I went off xanax cold turkey last month.  My doctor had been "fussing" about the quantities of meds I was taking so I decided to try to eliminate something...I chose xanax.  Since I had been on .5mg 2-3X daily  for two years it was a small amount but a long duration.  I wanted to see if I was addicted.  Initially it was not much of a problem but I got really anxious in the 7-12 day range.  I had the shakes, felt a bit nauseus and couldn't sleep well.  Beyond that it was fine.  I have now been off a month and appear to be fine with it.  HOWEVER, I still have anxiety and sleep problems.  I see the doc next week and I may go back on the drug.  I may take the approach of washing it out of my system yearly if the doc agrees.  Hey, he may not want me on xanax again...we shall see.  I don't recommend the process...cold turkey and without permission.  I will let you know how much flack I get after the doc visit next week!

Swede

BTW, my PDoc told me I could have had convulsions.  Yikes!

Xanax, can be one of the most addictive medications out there. Unfortunatey Dr.s don't realize alot of the time how horrible withdrawl can be. Fact is if taken long term, xanax can be harder and a lot more painful then heiron to detox from. If taken in small amouts as perscribed for a short amout of time weening is definately recommended. There's people who have been on it for years and years and their Dr has taken them off of it all of a sudden, and the result is awful. There's people who have had to admit themselves to rehab because they have taken it long term as perscribed, and their dr. discontinued it. I seen it first hand. This is one drug to think twice about taking regularly long term. ALWAYS consult your doc. when discontinuing it.

I would agree...do as I say not as I do!  I was fully prepared to back on the xanax if my propblems got to be insurmountable.  But I stuck it out.  I gave up alcohol the same way.  I guess I am lucky...or have a great deal of fortitude.

Swede

I agree, too. I have been on Xanax and still have a little for emrgencies, but I'm afraid to take any now.
I'm kinda afraid to take it even in a big crisis... it seemed to make my anxiety even worse when it wears off.
  ajax

I take xanax on an as needed basis (a quarter of a.05mg pill) It has been a good drug for me because I dont get real drowsy with it, it just takes the edge off, calms my mind from the racing thoughts that often cause my anxiety. And at such a low dose I know that if that dose doesnt help, i can safely up it by quite a bit....(gives me peace of mind:D  )

If I do go back on Xanax I would hope to take it "as needed" or possibly before bedtime for sleep.

BTW everyone, welcome to the new board!

Swede

Kaitrin... I too believed that xanax was not doing anything until I went off it!  After a month without it I am ready to ask about going back on.

Swede

I depend on my Xanax anytime I am having an 'episode' - I feel it has been a lifesaver for me!  I have never taken it more than 3-4 months and never had trouble coming off.  I hope this helps,


bebo

Swede, I was just curious, did you get to the doc's app. yet? What did he/she say regarding going off xanax? Thanks!  :wave:

hi, i also take xanax on an as needed basis which has been lately every day sometimes 2x a day but i only take 1/2 of a .25mg pill.I took the whole pill once and it knocked me outcold, i slept for hours. I have found that it works great but only for a few hours and when im not home i find it wears off fairly quickly. Is that normal? I will say i would never stay anywhere if i didnt have my xanax its the best thing that has gotten me though some evil pa's.

Melanie

Hi, Melanie. In my expereience regular xanax worked for 2- 8 hours or so well, based on how stressfull the day was. It usually started working for me good 20 minutes after I had taken it.
Xanax xr which I take now takes longer time to kick in and gets me going for whole another day (almost). Take care!  :wave:

I have that same problem with the Xanax XR not seeming to have a very rapid onset.  I complained about this to my pdoc over 6 months ago.  We decided to have me take a little regular Xanax with the XR for relief until the XR kicked in.  I am pretty pleased with it, because it definitely helps.  Leonarda, how is the tapering process going.  How long have you been trying to get off Xanax XR and do you have any idea how much longer it might be?

Katie  :)

The last time I went into the hospital, the doctors there put me on 2mg Xanax 4X per day.  They got me back off of it as soon as my anxiety was under control with the explanation that it is highly addictive. I currently take 600 mg of Seroquel per day for other symptoms, but a side benefit for me is that the Seroquel seems to keep my anxiety in check.

