Withdrawal Side Effects

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I’ve been in Xanax for 6 months and only had been taking a few milligrams. I just stopped taking it after tapering down to 0.5mg. It’s been 2 weeks since I stopped and I’ve been noticing changes in my vision. I have trouble reading sometimes where I lose my place, and I started having visual snow which is where your whole visual field is static or millions of black dots. Along with this I’ve been experiencing periodical nausea and dizziness. I was taking Xanax for severe anxiety problems and I have been getting extremely anxious over the visual snow and static everywhere. It’s only been two weeks but I feel like it won’t ever stop and I’m extremely paranoid and have been having multiple anxiety attacks every day. I’ve never had either of these problems with my vision ever in my life and would really like advice or help. The static is extremely anxiety enticing. Please Help - Owen

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Visual problems are very common after benzodiazepine use and withdrawal.  This is due to temporary changes the drug causes to our bodies and will reverse itself with more time.  People who were treated with benzodiazepines for other reasons also have anxiety as a result of withdrawing, so if you were put on Xanax for anxiety, it's likely to be worse for a little while and that is normal, unfortunately, but also temporary.  I know it doesn't feel at all normal right now, but it may help your anxiety to know that this is part of the withdrawal and healing process and will go away with more time. 

 

Many of us find reading, watching television or using electronics to be hard on our eyes for awhile, also.  It will diminish and go away in time.  Until then, it may help to continue to remind yourself this is temporary and keep posting for support and reassurance.

 

 

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I realize it’s only temporary but it’s hard for me to even imagine that the static everywhere is going to go away. It’s all I see and can think about which is making it worse. I’m about to see my doctor about it. Are the medicines meant to help withdrawals possibly be useful to me? Thanks -Owen

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I realize it’s only temporary but it’s hard for me to even imagine that the static everywhere is going to go away. It’s all I see and can think about which is making it worse. I’m about to see my doctor about it. Are the medicines meant to help withdrawals possibly be useful to me? Thanks -Owen

 

I didn't take any adjunct medications during withdrawal, but I know others have.  You might want to read in  Other Medications about adjunct meds that people have had success (or not) with.

 

I know it's hard to believe that current symptoms will go away.  This is part of the withdrawal process...health anxiety and obsessing about things.  Sorry to put this so bluntly, but you'll hear this from other people as well.  It's a normal and expected part of the withdrawal and recovery process for most of us.  Not desirable, certainly, but common and usual.

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Here's something that may be a little bit reassuring:

 

Coping with Benzo withdrawal:  Coping with Benzo Withdrawal

 

Recovery Tips http://www.psychmedaware.org/recovery_tips.html

 

1. Recovery from being an accidental addict to benzodiazepines is serious business. It takes time for the central nervous system to heal and for neurotransmitters to stop being sensitive. None of us had the faintest idea that this kind of situation lay in front of us. So we are dealing with shock at what has happened as well as the real physical and mental/emotional symptoms of withdrawal.

 

2. Recovery is not linear, as it is with other illnesses or injuries. If we cut our hands, we can actually see the cut heal and the pain diminish over time. In benzo withdrawal we can be well one day and very sick the next. This is normal and we have to look at our healing differently.

 

3. Recovery is an individual thing, and it is difficult to predict how quickly symptoms will stop for good. People expect to be completely better after a certain period of time, and often get discouraged and depressed when they feel this time has passed and they are not completely better. Most patient support programs tell clients to anticipate 6 months to a year for recovery after a taper has ended. But some people feel better a few months after they stop taking benzos; for others it takes more than a year to feel completely better. Try not to be obsessed with how long it will take, because every day you stay off benzos, your body is healing at its own rate. If you do not follow this particular schedule, it does not mean there is something wrong or you are not healing. Even if you are feeling ill in some respects, other symptoms may disappear. Even people in difficult tapers see improvements in symptoms very early on. So don’t let these time-frames scare you. The way you feel at one month will not be how you will be feeling at three months or at six months.

 

4. It is very typical to have setbacks at different points of time (these times can vary). These setbacks can be so intense that people feel their healing hasn’t happened at all; they feel they have been taken right back to beginning. Setbacks, if they occur, are a normal part of recovery.

 

5. When people are in recovery, they have a lot of fears. One is that they will never get better. Another is that their symptoms are really what they are like — perhaps what they have always been like. Both of these fears are stimulated by benzo withdrawal. In other words they are the thought components of benzo withdrawal, just as insomnia is a physical component.

 

6. There is no way around benzo withdrawal and recovery—you have to go through it. People try all sorts of measures to try to make the pain stop, but nothing can shortcut the process. Our body and brain have their own agenda for healing, and it will take place if you simply accept it.

 

7. When you are having a bad spell, healing is still going on. People typically find that after a bad spell, symptoms improve and often go away forever. Try to remember this when times are hard.

 

8. There is no magic cure to recovery, but you can help yourself by comforting and reassuring yourself as much as possible. Read reassuring information, stay away from stress, ask your partner, family and others for reassurance, and go back to the things you did at the beginning if you are experiencing really tough symptoms.

 

9. When we start to feel better, it is very typical to try to do too much. We are grateful to be alive and we have energy for the first time in weeks or months. But this can be a dangerous time. When we do to much and take on too much too early, it re-sensitizes the nervous system. It doesn’t prevent healing in the long term, but it can make us feel discouraged. So try to pace yourself, even if you are feeling good.

 

10. You do need to respect your body during recovery, although you don’t need to make drastic changes to your lifestyle. Exercise, in any form is critical—even if you can only walk around the house or to the end of the block. Eating well and avoiding all stimulants is crucial. Regular high-protein snacks can help with the shakes and the feelings of weakness we have during withdrawal and recovery.

 

11. Recovery is all about acceptance, but this does not mean passive acceptance. Set small goals for yourself that are achievable. Try to keep exercise happening. Work at your recovery even if that means accepting you are sick—for now. You wouldn’t be hard on yourself if you were in a traffic accident and had injuries; you would work at rehab. Try to take the same attitude and approach to benzodiazepine withdrawal.