Alprazolam water titration help especially when still anxious

Hi,  Can I give you some history first then go onto my query.

My doctor put me on 1mg of alprazolam at night and .5mg twice daily 4yrs ago due to anxiety and insomnia giving me no information about the drug whatsoever.  It was hugely helpful but I soon realised it was very addictive so knocked out the daytime doses.  So I then just put up with the anxiety during the day but kept the night time one going as that was my sanctuary.  About 6mths ago I took a month off work due to anxiety.  It was Friday night and I was due to go back to work on the following Monday morning when my son had an horrific motorbike accident.  I was told he had 50/50 chance of survival, which he did although was left with many, many internal injuries and became a paraplegic.  I gave up work and spent my time at the hospital and took .5mg once a day when needed as well as the 1mg at night.  I didn't want to take any daytime ones if I could possibly help it.  started to have panic attacks a few weeks after the accident which lasted all day.  I would have to pull over if I was driving a car, I couldn't listen to anything people were saying, I was pacing non stop, my stomach was churning uncontrollably, my heart was thumping so strongly I thought it would kill me.  I went to the doc who changed my a/d's to paroxetine.  After a few weeks my panic attacks calmed down a bit although I still have them if I think about anything I have to do.  Basically I'm ok if I just hang around and have nothing to do.  But my doc wasn't very helpful regarding giving me a medical certificate so I changed docs.  Now this new doc wants me off Alprazolam even though I have still high anxiety and panic attacks.  I only have one script left from my previous doc so decided I would wean myself off them before she had chance of refusing to give me another script.  The only thing is this night time 1mg alprazolam is my  only respite from these attacks.  I have started to pill split and have got down to .75mg and although I have trouble getting to sleep, I do eventually fall asleep.  Last night I tried mixing it with water which seems to be fine.  I mixed 1mg with 100mls water.  Tonight I plan on going down to 68.75mls and staying there for about 7 days.  I found about a year ago that I had to start taking it on an empty stomach or it wouldn't work at all, that's why I chose water over milk for titration.  I plan on reducing by 6.25mls at a time.  The problem is I'm having trouble understanding why I have to come off this medication for insomnia when I am still highly anxious and also will my anxiety just get worse or will it stay the same?  I could handle it if it stayed the same but I'm so worried it will get worse and be without medication when I really need it.

Hi Akadykie!

 

Why come off of the med?  In the long-run, it can make you worse (more anxious).  Most of the denizens of this forum were long-time benzo users (often for anxiety and/or sleep).  The long-term side effects and/or tolerance finally caught up with us, and either we or our doctors wanted us off of them.

 

It sounds to me like you might wish to discuss some non-drug coping skills with your doctor - or perhaps you might wish to find a therapist who can help you with your anxieties without the drugs.  I got on these pills for insomnia, and when I jumped off of them, the insomnia was still there for me.  It took me a while (with therapy) before I was able to get back to sleeping without meds.  Popping pills is undoubtedly easier, but I don't believe it's a good path to take in the long-run. 

 

It's good to keep your life as stress-free as possible while you withdraw.  Might sound boring to just sit around, but you can use this time to meditate or whatever to help with your anxiety.

Badsocref gave you excellent information about benzodiazepine issues.  Eventually they usually catch up to us and cause more anxiety than they're suppressing.  It's best to taper off them and deal with stress other ways.

 

I'm so sorry for what you've been through with your son.  That's a very tough situation and I understand the need for help with anxiety and stress.

 

 

Thank you both for your advice. I DO understand I need to get off them ........... I'm just thinking aloud.  Am down to .6875mgs alrazolam atm and staying there for the rest of the week.  Thanks again