• 💊 OTHER DRUGS 💊 Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads 1 Notable Threads 2
    Dangerous Combos Addiction Support
    Emergency Services Benzo Guide v.1
    Addiction Stories Scary Case Studies
    Biology, Pharmacology & Drugs 101
  • Select Your Topic Then Scroll Down
    Alcohol Bupe Benzos
    Cocaine Heroin Opioids
    RCs Stimulants Misc
    Harm Reduction All Topics Gabapentinoids
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums

Benzos Xanax withdrawal

B

budsnbars712

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 15, 2011
Messages
166
Location
NY
I am constantly on xanax, but not always on the same dosage. 5 out of the 7 days of the week I take 2.5 mg (.5) 5 times a day. I take at 7:30am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, and 7 pm. So I go about 12 hours without taking the drug just about everyday. I said I take this much 5 out of the 7 days because sometimes I splurge and take up to 6 mg. Like last friday, I wanted to be productive (I know, weird, xanax makes me productive) so I took .5-1mg here and there up to about 6 mg. I can only imagine that I am experiencing withdrawals from that high of a dosage when I go back to the normal 2.5mg a day. The thing is sometimes I do not notice the withdrawals, as I am still on the drug, just a way lower dose. SOOO, my point being, I wake up in the morning everyday with high anxiety. Is this because I have not taken the drug for 12 hours? Also, I have muscle aches. I do not take any opiates. Has anyone ever experienced muscle aches from xanax withdrawal? I have been on this medication for about 2-3 years now, not exactly sure how long...
 
Taking 2.5+mg/day is a high enough dose to give withdrawals when you decrease the dose or abuse the drug at even higher doses. Anxiety and muscle aches are both common symptoms of benzo withdrawal.

I would recommend tapering to a lower maintenance dose. Try to make 1mg/day become the new maintenance dose with 2.5mg for recreation. Lowering your doses will decrease your withdrawal symptoms.
 
yeah benzos suck my man. after a while you end up taking doses like that or higher just to be normal. most people think benzo withdrawal is worse than opiate withdrawal. from what i went through i disagree but theyre both in the 'unreal' category. you should taper down as gyospeck said, or perhaps switch to a longer acting benzo to avoid those peaks and valleys associated with compounds of a short half life (xanax/alprazolam).

many here will suggest valium but i see A LOT of people struggling to get off that in the same way as buprenorphine. my suggestion is clonazepam because it is shorter acting than valium, has no active metabolites (just itself), and to me and several others much easier to lower dose or even clean up. alprazolam is a rough one to withdrawal from, probably one of the worst.
 
You are on a high dose, and if you miss even a 0,5 dose you gonna feel it. This drug have a very short half life, but is very unlikely for someone to have withdrawls if you only go crazier in the dosage two days a week... 3 would be pushing, tough.
 
yeah same as above, after 12 hours it's out of your system for the most part and you are feeling slight benzo withdrawals. Take .5mg before bed and you should be fine or better yet switch to lorazepam or something longer acting. Make sure you have a steady level of xanax in your bloodstream and you won't feel like this.

xanax does not cause muscle aches but xanax withdrawals will make your muscles seize up and ache like you wouldn't believe.
 
I am glad to hear that it is withdrawals giving me these aches, as now I know the source of the problem... I googled rebound anxiety and from what I understand, since xanax is a short acting benzo, when u come down, u need it even more. It says that switching to Kpins is better. Now that I know this, it freaks me out a little bit. The reason I never did this in the first place is because I am prescribed 2 mg a day. So whatever extra I take is off the street, and the only accessible benzo around here (if its even accessible). Therefore, if I get prescribed the kpins instead, I will only be able to get xanax for the extra mgs I need. I do not think mixing that and taking both would be smart. I have done it before and it feels awesome but I am here to solve my withdrawal issue....SO. As of right now I do not want to taper as I am not looking to get off benzos at the moment, but I am looking to counter these rebound withdrawals that I just learned about. Like I said, I take extra and the extra would be xanax, not kpins. Hmmm...any suggestions?
 
