Could WD be all in your head?

Hi Team,

 

I'll keep this short and stick to facts. I took Xanax (doses 0.25 - 0.5mg) for around 5-6 weeks periodically for sleep (sometimes going several days without). In the final week of taking them, I noticed I'd taken them every day and thought....

 

"I'm becoming too reliant on these I should stop"

 

For the next few days I had 0 symptoms. None, zip, Nada!

 

On the 3rd night C/T I noticed I was struggling to get to sleep. I thought nothing of it and eventually fell asleep for 3 hours.

 

Exhausted the next day I decided to do some research into rebound insomnia. That's when things took a turn for the worse.

 

I found horror story after horror story if xanax withdrawal (I had NO IDEA they were so dangerous) and panic started to set in. That day I even had a brief panic attack in front of the computer (few minutes of heart palpitations and breathing difficulty).

 

My research became obsessive "What have I done to myself" I thought. The more I read over the next few days, the more I worried, panicked and stressed I became.

 

It became a sort of Hypochondria (which I'm guilty of pre any xanax anyway lol).

 

I'm now on day 8 C/T and am ok. I would describe the last 4 days as unpleasant but tolerable. My main symptoms are anxiety (about some impending WD doom) and tinnitus - nothing physical. I am still working and operating as usual but probably at 80% efficiency. I've still managed to goto the gym this week too.

 

I'm a male in his 30s, fit... (if the counts for anything?)

 

I'd like some more experienced members to share their opinion and what I should do next Eg: Ride it out (preferred) or Reinstate and taper.

 

I think one of three things is happening/happened to me.

 

1. I'm having a WD albeit mild.

2. I'm not in W/D my dose was low and short duration. My anxiety is being brought on by my hypochondria

3. I'm having a mild WD intensified by my own predisposition to worry too much (drugs or no drugs)

 

Please share your thoughts.

 

 

 

I should have tapered, but I had a longer history of use than you.  I think you'll be OK, without reinstating, as you seem to not have any serious symptoms.  However, if for any reason you decide to reinstate and taper, see a doctor and get an Rx for Valium, because Xanax is not recommended for tapering due to it's very short half life.  There are resources on this site, and some very knowledgeable members, to help guide you. 

 

 

I should have tapered, but I had a longer history of use than you.  I think you'll be OK, without reinstating, as you seem to not have any serious symptoms.  However, if for any reason you decide to reinstate and taper, see a doctor and get an Rx for Valium, because Xanax is not recommended for tapering due to it's very short half life.  There are resources on this site, and some very knowledgeable members, to help guide you. 

 

 

 

Thanks Zeph. I'd rather stay off the poison if possible. I think I'm having a mild withdrawal not helped by a predisposition to be a 'worrier'

 

Are things likely to get worse or improve at this point? I feel like I peaked anxiety wise day 4-6 and yesterday and today seem better (or is that a window?) I'm so new to all this.

I'm the same way about worry, always have been. 

 

Nobody can predict whether things will improve or worsen, but you'll likely know soon enough.  I'd wait and see, if I were you.  My advice is, once you stop, whether CT or taper,  get rid of all or most of the remaining pills.  You are very lucky that you stopped before a heavy dependence set in.  Don't screw up like I did, and go back on them in the future, because it becomes far worse that way.

Do not reinstate! Count yourself lucky that you only took the Xanax a short time and you aren't having bad symptoms. It sounds very minimal. For example, your description of a panc attack sounds like slight anxiety. My panic attacks are filled with horror and terror beyond belief. I can't breathe, heart is pounding out of my chest, vision becomes blurry or gone completely and I am certain I will soon die.

I pray you'll be lucky and get off easy.

Do not reinstate! Count yourself lucky that you only took the Xanax a short time and you aren't having bad symptoms. It sounds very minimal. For example, your description of a panc attack sounds like slight anxiety. My panic attacks are filled with horror and terror beyond belief. I can't breathe, heart is pounding out of my chest, vision becomes blurry or gone completely and I am certain I will soon die.

I pray you'll be lucky and get off easy.

 

How long did you take them for and are you 100% off them now?

Inspired,

 

In the future you should taper any sort of psych type drug (one that directly affects neurotransmitters). You can get pretty messed up (as you read), sometimes for a disproportionate amount of time to how long you took the drug.

