Tried to stop April 2010 after grand mal seizure from withdrawel (from which I still have retrograde amnesia)I also had a friend die a week later from a grand mal seizure due to Benzo withdrawel & neither of us were epileptic.Went through a rapid detox for 3 weeks-the detox itself was a few days, I was too sick to leave, they finally made me leave (I was on a scholarship) and I got progressively worse. Tremors, constant vomiting (I went from my normal 105 lbs to 60 lbs-I'm 5 ft.tall)My vision was getting so blurry I could hardly see. I was hospitalized after many absence seizures (while on anti-seizure meds) & after 6 weeks of being off it, I was worse, barely conscious, so a doctor relented, put me back on .25 mg & I was sent home next day. I was very weak & thin but managed to put most weight back on, pack & move from FL to TN in a month. I'm in a small town with very few support groups or local doctors. I want to taper off. I still get tremors if I haven't taken enough. DO NOT want to repeat that near death experience or grand mal seizures again. Please help, anyone. Thank you!
I'm so sorry for the he'll you have been through. Make sure you have qualified medical care workers helping you throughnthis. I can so relate.
Xo
I am detoxing from xanax and narcotics, I just keep going to the ER because it is the holidays.
My last .25 Xanax was on the 26th of Dec and here now it is the cusp of the new year.
I was having such trouble when the withdrawals from the narcotics kicked in that I went in again and they gave me a drug called Clonidine and also potassium supplements because mine was low.
I am glad I went because the low potassium can be real bad for your heart.
The Clonidine took the pain away and allowed me to sleep however it has many side effects and you cannot drive when you take it.
I think I can manage doing the rest of my 'cold turkey' withdrawals with this med.
I never want to touch a Xanax or a narcotic again!
Here's to a great new year free of perscription drugs.
I too understood the dangers however was led by doctors.
I am disabled and figured I needed them to live.
I figure that a sn addictionoslogist is my best bet, and plan on getting one after the new year.
I know that there must be a med that is not addictive that I can be given for the panic attacks and the anxiety.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, and the fact that I know I was blind and many have this and the great attitude of the nurses and doctors they will be patient with me when I come to them for help.
I just decided this month that live or die I had to enter the new year with a drug free commitment.
Love to all who are still suffering lets join hands across the internet and support each other.
Hang in there, like someone said the detox has to happen.
I have been isolated in my own private hell with this problem and now not being able to drive makes it harder.
Debbie
I too am in the process of getting off a 14yr.habit of taking
Xanax.My psychiatrist has me on a slow taper(over a year)& I
am down to only taking .5mgs at bedtime.I wish you all the best with your withdrawls & know you are not alone.
duckwoman
If I can get down to a 1/2 of a quarter of a 2mg xanax bar, how gradual should I taper off from there? Does anyone know? I know everyone's different, just a general idea. I've taking either valium or xanax for several yeas now and as I stated aboe nearly dide from withdrawel alone, not to mention the grand mal & absence seizures. The withdrawels make opiate withdrawels look like a walk in the park & I never thougt I'd say that, but I've there too. 300 mg Roxycodone a day & I only 5' tall & weigh 100lb.s. 'm really desperate, almost suicidal at this point, but I've children & I'd never leave them or hurt them, but I just left my home in FL, an bad marriage & I can't afford pricey treatment or doctors. I'm praying to get some kind of aid while I get on my feet, there's not even a shrink in this town. I do sometimes attend the few AA mtgs they have here, there are no NA mtgs close. I'm just really messed up & terrified. God help me, please!