Am I addicted

[[Ze...]]

I am joining to find info about addiction to Xanax and if I may be having withdrawal symptoms. I had .25mg tablets prescribed by my doctor 3 months ago due to anxiety from a medical diagnosis. It was a 10 day supply and when it ran out he would not prescribe me any more. They helped so much with my anxiety I wanted to stay on Xanax. I was able to get it through other means. I still took the prescribed amount .25mg. Have on occasion taken .5mg at night before sleeping but very rarely. I recently decided I no longer wanted to take Xanax so I stopped taking them. I feel like I am having some of the symptoms of withdrawal. Is that possible with such a low dose and for only doing it for 3 months?

[[pi...]]

Hello Zeke43,

 

Welcome to Benzo Buddies! I'm sorry you had to deal with a medical diagnosis and I understand that the xanax did help you through this period. Your doctor actually did the right thing, benzos should be used for no more than 2-3 weeks. 

 

It is possible to become dependent after short term use, in your case 3 months. However, taking it for a short period of time should help you in terms of recovery from the withdrawal symptoms. If the symptoms are tolerable, if it were me, I would stay off the xanax and allow my nervous system to normalize. This may take a little time.

 

I'll give you a link to the Post Withdrawal Recovery Board. You can post there and receive feedback from others.

 

Many people have been in your shoes, these drugs are tricky and although they work in the short term, taking them for longer periods of time can have consequences. I think you are making a good decision to stop.  We're here for you, let us know how we can help.

 

Post-withdrawal Recovery Support 

 

pianogirl 

[[...]]

Hi Zeke,

 

yes, it's possible you are dependent on xanax, unfortunately. I'm in the same boat. I took .25 dose for two months and when I stopped I went into horrible withdrawal which only grew worse over time. After two and a half weeks I went back on the .25 and am now tapering. Was that the right decision? I don't know. The w/d's are still tough. Currently I'm at a little less than .125 and am going to stay at this until my symptoms calm down.

 

Crazy, isn't it? I'm shocked everyday how much damage it's done in such a short time. Your doctor was one of the smart ones.....not too many of them around.

[[Ze...]]

I never thought I would have this happen with such a low dose. I don’t know what to do. Restless legs, can’t sleep, pvcs, anxiety and panic. I’m scared.

[[...]]

when was your last dose of xanax?

Like pamster said, only you can decide what is tolerable. You can try to tough it out or you can reinstate on .25 and do a slow taper.

My withdrawal was not tolerable so I reinstated. The worst was not being able to eat and rapid weight loss....I already struggle to keep weight on so this was a big one for me. The anxiety and panic and insomnia were also horrible but not the reason I went back on.

[[Ze...]]

Hey thanks for the info. I had no idea that this drug had this horrible addictive quality or in would have never done it. Same here, I’ve lost like 12 pounds in the last few week when the withdrawals started. I didn’t know they were withdrawals I thought it was something else. Been to the ER twice Thinking I was having a heart attack. There were times in the past 3 months I was taking it where I went a day or two not taking it but then I would feel the need to take it. Since late January I was taking either .5mg or .25mg before bed. When I would take the smaller amount I would wake up at 3am like clockwork then struggle to go to work at 5am. I didn’t know about the withdrawals and took my last dose of .25 this past Wednesday. Started look on the net about symptoms and withdrawal recently and saw how addictive this is. It’s scary and it’s affecting me in a bad way.

[[...]]

If it's been that recent since you took a dose of .25 I would continue and taper. You wound up in the emergency room.....so this drug affects you greatly. I know what you are going through. I felt like I was dying. If you decide to taper I would break up the pill into 3 doses....morning noon and night. Once I did this, instead of taking one time a day it stabilized me so I could function and then start to taper.

 

It's been a real drag but I have to be able to function. Do you have someone who can support you through this?