Xanax and Withdrawal: What Users Say (Page 2)

• War...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 25, 2017

For Anxiety "I have an overreaction to stressful situations. A situation that the average person takes in stride might put me into panic mode. Xanax is the only thing I've found that calms me down effectively. Depending on the situation, it may take 0.25 mg - 1.0 mg to do the job. Because of its addictive nature, I don't take it every day, just in certain situations, maybe 3-4 times per year. I did have a situation recently where I took about 1.0 mg every day for about 1 month. When the situation resolved, I quit taking it and I had no withdrawal symptoms."

• Cal...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 3, 2017

For Anxiety "STAY AWAY FROM XANAX. Please! It will help you-in the moment. But literally hours later, the rebound anxiety and insomnia will hit you and make you regret taking it at all in the first place. And before you know it, you'll go from half a bar to multiple bars just to sleep at night. Oh, and the increased depersonalization and dark thoughts are not potential 'side effects'-they are some of the many very real, consistently DIRECT EFFECTS of taking Xanax. Benzos should be used as rarely and as short-term as possible. Even in these cases, the withdrawal is VERY real...it hurts just to live. Please, take my word for it. I'm going through it for the TENTH time right now. ADDICTIVE."

• Nas...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 13, 2016

For Anxiety "Used for 6 weeks to treat muscle spasms and phobia. After asking my doctor to wean me off, we followed a regimen, and it was the worst withdrawal I have ever experienced in my whole life, even worse than things that I've taken in the past. I suffered temporal epileptic seizures for 3 days and was staring at the door for an hour before my girlfriend smacked me to wake me up. 6 days later, I suffered two consecutive grand mal seizures that broke my skull and nose. I had never had a history of seizures. Brain MRI and EEGs done last year came out clear and crystal, and this medicine lowered my threshold so much. 6 months after I stopped it, I am not the same, I am not the same anymore. Please be careful and think ten times before you decide to drop it."

• Bec...
• September 29, 2016

For Panic Disorder "I was given Xanax for panic attacks. Worked great. Three years later, and I have a tolerance and feel withdrawal in between doses. I am miserable and worse than I started. Use caution! Wish I had known when I started them."

• rox...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 10, 2017

For Anxiety "Xanax is a medication that must be taken seriously and with precaution. This is not a game. Taking it when you don't need to will only create addiction, and the withdrawal is worse than living with the actual anxiety. Please don't take this med unless you suffer from anxiety and you are having a panic attack. It works well in these situations, but my advice is to stay away from it and only take it in an emergency. I prefer lorazepam. When you take lorazepam, the withdrawal symptoms are more tolerable than Xanax. Xanax is awesome, but it can become Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You can die from this or get a DUI if you are caught in a driving accident. This is serious."

• rox...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 10, 2017

For Anxiety "Xanax is a medication that must be taken seriously and with precaution. This is not a game. Taking it when you don't need to will only create addiction, and the withdrawal is worse than living with the actual anxiety. Please don't take this med unless you suffer from anxiety and you are having a panic attack. It works well in these situations, but my advice is to stay away from it and only take it in an emergency. I prefer lorazepam. When you take lorazepam, the withdrawal symptoms are more tolerable than Xanax. Xanax is awesome, but it can become Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You can die from this or get a DUI if you are caught in a driving accident. This is serious."

• ben...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 18, 2015

For Anxiety "Xanax is amazing! In 20 minutes, it will completely take away all of your anxiety and/or problems, and everything will be okay. Life goes on! The only problem is that Xanax has such a short half-life, that in 6 hours it goes away, and your brain wants more. If you take it daily, watch out! That little pill can ruin your life. In prison, they will only give meds to people detoxing from alcohol or benzos. Because it can kill you! Short-term, stressful events like flying, giving a speech, or a panic attack will do you good. Try not taking your Xanax for a few days and see how you feel? Or run out of your prescription a few days early. Let me say, it's not fun. Please be responsible and try meditation or working out. Stay away from alcohol/stimulants."

