addiction to xanax?

Question

I had to start taking xanax about 5 days ago following a car accident and travels. I took the follwoing doses by breaking the pills.

Day 1. .15 mg. morning, .40 mg. evening during flight.
Day 2. .40 mg. second leg of flight.
Day 3. .30 mg. following car accident.
Day 4. .15mg. morning. .25 mg evening.
Day 5 nothing so far, but am getting serious shakes and uneasy panicy feeling. Is this withdrawls, or just in my head. Can the above doses cause addiction or dependency that fast? I know if a pop another .25 the "edge" will be gone, but I want to avoid this and aovid anytype of addiction. Please advise. Thanks

i get the doses by breaking up a .5 mg. tablet. My doctor prescribed me 22 .5 mg tablets to be taken "as needed." So I've taken abou .40 mg. daily for 4 days.

Answer 1

Xanax is very addictive, but in 5 days.....I'm not sure. It is not a drug to just stop taking cold turkey. I does cause severe withdrawls such as: nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headache, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, chills, lethargy, fatigue, moodiness, crying, dystonia, paresthesia, tremor, vivid dreams, and myalgias. You should talk to your doctor and find out how you should get off and start taking something else.

Answer 2

First off, how do you get the dose of .15 mg when the lowest dose of Xanax is .25mg?

Second: If you only took this for 4 days, the answer is NO. You are not addicted to Xanax. But, you might NEED to take it if you are experiencing the shakes etc. Talk to your doctor about this.

The other thing is follow the dosage your doctor prescribes. Most people only take this medication for up to 3 months on a regular basis.

Answer 3

Years ago when the pharmaceutical companies came up with this drug it was touted as the "valium" of the future and was not addictive. However, as the years have passed and we got smarter it was determined that it is a very additive drug and has complications they did not know about at the time but has since come to light. My best friend who has been taking 1milligram tablets 5 times a day for over 30 years and really should not be able to walk, talk or do simple things tried to get off it by just stopping and she would have a grand mal seizure. Therefor, if you have been off this medication for 11 months that is wonderful - is the devil in disquise . That being said there are other medications that work and have yet to cause grand-mal seizures when you stop taking them abruptly. They have a drug called clonopine which is a member of the "xanax" family whose chemical composition is a little different from xanax itself. Although clonopine is a much safer medication taken for anxiety it too is addictive. Your PTSD, which I do not know what trauma you have had gin life, is a very real disorder and its a known fact that xanax works on anxiety very well. There are many other medications that will help, My friend is now on her 23d day of no xanax and has come to realize that she has to stop taking this drug since she got out of the hospital about a week ago after her 3rd or 4th grand-mal seizure which is not pretty. You know how you feel so I would stop asking for xanax by name since most doctors think you are there for drugs only and not really interested in getting your anxiety under control and if they refuse to give you something then I'd find a new doctor who listens and helps you thru all this. I know how it feels to have panic attacks and it actually feels like you are about to die on the spot. I have periods of time when I cannot leave the house and when I did and would get to the grocery I'd turn around and go back home. I have been given many different anti-depressants thru the years and by this I mean the drugs classified as SRI (seretonin reuptake inhibitors) such as Lexapro, Zoloft, etc., and I just became numb, indifferent and lacked emotions and finally found a Doctor who understood atnd took me off of the SRI drugs and prescribed tranzene 7.5 miligrams 3 times a day and I now feel much much better. Please, you have been off xanax for 11 months now and need to try something else. Just tell them you need something now. Counseling is okay but in order to even get to these sesions your are having these panic attacks and I do not believe any amount of talking to a counselor can do much good when you are in a full blown panic attack. I know its hard to be heard by doctors who try to tell you how you feel and have not walked in your shoes and when that happens I find a real doctor who wants to help and not give me the run around. Good luck, things will get better and so will you.. w s

Answer 4

Your reasons for taking the xanax in the first place are rather vague. Xanax is a benzodiazapam used generally to help with anxiety or panic disorders,although it can be prescribed for several other medical conditions.It sounds as though you are suffering from anxiety or panic attacks.You have been on it for a very short time and the frequency and doses you describe are conservative.I don`t believe you are suffering withdraw symptoms as it takes longer with more consistent dosing to become physicaly dependant. It sounds as though you are still suffering from the anxiety or panic attacks you originally started taking this med for in the begining and it has nothing to do with the actual medication. You need to talk with your docter if your symptoms are still persisting.You are right to be concerned about addiction, which is a neurobiologic disease describing a set of behaviors such as "drug seeking" or abusing the medication beyond the prescibed dosing to feel "high" or escape emotional pain even though this act is destroying your life or causing dysfuntion in daily living,because this medication can cause addiction or be abused. However, there is also physical dependancy which is different from "addiction" and simply means a tolerance has been developed, though the person is using the med as prescibed, requiring increased dosages to get the same effect and over time withdrawal symptoms would develop if the med were stopped. If you need this medication to help you, use it as prescribed and keep in good communication with your docter. Don`t let fear of "addiction" stop you. Education about this drug and knowledge of your own self awareness regarding your use will help protect you. You may only need it a short time and it is also important to seek psychotherapy as well. Just make sure your docter has done a thorough exam so he understands why you are feeling the way you do. There could be other underlying disorders causing panic feelings that left untreated could cause your condition to worsen or other symptoms of a medical illness to develop. The only concern I see is the description of the frequency you are using it and the doses you are taking. Prescriptions are usually written with strict doses and how often you should take it, whether it be every so hours around the clock or as needed with strict directions as to how often. You are all over the place with the doses. Take it as prescribed when you need it without worrying so much about addiction right now. Your concern is healthy and will keep you on the right track, but you just started with this and with further exam and direction from your docter you should be just fine.Keep on top of the problem and make sure your docter stays on top as well.Good luck and take the medication as directed or you may seek an alternative, but don`t live your life suffering so, for that is just as bad as living in FEAR.

Answer 5

Were these pills prescribed for you, as the dosage appeasrs to be an unusual one?. Xanax is very addictive, but 5 days is too soon for a true addiction to happen. You will feel better taking it, and maybe uneasy off of it. Why are you taking it for traveling?...afraid to fly? I think if this is a prescription, there might be an easier medication to take for panic situations that are not addictive, such as Paxil or Zoloft....of course, you don't "feel" them...which to me would be fine. There are some people who like the feeling Xanaxx gives them. Zoloft and Paxil do not have a physical effect on you...it is very subtle tken over long periods of time.

Answer 6

yes it sounds like withdrawal... those were pretty big doses you were taking... avg is about .05mg. take a dose just large enough to stop the symptons and then start cutting the dosage back by taking just half the amount each week until you get to minumal dosage and then only every other day ... ween yourself slowly. and just take any of the half dosages once a day....