Stress Center Peer Support

I have recently stopped taking my xanax. I was taking half of .5mg which is about .25mg. Would there be withdrawal symptoms from getting off of it? Ive been having increased anxiety, really irrational thoughts and panic attacks. I dont know what to do?! Im NOT going to go back on it I just want to know if these are normal feelings.

i was told by my doc you can take .5 per day and just stop cold turkey without withdraw that could just be his oppinion you might want to get more oppinions tim

I've also been on xanax (then atavin & now klonapin). It's my understanding that xanax is completely out of the body within a day or two, and it's supposed to be used on an "as needed" basis- like flying. Unfortunately, this is NOT how I was prescribed or used the drug, so I'm not certain if my advice is accurate.

Some Dr.'s will say that your anxious reaction is all psychological and it's not a problem simply stopping you rx at .25 mgs because it's such a minimal dosage. In my opinion, this depends on how long you've been on the drug, because the longer you're on something I feel that it becomes stored in your body (again, I'm no MD).

There is a great website with FREE tapering schedules for even as low a dosage of .25 mgs. xanax; it's called <A HREF="http://www.theroadback.org" TARGET=_blank>www.theroadback.org</A>.
Best wishes to you!
fischee

I just had a couple of questions. I currently take 0.5 mg of Xanax, however, I only take one half in morning and the other half in evening. Are you working with your Dr. with tapering off ? My dr. has always said its such a low dose. However I have taken it for going on four years and I am curious as how to others go about going off of it. Even though I am unable to do that at this time. Also, did it help you when you did take it or did you have those same feelings your experiencing now when you were on it? I was just curious. I wish you the best of luck and success.

Hey A. Silver,
I'm not sure if you were asking me or not, but I'll try to answer some of your questions. I began taking xanax almost 9 years ago when my husband and I separated. After about 3 years, my Rx was for 1 mg 3X daily. Within one year, this was not enough, and I was eventually prescribed up to 5/6 mgs. daily (pretty stupid!). At this point, my psych. switched me to ativan, and after about 4 1/2 years the same thing happened; but this time I was up to 9 mgs. daily!

In mid-October, my psych. decided to taper me and within 17 days I was down to 3 mgs daily. Surprisingly, i was successful... for about two weeks, and then I literally had a nervous breakdown. It was SHEER HELL- physically and mentally! Thankfully, I was able to take a six week leave of absence from work, and I found this program.

I'm doing much better now; my psych. has switched me to klonopin 1 mg. in morn and 3/4 mg @ night- and while it does eliminate the anxiety, it also gives me dibilitating headaches (not all bad, because with the help of the skills taught i this program, I eventually want (WILL) be med free!).
Hope this helped somewhat,
fischee

Oh, xanax worked very well for me... I just wish I would have found the help I needed then so my predictament wouldn't have come to this.

Also, according to Mayo Clinic, there is absolutely NO need to feel withdrawl symptoms from benzo.'s if your tapering schedule is reasonable. When you're ready, they have some great info and so does the above site I mentioned.