xanax--am I addicted???

Was taking xanax as needed---maybe half of a .25mg pill 1-2x day but not every day. only when really anxious. very occasionally the whole .25 mg. while my T was ill, Pdoc put me on 1 whole pill 4x day. that was for near 2 weeks. now when i try not to take it, i get a headache, anxiety and panicky. so I take it. then it all calms down again. i tried taking half instead of one whole, but it doesn't seem to help for long. the anxiety and panicky feelings come back. i wake up with a headache every morning. sometimes even on a whole pill i feel kinda shaky and anxious.
see Pdoc next week. supposed to stay on the dosage she said till then.
husband even wants me taking the pills b'cuz i'm an anxious mess if I don't.
I almost forget how I was before. Don't like being dependent on some stupid little pill when before I hardly even needed it. Now I seem to need it all the time.
wi

Hmmmm, why did your pdoc increase your dose so radically when it seemed like you were doing fine on the low dose? It must be very frustrating to have been doing well and now have new problems caused by the meds. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding.... Please tell your pdoc all that is going on.

Let me share my recent experience. I have been on Ativan which is in the same family as Xanax for over two years. I have very bad anxiety, shaking, racing thoughts, panic attacks, etc. Also Migraines and lots of muscle tension. My doctor and I had been talking about getting me off of the benzodiazepine because of its addictive quality and long term side effects. I was noticing that I couldn't remember things and had trouble learning new things at work. It felt like I had to relearn everything when I didn't take the medication. I knew this wasn't the answer and taking it was dangerous - but the anxiety was so debilitating that I was willing to deal with the consequences. Through the help of my doctor, support groups, and alternative therapy I finally was at a place where I was willing to go off the Ativan. My doctor wanted me to detox in a hospital, which I didn't do. I also went off of it pretty much cold turkey which I do not recommend. Headaches, panic attacks, body weakness, all the things you are talking about I felt. I'm not trying to scare you but I know how you are feeling and think it is a result of being addicted. They say that any medication taken for even a short time is physically addictive. It's not your fault it's just what your body does. I also think it is common to become emotionally dependent especially on tranquilizers. Benzodiazepines are among the most addictive and abused medication and also one of the worst detoxes.
Hang in there and talk to your doctor about alternatives and weaning off. I hope this helps you understand what you are going through is "normal."
Lisa (scooterb)

I have barely slept in two nights because I have recently gone cold turkey off of my xanax. I was taking 2 - 3mg a day and I have been prescribed it for years off and on. I can't sleep or eat... I have a horrible headache... Last night I drank rum and cough medicine just to clear my head. Tonight I smoked some pot but I can't sleep still. I just feel so nauseous. I'm hoping this will pass like it has the last couple of times when I have gotten to the point where I run out of my medication and can't get a refill. I feel ****in crazy and then when I get over the withdrawal I wonder why the hell I ever went on xanax to begin with and then a month or so later I'm taking it on a regular basis with the assumption that I'm just going to take it one time.. but it turns into every day somehow. Wish this could stop.... goin through hell right now. Wow I sound so ****ing self absorbed.

Anyways, my advice to you is to get the **** off of the xanax... The withdrawal cold turkey sucks but if I can do it you can certainly get through it by weaning off. It is hard, but gets easier! You can send me a PM if you need any advice or anything.

Dear White Iris,

Your doctor obviously put you on xanax for a reason. He/she would have increased it for a reason too. See if you can get an earlier appointment if you can and let him/her know what is happening. Sometimes the side effects are awful. Years ago was on Xanax and changed to Kalma (the generic type) and found there were less side effects. I dont know why.

Speaking of benzo's - I am on 4mg of Klonolpin per day and occasionally take another 2mg if I need it, for over two years. I take it because i need it. Am I addicted - maybe yes - but without it I am a mess. I suffer from necks spasms and stuttering.

Why do we seeking to demonise a particular medicine (benzo's) if it helps us?? Do we denegrate Lithium or Aspirin?? Just my two cents anyway.

Sorry v214k. Please try not to use pot. It has been proven to lead to psychotic episodes and in some cases full blown schizophrenia. Yes I probably am a hypocite.

Please check things with your doctor White Iris.

Hope you feel better soon.

Possum

Sorry, but I don't know of any scientific evidence that pot is related to those disorders (let me know if you have some research sources), much less a CAUSAL factor! What are your sources??

Dear foreverlost,

I have a number of friends who have sons smoked pot and found themselves with schizophrenia.

See below and or try googling it on the web.

But you have my apologies I should have said May lead to.....

http://ezinearticles.com/?Smoking-Po...enia&id=963202

If I could amend my previous post I would.