Hello, SchroedingersCat.  I am glad that you were only on that dosage of Xanax for a short while in the hospital.  It is interesting what you said about Seroquel helping out with your anxiety a bit.  I seem to be hearing that on other websites.  I am on 600 mg a day like you.  Maybe if I didn't have Seroquel I would have to take tons of Xanax.

Katie  ???

Katie - I really do believe that it is the Seroquel that is helping with my anxiety.  Prior to my last hospitalization, I had been taking 6 mg per day of Risperdal as opposed to Seroquel as an anti-psychotic and my anxiety was out of control.  At the hospital, they made an overnight switch from Risperdal to Seroquel and my anxiety has been manageable ever since.  I have talked to other people who have had the same experience with Seroquel.  I was prescribed the Risperdal and later Seroquel to deal with various manic and psychotic symptoms.  If you don't mind me asking, why do you take Seroquel?

I am on Seroquel for Bipolar II.  It helps heep me even throughout the day and lessens psychotic symptoms.  I know what you mean about Risperdal.  I felt panicked on it.  I felt like i dissociated  some and felt out of place.

Katie ???

I see a few posts about seroquel here. I found out today that one of my friends,who had been addicted to xanax for a few years (and is having a really hard time with it) has been perscribed seroquel for no other reason really then to help her come off of xanax.

Insanity, thanks for sharing that.

No xanax xr for me yesterday. I was tired and sleepy to my bones, which is first for me on a day without x. Long, exhausting night with hard nightmares.
But today is another day I guess.... :confused:

I had a bad experience with Xanax.
When my anxiety reached its apex about 2 and a half years ago, my gp prescribed Xanax.  I wish I could remember the dosage so I could tell you guys...anyway, I'm sure he started me at a low dose, because I am always reticent to take a new medication.  
I took the Xanax about 2am (I sleep days) and ran to an all-night store.  I remember parking my car in the street and walking up my driveway...the next thing I remember was getting out of bed the next day!  I had absolutely no clue what happened for about 10 hours!  I rang the pharmacist, who advised I try half the dose I had taken, and the same thing happened the next 2 nights I took it.  My gp switched me to Ativan, which I have taken ever since, and never had a problem with.  It's weird how the same med can affect different people different ways...
                                                                --Candy.

JayFarrarFan, thanks for sharing. You're right, one med can have such different affects on people...
I took my xanax xr today afternoon and it knocked me out for good 5 hours....I sort of needed that sleep  :sleepy: .
:wave:

I have been off xanax a good five weeks now.  My doc said it was ok to continue using it on an as needed basis.  So far I haven't really needed it.  I have come close on occasion but I stuck it out.  I am having some dental work done in the near future and am sure to take it then.  I am one who gags at the dentist and I used to take xanax before going and it worked wonders.  The dentist was amazed at how well it worked for me.

Swede

Swede, I share a deep dislike and fear of going to the dentist.  I also take a small amount of Xanax before the appointment.  My dentist is glad I use the Xanax, because I used to fear choking on things and just start shaking in the office.

Katie :D

How funny!  And I thought I was the original "choaker" at the dentist.  One time he even put a teaspoon of salt on my tongue for about 5 minutes...it is some sort of old time dentist trick.  It barely worked.  Xanax is much better.  LOL.

Swede

No one here will probably believe this but I have been on xanax for 12, yes 12 years.  Yes, I am addicted.  I went to a mental hospital 1.5 years ago where the cookoo pdoc took me completely off xanax and put me on 6mg. klonopin.  Of course I did not have any xanax withdrawl symptoms just stoned to the bone on klonopin.  He assured me klonopin was fine to take the rest of my life...sigh.  I was off of xanax for a year after that for the most part and tapered myself down to 1mg. klonopin per night for nightmares.  Now I find myself using up to 1mg. xanax per day :verysad3:  Since I live in nowhere I cannot go to a therapist...there are none to be had.  I counsel with someone on the phone once a week and will go to a new pdoc in October (2hrs away).  Xanax is a great drug and does take care of my anxiety and some other BPII symptoms I have but you have to be very careful using it.  I wish I had never become so dependent on it.  Being strung out on my anxiety and BPII is horrible too so it is a catch 22 for me.

As a p.s. to the above, I tried using risperadol to take me off the xanax but it puts me out cold or else I am all day long.

