DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO

reluctent to reinstate

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As some of you may know from reading my previous post that I cold turkeyed from xanax unknowingly while trying to get off oxycontin. I attributed all of my withdraw symptoms from the narcotics and not the benzos. I have not had any problems after 3 weeks from the narcotics withdraw but still have some symptoms from the xanax. I used the x on and off for a period of 2-3 years. I took these as needed or wanted in my case as I enjoyed the relaxed feeling they gave me with a god awful amount of beer or whiskey. My routine was .5mg x with 6-12 beers or Jim Beam and coke and also the pain meds. I never followed a schedule like I did with the pain meds so it is hard for me to know what I took and how often. There were times that I did this several days and weeks in a row but not always wth the X.This all started with cervical spine degeneration and a pain management doctor who likes to over medicate. Although I take most of the responsabilty for the alcohol and pain meds I can tell you that I never was,like most of you here informed of the benzo dangers. I thought that at some time I would just give up all this shit and 2-3 weeks of suffering I would be done. What a bummer to realize that this is so prolonged.I have stopped using all pain medicaton,and for the most part stopped drinking. I never gave the benzos much thought during this and pretty much discontinued them during the during the narcotics withdraw.I used them a couple of times in low doses to curb the side affects of the narcotics without giving it a second thought. As I was sure that the narcotics was giving me all the problems. Well when I still felt like crap after a 2-3 week period of being narcotic and mostly alcohol free I started investigating the benzos to find to my dismay the truth the doctor never told me.I have had people here suggest that I reinstate Valium and start a taper from that. I know this is good advise from the things I have read on this site but I cant seem to make myself do it. I used xanax maybe twice during a 2 week period while coming off the narcotics and then for three days after reading about them on this site with the intent to taper. I have since gone 8 days without any. I had one really good day during this time this week where it seemed like I felt normal, actually good and I thiught it was all over. Today I feel anxious and have some stomach upset and feel shaky. But that is the extent of things right now.To sumerize I have used maybe 2-3 mgs of xanax in a 4 week period. I have been totally off for 8 days now. I have had one really good day this past week. I'm having a bad day today, not horrible but bad.During the past 2 months I have joined a gym, have been working out almost every day, lost 20 lbs, started a healthy eating program, almost elimated alcohol , did eliminate pain meds. I still feel the effects of the benzos after only using a very small amount in the past month and none for 8 days. I'm scared of the protraced withdraw and feeling like this for a very long time. I don't have it as bad as some but not nice either. I keep going back and forth with the idea of trying a small amount of valium and tapering of that but mostly out of fear That I will feel like this protracted. i think I could stick it out at this level for a few months if I had two but Im not sure that is the right thing to do. I have a really hard time with the idea of putting more poison in my system after all that I have read. Im stuck between a rock and a hard place!  HELP

Hi DKelley!

I also went through a nightmare with pain pills and Xanax.  I was given percocet and Vicodin after a knee surgery and not knowing any better, I quit my xanax completely being afraid I would OD myself.  Let me tell ya, I went through hell and back again!!  Was in such bad shape I finally admitted myself into a mental hospital because I was so desperate for help.  Not recommended!!

Anyway, you may need to stablize on a small dose of Valium and then taper that off to have a more smooth transition.  I absolutely didn't want to take anymore drugs either and they forced me to take Klonopin in the hospital.  It did make the withdrawal a little easier and I was able to successfully taper off in a 3 month period.  I'm sure I did it too fast...so I recommend doing it as slow and easy as possible.

I'm not an expert on tapering schedules or how much you should reinstate on...if even at all.  Don't you worry yourself about protracted withdrawal.  That is more the exception than the rule

Love,

Jen

There is no way to predict the course or time of your recovery - the nervous system heals  differently than any other tissue and benzos alter that further. If you have not been warned: alcohol potentiates the neuroadaptation (tolerance and alterations) of exactly the same receptors as benzos and can make withdrawal much worse.

As long as you can tolerate the symptoms it is always better to ride out the process.

Sit2Know