Possum

i agree a lot with what scooterb wrote. i had a similar situation with zanex but had a seizure when weaning off of them. to me it is a dangerous drug for ppl to take and highly addictive, jme. i had blackouts while on zanex too. the pdoc weaned me off and placed me on klonopin, same family of drugs but has a shorter "half life". i take it for anxiety and panic attacks and it has worked just fine compared to the zanex that was a nightmare. i'd discuss your situation again with you pdoc. perhpas an alternative can found.

Xanax is highly addictive, but do not go off it without Pdoc's care. It is very dangerous, extremely dangerous to go cold turkey off most benzodiazepines. It can cause seizures and be life threatening.

Now, as for needing it-- some people do and that is okay. It is fine to be dependent on a med provided you are not abusing it. Xanax tends to burn out of the system fast, and so it has a higher likelihood of abuse. But being dependent on a med to control symptoms is not necessarily a bad thing-- provided you are not abusing it. I think we have to shed this idea that drug dependency is wrong when it is required. If there a comes a time that you no longer need it, the Pdoc can give you instructions for safely weaning off of it.

Not a doc here, but did use Xanax for years, and got it off safely when it was no longer required.

kkins9

[quote=possum220;948707]Dear foreverlost,

I have a number of friends who have sons smoked pot and found themselves with schizophrenia.

See below and or try googling it on the web.

But you have my apologies I should have said May lead to.....

http://ezinearticles.com/?Smoking-Po...enia&id=963202

If I could amend my previous post I would.

Hi Possum,
This is the last I'll say about the pot issue because this isn't really what the thread is about. Your website gives no references so it can't really be evaluated, no description of the studies even.

My point is: it is just as likely that people who are sensitized to schizophrenia self medicate with marijuana as it is that marijuana has an effect on schizophrenia.

By the way, I just started taking xanax so this thread is pretty relevant to me too. Thanks!

Thanks for all the responses
I did talk to my Pdoc. She brought me down to 3x day. same dose .25mg.
very low dose she says. yes need to go off slowly but not right now.
there is still too much anxiety going on in the system to pull off it.

I do appreciate everyones input. I am beginning to practice some relaxation and breathing techniques to spplement the weaning down process. Its tough but the bit that I have done has helped. I just wish ther was a group around here that taught and practiced relaxation techniques to those with anxiety and panic issues. but then again, i have social anxiety and it would be hard to be in a group yet the group would be practicing anti-anxiety techniques
Anyway, it is great to know that I am not alone.
Anyone else try anything like relaxation and breathing to supplement meds for anxiety>???

Possum

Xanax...I have loved it. I have had it prescibed from time to time over many years, to the point of being dependent upon it. My doc will no longer prescribe it, though I feel at this time it would be beneficial to me.
At one point, I did go off it cold turkey, and the withdrawal was very difficult, to the point that all I could do was lie in bed and withstand the tingling in my hands and feet and serious anxiety.
I would actually LIKE my doc to prescribe it again for me, since my anxiety now has manifested itself to the point of pain in my neck and shoulders from stress. This has been going on with me since the early summer of '08. During a visit with my aunt, she gave me about 12 Xanax, and within taking the med at nights only to rest, the pain in my neck had disappeared. I don't recall the mg. size she gave me, but I was breaking the tabs in half and only taking at night, and it was so beneficial. After those ran out, of course, the pain in my neck reappeared within a few weeks. I went to my doc and he ignored my request for Xanax and gave me a muscle relaxer instead and ordered me to physical therapy. The muscle relaxer isn't really helping, and makes me weepy when it wears off, but the P.T. seems to be doing a good thing, and I'm learning exercises to strengthen and relieve the tension.
Anyway, Iris, I think you are wise to wean off this Paxil gradually. I do sympathize with your bouts of anxiety.
Patty

I've been trying to quit cold turkey... I lasted four days... I was miserable and got sooo sick that I actually thought I had some sort of virus or something... I just went to the ER and they prescribed me more because they said it's so dangerous to quit cold turkey like that... I'd really like to get off of them but I can't even think and I feel soooo sick. I just couldn't go through it for another day. I haven't worked all week... All I've done is lay in bed because I had too much anxiety to even leave my house.

.75 mg of xanax is equal to about 15 mg. of valium, so it is NOT a small dose! I too take xanax and my greatest desire is to be off it completely. I was prescribed up to 4mg. 20 years ago and now am down to 1.75mg., looking to taper v e r y slowly this Spring. It may take me a year or more to come off it; it is dangerous to cold-turkey any benzo.

Here is gold-standard source of information on benzodiazepines: how they work and how to withdraw, by Dr. Heather Ashton, renowned expert in these drugs:

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

Read the manual - it is invaluable to any benzo user wanting to quit.

Best,
OC