• pul...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 30, 2015

For Anxiety "Really does help with anxiety/panic attacks, but has nasty withdrawals. I was prescribed 0.5 mg 3x a day, and whenever I moved, my new doctor stopped prescribing me them, pretty much forcing me to quit cold turkey. Worst month of my life, and it only exacerbated my anxiety in the end."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 31, 2012

For Panic Disorder "I was suffering from nocturnal anxiety attacks for several months, but Xanax helps me get a good night's rest most of the time. 0.5 mg gets me to sleep, but 1 mg knocks me out for the whole night. I do not find that I wake up groggy or experience any other side effects, although I am wary about withdrawal symptoms. It's a great medicine overall though!"

• Jam...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• February 26, 2016

For Anxiety "I started out on Valium for about 20 years, 10 mg x 4 a day. Used for anxiety and sleep. It worked, it was a comfort to know most of the time I used 2 per day, so I always had extra. I think knowing I had extras helped almost as much. Then the doctor changed the prescription to alprazolam, 2 mg tablets, 4 times a day, some heavy difference. At first, it worked well. In the beginning, I felt it 30 minutes after I took it, and only needed 2 per day. Now I'm at 4 per day, that's 8 mg, and I don't feel it. I don't know about withdrawals, but I hear it's pretty hard to get off, and I've been on them for 30 years. Not sure what to expect, but I think I would feel more alert and energetic too."

• Mat...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• October 17, 2018

For Anxiety "I've been on this medication on and off for 30 years. Had terrible anxiety and agoraphobia. I take now 0.5 mg up to twice a day. It helped in the beginning, but now, even while taking it, I'm having withdrawal symptoms. It's horrible. I can't go to work, I can't go to a store, I can't sleep. Please don't take this awful drug."

• mih...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 2, 2018

For Anxiety "I have been using this drug on and off for 6 years, and it works fairly well even at low doses. Originally, I took it for anxiety, but now I take it for tinnitus. I think it can cause tinnitus. I take half of a 1 mg pill before bed. I can go without it for days, but do get some withdrawal symptoms. It still works after years of use."

• lg1...
• November 16, 2009

For Panic Disorder "I have been on Xanax for about ten years, and now it has had to come to a screeching halt. At first, 1 mg three times a day was great, I could work, go into social settings, and even to stores. It gradually got up to 2 mgs three times a day for about five years, then came the beginning of the end. I had begun using more and more of this wonder drug, and I ran out, horrible withdrawal symptoms beginning with night sweats, not sleeping, confusion, and finally seizures, not to mention the mental twists and games my mind played on me. Now I am on Klonopin, and it's taken the edge off today. I don't get the wonder drug feeling, and I'm not having seizures, we will see. Careful with the use of this medicine."

• Ano...
• December 27, 2017

For Panic Disorder "I can’t find fault with Xanax for control of panic attacks. It’s the best there is. However, I took it for a long period of time, over a year, and found that I needed an ever-increasing dose, probably due to tolerance. The withdrawals were ungodly wicked! I was put on low-dose Klonopin, which warded off the worst withdrawals. I went from 6 mg of Xanax to 0.5 mg of Klonopin and managed to stabilize there within a day. I’d not suggest Xanax to anyone with an ongoing problem with panic. Valium or Klonopin are far safer, in my experience."

• Anonymous
• August 10, 2021

For Anxiety "Dr. has had me on Xanax for years for anxiety, 0.5 mg. I wanted off, and I just stopped. Little did I know I would have severe withdrawal. I suffered and went to the ER. I beg to get me off. They told my doctor that he wants me to take them as they help me. I want off. I am scared of them. Can he taper me off without any more withdrawals? I am scared. I never knew this would cause what happened. They worked for anxiety, but I had no clue I'd have severe withdrawal if I stopped. That was a pure nightmare. Be informed you can't just get off of them!!! You will go through horrifying withdrawals. Please talk to your doctor if you want off. And how tapering down will work, but you may still have withdrawal. I am just sick of how I suffered."

