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xanax withdrawal

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Purple62

Greenlighter
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
Messages
18
Location
Sydney
I've had only 1 bottle. I hate it.
I stopped taking it all together after being on 6-12mg a day.
I could not sleep so the past few nights I took 1mg.
I don't want to do this anymore.
I feel f*n awful. like a flu. sore. tired. horrible mouth oily and things taste funny.
I thought it was a flu coming on (I've had the flu twice in my life and it feels like that...I'm not talking a cold)
I take 600mg seroquel xr at night that used to help me sleep.
I just don't want to be like this anymore.
I did effexor withdrawal 10 years ago and it took 3 months.
how long is this going to last?
I'm chucking it out. Its too late to not C/T cos I guess I more or less have.
If I can't sleep tonight without it, I guess I just put up with it.
this is wicked stuff.
 
From personal experience if you are going to have a seizure from Xanax withdrawal it is likely going to be in the first 72 hours. Whenever I coldturkeyed Klonopin the earliest I ever had a seizure was day 8 and the latest was day 12.

I have seen people seize out in Xanax withdrawal within the first 24 hours. It really depends how many of them you are taking as well as personal body chemistry. I've never seen anyone have a seizure after day 5 of Xanax withdrawal but I obviously haven't met every person who quit eating xanax.

If you only had one bottle of Xanax and simply taking large doses for a short time frame withdrawal probably won't last months. Benzo withdrawal can definitely last a long time but that is generally for people who took it for a long time.
 
Hey purple62, sorry you are having a rough time right now<3 detoxing of benzos is a dangerous thing and with your intake at six to twelve mgs per day I think that you should seek medical advice. It is true that you can die from detoxing from xanax just like detoxing from alcohol. It should be really easy for you to get the correct medication from a dr to detox you safely off this. I would not be ashamed at all and just go to a physician and tell them exactly what is going on. The physical withdrawal of detoxing benzos are tough, I did them, but the nice thing is that when you are finally of them you shouldn't feel a compulsion to use them unless you have an underlying issue that you are using the drug to avoid. Good luck and please get some medical attention to deal with this or look for a good taper schedule or both, the physician can probably give you a decent taper. physicians deal with this all the time and should be glad to help you.your doing great, this is only temporary and you will feel much better soon:)
 
thanks guys. They hand this stuff out like lollies. >O
I actually feel a *little* better today. the mouth is not as oily.
I took codeine to sleep and eventually I did.
not terribly fond of the body jolts :(
After I get this out of my system, I plan to w/d from the codeine as well.
weird thing > while I was taking and then w/d from xanax I didn't have codeine cravings. I only took them last night to be sure I slept.
gunna get me some doxylamine to help me sleep I think.
I'm going to chat with the pharmacist.
I liked my doc cos he gave me whatever I wanted, but now I see this as hugely detrimental to my well being. There are other docs in the practise. I'm going to see another one from now on.
Like I said, I am SO glad I googled and found this place. It would've been so easy to go get my repeats filled.
 
I would urge you to go and see a doctor, Benzo withdrawal can be quite unpleasant and Xanax is not ideal to use to taper down due to it's short half life.

Diazepam would be a better option to taper on as its half life is much longer, I had a horrible benzo habit for a few years and tapered 3 times using this manual as a guide

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

It may prove useful for information, when I tapered off I drew up a taper plan and took it with me to the addiction clinic I had my doctor refer me to, it worked for me (although I relapsed a couple of times) it was tough but relatively painless. Certainly for me the taper work psychologically as well as physically, I was to some extent self medicating so needed to learn how to cope.

Please don't CT it may cause you unnecessary problems, I understand you want to stop taking them but at the level you have been sing them your body may not agree.

I came off Venlafaxine earlier this year, the brain zaps went on for about 8 weeks, I'm not sure if I'm better for not taking it or not just now but I wanted to feel again.

ATB
 
venlafaxine w/d is awful :( I started in the November and it was Easter before I felt well.
the brain zaps were insane
 
day 3 is when the seizures would set in for me, with xanax
always day 3
when i cold turkey
 
Hi There,
I have just read your post; I am in the same situation. I have tried cold turkey but the withdrawals are unbearable. I get a metallic taste in my mouth, followed my ulcers, all my muscles in my body start to seize up. I feel disorientated and walk around in circles feeling shaky, tummy cramps and extreme anxiety.