first off, what muscles? i had this issue, i used to take xanax so i could play my pc games and it would take away my soar neck from leaning in to far. you may be doing something regarding bad posture? if nothing specific comes to mind, id say its the pills. ive ALWAYS got a raw neck and xanax pretty much started that. also, do yourself a favor and get on kpins. they actually hit almost as hard as a xanax, around the 1-2 hour mark and last ALOT longer. plus you could use the kpin as a blanket. take 1 mg 2x a day or 2mg 1x a day and every 3 days or so, try cutting back your xanax, it will be cake with kpins working. get yourself down to taking .5 maybe 2x a day then 1x a day if needed and jump off the xanax around this time. then cut your kpin dose down gradually and when you feel like stopping them, jump off when you feel ready. buy some valerian root, it helps alot with anxiety, and so does medical cannabis. shit drink a few beers if you really feel the craving for xanax. the kpin will keep your wits about you and prevent a seizure that CT xanax can have.

most people say this is a bad idea, but i have very good self control. when your about to jump off the kpins and the benzos all together, buy 10-15 vicodin. you can use them to completely mask the minor wd's and if you only use the opiates lightly (5-10mg hydrocodone a day, spaced out) you can safely use them for a week or 2 tops. anything beyond that youve got a new monkey on your back.

but seriously....use kpins to taper off xanax completely, then taper off the kpin (its alot easier) and you may not even need opiates but i know when i jump off my kpin/valium taper in a week or two, im going to use opiates for at least 3 or 4 days in a row. i dont need to get dopesick but you will not get physically addicted to vicodin in a week or two of use. maybe do 10mg the 1st week off kpin, 5mg when you wake up, 5 mg when it wears off. try to stretch it out so it lasts till you sleep. the second week, take 5mg a day and also some vitamins, and that is the easiest way to jump off benzos for a few weeks and not be mentally tortured craving xanax. thats my strategy, its not for everyone, but if you keep track of your doses like me you are probably responsible enough to use vics for a week or two and drop em. keep taking valerian root if it helps, get some melatonin for sleep. also the main thing, try to stay occupied. my strongest cravings come when i get really bored and it feels like i dont even want to listen to music or watch tv. take a few valerian root, drink a beer if you absolutely have to. i have a feeling your gonna be fine tho man. i will agree using xanax regularly for 2 years has actually gave me anxiety, i never had before using them. also gave me seizures. i made the mistake of not knowing about bluelight,ru or any forums really. so i just decided to one day stop my xanax cold turkey and i used tramadol instead of vicodin. big mistake. tramadol lowers your seizure thresh hold. vicodins wont. good luck man, were both working at the same thing. -aphex
 
Aphex, ya its the neck and back. Two major areas that stress can affect. I did not take xanax at my usual 7 a.m. this morning and it is now 9 a.m. I am just way more irritable and jittery. I am not remotely relaxed, time to take that fucking pill i guess...
 
^yea xanax also made me lose all my patience and become highly irritable. and for sure, its always my neck and shoulders and sometimes my lower back. ive got a few small injuries, but nothing too severe i guess. i view xanax as like the "crack" of benzos. it makes me get really short with people too when its wearing off. like a long story will irritate me, "ill be like, get to the point!" yea and thats not cool when your like that. i felt like i just wanted to snap on everyone and the littlest upset would set me off. xanax made me very unstable for months, close to a year till i snapped out of it. my doctors will prescribe me 10mg flexerill 3x a day bc my shoulders and neck is so tight and stiff, i have knots. i told him its from stress and he told me he would refer me to someone else, like a mental health counselor. and that is the last thing i need on my record. id rather not have a shady doctors office collecting big bucks off my insurance, just to tell me he cant help me and all that. if i can order what i need online, i always will.
 
I took this morning at nine oclock, and now it is almost 11:30. I was not irritable at first after taking my first .5 of the day, but now I seem to be irritable again. People are simply pissing me the fuck off. I have a job that I do everyday and today is even easier today for me, and I am still getting agitated. I have zero patience and I have no tolerance for bullshit right now. I bet if I took full bar (2mg), I would feel fine for a couple hours, but im not doing that. Now that I am still fucking raging and I took my first pill, my next question is how does this shit build up? Like If i take a higher dose in the morning say 1 mg and then go down slowly from there, will that help my rebound anxiety? Because as the day goes on, it gets a little better, but I am taking .5 every three hours. If this question is not answered sufficiently, or if it does not get enough opinions, I will make a new thread...
 
As others have said, if you wish to stop using alprazolam, switch to a longer acting benzodiazepine such as clonazepam or diazepam. Tapering with alprazolam is never ideal and very difficult.
 
I took .5 (usual dosage) again and within minutes, I am not as irritable. I am willing to help people more and my patience is higher, as I see no rush now. See what benzo's do everyone? You withdraw and don't even realize it sometimes...atleast with xanax, I only started noticing that me being irritable was a sign of the drug wearing off and withdrawal starting to begin...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top