Swede, thanks for the input!
Orion, thanks for sharing your story!
I actually know some people who've been taking xanax for many years...Some say one should go completely off x. and take some other benzo in case of need, but I don't buy that...Benzo is a benzo right? The last thing I need right now is take different drugs and possibly get me in a bigger mess.
What kind of drug is klonopin, if you don't mind me asking, Orion?
Take care all!

''Clonazepam ( Klonopin ) is an anticonvulsant  primarily used in the treatment of seizure disorders. Clonazepam ( Klonopin ) is a member of a class of drug known as benzodiazepines. This drug may also be used as an antianxiety,  for the short-term relief of mild to moderate anxiety. Clonazepam ( Klonopin )  may also be used to treat movement disorders ( e.g., Touette's Syndrome), panic disorder, drug-induced mania, to help resistant depression, nocturnal myoclonus, relieve trigeminal neuralgia, bipolar affective disorder, and to help control certain types of petit mal, atypical, akinetic, myoclonic, or absence seizures.''
I copied that from Klonopin FAQ's (thanks Lindsay!), so that should answer my question, right?   :D
Considering all things above this could be on drug I myself could take into consideration. But there' s one thing I don't get...Xanax is a benzo, right, and klonopin is also a benzo. So how could it be ok to take k. forever?  ??? Orion, could you help me out here, any ideas?

Hi Leonarda,

Right, they are both benzo's.  Maybe from your reading you saw there are a number of other drugs considered benzo's too, e.g. Ativan.

The pdoc at the hospital was of the pursuasion (spelling?) that klonopin was okay for life.  I don't want to be addicted to anything chemical for life and most drs don't want you to be because there are long lasting effects on your liver, kidney's and although I cannot place where I have read it, I am sure the brain/cognitive processes.  Because Klonopin is slower to get into the system and works for a longer period of time I think that in the long run perhaps you take less.  However, now there is Xanax XR which I have not taken but many have here.  I'd like to compare Xanax XR with Klonopin.

As for me I think, as many do on the DF, that a daily dose of benzo's are okay (addicted or not) if you have to take them just to exist which I do, other wise I would be confined to the house which I am a lot anyway and I would never make it to my doc appt. and other important occassions in my life.  BPII makes you very irratable and the xanax helps there as well.  My GAD combined w/ PTSD and BPII and SED and blah, blah, blah help me to rationalize that although being on the drug this long is not "good" it is necessary.

Most drs are freaked out that after this long a period of time the xanax even works for me.  Some fear I will take larger and larger doses.  Only in extreme (suicidal) cases have I taken a lot, not to kill myself but to get myself calmed down.  Usually I take about or less than the dose originally perscribed to me.

Does that help?  I'll be back on later and happy to talk.  PM me if you would like to.

Hope you have a blessed day.

Orion, thanks for the input! I really appreciate it.
You wrote, I quote:

I've been on xanax on 2 years and for me it never stopped working either. Now that I'm trying to wean off, it works even to strong sometimes (xr .5mg that is)  :mad1: - it makes me either talk a lot or sleep for hours.... :)
I'd be happy to talk  and of course you can pm me too.
Have a great day!  :wave:

Hi Orion,
I think that hospital doc you saw was mistaken about the Klonopin.  I am sure that his reasoning is along the lines of Klonopin having a much longer half life than Xanax but it is still a benzo and 6mg doesn't strike me as a pinch either.  I was wondering how much Xanax you were on when you were switched to Klonopin.  I have been on Xanax XR for 10 months now.  Previously I took Ativan for a year and a half and Klonopin for 6 months.  I originally tried Klonopin because it is one of the anti convulsant benzos that can help with mood.  I wonder if the pdoc thought that Klonopin might help a little in the area of Bipolar.  I just wonder because on more than a few hospitalizations they have wanted to switch me back to Klonopin.  They didn't care that it did nothing for anxiety which is typical of a hospital because they focus on the crisis at hand which usually involves moods and  risks to self and others.  Anyways, I ramble a little.

Katie

Pardon my ignorance but what is SED?

Hi Leonarda, good luck on weaning of the xr.  Even regular xanax can make me very sleepy.  I never talk a lot on it though :O Thanks for being there!

