How I Quit Xanax!
First let me start by expressing that this is only my story and how I quit using Xanax. It may not be right for you and you should contact your doctor before quitting any drug like Xanax. If you do it wrong, major dangerous thing can happen.
It all began about 13 years ago, my business was growing, the money started coming in and life was good. But, was it? I didn’t know any better than to buy bigger houses, expensive cars…. All of this and and starting a new family with children caused a huge amount of stress. Then my doctor prescribed Xanax. Man, I felt good. I remember I kept dropping stuff the first couple months and almost cut my hand off with a saw while working on a rental house. Friends were laughing because I was always dropping my car keys. I was relaxed.
Just a quick note here. I wish my doctor would of prescribed exercise, a better diet and Dave Ramsey’s
Financial Peace University course first. But he didn’t.
So, I was on the “I don’t give a shit drug” for over 9 years”. During that time I kept upping my use of Xanax to almost 4.0mg per day and drinking 8 to 12 beers per night (every night)! I just created too much pressure by running my jewelry store, buying houses and trading stocks. Then the real estate market fell out in Florida overnight. I was stuck holding 3 water front home worth over $1,500,000.00.
I crashed! Sold my store, lost the houses and moved to Michigan where I could spend more time with my wife and kids. I finally figured out that I have a problem.
Now I was depressed because I lost everything except my wife and kids. Thank God! I think one of the best things that happened to me was hanging out with a good friend on a pontoon boat just chatting about life. This was step one for me. Get a good friend that listens to you. It is very important. Although we were drinking, make sure they are not on drugs as well. Even though I thought that I was normal in my thinking, I was not and can only say that now that im not on Xanax.
Our bodies are awesome and are designed protect us from outside dangers. Stress and anxiety were telling me to stop what I was doing but I blocked them out with Xanax. Listen to what your body is saying and keep away from drugs.
I was at my lowest ever and started looking into drug rehab centers all over the country. I even called a doctor in Florida that hooks up a IV to you and puts you under for a few days. When you wake up the withdrawal is over but he never called me back. I just wanted it over and was going to quit cold turkey.
But I went to the internet first and started doing research along with forums. It’s definitely not a good idea to quit cold turkey!
The first month I cut .5mg right off the bat and didn’t feel too bad. The second month I did the same thing. Now I was down to approx. 3.0mg per day. Then I went to about 2.75mg for 2 weeks and then to 2.5mg for 2 more weeks… I was cutting out about .25mg every 2 weeks until I got down to about .5mg per day. It seemed like my body took about two weeks to adjust to every cut. Once I got to .5mg it got a little harder. It took me about 2 more months more to get completely off Xanax. I used a razor blade to get to a very small piece on my last week. The whole process took me approx. 8 months and didn’t feel too bad at all.
If you are reading this, the chances are that your are taking Xanax. I can tell you that it is such a great feeling being off this drug. It has taken me a couple years to put my life back in order and still working at it but, I’m drug free! So please, if it hasn’t destroyed your life yet, you should consider getting off Xanax now and if it has made a mess out of your, just look forward and kill the monster. Some of you may want to check into a drug rehab center and others may just be able to us your doctor that put you on this junk! Become you again! Good Luck!
I was uplifted by your story, and hope that can be me someday soon! First of all, congrats on being able to does yourself down and conquer this obstacle… it takes guts to do what you did. I was wondering if you would be willing to e-mail me back and let me ask you a couple of questions, as I am dealing with the same problem. I need some guidance and would love to have the opinion of someone who has been there, done that. Thank you very much for your time.
Congratulations to you and thank you for posting this story for others! I went thru a difficult time 5 years ago and my doctor got me started on Xanax .25mg 3 times/day. Over 3 years he escalated it to 10-12 mg per day. I got to the point where I couldn’t remember hardly anything I was so numb. I nearly cut off 2 fingers using a table saw. Eventually I realized I had to quit. I reduced my dose to 1 mg 3 times per day and couldn’t get off of it. My heart raced non-stop every morning, even before I would wake up, because my body was waiting for it. Finally, I changed doctors and he added 1 mg Klonopin (Clonazepam) which is a similar benzo, but it doesn’t have the instant POW! It is a longer lasting slower releasing med. He also prescribed Antenolol, which is a mild beta blocker that helped keep my heart rate from racing. I am now down to .5 mg of Klonopin 1-3 times per day and have been Xanax free months. I hope to be off all meds within 2-3 months.
If you are on Xanax and want/need to quit I suggest you consult a doctor to help you! There are several other med’s to make it easier to quit. It can be very dangerous to quit abruptly!
It is a horrible drug to be addicted to! Don’t start if you don’t have to! Good luck to those trying to quit. God bless.