 

It's not unusual that you're not having too bad a time. This site is pretty unrepresentative of the usual experience. Most people do not experience a protracted withdrawal syndrome for a variety of reason (genetics etc.). I believe it is only about 10% of long term users who have the misfortune of experiencing a protracted withdrawal. This is not to minimize it. For those who experience an extended withdrawal syndrome it will likely be the most traumatic experience of their lives. Some people can take nothing to mitigate the symptoms and the symptoms themselves are essentially a psychological and physical torture all rolled into one with no timetable for an end. No doctor can help you and if you can tolerate drugs that mitigate symptoms they will help, but they will also likely extend the withdrawal period. You might be able to get disability off work if you can find a doctor who doesn't think you're a hypochondriac.

 

The withdrawal is brought on by changes to the GABA receptors. When the benzo is present in the system, it increases the efficiency of the receptors, so you can get the same amount of sedation with many fewer receptors. The brain then says "well, I guess I don't need these receptors anymore" and downregulates them, absorbing them into the cell and metabolizing them. If this goes on for a long time, with increasing doses of benzos (as is often does in long term users), then the brain is significantly changed once the user wants to withdrawal. Take the benzo away and all the sudden the GABA system doesn't work very efficiently and the nervous system starts firing out of control, which is why people can get seizures when they cold turkey. You're pretty lucky.

 

Glad you got off Xanax without too much trouble. It is the most toxic of the legal benzodiazepines. The half life is about 11 hours, so after 8 days, the amount in your system should be negligible. Since you were a short term user and aren't having too much trouble, I'd stay off.

 

Hope you're 100% in a few days. Stay well.

5-6 weeks is only 1-2 weeks past the length of time benzodiazepines were/are supposedly supposed to be rx’d for. If you aren’t experiencing hellish withdrawal symptoms and are predisposed to health anxiety or hypochondria, it sounds like you are probably totally in the clear.

 

Just maybe never take them again if possible. More caution with these pharmalogically dynamic drugs is preferable over long-term, indiscriminate, uninformed use... obviously.

 

A lot of people here have been on higher doses for years, our withdrawal isn’t “in our head,” but in a way it is because we have been iatrogenically harmed and now have what we are all hoping to be temporary brain damage.

 

...So, in a way— yes; it’s all in our heads.

 

 

Inspired,

 

In the future you should taper any sort of psych type drug (one that directly affects neurotransmitters). You can get pretty messed up (as you read), sometimes for a disproportionate amount of time to how long you took the drug.

 

It's not unusual that you're not having too bad a time. This site is pretty unrepresentative of the usual experience. Most people do not experience a protracted withdrawal syndrome for a variety of reason (genetics etc.). I believe it is only about 10% of long term users who have the misfortune of experiencing a protracted withdrawal. This is not to minimize it. For those who experience an extended withdrawal syndrome it will likely be the most traumatic experience of their lives. Some people can take nothing to mitigate the symptoms and the symptoms themselves are essentially a psychological and physical torture all rolled into one with no timetable for an end. No doctor can help you and if you can tolerate drugs that mitigate symptoms they will help, but they will also likely extend the withdrawal period. You might be able to get disability off work if you can find a doctor who doesn't think you're a hypochondriac.

 

The withdrawal is brought on by changes to the GABA receptors. When the benzo is present in the system, it increases the efficiency of the receptors, so you can get the same amount of sedation with many fewer receptors. The brain then says "well, I guess I don't need these receptors anymore" and downregulates them, absorbing them into the cell and metabolizing them. If this goes on for a long time, with increasing doses of benzos (as is often does in long term users), then the brain is significantly changed once the user wants to withdrawal. Take the benzo away and all the sudden the GABA system doesn't work very efficiently and the nervous system starts firing out of control, which is why people can get seizures when they cold turkey. You're pretty lucky.

 

Glad you got off Xanax without too much trouble. It is the most toxic of the legal benzodiazepines. The half life is about 11 hours, so after 8 days, the amount in your system should be negligible. Since you were a short term user and aren't having too much trouble, I'd stay off.

 

Hope you're 100% in a few days. Stay well.

 

Thanks CountChocula

 

I'm feeling better everyday. I would describe my current "headspace" is at 80%. I have not trouble falling asleep, I am tending to wake up early but manage to go back to sleep easily.

