.05 Xanax Withdrawl Symptoms or Side Effects. ?
Question by Brittany: .05 Xanax withdrawl symptoms or side effects. ?
i got my perscription from a doctor at the ER after i was admitted for a anxiety attack, since then my anxiety hasnt been bad since ive been going to therapy but i take a xanax whenever i feel very stressed. this past week ive take three. one on monday, friday and saturday evening. i never take 2 or three a day because i dont want to get addicted and i heard that once you get addicted, its hard to stop taking them and you can develope serious health problems. so, since my second dose this week, it started with bad headaches which finally went away, muscle twitching, swollen neck glands and a tightnesss in the middle of my chest, i thought i ccould possibly have pulmonary edema or somee horrendous lung problem but the doctor had said it was musculo skeletal, i also got a urine test which came back normal. the third time i took xanax it was during the evening, i decided to take one because of my constant worry about having a disease or cancer after (thinking i got) dysphagia since when i had eaten it would feel like the food was going down very very slowly and i kept chokng on specs of food. it took me a while to get to sleep after taking the pill, i kept waking up.. i read somewhere that drinking caffiene can make xanax less effective….and i was consuming alot of ginger ale that day. anyway, the next morning ( today) my eyes were very red and alot of veins were popping out from behind my eyeball, blue bulging veins were coming out of my hands and wrists, my wrists were crackling when i moved them and hurted, my ear felt like it was crackling my mouth was dry, a few hours later the eyes went back to normal, the tight chest feeling could be anxiety related because i only feel it when im worrying and when im busy doing something i dont ( like now lol ), the veins are still there and i have a increased appetite. im on the lowest dosage of xanax and have only taken it four times (including the time in the ER)…i really dont want to take it anymore since i feel theses new problems are realated to it but sometimes i do need a little “help” in the anti-anxiety pill department.
Best answer:
Answer by Blond B
go back to your doc. thats a very low dose anyhow.
Answer by Mathieu
With respect what you have heard about Xanax (alprazolam) is simply wrong. Most of what people describe when they think of Xanax “addiction” is physical dependence and physical withdrawal (neither are addiction).
Physical dependence refers to adaptations resulting in withdrawal signs or symptoms when the drug is discontinued, the dose reduced, or an antagonist is administered. Substance dependence based on the diagnostic criteria (i.e., addiction) refers to the loss of control over the desire to acquire and use the drug regardless of adverse consequences associated with obtaining and using it. Physical dependence and substance dependence are distinct phenomena, and the terminology should not be used interchangeably.
Patients With Addiction Disorders:
· Suffer from a chronic, neurobiologic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental components.
· Seek a drug in order to quickly affect the “reward center” of their brains.
· Crave drugs and use them compulsively.
· Continue abuse despite negative, even life-threatening, physical, mental, and/or social consequences.
· These persons often develop physical dependence to the substances they are abusing and
are, therefore, at risk of a withdrawal syndrome.
Patients With Physical Dependence Who Do NOT Have an Addiction Disorder:
· Experience a normal response to the ongoing use of certain medicines, including Xanax
· Take medicines to relieve anxiety-not to satisfy a craving for a psychic effect or to stave off withdrawal syndrome
· Can generally discontinue their medicine with mild to no withdrawal syndrome once their symptoms are gone by gradually tapering the dosage according to their doctor’s orders
You are NOT physically dependent to Xanax nor is it likely Xanax is causing your problems. Physical dependence occurs from CONTINUOUS use of Xanax meaning taking it 3-4 times daily. If you were physically dependent withdrawal would start to occur 4-8hrs after taking the medication. Four 0.5 mg tablets taken over many days can’t cause physical dependence. Of the symptoms you describe most are not side effects of Xanax or withdrawal symptoms. Is it possible your problems are being caused by anxiety? You said you have been afraid of having (or thought you had) serious medical conditions- that is a type of somatic anxiety that can be very severe. Anxiety can cause just about every type of symptom you can think of and the more you worry and focus on them the worse it can get, which then makes you worry more. Have you talked about your concerns about health issues with your therapist?
Xanax lasts a very short time so taking it on Monday then on Friday meant it was long out of your system. Also you might want to cut out all caffeine, it does not make Xanax weaker but it typically worsens anxiety in people with significant anxiety.
Xanax in rarely addictive although 1/3 of long term users do become physically dependent and if that does occur and the drug is abruptly stopped withdrawal will occur and it can be very bad. If the medication is discontinued properly and under the care of a physician there is typically little or no withdrawal. Most of the people who think they are addicted think that because they experienced severe physical withdrawal. Very few people know what addiction is and studies of Xanax in humans and in animals found Xanax to have a low potential for addiction.
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