How long does it take to detox off Xanax? What are the side affects? Thanks for the help ... Julie?

I’ve been on Xanax for 8 years I must say, the hardest thing I’ve ever had to overcome. My old dr had me on 6mg a day and when I switch my new dr said I am only 32 that I will be fried by the time I’m in my 50s I regret the day I stared taking them for severe anxiety panic attacks ect. The more I read new studies the more out I wanted My new dr advise tamper off slowly to avoid seizures and when I got to .5 she put me on vistaril and Benadryl. I’m going on 2 weeks off I still feel the withdrawals. not so intense. It was a year process but I’m glad I’m almost out. To anyone out there please don’t give up and seek professional help before weaning off.

Trying to get off high doses of Xanax is very dangerous. By high dose I mean anything over 2 mg's a day. The rule of thumb to remember is try to taper no more than 5% down every 2-3 weeks. It is a very slow process and please don't rush it or a seizure may occur. It is one of the hardest Benzodiazepines to get off of out there.

A good idea would be to see your doctor and explain. A prescription for Phenobarbital may be in order to help you get to sleep at night. Another option is to switch you to Valium instead to help prevent a seizure.

More information may be obtained at Subsux.com under the section for benzo's.

What are the side affects when coming off of Xanax

Ive been on Xanax for 16 + yrs. Now with new info I want off.my dose has been small 4 to 6 mg a day.but I have all the long term problems which were never told to me until I sought phsyc help.I will keep posting on results.I'm very worried about withdrawal. Ive had 27 knee surgery,so Ive beat the pain meds down to Norco 10/325 one twice a day.it was rough so I hope I can do this

I am under the care of a pain management/addiction specialist as I have chronic pain issues and I'm a recovering alcoholic/addict. He's given me Phenobarbital to come off of Xanax cold turkey. I am on 64 mg. 3 times daily. I was taking anywhere from 4 mg. to 6 mg. of Xanax daily for over 3 years. So far I've noticed very little in the way of withdrawals, but he explained to me that withdrawals could come anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks after stopping the Xanax. It's only been a week for me. He recently introduced Neurontin at night to prevent seizure activity. I'm so "drugged" from the phenobarbital I'm basically off my feet for a while. But he explained that I'm essentially doing an outpatient detox, as opposed to being in a hospital or an inpatient treatment facility. Fine with me as I'd certainly rather be at home doing this. I am a little nervous each day because of the potential for seizures. But it helps me to practice "living in the moment" and "one day at a time."

listen i been on benzos a year in a half im on xanax now 6 mgs a day it is a liveing hell to try to get off your heart rate does go up you get soo nervous its unreal and the longer u stay on it and the higher the dose the worse it will get you will become suicidal eventally turn into a hermit never want to leave home and u will have severe withdrawls when u wake up in the morning a big side affect is increased anxiety suicidal thoughts panic attacks bad headaches everyday cause benzos frie the brain which makes memory loss like no other and idk how long it takes to detox off Xanax im still trying to figure that out but these doctors dnt even know how how to bring you down and that goes for any doctor cause they havent been thru it they have studyied but they do not know which is scary idk how many mgs your takeing a day tho if its like 2 or 3 mgs a day then your not gona be haveing the suicidal thoughts yet and idk how long you have been on xanax

Hello juliedino. In answer to your question, it took me, just over a five week period of time, in a hospital. I had a seizure, while there, and lost the ability to talk. Ity took me months to beable to come close to being speak half way normal again. I had speech therapy to help me. My dose was just over 9mg. And that was my dose for almost 4 years or so.While in the hospital, phenobarbital, was given to me to replace the xanax with. If you are thinking of "detoxing yourself" please taper, do it very slowly so your body will not go through, any serious major, events. such as blood pressure issues, heart racing etc. Not knowing your dose, just becarefull. Let your doctor know that you're planning or thinking of a possible detox.best to you and becarefull, it can become a very serious issue, thing when not done with care..