Hi Everyone,
I just returned from the doctors and I do not know if I am right in doing htis but as of right now I am cutting my xanax in half and then in three days the doctor said to stop taking it. If I feel the need after three days he said I could cut it down to two halfs a day.
I don't know if I am ready for this or not but the side effects I have been having from xanax is worse than having the anxiety itself. I am more worried about taking the pill which causes me more stress.
I am going to try and do it on therapy only. I know that if I need help I have a medicine drawer of xanax or adivan. I can do this I know I can. I've been feeling so sedated that I do not act like my regular self. I am scared but I think I can do this. I have another doctors appt. for next week because this doctor wants to make sure that I will not need any other meds.
So for my 3pm xanax I only took half the dose. I am a little nervous but I am getting tired of the side effects from xanax. It makes me all weak and makes my hands tingle after a couple of hours. Not only that I get this either ringing in my ears cant really explain the noise. Last night my chest had flutters in it after I took the xanax. It's causing me stress just taking medication.
This might be a rough few days but then I start thinking that it's been a rough month just taking the medication. I am hoping I can overcome all of this with therapy and a lot of courage.
Like I said if its too early then I can always go back onto something. I am probably going ot need encouragement for a few days. Lets see how it goes.
Patty
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harmonica
said:
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... Good for you for at least trying. Some people never even take THAT step. Worse comes to worse, you can always go back on it or find something else to take. But it's great that you are at least giving it a go. Good luck. |
PattyPanic
said:
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... Thanks you guys. I've only just started this battle but I am in it to win, and I hope all of you are too. I've been knocked down many times in my life but sooner or later I come back with fists flying and that is what I plan on doing now. The cowardly lion is starting to find a little courage maybe out of anger because of this illness. I took that half a xanax at 3 and it is now 7:30 and I feel just fine. I think I will feel much better when I don't feel like I am doped up all the time and having all those weird side effects. I know that I am not all the way better yet but maybe if I come out of this benzo cloud I will feel better. I am taking xanax because of the PTSD of taking a Paxil. So every time I take a pill I am worrying about taking the pill and driving myself crazy. We shall see but like I said I am ready for the good fight. I just want to feel a little bit normal and taking medicine does not make me feel normal. If I start having panic and anxiety I know that I have medicine for it. But before I take the medication I will try every new technique I have learned in therapy and believe me some of it is weird. Has anyone heard of EFT. What you do is tap on your acupuncture points in your body and repeat a phrase. It's weird but it does help. Thank you for the encouragement. Patty |
Julz
said:
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... I have a pill phobia. It makes treatment difficult. But Xanax is a fairly harmless drug, unless you abuse it. However, once you quit completely, you may want to give it more than 3 days; Benzos can stay in you system for two weeks or more. when i am not taking a benzo, I take over the counter medication for motion sickness. It works very similar to benzos. It stops my panic attacks and reduces my anxiety overall. Check with your dr to see if it could help you. and acupressure works great for me, I use the wrist site. also try aromatherapy. and I really benefit from music therapy. Good luck! |
Irish
said:
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... Just make sure you have extra xanax on hand. I went off of it cold turkey about 8 or 9 yrs. ago and that was not a smart thing for me to do. I went through the withdrawal and had to get some more to ween down by lesser amounts. Do that as xanax is addictive as opposed to many others. Take care....Ed |
PattyPanic
said:
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... Ed, The doctor said 3 days but he also said if I think I need to then I can drag it out and just keep weaning down. This morning has been rough, but the half of xanax is kicking in now. I know I cant quit cold turkey I also did that years ago and it was a rough one. My ears are ringing like crazy. I still have 3 prescriptions of it left and I know that if I cant do this I can always get right back on it. I don't think I am going to give the morning xanax up that easily. We shall see how I do tomorrow. So far so good though. I actually feel a little more aware even though my hands are shaking. |
birddog
said:
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... Good luck and God bless Patty! I have gone to extremes when weening off medications. Literally have the pill sitting on my nightstand or end table with a glass of water. Then put the water away after a couple of days. Then the pill in the bottle. Then back in the medicine closet. I do the real baby step method. I am sending positive vibes for you. |
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