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[automagrt]

For anyone who has taken Xanax and come off of it, what, if any, symptoms did you have? I have been on Xanax XR for the last 3 years and stopped about 5 weeks ago. I have had a terrible time sleeping and take Ambien probably 5 nights out of the week. It's not so much that I'm not tired as it is that my thoughts are just racing. I also think that I eat more now. About 2 days after I stopped taking it I noticed that sometimes right after eating or even a few hours later I would feel hungry. Not hungry as in my stomach is empty, a different feeling. One time I had eaten so much I almost felt sick but I got that same feeling again like I needed to eat, even though my stomach was full. I've never had this feeling before. It may not be related but that was the only thing that changed. I'm also on Trileptal now but that was started about 2 weeks after stopping the Xanax and this was already going on. My short-term memory has been bad over the last couple of years and seems to have gotten worse lately. I thought it was related to the Xanax and that it would return, but it hasn't. Don't you think 5 weeks would be long enough to notice some improvement? I'm thinking it's more related or totally related to the Lamictal as I also have foggy thinking and trouble keeping track of my thoughts when talking or writing. I'm all over the place if you haven't noticed.

[mariacarvajal]

 automagrt, on Dec 13 2007, 07:56 PM, said:

For anyone who has taken Xanax and come off of it, what, if any, symptoms did you have? I have been on Xanax XR for the last 3 years and stopped about 5 weeks ago. I have had a terrible time sleeping and take Ambien probably 5 nights out of the week. It's not so much that I'm not tired as it is that my thoughts are just racing. I also think that I eat more now. About 2 days after I stopped taking it I noticed that sometimes right after eating or even a few hours later I would feel hungry. Not hungry as in my stomach is empty, a different feeling. One time I had eaten so much I almost felt sick but I got that same feeling again like I needed to eat, even though my stomach was full. I've never had this feeling before. It may not be related but that was the only thing that changed. I'm also on Trileptal now but that was started about 2 weeks after stopping the Xanax and this was already going on. My short-term memory has been bad over the last couple of years and seems to have gotten worse lately. I thought it was related to the Xanax and that it would return, but it hasn't. Don't you think 5 weeks would be long enough to notice some improvement? I'm thinking it's more related or totally related to the Lamictal as I also have foggy thinking and trouble keeping track of my thoughts when talking or writing. I'm all over the place if you haven't noticed.

Qutting Xanax after taking it for such a long time is extermely dangerous. Be careful!!! I am a recovering xanax user and it has taken many months to recover. Please, I urge you go to this site. It will help you. Read all about benzo withdrawal. xanax is a benzo.

All your symptoms are related to the xanax. I am pretty sure. Insomnia, skacking, feelings of unreality, depresssion, agression, etc.

PM member for link.

Edited by suburgatory, 28 December 2007 - 09:42 PM.
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[skidoo]

I've gone through Xanax withdrawal a couple of times. What an AWFUL experience. Chronic insomia, continuos symptoms of a panic attack (shaking/stuttering; profuse sweating; intense dread; etc.), confused/racing thoughts.... But unusual hunger? I never had that one. And I only experienced memory loss directly related to Xanax consumption. That is, I never experienced any real memory problems once I actually stopped taking it. I know you said they didn't overlap, but Trileptal makes me fuzzy and gives me memory issues, for whatever that's worth.

But yeah, serious Xanax withdrawal is nasty. Twice I've gone through periods of smoking boatloads of crack cocaine for months on end, and then stopped cold-turkey. Weaning myself off of prolonged Xanax use is 10 times worse.

If you're doing this under the care of a doctor, I'm surprised he or she didn't prescribe a step-down benzo, such as Restoril. These will still hit most of the same receptors as the Xanax (giving you some relief from the symptoms), but they have a much longer half-life, so dosage tapering is not quite as challenging. This makes the ordeal significantly easier to handle (but it's still miserable).

[automagrt]

Well, it's been 2 months now and I've about had it. I'm just constantly on edge and extremely jumpy. I feel like I have to be doing something constantly but I get bored or distracted so easily. It's hard to sit through a movie, even if it's entertaining. At work we have a lot of downtime but I actually enjoy being busy somewhat as it makes the day go by. I get tired but I can't sleep. I just lay down and my thoughts just race and then my legs start twitching and I have to get up. It's absolutely miserable. I can't take anything to help me sleep at work really because I have to be able to wake up immediately and the chance of continous sleep through the night is very low. I take Ambien at home to get me to sleep. I'm probably going to ask my doc to go back on the Xanax as nothing has changed for the positive, unless the Trileptal is somehow masking it. I really haven't seen any benefit in that either, so I'm going to ask her to stop it, after I have my followup with the Amen Clinic and see what they say. They believe I have ADD as well. Their plan was to add Trileptal to the Lamictal and Cymbalta to stabilize my mood, add Welbutrin to boost it, and then Vyvanse to address the ADD. That's a lot of meds!