Please, do not try to stop this drug without professional help!

When Xanax is taken for a period of time and then stopped, withdrawal symptoms can lead to seizures. With out the help of a detox facility, seizures from Xanax withdrawal can result in death.

Obviously, this is not the kind of drug you can detox from by yourself. I know you find it difficult to live with out them.
That combined with the fact that Xanax withdrawal symptoms can be extremely painful and in some cases deadly, it is difficult to kick this habit alone.

Stopping any pharmaceutical drug abruptly is never recommended. You should be gradually weaned off by a medical professional. Its only after detoxification that you can then be treated for the psychological aspect of your addiction. Xanax rehabs provide a safe medical detox along with residential treatment programs for your addiction.

Please talk to your doctor concerning your desire to stop taking this drug. He can refer you to the proper treatment program.

God Bless and TC!

Bob is absolutely correct, and benzo's are the worst thing to detox off of. They are worse than opioids and can last for a very long time, I was told up to six months, you need professional help on this one. God bless and don't do it on your own please, alot of bad things can happen!! HUGS!

Try getting some counseling. Must be some reason why you prefere to be numbed out and perhaps counseling can help you find that. Perhaps your Dr could offer some advise. And forget about all your progress being for nothing. It's helped you to see more about yourself, and from our relapses we do learn also. Sometimes they can help us, and some of us even need them. Things do happen for a reason, and the only failures are the wrong perceptions that we create because of the way we think. Tell your sister the truth. Lies only create distance between the people we truly care about. I'm sure she would rather hear the truth. You didn't let her, or anyone down. You experianced something that you can choose to learn from, and keep moving foreward. It'd done, now move on. Wish you all the best.James

Absolutely! You need to be weaned from this drug very very slowly and only under the supervision of a doctor! You are weaning way to fast! It IS much worse then opiates to quit!

Good Luck!

Im in the same boat. Ive been taking 1 mg a day for about a year and its like i withdraw terribly if i dont take it in time. Its not even helping anymore..but i found out that even tho im taking 1 mg my body is only processing about half of it because after your liver gets used to it it starts producing chemicals that destroy the drug..so even tho your taking larger amounts the amount in your blood is not that amount..so technically if you lower it its not getting less. http://www.lexington-on-line.com/naf_xanax.html

Also, ifi may ask, whats the reason for the xanax? if its anxiety or depression a antidepressant could help immensely

I got myself off. I took 1/4 less every 4 days until I was down to .25. Then I took that longer and longer apart. When I was out and I was strong, I called my doctor and told them to mark my file that I was addicted and not to give it to me. I then called the pharmacy and told them the same. Problem solved. I was off and could not get more.

The replies here have all generally been correct and well written. It would definitely be in your best interest to enlist the help of a trusted healthcare professional while discontinuing Xanax or any benzodiazepine. One thing I have not seen mentioned but could be very helpful is asking your doctor to switch you to Valium (diazepam) and titrate down using that drug. The logic to using a valium taper lies in the fact that it has a MUCH longer half-life than Xanax (a couple of days for Valium vs only a couple of hours for Xanax). This is the reason why Xanax is often dosed several times per day.

First, consult a benzodiazepine equivalence chart, to see how much Valium you would require. http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm
If you are stabilized at about 2 mgs of Xanax a day, you would need to start with about 20 mgs of Valium a day, preferably in divided doses. Then you can decrease your dose of Valium every 2 or so weeks. Because of the very long half-life of Valium, the drug will stay in your body much longer and you will not "feel" each dose reduction as markedly. A smoother discontinuation regimen (with fewer and less sever withdrawal symptoms) will make you more likely to stick with it Plus, psychologically you may not fear withdrawal as much.

Surprisingly, not many primary care doctors or those without up-to-date knowledge of substance abuse will know to take this approach, so you may have to do some explaining or find a compassionate and intelligent doctor. Some great doctors may additionally even prescribe you non-benzo "support" medications such as gabapentin or trazodone to help alleviate withdrawal-related insomnia, though you may not even find these necessary.

Of course, detox is only half the battle here, you will have to find ways to deal with whatever drove you to use in the first place. However, by having a plan like this, you can withdraw from benzo use as safely and as comfortably as possible, which should increase your compliance. Good luck and stay strong

Thank you everyone, your advice has been very helpful. My current psychiatrist is definitely not sympathetic or understanding at all abt this situation. The withdrawals have been awful and I've added cymbalta to the mix. I'm just lost, i finally started seeing a cog. Behavorial therapist which has been very helpful mentally, physically, I feel awful. I'm so angry this Dr turned me into some kind of addict and now tells me I'm not getting better and keeps throwing anti depressants at me and not listening or caring that they are not helping. I'm down to 1mg a day..

I think the advice is pretty simple in this situation- find a new doctor. The doctor doesn't even HAVE to be a psychiatrist, just smart and compassionate. When I was diagnosed as depressed, I started seeing a psychiatrist who started me on a typical medication. Though it was having some effect I still felt *more could be done. I took my friend's advice and went to see an internist who added on a rarely used, additional medication that made all the difference in the world. I was so impressed with this doctor's level of competence and ingenuity in treating my situation that I stopped seeing my psychiatrist all together. Now I just see this other doctor for my mental health medication needs and a therapist to deal with the behavioral side (which you seem to have covered already). Keep looking.... there ARE great doctors out there who want to and will help you. Best of luck.

Hi sunsets,

I was taking xanax 10mg a day. My pdoc titrated me down by .5mg a week till i was down to nothing. When I got down to 2mg. She started slowly going up on Klonopin starting at .25mg, up to 1mg to prevent seizures and lessen the withdraw symptoms. It is very important that you come down under the supervision of a specialist, such as a psychiatrist. Now Im in detox coming off of Klonopin at a rate of .25 mg per day from 3mg because I abused it. Im also in a substance abuse recovery program. There are several outpatient programs availible. My pdoc wouldnt help me if I did not agree to go. The withdraw from the xanax was pure hell, even with the Klonopin, but thats probably because I was use to taking so much xan. I wish you the best of luck!! PM me if you have any questions or wanna talk.

I know your pain. I take 1mg a day, half a pill every 6 hours. I fear not taking it and take it when I first get up in the morning, and when I go to bed, or feel panic attacks coming on during the day. I don't have any refills but call my doctor every month and she refills my script so I have no idea what to do, I'm going to try to wean back down to .5mg a day, I was on that for a week and than had a major panic episode, got scared and went back to the 1mg. I feel like a zombie and sleep 18 hours on average a day. :/

Just thought I'd give a little update... second day in over a year with NO XANAX. I feel a huge accomplishment but have two weeks on librium and then I'm off of benzos for good. I never mentally truly thought I could do this, there was always an excuse to prolong the withdrawal.. I now know I just have to push through it... xxanax took over my life and partially destroyed it. I'm taking it back... one minute at a time