Hi Katie, yeah, I think the pdoc was mistaken about klonopin and a whole lot of other things. He was a real work of art:censored:  I think I was taking 2-4 mg./day of xanax up to 6 mg./day at the time, of course there would be weeks I would only take my .5 to 1mg. dose.  My T was just freaked out (and her colleagues) that I had been on so long and thought it was contributing to my depression which it can do in some people.  I was on a mission to try anything to control my depression.  Taking me off the xanax did not do that for me.  He put me on Topomax at the same time so perhaps (he was not a good communicator) he was thinking of the klonopin helping with moods as well.  The two together were pure disaster.  I was a zombie...total  I took myself off the Topomax as well as the high doseage of klonopin.  This pdoc and hospital were in a different state than where I live so he had no control over me after I left, thank heavens.

I meant SAD this morning, not SED...wasn't awake yet :sleepy:

Interesting that they put you on klonopin in the hospital.  They originally put me on it 12 years ago for nightmares which is what I still take 1mg. per night for...it seems to help some.

I  think it calms moods rather than levels them but I am no psychopharmacologist.

What other meds are you taking for your BP?  What difference do you see between Xanax XR and Klonopin?

Hi Katie,

Thanks for the reply back. Today and tomorrow are a zoo for me but I'd like to talk further with you about your other BP meds.

Hope you are having a really good day.  :)

I used Xanax for years.

The pro's. It took away anxiety by making me semi-comatose. At the time I though this was great, since I hated the anxiety and preferred being in a semi-stupor to being anxious.

After a couple of years of taking Xanax throughout the day (.5 mg 3 X a day), I switched to taking it at night for sleep only. It did put me to sleep. Unfortunately, it was well into the next afternoon before I was fully alert.

I've been off  Xanax for 2 years, thank God.

Pro's of Xanax: It will knock you down or out enough that you appreciate the relief from anxiety.

Cons:

Mental slowness. Hard to think well. Lack of mental endurance.

Even worse: I started to have mini rage episodes at time, due to the disinhibiting effect of Xanax --like alchohol, it can decrease self-control and lead you to over-react.

Increased depression. I become chronically depressed--very depressed and unhappy, usually starting off each day by saying to myself "I wish I were dead." This is a significant side effect of Xanax.

Lack of spontaneity and zest. I was somewhat of a zombie.

Basically, I think Xanax works only as a short-term (a few weeks at most) anti-anxiety med to help you survive while you find something that really does help, such as therapy and/or an antidepressant. If you stay on Xanax, it gradually ruins your life, in my opinino--at least it seriously messed up much of my life while I was on it. Xanax's reinforcing effect of immediately decreasing anxiety leads to a dependence, and a desire to keep taking it even when the more subtle adverse effects (like sedation, disinhibition, depression, mental slowness) emerge.

Sammy,
Please clarify where you are talking about Paxil and where you are talking about Xanax.  It is true that Xanax causes disnhibition which is especially dangerous for those with Borderline Personality Disorder.  You mention taking .5 three times a day and then moving it all to night.  How did you taper off and what were the worst side effects?  Congrats on the 2 years off Xanax.

Katie

Thanks for pointing out the error.  I  substituted Paxil when I meant Xanax. I believe  I corrected the errors in the post.

I must have Paxil on the brain, since I started and quit on 5 different occasions.

I tapered off Xanax by reducing the dose about 50% per week until I was down to .5 mg, then quitting. I began taking trazodone when I quit Xanax, and that helped ease the withdrawal.

Trazodone is even more sedating than Xanax, to me at least. I have to restrict trazodone to no more than 100 mg  per night or I end up a zombie the next day, but it has worked well for me at the 100 mg  dose, at night only.

I am utterly convinced that Xanax is, for most people, a useful medication only if it is taken short term. Xanax feels good, and that's why I think people (this included me) continue to  take  it even when it's adverse reactions (sedation, cognitive  dulling, dishinibition, depression) far outweigh any benefits. I understand, though, that Xanax works  pretty well for  people  who take it to help alleviate flying phobias.

Just my opinion.

I wish I had the common sense to take xanax before my last flight.  That would have spared me the whole trip in prayer...not that that was all that bad either!

Swede

Hi ,I Take xanax when needed.My anxiety has been getting worse latley so Im taking it more often.Im concerned about becoming addicted.My ? is ....Is there anything else out there for anxiety that you can take on a when needed basis?Whats your experiences???
                                                                            Cat :)

this may sound stupid, but how do you know if you're addicted to Xanax??

I don't like flying either and find that taking (in my case klonopin) I wasnt nervous at all.  I usually sit quietly praying hoping to have a safe trip.  Def. works! :)