xanax withdrawal

I am totally new at this and am almost a web dunce.  I have been taking xanax at the rate of two .5mg tablets a day for about a year. I have been trying to take less. Have depression/anxiety and wonder if the amount of xanax I take would produce wthdrawal symptoms if I quit suddenly.

--medtaker 

Hello and Welcome to Healing Well and the A & P Forum.

Xanax should be weaned slowly under your physicians guidelines.

For a person on 0.5 mg three times a day a typical suggested tapering would be  over 8-10 week period. Please remember we are not professionals, only sharing info and lots of support.

Again a Warm welcome. 

Don't pay attention to the above. You can't taper off your dose in four days, and you certainly wouldn't do it by switching to ativan. And you never cold turkey any benzodiazepine.

Kitt is right that you should be talking to a physician, but in the event that your physician is clueless, too, then you'd want to find another. Suggest to him that you'd like to switch to a longer-acting benzodiazepine and taper from that, because it's obviously easier given the half lives that are involved here. It's a LONG process if done correctly, but it shouldn't cause you much discomfort.

Too often patients are left in the dark when it comes to this stuff, and too often doctors don't know the proper way to taper, anyway. That's why you hear all the bad stories on the net. Those who had good doctors who knew what they were doing...well, you don't hear those stories because these people didn't have all that much of a problem. I know a guy who's tapering right from Klonopin/clonazepam and he's not experiencing any problems whatsoever. It just requires a LOT of patience.

"Going cold turkey" implies that you simply stopped taking your medication.

debaser said...
Don't pay attention to the above. You can't taper off your dose in four days, and you certainly wouldn't do it by switching to ativan. And you never cold turkey any benzodiazepine.

Kitt is right that you should be talking to a physician, but in the event that your physician is clueless, too, then you'd want to find another. Suggest to him that you'd like to switch to a longer-acting benzodiazepine and taper from that, because it's obviously easier given the half lives that are involved here. It's a LONG process if done correctly, but it shouldn't cause you much discomfort.

Too often patients are left in the dark when it comes to this stuff, and too often doctors don't know the proper way to taper, anyway. That's why you hear all the bad stories on the net. Those who had good doctors who knew what they were doing...well, you don't hear those stories because these people didn't have all that much of a problem. I know a guy who's tapering right from Klonopin/clonazepam and he's not experiencing any problems whatsoever. It just requires a LOT of patience.

I agree. DO NOT switch to ativan. My doctor actually said he wouldn't even prescribe xanax and I heard it was harder to get off xanax than ativan and ativan is very hard. My husband did it pretty much cold turkey getting off ativan and was as sick as a dog. They advise going to valium from ativan, and I think it might be the same for xanax, not sure though. I've also heard people have used klonopin. People are so different and there are schedules in lowering your dose but you can tell how much to lower your dose also. My husband for example got off the ativan and is taking valium but a tiny bit is putting him to sleep. With me, I am more of the resistant hyper type and it doesn't make me tired like him.

Speak to your doctor and look online on how to get off a drug written by a doctor.

Hope this all helps.

 

WE still ask that all ppl check with and have their doc on BOARD with the medical decisions they make
Each of us is different

Glad you were able to do this however I still feel a doctor is needed in the weaning or changing your meds...........

peacesoul said...

john jones said...

Yes to get off Xanax you need to be put on another anixity med, like adavan. Take this med for about 4 days tapering and than your off. It hell going cold turkey off Xanax I know. Maybe check into the hospital for a weekend, so you can be weened by your doc. It be hard 4 days thou after you get off. Trying to get completly off clonazapam right now myself John

Not true...you do not need to take another med to be weened off xanax.
You're dose is not high enough.
When the dr's first started me on xanax, I was taking .75 a day for a month. I was out of it, Then went to .50 a day for 4 months.
No one told me to not stop cold turkey and I did. Big mistake. I was getting the hippi hippi shakes.
I just lowered my dose gradually over a month. I went to .25 a day, then 1/2 .25 a day, then every second day, then I stopped and was TOTALLY fine!

I don't know if it's necessary or not, but here's what I do know. Xanax was not designed and has not been approved for long-term management of anxiety/panic disorder. This person took it daily for an entire year.

Since I'm not into biochemistry I can't really say anything for sure, and I don't think your statements should be so matter-of-fact, either. A psychiatrist is best to judge this.

And at any rate, I certainly wouldn't see the harm in switching to an equivelent dose of longer-acting benzo to do a taper. It may not be necessary, but it could help. Thats for him/her to bring up with her doctor.