Hello

[[ar...]]

Hi I am a short-term user of Xanax and Klonopin and this is my first post on a site as such, it's a prescription of course, I took them off and on at some times, actually now that I think of it I used to take Ativan to sleep as well (I know it's half-life is terrible for sleep but I was 15 and didn't know it was a poor choice to prescribe.)  Never had a problem with Ativan though, then a few years later I was prescribed Xanax for intermittent anxiety attacks, which never happened with an obvious cause.  I have very bad insomnia, but it's very weird there's sometimes I can sleep well but some nights I can't stay asleep at all, it's definitely one of the leading contributing factors for my panic attacks for sure.  When I used to drink with friends I would never have a sleeping issue, I know obviously that alcohol and benzos are cross-tolerant so if one works for sleep the other will likely work also.  Naturally benzos could help me sleep, so I began taking the Xanax to help me sleep, and I don't know if it's my brain chemistry with anxiety and all (low GABA) but I would say when I drank with friends I had an abnormal tolerance to alcohol just naturally, which my brain naturally lacking GABA could explain, the same goes for benzo's maybe even more so.  So I tried taking .75 mg of Xanax to sleep, but it did nothing at all, and I did not sleep for a minute because I was scared to take another drug like Trazodone which has lost a lot of its effectiveness.  So I tried 1.5mg a few nights later, that worked but I woke up about four hours after.  Really I know Xanax is stupid, and only should be used for panic attacks, it's terrible for sleep.  2 mg's would make for a good night's sleep, after taking that off and on (eventually getting to 2.5mg) for about 17 days you can already guess what happens.  I start shaking a little bit at work and feel like shit and feel like I can't even do anything, go home to feel deader then I've felt in my entire life.  Somehow I slept very well since I was so dead, then woke up and was hoping it was just a bug or something, but I soon realized it was full-blown Xanax withdrawal when out of nowhere I started shaking like crazy and had my heart beat super fast and crazy amounts of adrenaline/anxiety, lasted about 1 full month at least and obviously lingered.  I fully recovered, and was even able to drink a couple beers here and there without flaring it up at all.  However I started to not sleep again, and tried taking Klonopin instead of Xanax, another bad idea, I've come to realize when dealing with insomnia no drug can deliver a continually sedating effect, what we know as tolerance becomes too strong.  Drugs must be alternated regularly to maintain their sedative effects.  However benzos tolerance is unbelievably fast, compare it to something like Trazodone which I take now for sleep, although that's reached its end of being useful as well, but it took years not days.  The reason I'm posting this is because I started taking Klonopin 2 months ago.  The withdrawal from the Xanax was about 7 1/2 months before the time of this post, so then I started taking Klonopin, and I used it literally 4 times over a one month period, NEVER more than once a week and ONLY four times.  The first three weeks I had no problem, but the 4th week I took it and a few days later (obviously with the 39-hour HL) I had full rebound (I think) withdrawal.  For me, Xanax withdrawal sucked, but Klonopin withdrawal is a hell of another kind, what drove me crazy with Klonopin was the atrocious stomach.  I'm not sure if anyone's ever tried this but I know SWIM resorted to oxycontin along with smokin a j, he tells me he even had seemingly full relief at times which is hard to believe.  So I'm literally 1 1/2 months into the Klonopin withdrawal now, I thought it was over but realized I had another wave at work.  The reason I'm posting is I'm just looking for a little reassurance that it will get better, I know benzo withdrawal timeline 1 1/2 month would be when some people could just start to leave the house without having a panic attack, I had it just enough that it was hell but I got by somehow the whole time.  These drugs suck, they do have their place for surgeries and seizures but sleeping problems isn't one of them.

 

[[me...]]

Hi, and welcome to BenzoBuddies.  We're glad you found us.  Here are a few links you may find useful:

 

The Ashton Manual is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field.  She describes and explains withdrawal symptoms, and there is also a section with withdrawal/taper schedules.

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

 

Again, welcome!

 

 

[[ar...]]

Thanks I've read a good bit of it, it's a great wealth of information.