Benzos Xanax to prevent Ambien withdrawals?

[Doll483]

I've been taking Ambien for sleep daily for almost a year. Recently, I have been taking large doses on some nights - 40 mg a couple of times, but usually 20-30. Long story short, I am almost out of Ambien and have over two weeks before I can refill my prescription, and I am pretty sure I am dependent on it. Now I haven't taken any benzos in a while, but I have some Xanax saved up - my question is, will taking, say, 0.5 mg of Xanax a night instead of the Ambien prevent me from going into Ambien withdrawal? As in, will the Xanax be able to "replace" the Ambien for those 2+ weeks until I can get my Ambien again and taper off of it slowly and properly? I know they work in a similar way but I am not sure if Xanax can prevent Ambien withdrawals.

 

[Atmozfears]

It might do something yeah but it'd be best to talk to a doctor. Z-drugs such as Ambien and benzos are quite similar in how they work and all that. I used to take zopiclone once in a while for anxiety issues. Are you sure you just can't cut your doses to the lowest one possible? and try to just make that ambien last. I am not sure about withdrawal from Ambien.

 

[Hodor]

Alprazolam and Zolpidem are both agonists at the same receptor, so yes, Xanax can stave off Ambien withdrawals - probably better so than vice versa, as Zolpidem lacks Alprazolam's anti-seizure activity.

That said, if you're used to taking 30 mg of Ambien a night, you might experience *some* insomnia still with .5 mg of Xanax (.5 mg of Xanax is generally supposed to be equipotent with 20 mg of Ambien - for me personally it might also be 10 mg, as I reacted quite strongly to it).

 

[Znegative]

Alprazolam and Zolpidem are both agonists at the same receptor, so yes, Xanax can stave off Ambien withdrawals - probably better so than vice versa, as Zolpidem lacks Alprazolam's anti-seizure activity.

That said, if you're used to taking 30 mg of Ambien a night, you might experience *some* insomnia still with .5 mg of Xanax (.5 mg of Xanax is generally supposed to be equipotent with 20 mg of Ambien - for me personally it might also be 10 mg, as I reacted quite strongly to it).

This is exactly what I was going to say, however you might just end up with a worse addiction- to alprazolam. You'd probably be better off taking something longer acting like diazepam. Alprazolam's really potent, but it's also got a super short half life making it one of the more addictive benzodiazepines, tolerance builds up real fast.

 

[thelung]

I took ambien every night for about 2 months and then stopped cold turkey... I didn't really go thru any w/d, but I did have the rebound insomnia for sure. it took a couple weeks to sleep thru the night. good luck

 

[Doll483]

Alprazolam and Zolpidem are both agonists at the same receptor, so yes, Xanax can stave off Ambien withdrawals - probably better so than vice versa, as Zolpidem lacks Alprazolam's anti-seizure activity.

That said, if you're used to taking 30 mg of Ambien a night, you might experience *some* insomnia still with .5 mg of Xanax (.5 mg of Xanax is generally supposed to be equipotent with 20 mg of Ambien - for me personally it might also be 10 mg, as I reacted quite strongly to it).

Thanks! It's been working, I took .75 the first night and .5 last night and I slept and feel fine.

 

[Doll483]

This is exactly what I was going to say, however you might just end up with a worse addiction- to alprazolam. You'd probably be better off taking something longer acting like diazepam. Alprazolam's really potent, but it's also got a super short half life making it one of the more addictive benzodiazepines, tolerance builds up real fast.

I know, I used to be addicted to Xanax (about two years ago). I had terrible withdrawals after I quit it cold turkey (not knowing any better at the time), including a seizure. I will be extremely careful this time, I won't take it for longer than a couple of weeks and will stick to a low dose. Thanks!