Who has been to detox for xanax?

I'm having SO MUCH trouble trying to cut my dose. Side effects are awful. My body aches.....it's misery. I'd rather just take it and feel "normal."

I'm training for a marathon and I can't run when I'm having side effects. I also have my own business.....no one would ever know how addicted I am.

I'm thinking of going to a detox for 2 weeks and just getting it over with. I've been taking xanax for over 4 years. I'm up to 4mgs a day. Has anyone had success with detox?

I'm having SO MUCH trouble trying to cut my dose. Side effects are awful. My body aches.....it's misery. I'd rather just take it and feel "normal."

I'm training for a marathon and I can't run when I'm having side effects. I also have my own business.....no one would ever know how addicted I am.

I'm thinking of going to a detox for 2 weeks and just getting it over with. I've been taking xanax for over 4 years. I'm up to 4mgs a day. Has anyone had success with detox?

 

I went through a Xanax "detox" five years ago in a major hospital.  It was a disaster.  The "detox" model was designed for alcohol and hard drugs, not for benzodiazepines, which often have a much, much longer recovery period.  I could say a lot about this, and no doubt others will, but here are the salient points:

 

Detox off benzos is basically exactly the same as going cold turkey.  One is withdrawn from the drug, in a few days to a few weeks, and then sent home to cope with symptoms which are often horrendous and very long lasting (mine certainly were) entirely on one's own.

 

Detox often produces hellish withdrawal symptoms which are far worse than what would be experienced during/after a taper. These symptoms can last a very long time in some cases.  This is not a short cut, in fact it can make things far worse than they would have been after a taper.

 

Not only did I suffer awful symptoms for months after my detox, but they were so bad I eventually reinstated.  Because of this, I "kindled," and my last and final withdrawal a few years later was fraught with severe, long lasting symptoms (see story below), which took about two years to resolve.

 

Sorry if this scares you, but it's only the unvarnished truth.  There's no easy way around this.  You're on a high dose of Xanax, and IMO tapering slowly (no faster than 5-10% every 10-14 days) is the only way to safely get off it....

 

 

I used Xanax three years. Then, it rebounded. Suddenly it caused more problems than it solved.

 

Not knowing any better, I went to detox in a psych. hosp for a week. It would've been longer, except my insurance wouldn't allow that to happen. Thank goodness!

 

The experience was a horrific nightmare. One of the three Psychiatrists there placed me on 2 mg. of Klonopin twice a day & 200 mg. of Zoloft once per day. 100 mg. of Trazodone at night.

 

I was sick, Sick, SICK. :'( Pounding heart, headaches, diarrhea, nausea, tinnitus, sky high bp--& that was the whole week I was there. As soon as my Mom whisked me away from that place, I had to live with her for three months to stabilize. Immediately dropped the 2nd 2 mg. dose of Klonopin & dropped 100 mg. of Zoloft. After discovering BB, I learned how to taper.

 

Moral of the story: detox is not a sane option for benzo users. IMHO.        T2

I detoxed at home. I was given phenobarbital for 7 days and Depakote so I wouldn't have a seizure. It was pretty bad but really got bad at week 6 and on. I'm still a mess. I swear by the Depakote though and I think it helped "ME" with the withdrawal.

I too taking on a large dose of benzodiazepines  and went through a detox. My 8 mg of Ativan was stopped abrubtly the moment I stepped through the facilities door. I was put on phenobarbital. The true nightmare began once I was home. It was absolutely horrific. It was the most excruciating mental torment that a human can endure. I was filled with fear and panic. I hallucinated for days. I was more than suicidal. I went to the hospital 10 times in the first 30 days. Three times I went by ambulance. Stopping benzodiazepines too quickly can cause severe symptoms., symptoms much worse than you have now. I personally would continue with your taper, no matter how miserable it is.

I'm having SO MUCH trouble trying to cut my dose. Side effects are awful. My body aches.....it's misery. I'd rather just take it and feel "normal."

I'm training for a marathon and I can't run when I'm having side effects. I also have my own business.....no one would ever know how addicted I am.

I'm thinking of going to a detox for 2 weeks and just getting it over with. I've been taking xanax for over 4 years. I'm up to 4mgs a day. Has anyone had success with detox?

 

Hi, my experience at the detox Hospital was ok....so i thought at the time......few weeks later

after returning home, i ended up licking the streets of hell. could never go

through this torture again. we are all different, but i wouldn't risk it if i were you.

Detox can be a very bad card, the game can take a long time,

i'm still trying to win it.

I went through inpatient detox in a very nice facility across from the beach in palm beach fl. The food was great (whenever I could eat) aside from the beach had a nice pool(last thing I wanted to do is swim) comfy private rooms( was best to suffer in private). And we were able to keep our phones.(the only real plus)

 

I came in on an existing Librium taper and was on 13mg total,daily. I thought they would continue to taper me off the Librium. Once I met with the dr he said we are taking u off the 13mg of lib and put you on Serax 15 mg 4 x a day , day one. Day two ,3x a day. Day three ,two x a day. Day four, one x a day. Then off. Last dose dec16, 2013. What a hack job.

 

This place truly messed me up dramatically. I was limited on what I knew about tapering properly and I feel I'm paying for it now. I was also on 3.75 of remeron for just under 5 month jan-may 2014. I've been off of rem 4 months and benzos 9.5 months off. I don't know if it's the rem or the benzos or both but I'm going through consistent horrific suffering. I truly thought that at almost 10 months off I would have more windows and less intense waves of  ,depression, anxiety,agitation,fear, hopelessness,tinnitus and on and on.

 

Lots here and others that have been through this say I'm early in recovery still and I agree but the high crazy level of symptoms I still deal with I thought would have eased by now. No such luck.

I hope this ct doesn't go protracted.

 

Good luck, jrod

 

 

 

Agree with all of the above.  I was "tapered" off of 1.25mg klonopin over five days.  Became borderline psychotic and ended up in psych hospital.  Had never had real mental health issues before. Just entered month six and am horribly depressed, anxious and messed up.  Also, was placed on four other drugs, two of which I have stopped, but still have two others to taper eventually.  Worst experience of my life.  Don't go you will regret it.

 

 

Agree with all of the above.  I was "tapered" off of 1.25mg klonopin over five days.  Became borderline psychotic and ended up in psych hospital.  Had never had real mental health issues before. Just entered month six and am horribly depressed, anxious and messed up.  Also, was placed on four other drugs, two of which I have stopped, but still have two others to taper eventually.  Worst experience of my life.  Don't go you will regret it.

 

Satch....was it the psych hospital you were in that put you on the serequel and remeron?

Nope detox.