Posted by Snoozy on April 24, 2003, at 21:41:00
In reply to Help! I'm sick., posted by Alara on April 24, 2003, at 20:26:03
Hi - sorry you're going through such a tough thing. I've been cutting back on my Xanax, but I've been able to do it incredibly gradually, so it hasn't been too bad. I was down to 0.25mg a day, and I was planning on not taking it for a day, and then taking it a few days, then not taking for a day, etc until I worked up to not having any. Then a month ago I didn't take any at night, and I didn't take any the next night, and I haven't had any since. I felt ok so I didn't continue with the tapering. If you do have a hard time, you might want to look into the Klonopin Sarah mentioned.
I think a sedating cold medicine might help you through this - in terms of basically just sleeping through it. I take Benadryl (diphenhydramine), a sedating antihistamine, when I really want to sleep. It can really knock you out. I would caution though that it can be drying, and if your throat is bad, you might want to be careful. (I find hot water with honey in it a very soothing treatment for sore throat, and it's calming too.) I'm not sure what medicines you have on the market down there. If you're looking at cold medicines, be careful checking the labels. So many of the products put a whole bunch of drugs in their formula, and you don't want to end up with something stimulating.
Take good care of yourself, and know that you might be having symptoms from the withdrawl, and that it will get better.
Good luck to you.
> Uh oh. I've had an upset stomach since Monday and have also had a very sore throat for the last 2 or 3 days (with only mild cold symptoms). Luckily I made it through the working week before running entirely out of Xanax and crashing out at home last night. (It's a public holiday here today in Aus so I have the long weekend to recover. :-) )
> Unfortunately the terror of Xanax withdrawal brought out the hypochondriac in me last night: I lay in bed last night with a racing heart, convinced that I was `dying'. I breathed slowly and calmed myself down a little by telling myself that I was just freaking out due to the Xanax situation..I then found a forgotten half-tablet on my dressing table (my saving grace!)
> Physically speaking, I am feeling a little better but am still too sick to go to a GP. (Only the big medical centres are open today and they all display signs in the reception area stating that they do not prescribe any drugs associated with dependence...)
>
> i figure that the physical problems are just the result of a virus and that my body will heal with a couple of days' rest and some homemade soup. What worries me is that I'm freaking out due to the Xanax withdrawal in the meantime.
>
> Will a night cold and flu tablet or sedating antihistamine help me through this?? Are there any other non-prescription drugs that will help???? I have a PDR (Performance Development Review) on Monday morning and am terrified of turning up in a physical and emotional mess..
>
> Sorry about this convoluted post.
>
> BTW, the 0.25mg half tablet that I took last night has alleviated the anxiety for the time being. I was never on a high dose and so don't think that I'm a big candidate for protracted withdrawal syndrome...
> There we go again: The hypochondriac is coming out!
poster:Snoozy
thread:221091
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030423/msgs/222157.html