 

The ONLY thing that is bugging me now is Tinnitus. It's virtually un-noticeable until I'm somewhere quiet, then I'd describe it as noticeable but tolerable. I certainly wouldn't want it to get any worse.

 

I understand that Tinnitus is one of the last things to resolve so given that's all I'm really left with at the moment I hope it vanishes soon.

 

Anyone have any 'good' experience with Tinnitus resolving it's self?

 

Thanks

Belated smart ass answer: Yes, it is mostly in your head, but since your head contains your brain and your brain is an essential part of your biology, you've still got serious problems

 

Doctors mostly give the diagnosis of hypochondria (or somatoform disorder, or somatic symptom disorder etc) when they have no idea what the problem is. For some reason in medicine, they need to have an "official label" for everything. In this case the official label serves a couple functions: 1) it absolves the doctor of responsibility for further investigation unless symptoms worsen  2) it blames the patient for their problems, rather than the doctor's poor analytical skills or the still primitive state of modern medicine. It also serves to warn other doctors that some other MD already tried "everything" to help the patient and came up with nothing.

 

Every physical effect has a physical cause, and saying otherwise flies in the face of hundreds of years of science. When was the last time your pool ball sunk itself, or your lawn mowed itself? Do random atomic bomb-type explosions go off all over earth for no apparent reason? If they did, and physicists explained them by writing down a description of what happened and labeling it "Intermittent Explosive Disorder", would they have much credibility? (No joke, there is something like this in the DSM).

 

The main difficulty with nervous system problems is that medicine does not understand them and has no idea how to fix them. They pretend to understand, and they usually try and manipulate the system with great enthusiasm, bombing every cell in the body with GABA or serotonin or norepinephrine or sometimes all of them at once, if you are unlucky enough.

 

In reality, antidepressants only reduce depressive symptoms in the average person by about 10%, and this may be due to an active placebo effect. Benzos are pretty effective for anxiety, but that is because they suppress the entire nervous system, which is really only a good short term solution.

 

Anyway, enough rambling. What I really wanted to say is that hypochondria is a ridiculous diagnosis. There is always a biological cause for health problems. They are just too arrogant to admit they can't find it.

 

PS: Glad you're steadily improving

5-6 weeks is only 1-2 weeks past the length of time benzodiazepines were/are supposedly supposed to be rx’d for. If you aren’t experiencing hellish withdrawal symptoms and are predisposed to health anxiety or hypochondria, it sounds like you are probably totally in the clear.

 

Just maybe never take them again if possible. More caution with these pharmalogically dynamic drugs is preferable over long-term, indiscriminate, uninformed use... obviously.

 

A lot of people here have been on higher doses for years, our withdrawal isn’t “in our head,” but in a way it is because we have been iatrogenically harmed and now have what we are all hoping to be temporary brain damage.

 

...So, in a way— yes; it’s all in our heads.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect about it being in 'our head' (perhaps I should have said MY head lol) I'm sure for many it's very real.

 

For me I remember working myself up about melanoma once and I experienced the exact same panic I did when I started reading WD stories.

 

I'm not hypochondriacal about any other illness but felt it describes my approach to my obsessive worry/fear about my (mild) withdrawal.

 

Believe me, I'll never be taking them again.  Actually, the thought of having to reinstate to address worsening tinnitus (if that happens) is my latest fear. Hopefully, it will subside.

 

 

You don’t seem disrespectful to me, Inspired00.

 

So glad you weren’t on long-term, and are not doing too poorly. I would be hopeful that the tinnitus does clear up (without re-instatement.)

 

 

You sounded totally fine, and I’m possibly a little as*y at times. Take care and hang around and post, of course, as much or as long as you want or need to... I know you don’t need my encouragement or approval for this though.

 

One thing, is you are now another informed person. This is good news for all people not financially profiting off of this class of drugs.

Ive actually experienced what you are going through now. Occasional weekly use for a couple months. Although i would usually do like a 3-5 day “mini taper” before i stopped i believe you should be ok. You aren't experiencing any debilitating symtoms that you cant handle so you seem on your way to a rapid healing. Be glad that you caught it in time and that you didnt use high dose every day for two months because that wouldve been a different story. No way should you “reinstate.” Have a great life!