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New guy here - need some reassurance


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Hello, I'm a guy from Italy. I suffer from mild anxiety and was stupid enough to trust my psychiatrist. He gave me a low dose of alprazolam and told me the treatment could last a year. I quickly discovered that alprazolam shouldn't be taken for long period of time and I decided to stop it. I used the liquid form and  my journey went like this: It took me 4/5 days to get to 5 drops , then I stayed at 5 drops (0.12 if I'm not mistaken) for 3 days, then went down to 4 drops for another 3 days, then 2 days at three drops, one day at 2 drops and one single drop the last day.

 

Now I understand this is a very low dose (my doctor called it a placebo dose) and that 2 weeks including the taper is considered to be short-term use, but on the very last day before I started to taper (9th day) I felt bad. I don't know if it was psychosomatic, or if it was tollerance. Anyway, since that day I quickly reduced the alprazolam as I explained above.

 

Now I'm on my third day without taking it. It's been 7 days since I started to taper. I've been feeling dizzy, nauseous and I've got a splitting headache. My headache seems to be better today, but the dizziness is there. Since yesterday I've been doing vestibular exercises, I'm trying to eat healthy, to go outside, to stay with people. I'm still anxious and I don't know if I'm just worried or if it's the sides.

 

My doctor told me that sides shouldn't last for more than 4-5 days after I stopped the alprazolam. He told me it was too short a time for me to develop tolerance or addiction. He told me it was a placebo dose. He was annoyed and probably didn't trust me.

 

I don't drink, I eat healthy and I had been going to the gym 4 times a week before I started to taper. The only thing that could have made things worse is that I've been taking minoxidil (a topical, alcohol-based lotion) for many years and maybe it had a bad interaction with the alprazolam. I did discuss it with my doctor and he said it was nothing to worry about since it's topical (that is, you don't drink it) and the dose was very little anyway.

 

What should I expect? I don't mean to offend anyone. I know there are people who have been through hell here, but I feel like an idiot since I should have known better. I knew I didn't need it and I knew alprazolam is only supposed to be taken when needed. Luckily, I was smart enough to do my own research and stop it.

 

I need your realistic opinion about this, but please be gentle. How does it look from outside? What should I expect? Did I taper to quickly (my doctor said I didn't need to taper at all, but I did it anyway).

 

2nd Edit: I visited my GP today and she told me it's all in my head. She said that in 42 years of carreer she's yet to see someone having these symptoms from 2 weeks of low-dose alprazolam. Maybe she's right. Do I just need to calm down?

 

Thanks, guys

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[25...]
All i can tell you is that your Dr's are uneducated about benzo withdrawal, people can become dependent in a week and the withdrawal recovery process can last months to years. I see a neurologist and he said that no dose of benzo is a low dose because they are powerful medications that hurt the brain. He told me that even a non therapeutic dose is still injuring the receptors. I'm so sorry that you have such monkeys looking after you. The sxs you are experiencing are not "in your head", they are the sxs of a neurological injury caused by the medication, they are very physiologically real and can be explained by neuroscience. Be very glad that you became benzo aware so soon after being prescribed. I'm not much help with tapering questions as i was CTd but hopefully another buddie will be along soon with some more thoughts. Best wishes.
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People react to these drugs all sorts of different ways. It’s not uncommon to have some uncomfortable symptoms after two weeks of use, my guess is that over the next few days and weeks they’ll calm down and disappear.  You’re at day three which for me was always the worst day of a Xanax cut, then it got better. 

 

While I don’t ever like the comment ‘it’s all in your head’, it really is in our heads because that’s where the receptors are. And yeah, I get that your doctor didn’t mean it that way.  ;)

 

 

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I’d avoid stress (as best you can) and caffeine for now...they’ll aggravate your central nervous system. Try to distract by going for a walk, watching a feel-good movie, or whatever you feel like doing that will take your mind off how you feel at the moment.

 

You’re going to be fine.

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ItalianGuy it’s early days, you’ll be fine.

Southern Stars post was (overly) dramatic, don’t let it worry you!!

Just keep doing what you’re doing, and yes it’s good you got wise to it so quickly,

Challis’s advice is solid.

 

 

 

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Thanks guys. Have you been around enough to see similar situations? I still get strong headaches and sometimes depression/anxiety, but what worries me the most right now is feeling as if I were on a boat. That is very debilitating since it makes doing things more difficult. I don't seem to have other sides, other than perhaps very lucid dreams. How is my situation? I find it crazy that so many people are prescribed Xanax every day, take ton of it and are fine. I took it for two weeks at a placebo dose and here I am.

 

But again, thanks.

