Benzos
 

I'm doing really well with my urges with alcohol. 38 days now. So my next dilemma is with Xanex. I take at least .5 every evening without fail for at least 10 years. Dr. expressed desire to ween me off it. But I don't want to go off of it. It helps. I'm not taking it to get high. I'm taking it because I have anxiety and insomnia.

I went for a second opinion to a therapist and she says Xanex only creates addicts. But then she recommended Klonipon. I don't which is worse. But across the board the Docs want me off of Benzos. So my days are numbered.

So am I addicted and should I quit?

So many other stresses going on right now like my son growing up and detaching...

That's a tough one for sure sunshine. Benzos affect your brain in nearly the same way as alcohol, that's why it's so common to see alcoholics get addicted to them. And of course docs know this too so they usually won't even prescribe them to alcoholics. But water under the bridge, right? you are already taking them so you need to decide the next steps.

I think you are the only one who can really say if you are addicted or not. You mention that you take them for anxiety an insomnia - there are lots of other non-addictive drugs and therapies/exercises/etc that can also help with anxiety and insomnia. I'm a GAD sufferer and have found lots of non-addictive ways to deal with those issues.

I know benzo WD's can be a bear...usually you wean off them. Have you discussed that option with your doc?

I've never mentioned my drink issue with the Dr. because I knew that would be a deal breaker with the benzos. So I'm thinking I need to say goodbye to Benzos. They sure have been my friend. I never asked to be prescribed them anyway. So in the beginning I could have cared less if I had them or not, now it's like no, please don't take away... So yeah that kinda screams dependency. I have tried everything under the moon to deal with this anxiety and insomnia. You name it I've done it and then invented some new things.

hard sayin. personally i had to find out causes and conditions for my anxiety(fear) with a clear head.i had to learn about feelings and emotions.running to a bottle,pill, or street drug whenever i had feelings and emotions come up...welp, i have many years of that to show me how well that didnt work.
years of drinkin and druggin, i had to find out what was the real me and what was the alcohol,street drugs, and pills.
plus, theres no amount of drugs i could take that would stop life on lifes terms.

Sunshine, you really have to give long-term sobriety from alcohol a chance. The anxiety and insomnia can be caused and/or magnified by alcohol and by intermittent benzo use.

I quit all my Rx drugs before I quit drinking. One feeds on the next and there is no reason I can't handle life like it was intended. I feel like xanax led me back to drinking, I was prescribed it after being sober for many years. It does work, but it's a crutch and there are lots of other natural ways to heal without popping a pill.

I would agree with Bimini...you really can't judge any of the tools/practices that will help with anxiety until you are fully clean. It's entirely possible that the benzos are actually making it worse too - consider that as well. In a sense, even though you aren't drinking anymore you are still affecting your brain in the same way as if you were - especially if you are taking benzo's on a daily basis. Even when prescribed, they are only supposed to be used short term.

That's what I'm reading too. No more than 14 days. Difference is I don't take xanex to get high. I purposefully drank to get drunk. .5 is such a low amount too. But I think I'm making excuses and trying to justify. You all are really helping.

There is a reason why benzos won't be prescribed to active alcoholics and that's because you can literally die if you mix them. I would be completely honest with your docs about your past drinking situation.
Otherwise that is another common problem is that docs sometimes will prescribe a benzo for a sleep aid, which is a good way to get hooked on them, especially xanax which is pretty much the most "hardcore" benzo around.
I would start seeing a therapist for your insomnia and anxiety issues, as well as for help with your alcohol recovery. There are tons of medications on the market that are non addictive you can be prescribed if needed.

Not to get technical or anything, and you seem like a very nice person, and I've been through the children-detaching thing three times (!) so I know what you're talking about..........but..........

Like I say, no offense, but the one thing you haven't tried is long-term freedom from alcohol and long-term freedom from the drugs your doctors want you off.

Just my two cents worth.

How hard could it be to just stop .5MG? I think I'll just stop cold turkey. I still have 2 refills remaining. I can just cancel them. Dr. Suggestions, counseling, stop xanex now, take klonipin till new antidepressant kicks in and then off Benzos for good.

If it was me, I'd go without the klonopin. My doctor had me on so many meds years ago, and I don't need any of them. Give yourself a year sober and rethink it. You can do this. Everyone has life issues and traumas and difficulties. You were created to be able to handle them! You can. The counseling is a great idea.

I'll try to put a positive spin on things here...:) First off, benzo's suck. Second, I too took Xanex for a couple of years. (same dose as you). I tried to go cold turkey, and it was a miserable experience...alcohol withdrawal doesn't hold a candle to that of b's, imho. But, my second opinion doctor wanted to wean me off as well, and do so by switching to K'pin. The short half-life of Xanex is what makes it so chemically addictive. K'pin has a much longer half-life, so it wasn't such a drastic drop off in terms of it being in my system and allowed for a much less painful taper. (most of us were never successful with alcohol taper, but for some reason I could manage it with these...it took a couple of months) I spoke to my Dr. a couple of times a week to keep me accountable and let him know what I was dealing with. It can be done, and I am confident you can do it!

Your doc sounds like he knows what he's talking about. 10 years is an extremely long time to be on benzos. It sounds like he wants to ween you off with klonopin which is a much less hard hitting benzo then xanax until you can get things going with a therapist and off them for good.
Medication is only one piece to the puzzle, but therapy is really where things come into play, plus they are much more schooled in mental health medications then the GP is.

That would really be a question you'd want to ask your doc. I've never been through benzo withdrawal myself but i've seen a lot of people around here go through it and cold turkey can really be quite a shock for some. Klonopin is another benzo of course - was it your doc's recommendation to do that?

I agree that talking to your dr about how hard it would be to stop the .5 mg of xanax. It's a small amount, I guess, but for a very long time, so he may have advice about that. If your dr recommends klonopin, hopefully it would be for a very limited time so that it wasn't so hard to stop.

I have anxiety and chronic insomnia and I understand how frustrating it is. I do so much middle-of-the-night reading, it's ridiculous.

I have a counselling appointment on Friday. I thought I had already worked through childhood issues during 3 straight years of therapy. But here I go again. Need help letting go where my son is concerned. I've tried several non'addictive type meds that are available and they usually make me sick. I need to just stop and see what happens.

I've gone days without them... I do feel heightened anxiety and just cranky. A slight headache. Luckily I take such a small dose I think it be gone in a day.

Its usually the third day that's the killer. If you've made it five days without before, then you may be good to go. Please be careful. Seizures are a real possibility.
I thought I was in the clear (similar dose, lorazepam) and then felt like I was going to burst into flames on day 3.

I will never, ever go back to benzos. -and I loved them.

were ya sober during that therapy or drinkin?

I went from 8 x .5 to 1 x .5 over a few years and from .5 to 0 in a few months so that part of it was fine. I also saw a therapist during this time but what made the difference was doing anapana/vipassana. Now I'm benzo free and largely anxiety free. It took a while for it to dawn on me that I was facing life without benzos and wasn't feeling the continuous anxiety I'd become so used to. If I feel a moment of anxiety I just use meditation to deal with it. It passes quickly. Another critical factor for me has been diet. I found that getting to a good weight and cutting out wheat and dairy has helped a lot. I don't know why I just accept it does. Perhaps there is something like that you can try. My kids are out of the nest and I survived.