Is this normal....

I am 14 days off short term daily xanax after a three week taper.  I have had many withdrawal symptoms including headaches, insomnia, tremors, anxiety, nausea, heart palpitations, dizziness and pins and needles in my hands and feet.  Yesterday was the first day in awhile that I felt normal.  I was able to have a productive day with no issues at all.  I was also able to sleep just over 5 hours last night which was a nice change.  Unfortunately, I woke up this morning with the return of tremors, pins and needles in my feet and legs and a hint of nausea.  Is this waxing and waning normal and something I am going to have to learn to live with?  I was hoping since I was on xanax for such a short period of time my withdrawal with be relatively short as well.  Any advice would be appreciated. 

Totally normal. Those were my first symptoms to occur and then my first symptoms to go away lol. The sooner you get windows and waves which you're probably getting already, the sooner you heal, so it looks really really good for you.

Thank you for making me feel better.  I have gone through every worse case scenario in my mind at this point.  I cannot believe how much one little pill can mess with your life!

Yep symptoms come and go, our recovery doesn't seem to be linear so it's hard to trust we're recovering, but we are and do.  By the way, fear is another withdrawal symptom and it's pretty powerful as you've probably noticed.

You are so right about the fear aspect.  I have been to numerous doctors appointments and ER visits in the last 5 weeks due to fear of having something very serious wrong with me.  That seems to be calming down a bit at this point.  I just never thought being on Xanax for 4 weeks would have caused withdrawal symptoms.  I am so grateful that I found this forum during one of my many sleepless nights. 

Hi JD2001,

 

I am also a short term benzo user: 5 weeks + 4 weeks of tapering... but these are very powerful drugs, as we are all discovering on our own.

 

I am in my 3rd month post jump and definitely experiencing less waves with less intensity, however I am still getting constant mild symptoms on an almost daily basis: tinnitus, head pressure, chemical brain, head vibrations, lightheadedness, mild tremors and broken sleep every night (able to sleep 7-8 hours total). I guess the brain is reconstructing more now, at least hoping. With all this, I am very functional about 5-6 days/week, able to work, exercise, drive, socialize...

 

I NEVER EVER thought I would be in a recovery that was taking months... however, here I am and still waiting for the symptoms to disappear and to finally sleep without waking up several times per night....

 

So, based on my symptoms now (9 weeks post jump) I would say it’ll take another couple months to reach full recovery on a daily basis.

 

Wish u a fast recovery and hang in there. The brain is healing 🤔

Thanks Karlitok!  It's comforting to know that I am not the only short term benzo user having these symptoms.  The doctor's have made me feel like I am crazy and that there is no way I could be having withdrawal from being on xanax for such a short period of time.  I am functional most days but still have symptoms, the worst at this point seem to be the insomnia, dizziness, pins and needles and tinnitus.  In reading so many stories here I realize how much worse this could actually be so I guess we are lucky.  Hopefully we both have a speedy recover from benzo hell!   

Yes, all the symptoms you have described are mine as well... tinnitus, tingling, lightheaded, slight nausea... all stemming from the brain that is constantly trying to heal... it only takes a few weeks for the pills to cause a GABA suppression that unfortunately takes a lot longer than we thought to heal.

 

One way to look at this is: did u ever have any of these multiple symptoms occurring prior to benzo use? If no, then there is your answer, doctors are clueless when it comes to benzo withdrawal... we are living proof that, yes, it can take a while to recover even if on short term use.

 

We are healing 🌞