• Anonymous
• November 15, 2010

For Anxiety "I've tried many other non-addictive medications, and none of them helped my anxiety the way Xanax does. After several other medications (and hesitation on my part), my doctor finally prescribed me Xanax 1 mg 2-3 times daily, depending on my level of anxiety that day. I ended up breaking most of the pills in half and only taking 0.5 mg, usually 3x a day, and find it relieves my anxiety without the level of sleepiness a whole mg gives me. I usually only take a whole pill if I feel a panic attack coming on. But I'll take the mild drowsiness any day over the level of constant anxiety I had prior to starting the drug, and a couple of cups of coffee usually does me good. I can definitely tell when a dose starts to wear off though, some withdrawal."

• CHa...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 3, 2021

For Panic Disorder "First time I took a dose of Xanax, I was like 'OMG, this is how normal people feel!' because I'd had panic attacks and night terrors for two decades before that. I've taken 0.5 mg 2x a day for 30 years. No increase needed. No calling the doctor for early refills, no 'losing' my prescription, no other behavior of addiction. My body is dependent on it, but when I've tried to taper or quit, I've ended up in the ER with severe panic attacks and withdrawals. I've tried numerous times because doctors tell me it's for short-term only and that I'll become addicted and that I should wean off. My shrink is reducing his time working (or actually ditching me, personally, tbh), and I'm so scared. No one else wants to prescribe it. I guess I will go back to how I was before and never again feel how normal people feel. They treat me like I'm a criminal when I tell them how long I've taken it, and look at me as if they don't believe I've taken a low dose for so long. I feel undeserving of care."

• my ...
• November 13, 2009

For Panic Disorder "I have been taking a combination of 2 mg Xanax 3 times a day, 2 mg extended-release Xanax once daily, and 3 mg Klonopin twice daily. I have found that this combination of medications and Xanax itself has helped me get my mind back on the things that matter in my life. Get over my fears and make an enormous amount of friends in my life. Although the only problem is that my doctor now tells me after 18 months of taking this dose that he thinks the Depakote (1000 mg) a day is helping me and that he is going to start taking me off the benzodiazepines. I tried to see if I would be able to get off of them and live normally, I found myself worse than before the medication with severe withdrawal symptoms."

• Anonymous
• July 18, 2011

For Anxiety "Xanax for panic attacks saved my life. I had developed agoraphobia after 9 months or so of severe panic. I was prescribed Xanax for occasional use by a very smart doctor, and just knowing I had them to rely on if I needed them was enough to end the cycle of panic. If you panic, they work quickly to end the attack. I know that people have trouble with withdrawal if they're used for too long. I did my best to breathe through the attacks and fend them off myself, but when I couldn't, Xanax was a savior."

• GJa...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 13, 2018

For Anxiety "Careful with this one. Very addictive. It was prescribed for anxiety, but after a while, I found myself habitually taking it and getting desperately anxious when I didn’t. Addiction to barbiturates in my mid-forties was not part of the plan, so I stopped. Withdrawals were terrible. I also experienced short-term memory issues. I achieved safer results with antidepressants, although they take a week or more to ‘work,’ they are not addictive. Lifestyle changes also helped: no drinking, took up jogging, gym, and watching what I eat and being more mindful of the spiritual aspects of life. Pretty obvious stuff, really..."

• She...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 9, 2021

For Anxiety "Dr has had me on Xanax for years for anxiety. 0.5 mg. I wanted off and I just stopped. Little did I know I would have severe withdrawal. I suffer, went to ER. I beg to get me off. They told me, and Dr says he wants me to take them as they help me. I want off. I am scared of them. Can he taper me off without any more withdrawals? I am scared. I never knew this would cause what happened."

• Rud...
• November 13, 2016

For Panic Disorder "Xanax is the 'devil drug.' I have taken it for over 15 years, and it has done nothing but make things worse. For those of you saying it's a miracle drug, please do your research! It ruins your brain chemistry and is HIGHLY ADDICTIVE. (I can't stress that enough.) For those who have been taking the drug for over a couple of months, you're gonna have horrible withdrawal symptoms when you decide to stop. Benzodiazepines are the ONLY drug that you can actually die coming off of! Trust me!"

• Jam...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 25, 2019

"I was on this for OCD. The withdrawal symptoms from Xanax can be bad. It is too short-acting."