[mbprinceton]

I have been on Xanax 1mg 2 times a day for about 8 months, it started out as .25 for a few months then went up gradually.. Now I want to quit taking it because i am starting to worry about prolonged use of this drug.. But I have a problem and that is I am addicted to it now.. I do not know how to get off of it and stop taking it entierlly.. I have tried cold turkey, it lasted about 1 week maybe 6 days.. I litterally could not function correctly, my thoughts were not normal, heart palpitations, severe headaches and i had wierd pains in my right arm.. I am not sure if all of these are from that.. but it is the only time i feel these symptoms is when i do not take my dose.. I am currently down to .50 mgs, sometimes 1 times a day if i do not feel like i have to take the second dose.. I would like to know if anyone has sugestions on how to get down from .50 to a lesser amount,and at some point to taking none.. as for what i have tried does not work.. If i take less then .50 a day i feel WD's

Thank you

[DMS321]

mb,

Whatever you do don't stop taking the Xanax without talking with your doctor. Then if the both of you decide that it is a good idea to stop the drug then you can talk to the dr about withdrawaling symptoms and such. I would never go cold turkey with any drug, you can really hurt yourself, not just by your head feeling like it is going to explode but it can also affect your organs.... Start weaning yourself very slowely if you don't wanna to talk to the dr. You said that you are taking 2mg a day. Start a week that it is 1.5mg a day, the next week try 1mg, if you need to, do two weeks at a time if one week is not enough. I am currently on Xanax but i basically take it as needed. Another thing that you can do while you are trying to wean is keep a journal with you, write down all the stuff that is going through your head, fill up notebook after notebook and then trash them when you are done..... i have a friend that does that and it really seems to work for her.... I am currently withdrawaling from Lexapro and i have started to journel and it does make me feel better.