I'll try to stay positive.

 

Just one question: do you think that I did too quick a taper? I took xanax for only 9/10 days before I started to taper it, so maybe it was enough. Is it a long taper mainly a way to keep symptoms in check? If that's the case, then, I've already explained what I've been dealing so far. Frankly, I wouldn't like to take any more benzo. Two weeks is considered to be a short-term use and I wouldn't like to make it longer.

 

Thanks

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ItalianGuy your sideffects/symptoms sound pretty normal to me.

Like Challis said before you probably just need to ride this out and build up coping mechanisms which will set you up ongoing. Try not to worry too much and to not spend too much time reading (the many) negative stories and opinions on this forum :)

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I have read quite a few cases where folks were on benzo short term and still had uncomfortable side effects so you are not alone. Stay off the benzo and you should be fine in a short while.
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Thanks guys. I'll try not to read other stories. Tonight was pretty bad, I still have those lucid, weird dreams that I had when I started to take xanax and I woke up with a lot of anxiety. Still very dizzy, but no brain fog and no headaches so far. Why isn't my brain coping faster? It doesn't feel as if it's slowly improving.

 

I see that some of you guys went to the E/R and started to taper with valium. I still want to do it without going back to benzos, but in what case would you suggest to do the same?

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Italian Guy.  Please try and relax and distract yourself as best as you can.  You have tapered and now your body will heal.  It takes time and the things you are describing are things that some folks experience.  You don't need to go back on the benzo to taper slowly.  Eat well, stay hydrated with water, no junk food, no caffeine, and exercise or walk.  Try finding things like meditation or yoga or mindfulness training to distract yourself.  You are healing and you will be OK.  Everyone is different in how they respond to medication.  Our liver is the detoxification organ and some people are more efficient than others in clearing substances.  Be glad that you found out quickly how bad this could be.  You are very lucky.  There are things you can do to help anxiety without using medications/pharmacueticals.  Sending healing hugs. :thumbsup:
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Thanks a lot.

 

I guess, I'm just scared. I'm a young guy who has just entered the work force. I've got a girlfriend who wants to live a full life. I'm healthy, I used to train 4 times a week until a week ago. Right now, everyone thinks I'm faking it and that makes things harder for me. I just want to go back to my old self.

 

I can't wait to write my success story.

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Guys. Can I get some opinions? It's been almost 8 days since I took my last drop of alprazolam. You can see my brief experience in my signature. I still have that boaty feeling which - alas - seems to be considered the hardest to disappear. What should I do? Should I simply wait? Or should I reinstate with Valium? My max dose was 5 drops (0.12), but I stayed on 4 drops without issues. Is it worth trying? Would it make things worse since it was so fast anyway? I only took it for 9/10 days before I decreased my dose. I don't feel like I did a proper taper (going down from 4 drops to zero in almost 4 days) and I don't want to feel dizzy all the time. That said, almost every other sympton has faded in intensity and I don't want to mess it up. If it wasn't for the dizziness I wouldn't be here. They say sides start decreasing after the second week of withdrawal sometimes. Should I wait? Would it be too late then to reinstate a micro-dose of valium? Any advice is welcome.
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Guys. Can I get some opinions? It's been almost 8 days since I took my last drop of alprazolam. You can see my brief experience in my signature. I still have that boaty feeling which - alas - seems to be considered the hardest to disappear. What should I do? Should I simply wait? Or should I reinstate with Valium? My max dose was 5 drops (0.12), but I stayed on 4 drops without issues. Is it worth trying? Would it make things worse since it was so fast anyway? I only took it for 9/10 days before I decreased my dose. I don't feel like I did a proper taper (going down from 4 drops to zero in almost 4 days) and I don't want to feel dizzy all the time. That said, almost every other sympton has faded in intensity and I don't want to mess it up. If it wasn't for the dizziness I wouldn't be here. They say sides start decreasing after the second week of withdrawal sometimes. Should I wait? Would it be too late then to reinstate a micro-dose of valium? Any advice is welcome.

 

I would not reinstate the Valium. Have you been checked out for other causes of the dizziness? I too had the dizziness for a long time. It finally did go away but I was on Valium a very long time. Wait it out is my best advice.

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I haven't. But it must be the Xanax. Ashton speaks about vestibular issues and it's what I'm having. How were your issues? I feel like I'm rocking back and forth and I can't fix my gaze on a single point. It's horrible and I've felt like this for 8 days now. I don't have other major symptoms.
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Why do you want to reinstate?? It’s almost like you’re fishing for reasons..Keep going is my opinion, you’ve made it this far. Grit your teeth and ride it out.. you need to be comfortable being uncomfortable... reinstating may well make things a lot more difficult and take a lot longer.

