xanex taper=addict??

[mercurycat]

If you taper off xanex does that mean you can never take a benzodiazepine again??   Does this mean you are a xanex addict if you taper off???    I just dont understand this pill stuff.  My Dr never gave me any info whatsoever about xanex.   He just wrote me scripts that said take 2x per day for about 2-3 months. Lowest dose available.  Am I now a xanex addict because I had to taper off?  Any info would be greatly appreciated.  My doctor just dumped me for following his advice, take 2x per day.  Help!

[sandstone27]

Hi Terified,

Repost your message under the thread that you started. (you can just copy and paste this one).  You added your note to another person's thread and Gasten may not see it.  

[Terified13]

Hi, Can you Please tell me what side effcts and dose you take ? I am Terrifird ! please read my post (minutes ago). I don't know what to do ???
I am in constant Panic because of this !!!
I am New to this site so I do not know how to search a person or resonce ? Please Advice ASAp !

              Thank You, terrified13

[littlebit667]

One suggestion is to talk to your pharmacist before you have the scripts filled out.  They are usually great to let you know about the meds.  Just pick a time that they are not over run with customers.  I have found them to be a wealth of info.  Also..doing an online search is good.  Just be sure you are on good sites and not "we want to sell you this" site.  

[Gasten]

Forgot to mention to check your Inbox for a message I left you!

[sandstone27]

Hi there!  How are you doing these days?

I would recommend sending Gasten a note or a message with regard to your question;  she is experiencing alot with benzo's right now as she explained above, so she is the right person to ask.  She may not see your post however, so if you ask her directly, she will definitely get your message.  

Well wishes to you...

Sandy ♦

[mercurycat]

Hi Sandy, Thanks again for being here.  I was amazed when they could not tell me how to stop the pills.  They said I had to go to a SPECIALIST for that. SIMPLY AMAZING.

[sandstone27]

Hi again,

I just wanted to address your concern about surgery and benzo's.  If you're thinking of drugs that may be prescribed to you for post-op pain, it would not be xanax or any other benzo.  It would most likely be an opiate, which is a completely different drug.  They are used for pain, benzo's are used for anxiety.

NOT that you don't have to be careful with opiates, but that's another issue altogether.  

Also, you may want to check out the Thomas recipe at the bottom of your screen.  There are a few items listed there that may help you fall asleep.
Ateril is an OTC sleep aid that works wonders for some; melatonin or valerian root works for others.  Yogi Kava tea sipped at bedtime may do the trick.   Check some of these out;  they may work well for you.  

Sandy ♦

[mercurycat]

Hi Gasten,  Thank you for responding.  I appreciate it so much.  I have explained my story to sandstone27.  All the details are there.  I hope you get thru your awful ordeal.  I cannot imagine 26 years of this awful killer drug.  I hope to God I never-ever have to take one of these pills again.  I know they have to sometimes use them for serious surgeries and such. I was so afraid I was an addict after 2 scripts and that if I had to have a surgery, it would prevent me from having a very necessary surgery.  I just had so many questions and my doctor had dumped me.  

How is your life now?  Have you completed a taper.  I just cant imagine
26 years.  Do you sleep at all?  The hell you must have gone thru.  You should thank God your still alive.   I never knew pill like this existed.

[sandstone27]

Hi there!

It sounds like you've been put through the wringer with the different meds you've been prescribed and no medical advice from your doctors whatsoever.  It is unconscionable that you were treated this way.  

Effexor is primarily an anti-depressant, but AD's are cross medicated frequently.  If you are not seeing a specialist (psychiatrist) who is advising you about the side effects of this drug, the doctor who prescribed it to you has a responsibility to do so - and clearly they did not.  

The same as above regarding the xanax.  Your taper should have been supervised by your doctor - I'm so sorry you had to do this on your own.

Most importantly, how are you feeling today?  
Is the anxiety gone?  I hope that it is.   It's a miserable condition to live with.

Keep us updated!

Well wishes to you...

Sandy ♦

[mercurycat]

Hi there. thank you for responding. I really appreciate it. What a horrific experience. No I never ran out of meds, in fact I had a bottle left and diluted it and spread it all over my yard so no one would ever mistakenly take one of these. Taper was completed, doc dumped me, I had a million worries. no help. You ask me if I took them to get high!!! No way. They never made me high. They stopped the panic attacks and anxiety from stopping the effexor xr. They deadened my feelings that is all. That is not a high.

[mercurycat]

Thank you so much for responding. I was worried that I could not have surgery because of this taper situation. I had all these fears
and no advice or info (doc dumped me) The purpose of the visits were from ending effexor xr.  Doc put me on the xanex for aftereffects of discontinuing effexor xr. I took 2 prescriptions then had to do the taper. Completed taper, had a million worrys.  Doc would not see me. I was dumped. I had a full bottle left and I diluted it and spread it all over my yard so no one would ever swollow
one of these poison pills. XANEX IS A POISON SOUP FROM HELL

[Gasten]

Your doctor just stopped your Xanax supply?  I have heard this being done again and again lately.  With all the news media hype of prescription drug abuse and celebrity deaths, doctors are now terrified of malpractice and notifying patients that they are no longer prescribing these meds.  This is horrific, as to SUDDENLY cut off such a supply can be very dangerous.  Yet it was the doctors themselves who gave the Rx with the orders to take it on a daily basis.  Who should be taking the responsibility here??  Also, as M.D.'s they SHOULD know the consequences of abrupt cessation of these drugs.  It was not YOUR fault that you simply followed his advice on the script.  
I am glad, though, that you are tapering.   Here's why:  I have been on this insidious drug for 26 years, and while it starts out seemingly harmless and very helpful, it creeps up on you later and takes a grip on your life to the point where you can't live without it.  Later, you will develop Tolerance Withdrawal.  I will not describe what hell that is.  Be thankful you are tapering off.
I don't think you will NEVER be able to take a Xanax again.  Just take one very infrequently--before a medical procedure, or before giving a presentation  if you are afraid of public speaking, etc.  But those would be on rare occasions.  Where you would get in trouble would be taking them frequently, or on a daily basis.  But considering today's times, good luck finding a doctor who would even prescribe you some for that!!

Good luck on your taper--at your low dose and the short period of time you've been on it, you should not have a problem.  But take my advice and DO NOT get back on this drug again!  It can ruin your life!

[atthebeach]

If you never ran out of your meds early and don't take them to get high you are just dependent on them. When you take pills your body and mind can become used to them and then you will have withdrawal symtoms when you stop. Don't stop taking the xanax all at once. As stated by sandstone they need to be tapered off of.

[sandstone27]

Hi and welcome to the forum.  

Tapering off of xanax does not mean you're an addict, or that you can never take benzdiazapines again.  Did your doctor presribe them to you for anxiety? It's one of the most common reasons people are prescribed benzodiazapines.  If so, and you took them as prescribed, and you're ready to stop taking them, then tapering is what you SHOULD be doing.  Addiction has nothing to do with it.  Benzo's must be tapered because of the type of drug they are - you cannot just quit cold turkey without the risk of possible seizure.  

Please post back with a little more information so we can help you.  

Sandy