Story of Xanax Withdrawal

[Olivier]

Hi, first post, but this was something SWIM wanted to share. SWIM a 19 year old male who lives at home with my family.


SWIM was perscribed Xanax to sleep every night, .5 mgs at night time. SWIM had always abused Xanax even before SWIM had it perscribed to me, and it never was a problem. SWIM never really liked the drug but SWIM hadn't been taking it as a result of addiction.

For about a week after SWIM decided to stop smoking for a while, SWIM started taking xanax heavily. SWIM might take 1.5 - 2.0 mg/s a day, maybe more. It wasn't that bad of a habit, but SWIM started to suffer. SWIM probably only took it steadily for 1 week, maybe 2, TOPS.

The final straw for my family was when they knew SWIM had been abusing it, as they caught me doing it before. SWIM was nearly comatose in a sleep, and they told me that SWIM had to stop, and searched my room and found only 2 pills, actually all SWIM had.

SWIM was depressed, maybe a reason SWIM started to abuse it. SWIM was a bit buzzed on the Xanax, and had an emotional outburst, and SWIM told my family SWIM wanted to go to the hospital because SWIM was feeling suicidal. SWIM was admitted to the Loma Linda Behavioral Health Center and was there for 6 days.

After 24 hours or less from my last dose, SWIM started suffering withdrawals. SWIM had an anxious shake, and SWIM was feeling nauseous and not eating. SWIM kept telling them SWIM needed something for the WDs, but they only gave me benadryl. The first night that SWIM was in the hopsital, SWIM was uncontrollably shaking, had a horrible headache and stomache ache, and was crying because SWIM was in so much pain.

The next day after the longest night in my life, SWIM was given 1 mg of Ativan 4 times daily for the withdrawals. SWIM still had the symptoms from WDs and SWIM started shaking every time SWIM needed to take my medicine, and it went off like clock work.

Benzo withdrawal is HELL. SWIM can't even explain how much pain SWIM was in. It was indescribable, and still is. It wasn't even that SWIM was addicted to them mentally, but SWIM wanted to continue taking them because of the withdrawals.

This is a horrible drug to become addicted to, and SWIM hopes to never touch it again. Ever. Ever. Ever.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Good story man. People really need to know this stuff.

[SirWaldo]

SWIM has heard that antianxiety medication withdrawal can be deadly, and can produce siezures. Don't know of this is true or not, does anyone know? SWIM has friends that take about 8-10mg a day. I could imagine they are going to have a very rough time one day.

[JaWill88]

very deadly. siezures and all.

[Olivier]

SWIM thought he was the only one that actually knew the WDs could be deadly, yet he had to wait an entire day before getting lorazepam.

[Shwags]

Yeah, I think benzos are the only drug that you can literally die from the withdrawal, as opposed to an overdose of the actual drug or whatever. Even Heroin or Meth or shiit like, the withdrawal from those drugs might be terrible, but you can't die from them! That is intense, SWIM recently started buyin 2 mg bars a couple times a week and poppin them, usually on the weekends, but reading some of the shiit in these threads is scarin me away from it, cause I know personally SWIM has a high potential to make benzos a daily habit and that would suck.

[gmeziscool2354]

alcohol is the most likely drug to kill due to withdrawals. its because of how high a dose many people take compared to the LD50

[tyranny4u]

SWIM has heard that antianxiety medication withdrawal can be deadly

can be deadly... well, let's try not to make such a big drama about this,
as this tells the truth "just a little bit" and may frighten people who read
this and kick their good plans of stopping their benzo habit, cause they get
worried. by the way, "has heard that antianxiety medication" is not that
specific, but i assume you rely on benzodiazepines.

alcohol is the most likely drug to kill due to withdrawals. its because of how high a dose many people take compared to the LD50

true spoken. but let us not forget the barbiturates, though they aren't pre-
scribed anymore.

Yeah, I think benzos are the only drug that you can literally die from the withdrawal

don't you worry. some died on methadone
cold turkey after long time use. others died from cold turkey of pharmaceu-
tical grade of heroin (98 - 99.whatever percent pure heroin). most die, as
stated above, from alcohole withdrawals, when there is no medical help.

[SusAngelo]

swim also tried to cut down on the xanax, and got even more anxious, like oliver.
another kind of anxiety then the one swim got the pills for in the first place.
swim takes 1-1.5mg daily, sometimes more

[pinksox]

To the OP:Waiting "a whole day" for ativan WHILE IN A MEDICAL FACILITY hardly put ones life in jeopardy or lowered their seizure threshold significantly(especially if they're not on benzos for seizure suppression to begin with).

One really only starts worry about seizures in benzo withdrawal when there is no help around AND the person goes into a condition known as status epilepticus--which is essentially a continuous unbroken seizure or a multitude of smaller grand mal seizures one immediately following the last which don't stop.

An isolated instance of seizure(or two) while withdrawing from benzos--and this is rare unless one is seizure prone or they've been taking very high doses over a prolonged period(think years, not weeks here) will lower ones seizure threshold and probably earn them a night or two in the hospital.

The fact that one benzo, Xanax, was replaced with another benzo, Ativan(which, for medical purposes actually works better than Xanax) tells Swimmy that a good part of SWIY's addiction was, in fact, in part conditioned behavioral.

The most common problem people coming off benzo use--especially short-term use(measured in weeks to a few months) have is the rebound anxiety that others have spoken of. Having experienced both personally, Swimmy likens it much to like what an opiate addict goes through in having to learn to "feel emotion" again. Both are equally as disquieting and discomforting and not at all pleasant sensations.

Oh, and welcome to DF





To some others:....So, yeah, as tyranny, says, don't go around over-dramatizing here and making people think they're going to die from seizure--or even have a seizure--if they stop taking benzos. The VAST majority of people will never experience a seizure. And the vast majority of those who DO have a seizure or two only a teeny, tiny portion of those will go into the life-threatening condition known as status epilepticus...which can be managed in-hospital usually without too much difficulty. And is only really life-threatening outside the hospital when the person is alone or help, in the form of an ALS ambulance service would take a long time to obtain.

Stat ep in the hospital is either broken with Valium/ativan or in the extremely rare instance it cant be broken expeditiously with Valium or Ativan then the person brain is essentially shut down with Diprovan, which effectively stops seizure activity and they're put onto a ventilator until time, benzos and other anti-seizure meds do break the cycle. SWIM will say in near twenty years of involvement with emergency medicine she has only seen TWO cases of status epilepticus. One in the ED from abrupt benzo withdrawal in a patient who'd been using them over ten years and the other in swimmys own nephew, who was 5 at the time, and which had nothing to do with benzos.

Even patients who've been taking benzos for years and years can safely be taken off them with a two week taper as long as they're med compliant. It might not be the most comfortable experience, and, yes, the rebound anxiety sucks, but it's possible to do so quite safely without lowering ones seizure thresh hold.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Great information. Maybe worth puttting the info on benzo w.d.s in a better place, as the original post here is nearly 2...