 

You’re expecting too much too soon. This will at the the very least take a few weeks possibly months of feeling crappy. You need to accept that and deal with it, otherwise you could draw it out for years like many on this forum are doing... it’s no joke....these meds are NASTY, don’t go back.

 

But ultimately it’s your decision.

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[25...]
I wouldn't reinstate, it may not help and you will only cause yourself more damage imo. You just have to wait it out, it will end, maybe not in the timeframe you would like, but it will end.
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Hey Italianguy,

                      If you look in my signature you will see I took 10 mg of valium for 30 days once and had withdrawal for almost two years. So I do have experience with short term low dose withdrawal. The worst of it was over in about 90 days. At first it was severe reflux, no/low appetite, nausea after eating, extreme fatigue and heightened anxiety. I was scared of riding my motorcycle all

of a sudden after riding since I was a kid. It was strange, I did not know what happened to me. Then it tapered off at the 90 day mark. Then for the next two years every few months I would have 1-3 weeks of severe fatigue. The doctors thought I had CFS. But all in all it really was not that bad. I did not know about benzo withdrawal so I just kept going. I got back to one hundred percent. Unfortunately, because I did not know that it was benzo withdrawal when my wife and I lost a child in 2018 I took Xanax for 6 months straight. There is a reason I said heightened anxiety when describing the short term valium withdrawal. Because it was nothing compared to the SEVERE mega chemical anxiety I had this time around that lasted for months and months, no sleep or anything. I would just stay away from benzos going forward if you feel you were injured from this short term Xanax. Based on my experience I can’t say anything good happens from a second round. You’ll be fine. Honestly, I envy you in that you were able to recognize that it was the Xanax. It never even crossed my mind that the Valium did that to me and then I let the docs do it to me a second time times 20! Never again for me.

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Thanks guys. I'll try not to read other stories. Tonight was pretty bad, I still have those lucid, weird dreams that I had when I started to take xanax and I woke up with a lot of anxiety. Still very dizzy, but no brain fog and no headaches so far. Why isn't my brain coping faster? It doesn't feel as if it's slowly improving.

 

I see that some of you guys went to the E/R and started to taper with valium. I still want to do it without going back to benzos, but in what case would you suggest to do the same?

First Of all, you're through the worst of this so stay the course. Also, consider the huge positive as you didn't get months or years into this. You're going to be just fine.

If you're looking for something to reduce anxiety, ask your doctor about propranolol when you have issues with heightened anxiety. I'm not sure what this is called in Europe if you're from Italy but that is what they call it in the United States. Yes this is a prescription pill but much less damaging and not nearly as addictive. This is an adrenal suppressant.

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I'm a 42 yr old guy, pretty health conscious myself. Just got off Klonopin 40 days ago and feel much better.

I've also done the Alprazolam when I was younger and got off that as well.

From my experience, once you taper and are at a low enough dose, better to just stop, the withdrawal comes either way, from your last dose.

 

Everyone is different but the first month won't be easy. I picked up some Ashwaghanda, Gaba and Valerian from Whole Foods, could be helping.

But the withdrawal is real and just takes time, try to keep your life as peaceful as possible for about a month, could be less for Alprazolam, been awhile.

 

Once you get past it you'll notice things are much brighter in the world, these meds dull your senses.

Things might be louder for a little bit but once things clear up, it was all worth it.

You'll see, just gotta get past the initial withdrawal and you'll be good  :thumbsup:

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Forgot to add in my last post and see someone mentioned it. Avoid caffeine.

A lot of my anxiety was drinking too much caffeine, some people can't handle it.

And any supplements you are taking, make sure you know what it is.

Any herbal remedy for weight loss, pre-workouts, will all rev you up.

If you need them, only add after your done with this withdrawal and back to a base level anxiety wise.

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Thanks guys. I don't know what to think. There are a lot of people on the net who feel floaty all the time and it seems to be linked with anxiety. The remedy? Benzos and anti-depressants.... At this point I don't know if it's the withdrawal. The only thing I know that it started when I stopped the alprazolam. It may be psychosomatic, or it may be that my body is still weak and don't process stress as it should. The only thing I know is that I feel dizzy all the time, and that it's more manageable when I'm calmer (although it's still there).
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Think people moved on to the next post. You'll be alright, this isn't easy but things do get better.

I would look into a low-dose of Propranolol or Clonidine for the meantime, as needed.

Not a Dr but could help out with the anxiety. Again, stay away from caffeine and do things you enjoy.

Every day will be better and once you're done with this, you'll know your base-line for anxiety and emotions.

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