The not being able to sleep will be full on for me, its the most frustrating thing. I currently am on 6-7mg a day, this is extreme for me. I used to get by on one or two 1mg a day. My problem escalated with the ease of getting these pills.

If I new how long this would last I could find the will power perhaps.

How are you going? What day are you on without the Xanax?

Wish you all the very best
 
I'm on day 6 (I think) today I felt almost human.
numb fingers, toes, and lips. mouth is not so oily. dizzy and nausea if I move too fast.
I am SO grateful I found out about this drug before I got anymore.

sars76 -c/t is NOT recommended when you've been taking it for as long as you have.
PM me
 
I personally wouldn't waste a few thousands dollars on an ER trip for a doctor that will likely give you a single dose of the drug or maybe ten days worth if you are lucky. They may give you nothing at all. There are an enormous amount of doctors who are ignorant to the severity of benzo withdrawal and will immediately label you a drug seeker.

If you are actual going to get medical help I would go to either a GP, psychiatrist, or an addiction specialist. They will all cost you a ton less than the ER and will be much more helpful. GP's are the cheapest and you can usually get an appointment the quickest but a psychiatrist/addiction specialist may be more open to a long taper but they often take a couple months to get an appointment, around here anyway.
 
I'm actually doing OK. I think this is day 7 and most of the symptoms have gone.
I still have a bit of dizziness on moving, light headed, headache, numbness in toes fingers and lips.
I'm still using doxylamine to sleep and will worry about that in a week or two.
for me, not sleeping is about the worst thing I could do. I can cope with most anything if I have sleep.
Once again I am reminded of how grateful I am to have had only one script of this stuff.
My heart truly goes out to long time users who are now trying to withdraw.
 
This is day 10 or 11 and I'm not symptom free but I can handle it now.
still got the numbness and headache.
also jaw clenching.
today I bought valerian - hoping to swap it with the doxy to sleep, but I researched and found that it also binds to GABA receptors. I know a doctor and she suggested not introducing something new into the mix, to stick with the doxy. so thats what I'll do for now
 
I'm really glad to hear that everything is going well. Were you originally scripted the xanax for anxiety? Have you experienced any rebound anxiety at this point? It would be a good thing to be prepared for, even with some simple affirmations that you can respond with if and when you your mind starts taking you in that direction. I have a really simple one that I use when I get anxious: "My mind is trying to create fear but I don't need to listen". Sounds somewhat silly but it works for me because it reinforces that it is in fact my mind and not the external situation. Again, congratulations on both your resolve to do this and your follow through. <3
 
And I hope I don't come across as an idiot, but why not get Ambien (sic) for the sleep thing? Or is that another bad habit forming thing? My doctor personally feels its OK to use (not on it currently, was a couple years ago and it got me through some really bad insomnia), but that it loses its effect if used long term.
 
Ambien is addictive as well. and as the doxy is working I'll stick with that. I got down to half a tablet last night.
I'm not sure about the anxiety. I got it more to calm my mind with racing thoughts. they are back but I'd rather runaway thoughts than the xanax nightmare.
thanks herbavore :)
I did make the decision to c/t as I'd been using only a short time, but I have to say, I was concerned about seizures.
Though the other side effects are pretty awful, I knew I wasn't going to die and I just had to get through.
I've said before, doing the w/d from effexor gave me "guidance". I knew what I might be in for.

Re our GPs and hospitals...I can call in the morning and have an appt in the afternoon. The longest I've had to wait is next day, but if it's an emergency they fit you in.
Our emergency departments are pretty overstretched so a few years back they implemented after hours GP cinic which is in the hospital but is separate, just like a GP office.
If you are in an accident or brake your leg or something, the ED will see you right away. For lesser trauma you might have to wait, sometimes up to four hours, but it's all free.
If you need an operation, you go on a waiting list, unless it's life threatening when you'll be in right away, and that can take from 6 - 12 months, but again is free.
Public hospitals will not do cosmetic surgery for free.
We have private hospitals which are much much faster but you pay and it's expensive.
Also medication is cheap. example my 50 xanax cost me $9. my lexapro 60 tablets is $37 and my effexor 60 tablets is about $35.
you can get 20 panadeine forte for $6. A pensioner gets all scripts for $3.50
our medical system is really very good, even though sometimes you have to wait for services.
 
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