't cause damage in vivo and at least to me that seems more convincing evidence about their true effects on brains. Except midazolam wich has been found to be somehow neurotoxic in vivo if I remember correctly.

I know people that eat mass xanax often you will be fine, just get through the withdrawal, and DON'T eat more xanax

I would disagree. If I understood correctly the OP's main concern was seizures prevention and was asking help for this matter. If he had binged large amount of benzos then there will propably be also excitotoxicity similar to alcohol binges and consuming little xanax on second or thirth day would be the healthiest thing to do for your body and mind. It saves your head and also prevents possible seizures wich was his main concern. That doesn't mean you have to continue eating xanax afterwards.

Edit: "just get through the withdrawal, and DON'T eat more xanax" umm.. seems to me we have a receipt for benzo caused neurotoxicity.

 

[Aphex747]

etilaam and alprazolam(xanax) are NOT equivelant mg/mg. i find most benzo users say etilaam is weaker than xanax and it definitely is. if i had to rate it, id say 1mg etilaam = .5 mg alprazolam. etizolam is alot weaker than xanax but it is also more enjoyable than xanax. if i take 3 mg etizolam with no tolerance, its slightly comparable to 1.5mg xanax but not as sleepy and more euphoric. there is no way though, that 1 mg of etilaam = 1mg of xanax. people have that wrong.

 

[crazycatman]

Also got to remember, the equivalence charts are just guidelines, different benzos (yes I know, etizolam isn't technically a benzo but that's not really the point) have slightly different effects on different people. And what is enjoyable is an even bigger debate.

Anyway good luck to all of you trying to quit, I hope you succeed with as little as possible unnecessary problems. I've been close to being addicted to lots of gaba drugs and I know that stopping really sucks.

 

[mrflowers00]

xanax is barely toxic at all high doses are only dangerous because of loss of inhibitions and coordination

 

[RobotRipping]

etilaam and alprazolam(xanax) are NOT equivelant mg/mg. i find most benzo users say etilaam is weaker than xanax and it definitely is. if i had to rate it, id say 1mg etilaam = .5 mg alprazolam. etizolam is alot weaker than xanax but it is also more enjoyable than xanax. if i take 3 mg etizolam with no tolerance, its slightly comparable to 1.5mg xanax but not as sleepy and more euphoric. there is no way though, that 1 mg of etilaam = 1mg of xanax. people have that wrong.

yeah that's etilaam though, i'm talking pure 99.9% etizolam powder. You may still be right though, generally i need 4mg to get a good buzz.