I have gotten about 50/50 yes and no on the answer to this question (from pharmacists, nurses, and benzo users online) and I'm curious what you guys think/know about the subject.
Basically, I want to know if benzodiazepine withdrawal can happen just by switching from one benzo to another without doing any sort of tapering. I've been told they're the same class of drugs so it would be fine to just start taking a different one.
I was on Xanax, .25mg as needed, for about a year. Most days I'd only need one, usually at night. If I had a particularly stressful day, was traveling, or had a severe panic attack, I might take .5mg or even .75mg in a day, but not often. Once my tolerance increased and I discussed this with my doctor, she didn't want to increase my dosage and instead put me on .5mg of Klonopin as needed. This was done at the beginning of this year. I gave it two months of taking .5mg pretty much daily, sometimes .75mg if I was having an especially hard day. However, I didn't feel that the Klonopin was working well enough to treat my anxiety/panic attacks that came on quickly, since I wouldn't feel it for 2-3 hours after taking it. I also felt like a zombie since it lasted in my system for so long.
I went back to the doctor and told her I didn't feel the Klonopin was a right fit for me, and she switched me back to the .25mg of Xanax as needed. I picked up my Xanax prescription at the end of February, on the 26th. I was a little cautious about having both in my system (I'm pretty sensitive to benzos and they normally make me extremely tired) so if I remember correctly, I took a final .5mg klonopin on Feb 26th, then I had a few left so I split them into .25mg and took these on the 27th, 28th, and March 1st. On March 2nd, I started the .25mg Xanax. Those few days were the only "tapering" I did because I was told it wasn't necessary.
The next week or so, I noticed heightened anxiety but it typically wasn't anything the xanax couldn't handle. I did feel more on edge and my hands were clammy/sweaty a lot, which isn't normal for me.
10 days into the switch, on March 12th, I woke up at 6am to pee and proceeded to have the worst panic attack I've probably ever had. Pouring sweat, legs uncontrollably trembling, heightened pulse, severe anxiety, worried I was going to die. Took two .25mg Xanax and eventually was able to fall back asleep for a few hours. Thought it was just a one off thing because anxiety is weird and hits me at random, but the minute I woke back up, I was thrown into a second panic attack. These continued all day on the 12th, and I have been having multiple ones each day since, with constant severe anxiety in between. I feel very short of breath and like I need to yawn to get a deep breath but my mouth just hangs open and nothing happens. My hands and feet are sweaty and clammy. I've gotten hot very randomly just to be cold 30 minutes later. Constantly ridiculously anxious, my pulse will go from 65 or 70 to 90 or higher just moving positions in bed(this is especially bad in the mornings). The past few days, I've started to get headaches and my muscles seem to get sore more easily if I'm in a certain position in bed, propped up on my elbow, etc. I've been subconsciously clenching my jaw.
Basically, since the 12th, I have not been able to function. I can barely shower and even though I still have an appetite, eating just doesn't seem appealing and I can only eat a small bit before feeling gross. I feel like a shell of myself, not anything like I was feeling before then, and the only thing at the time I can think that might explain it is the switch from Klonopin back to Xanax.
Is this possible? Are my symptoms similar to withdrawal? Does the timeline match up? I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow but since she's the one that originally told me I wouldn't have any problems straight switching, I'm not sure how far I'll get. :/
Basically, I want to know if benzodiazepine withdrawal can happen just by switching from one benzo to another without doing any sort of tapering. I've been told they're the same class of drugs so it would be fine to just start taking a different one.
I was on Xanax, .25mg as needed, for about a year. Most days I'd only need one, usually at night. If I had a particularly stressful day, was traveling, or had a severe panic attack, I might take .5mg or even .75mg in a day, but not often. Once my tolerance increased and I discussed this with my doctor, she didn't want to increase my dosage and instead put me on .5mg of Klonopin as needed. This was done at the beginning of this year. I gave it two months of taking .5mg pretty much daily, sometimes .75mg if I was having an especially hard day. However, I didn't feel that the Klonopin was working well enough to treat my anxiety/panic attacks that came on quickly, since I wouldn't feel it for 2-3 hours after taking it. I also felt like a zombie since it lasted in my system for so long.
I went back to the doctor and told her I didn't feel the Klonopin was a right fit for me, and she switched me back to the .25mg of Xanax as needed. I picked up my Xanax prescription at the end of February, on the 26th. I was a little cautious about having both in my system (I'm pretty sensitive to benzos and they normally make me extremely tired) so if I remember correctly, I took a final .5mg klonopin on Feb 26th, then I had a few left so I split them into .25mg and took these on the 27th, 28th, and March 1st. On March 2nd, I started the .25mg Xanax. Those few days were the only "tapering" I did because I was told it wasn't necessary.
The next week or so, I noticed heightened anxiety but it typically wasn't anything the xanax couldn't handle. I did feel more on edge and my hands were clammy/sweaty a lot, which isn't normal for me.
10 days into the switch, on March 12th, I woke up at 6am to pee and proceeded to have the worst panic attack I've probably ever had. Pouring sweat, legs uncontrollably trembling, heightened pulse, severe anxiety, worried I was going to die. Took two .25mg Xanax and eventually was able to fall back asleep for a few hours. Thought it was just a one off thing because anxiety is weird and hits me at random, but the minute I woke back up, I was thrown into a second panic attack. These continued all day on the 12th, and I have been having multiple ones each day since, with constant severe anxiety in between. I feel very short of breath and like I need to yawn to get a deep breath but my mouth just hangs open and nothing happens. My hands and feet are sweaty and clammy. I've gotten hot very randomly just to be cold 30 minutes later. Constantly ridiculously anxious, my pulse will go from 65 or 70 to 90 or higher just moving positions in bed(this is especially bad in the mornings). The past few days, I've started to get headaches and my muscles seem to get sore more easily if I'm in a certain position in bed, propped up on my elbow, etc. I've been subconsciously clenching my jaw.
Basically, since the 12th, I have not been able to function. I can barely shower and even though I still have an appetite, eating just doesn't seem appealing and I can only eat a small bit before feeling gross. I feel like a shell of myself, not anything like I was feeling before then, and the only thing at the time I can think that might explain it is the switch from Klonopin back to Xanax.
Is this possible? Are my symptoms similar to withdrawal? Does the timeline match up? I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow but since she's the one that originally told me I wouldn't have any problems straight switching, I'm not sure how far I'll get. :/
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
