Addition, Withdrawal, Truth: Coming Off Medicine

By Author: Steven Johnson
Total Articles: 494
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Depression, insomnia, vomiting, irregular heartbeat, hallucinations, and seizures are among the more infamous withdrawal symptoms from benzodiazepine drugs. The list goes on and on:

* Fever
* Headache
* Tension
* Anxiety
* Sweating
* Confusion
* Panic
* Memory loss
* And so on

While it is true that many people have experienced these, the circumstances under which this happens is widely misunderstood.

When considering coming off of anti-anxiety medications (anxiolytics), there are a few very important things to consider: the dosage amount, the dosage frequency, and the length of treatment.

Benzodiazepine drugs are not only habit-forming, but the body also becomes more tolerant of the chemical in the body. That is, it has less and less effect over time. For this reason, many patients are forced to continually increase the dosage for the treatment to really help them.
Length of Treatment

Here's where many people encounter their first myth:
Is it true that coming off the drug can kill you?

If ...
... you go off of it "cold turkey"! It is important to gradually reduce your dosage over time. This can take a LONG time because the dosage size may have grown in order to remain effective. That said, depression, hallucinations, and especially seizures do pose serious threats.

A long length of treatment can also mean that the body has become more used to or even reliant on the drug being in your system. This can make symptoms such as anxiety, tension, and panic especially strong. It can make it harder to break the addiction and prolong withdrawal - up to two years! That's extreme, but months upon months of withdrawal is common.

Amidst all this scary talk, it is important to remember that you shouldn't choose not to discontinue treatment. This will just make it worse on you when you eventually must for health reasons.
Dosage Amount

Intensity of certain symptoms can increase if you are taking irregularly high doses. Expect:
# Severe headaches
# Tension
# Mood changes
Frequency of Dosing

At least one doctor has speculated that the more often one dosed, the more symptoms they are likely to experience. There has been no clinical testing to back this claim.
How to Go Off the Drug

Benzodiazepine drugs are intended for short-term use only, not as a prolonged treatment. So, you are going to have to stop using sometime.

It doesn't have to be so bad as the stories and the buzzwords make it seem.

1. Gradually reduce your dose size of Xanax. The maximum you can reduce is .5 mg every three days, but it will be helpful to reduce at a rate of .5 mg per two to four weeks. It is also possible to come down to three daily doses. However, as you cannot violate this .5 mg rule, talk to a doctor about the safe way to do this.

2. Use other drugs to deal with withdrawal. One method is to take an equivalent amount up to 2 mg of Klonopin for every mg of Xanax. Usually, this is taken in one bedtime dosage. Tegretol has also been effective at preventing and reducing withdrawal symptoms.