Time to get started

[[Se...]]

Time to get started with this journey. I am currently on .25 mg Xanax at evening for about 6 years, however even at that small dose I suspect I am in tolerance withdrawal. It is complicated by the fact that I am also on Lexapro 10mg in the evening for anxiety. Detailed story to follow.

[[me...]]

Welcome to the forum!  We're glad to have you as a new member.  You've made a wise decision to get off xanax.

 

You'll find plenty of information and support here.  Our members have gone through all aspects of withdrawal, and you're likely to see  people who understand what you're going through and can tell you what has worked for them. For those who are currently tapering, we suggest reducing no faster than 5-10% every 10-14 days, and some taper even slower than that.  One exception: very short-term users of a few weeks or less may be able to taper faster than that.  Having some withdrawal symptoms is normal, especially near the end of a taper and for a month or so after discontinuing the medication.  The most common symptoms are anxiety and insomnia, but these are temporary and will go away in time.

 

Here are a few links you may find useful:

 

Withdrawal Support Board

 

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 in Chapter III, 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!

 

 

 

[[Bu...]]

Hi Serenitee,

 

Congratulations on your decision, you can do this! There are a few things that will help make your efforts successful.

 

The relatively small dose and the length of time that you have been taking Xanax are not that large.

 

We can't wait to hear your more detailed story... I am especially curious to hear if your anxiety is something new or was it there before you started benzos. I say this because I also was taking Xanax once a night for sleep and anxiety became an issue for me after I began taking it.

 

You may already know this but Xanax has a very short half-life which often will lead to inner-dose withdrawal which can cause anxiety all by itself. So there is a good chance that the Lexapro will not be needed at all once the Xanax is effectively removed from the mix. For this reason and to achieve this goal you may want to crossover to a longer acting benzo like valium. Its much longer half-life and larger tablet sizes will make a taper much much easier. FYI .25mg of Xanax is equal to 5mg of valium.

 

I personally was taking 1mg of Xanax each night for sleep and was experiencing really bad inner-dose withdrawal symptoms. Once I crossed over to valium all of the anxiety and IDWD symptoms completely disappeared within a few days.

 

I might also recommend a liquid daily taper as this also worked out very well for me. Do your research, make a plan and keep a positive attitude. There are so many really knowledgeable people here at BB so you will have plenty of help and support.

 

Good luck and good healing, 

 

 

Wilson

[[Se...]]

So here is my story. I believe things started going south back in 1991 ish. I was under a lot of stress. New wife, new kids, new job. Don’t handle stress well anyway, so it was a recipe for disaster.

 

I hurt my back in 1991 ish. It got better, then I would tweak it and this kept happening for several months with the tweaking happening more and more frequently. I was getting more and more scared. Eventually I pretty much had what I now see as a nervous breakdown. But at the time I related it all to my back. I was bedridden for a couple of months. Eventually I went back to work, but I was in tremendous pain. Back was continuously locked up. Kept going to doctors. No solutions. Culminated with a visit to the Mayo clinic. Ended up with a prescription for amyltriptilane, an A/D. Over time it actually worked and I became somewhat functional, still working. Took it for 6-7 years probably. Finally decided to try and go off it. Did a slow taper and eventually was off it.

 

Somewhere along the way or more likely all along, I developed  an anxiety disorder. Most likely GAD with special emphasis on health anxiety. I do not remember when, but somewhere along the way I was given Ativan. I believe I was typically taking .5 -1 mg in the evening. Again, somewhere along the way I tapered off it without much problem, or so I thought. I think the foundation had been laid for a fall.

 

I think in around 2011, during a time of great family stress, I suddenly woke up in a state of anxiety which was unbelievable and unrelenting. I got zero sleep, could not sit still. Could not stand to be in my own skin. Terrified of everything. I went to the doctor. He gave me a prescription for Lexapro and Xanax. I started both immediately. I was taking 1 mg Xanax several times a day time. I would take one at bedtime, kinda sleep for an hour or two and then wake up a sweaty mess. After several weeks of this, I believe the Lexapro started to kick in and while I still had horrendous morning anxiety, Toward evening, I was starting to feel better.

 

Eventually, I got to the point where I was fairly stable on  20mg Lexapro and .25 mg of xanax. Several years ago, I tapered down to 10mg of Lexapro  while still taking .25mg of Xanax.

 

Lately, I have been going through some tough times. I have been having tremendous neck and arm pain at times. It is usually a burning, achy tingling pain. It drives my anxiety and my anxiety seems to drive it. I have been to pain management. They have tried 2 cervical injections with no relief. We were suppose to try a third, however the 2nd one gave me 3 weeks of unrelenting anxiety before clearing up some. They also had me try some gabapentine. The first night I tried it, I woke up in the middle of the night in full panic mode. Took 1 week to recover from that.

 

I have been struggling with an anal fissure the last several weeks. Of course it drives my anxiety especially in light of the fact that I had one for 5-6 years which was eventually resolved with surgery 5-6 years ago.

 

My cognitive abilities are falling. The only thing I can think of to try is to slowly taper the benzo to see if that helps my symptoms. Then eventually taper the Lexapro if I get that far.

 

I just do not know if the neck and arm pain is being caused by tolerance withdrawal or an actual neck problem. My sense is most of the neck/arm pain is anxiety driven. When I am somewhat calm, it is not bothering me as much. But they feed on each other and I do not know what to do. I need help.

 

Lastly, I was given nitro paste last week to try for my anal fissure which may be another reason for my heightened anxiety. That stuff gives you a light headed feeling and my fight flight system is on a hair trigger now days so anything can kick it off.

 

I have read tons of stories from other people on here who are/were in much worse shape than me and I do not understand how they do it.

 

Wish everyone the best.   

 

[[1o...]]

Welcome to BB  I am new too. Looking forward to hearing your story. We are all here to show support, without judgement.