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Update on Xanax withdrawal

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Posted 5/26/2011 8:07 PM (GMT 0)
Hi guys,

I had my appointment today. The psychiatrist was awesome, very understanding and helpful. I'm tapering off with Valium. I'm starting at 7mg per night and then going down 1mg per day every five days.

I'm really excited to finally feel like I will be free of Xanax.
Thanks again for all the support. You guys are awesome.

-britt <3
Posted 5/26/2011 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah! I am really glad that you liked your dr. That is very important, and will make your treatment that much more effective.

I wish you luck on your tapering off, and hope that it all goes smoothly!

Take care,
Scaredy Cat
Posted 5/27/2011 12:11 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks scaredy cat :)
Posted 5/27/2011 1:03 AM (GMT 0)
britt

 

That is good news and I am glad to know your excited to get started on the weaning process.  Give yourself plenty of time and congratulations to you.

Kindly,

Kitt

Posted 5/27/2011 1:10 AM (GMT 0)
iWantToSmileAgain...

I'm so happy for you. I am a recovering addict and alcoholic and I really struggle with anxiety attacks. I had wished I was on xanax but my Psych Doctor explained she only wanted me to take meds that are non-addicting.

My question to you, has it been difficult to get off of this med?

I wish you all the best.
Your Healingwell Friend,
Serenitee
Posted 5/27/2011 1:10 AM (GMT 0)
good luck with the taper - are you going to switch 100% all at one time ? Valium takes a couple weeks to build up in the blood.
Posted 5/27/2011 1:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hey kitt,

Thanks for the words of encouragement. :) I'm really excited to get this whole process over with. My psychiatrist told me he sees people that are addicted to much higher dosages than me. I figure if he has had success with them, I should be ok on his plan too. I will keep posting :)

Hi serenitee,

To be honest with you..Xanax is very difficult to get off of. I think it only helps with anxiety temporarily. Being addicted to Xanax had CAUSED a severe amount of anxiety for me over the years because most doctors are leery to prescribe the stuff and once your addicted it's really difficult to cut back. I found something at whole foods called "restful sleep" it has really helped me with sleep and morningtime anxiety. My advice is to try herbal remedies and exercise :)
Anxiety is terrible but Xanax is not the best solution for long term treatment in my opinion..

D829

Hey, he said I could just switch over because I'm on a low dose. I hope it goes okay.

Thanks again to everyone,

Britt <3
Posted 5/27/2011 1:24 PM (GMT 0)
Britt,

How are you doing ?  I do hope all is going well and I will be looking for an update from you .

♥♥♥♥☺☺ ♫ ♫ ◊ ◊ ●_● Kitt♥♥♥♥

Posted 5/27/2011 2:54 PM (GMT 0)
Hi kitt,

I'm doing fine today. I'm starting the taper on Sunday night. I didn't want to start over the weekend. I have a few things planned and I'm afraid I'm not going to feel like being social while conquering this. I will keep posting. :)
-britt <3
Posted 5/27/2011 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
Good luck with the taper and so glad you had a good Dr.visit.  When you feel like they are really listening to you and working with you it makes all the difference in the world.

You can do it, nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough.  I have faith in you and if you have your mind made up, things go a little better.

Have a great Memorial Day week-end!

Gem

Posted 5/27/2011 3:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Gem,

I Cant even begin to explain to you how wonderful it is to have people like you supporting my decision. My mind is made up trust me. I'm not expecting it to be easy but knowing that I have a support system really puts my mind at ease.

Thanks :)

Britt <3
Posted 5/27/2011 3:52 PM (GMT 0)
You know I was thinking back to that time and what I remember was when I got down to .25 a day from 3 mil a day, that is when I felt the worse and one day I just said enough and stopped at that point (it took me 2-3 months to get there).  When I stopped completely, I felt better than when I was stringing myself along on that small dose.

When you can leave the house without them, you know you have arrived.  I know there are many people that need them and Benzo's work wonders and that is great.  Long term use for me meant no energy, no interest in doing anything, skin rashes, no sex drive, etc.

Gem

 

Posted 5/27/2011 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Gem that's about how I feel, the pills are just stringing me along at this stage I am almost at 1/4mg of ativan.

I was a member on one of the benzo withdrawal sites, although I learned alot there I also learned to stay away fromo those sites...for reasons you can imagine.

good luck Britt let us know how you are feeling after the switch.
Posted 5/28/2011 2:51 PM (GMT 0)
D829,

I joined benzobuddies. Was that a bad decision? Should I stop posting there?


Gem,

I will keep you posted :)

Thanks again,

-britt
Posted 5/28/2011 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
I belong to BenzoBuddies...I am having a hard time tapering off valium.  You will hear the worst cases of withdrawal on that site but I have got some very good tapering advice as my doctor would have had me off in two weeks.  You will also get validation that what you experience is just withdrawal and will pass with time.  On the other hand, it can get very upsetting to read about how long people suffer so it's good to go there just when you need encouragement.  Don't read through all the posts like I did...we tend to think our experience is going to be like everyone elses and that is not the case....everyone is different!

Good luck to you!

Donna

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