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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by LesaH on November 29, 2000, at 23:43:45
I take 5 milligrams of Xanax everyday NOT .05mg. but FIVE MGS. This has been my way of life for almost six years. I now experience very little emotion. Sadness sometimes. I don't remember when I felt really excited about something. I have no interest in anything; food, sex, sports, you name it. I am flatlined. How do I return to a vital human being? I'm fairly certain that at this point there is no return.
If anyone has taken this drug for the length of time that I have and at a high dosage, I would love to hear from you.
Posted by kazoo on November 30, 2000, at 1:23:10
In reply to Addicted to Xanax, posted by LesaH on November 29, 2000, at 23:43:45
> I take 5 milligrams of Xanax everyday NOT .05mg. but FIVE MGS. This has been my way of life for almost six years. I now experience very little emotion. Sadness sometimes. I don't remember when I felt really excited about something. I have no interest in anything; food, sex, sports, you name it. I am flatlined. How do I return to a vital human being? I'm fairly certain that at this point there is no return.
>
> If anyone has taken this drug for the length of time that I have and at a high dosage, I would love to hear from you.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Here we go again!
Sometime during the late-1970s, there was this movie entitled "I'm dancing as fast as I can" which was about some show-biz type who was addicted to the ever-popular benzo (at that time), VALIUM. The movie created quite a stir in all professions/walks of life because "V's" were given out like candy. Well, the chemist who had formulated the drug released a statement, via Hoffman-La Roche, that since creating the drug (quite a few years earlier), he had taken 5 mgs of diazepam EVERY SINGLE NIGHT and had developed NO addictive propensities, or any desire to take more. He did this to prove that the drug was perfectly safe even for extended periods of time.
I realize that 5 mgs. of diazepam isn't that much, but this is the way it is for many people ... they've learned to accept it, and are perfectly comfortable with the situation. I knew a woman who started her day with a "MILTOWN" (meprobamate) each and every day for 15 years. She was an executive Veep at a Fortune-500 company, and when she retired, the drug did too.
Since those wretched 1970s, a dozen or so new benzos appeared and, SUDDENLY, we have a rash of unexpected addiction, with a glut of misinformation about this phenomenon.
So, what happened here? Did the drugs get stronger, or did people get weaker?
TRUE CONFESSION: I've used drugs, both licit and (Surprise! Surprise!) illicit, profusely *all* my life, and not once have I ever been habituated (read that sentence again).
Common sense dictates that if you want to STOP taking something, you do this gradually, or you find a substitute to help you quit (just don't get strung out on the substitute. Case in point: doctors in the 1960s dispensed Methedrine to help heroin addicts overcome their addiction, only to create a new addiction).
It could very well be, my dear, that certain underlying factors (those nasty gremlins from the Freudian UNCONSCIOUS), may be wreaking havoc with your metabolism and, thus, nullifying the *beneficial* effects of the Xanax.
This may seem axiomatic and obvious but your best source for help and information is your physician. They're the person with the answers. Tell them about what you're feeling and going through, and I'm sure a happy solution will be found.
I wish you the best.
kazoo
Posted by stjames on November 30, 2000, at 1:51:55
In reply to Addicted to Xanax, posted by LesaH on November 29, 2000, at 23:43:45
With the help of a doc you could switch to Klonipin, which is long acting.
This means fewer pills and less craving right before the next dose.
Then slowly step down the dose of Klonipin. Really slow, as slow as it need to be.
It took 6 years for your body to get this addicted, so you can't get off
in a week or a month. Xaxax is short acting, which increases its addictive potential in many people,
hince the logic of switching to a long acting benzo.The other issue, as I see it, is to consider the reason you
started taking Xanax. If you are treating some condition you
still have to deal with this issue as you come off the Xanax.
Anxiety and depression are well traeted with antidepressants,
which are not addictive.
Posted by felix on November 30, 2000, at 3:17:34
In reply to Addicted to Xanax, posted by LesaH on November 29, 2000, at 23:43:45
I reckon if I had been online two - three years ago, my posting would have read like yours.
Its a complicated process trying to escape these drugs without the right help.I can't respond professionaly I only have experience of how not to withdraw. From reading your post it appears to me like you have not stopped completely for any length of time. Your problems seem mainly around the flatlined feeling. Not withdrawing.
That worries me with your usage period and high dosage you are at risk of resultant Siezures without a planned withdrawal.>
If anyone has taken this drug for the length of time that I have and at a high dosage, I would love to hear from you.
>For eight years the drug was Temazepam, then Valium. Meds are free here and widely availible. My dosage was too high. 30-80mg day.
>
I now experience very little emotion. Sadness sometimes. I don't remember when I felt really excited about something.
>Thats what happens eventually. I was very happy to start. A quick cure from life sensitivity gave me a much needed break.
Six years of these drugs is what creates the dead feeling.Once you are over the problems of stopping belive me you will have a clearer head. In my case a fresh outlook and probably a greater emotional depth.
I can't tell too much from your letter of why you have so much Xanax prescribed. Especially with the drugs we have availible today for Depression and Anxiety that don't create this level of physical addiction.
I had to plan repeated withdrawals first with psychiatric cognition then aided with newer antidepressant drugs. For what maybe quite a while you will need a less addictive tranquilizer to hand.
I have been through a hell I can't describe. I could write a book. I did'nt have the proper help to start with. I had siezures, reality breaks, Psychiatric wards, physical illness, suicidal ideas while life still kept hitting me from all angles.
I may have a profile that differs from yours as I have manic depression.I reckon as humans we are all similiar in how the brain refreshes itself. The amazing thing is that it does find a way through.
The drugs you are taking are stopping it from having a proper go at life.Keep writing.
Posted by MooseNH on December 9, 2006, at 16:52:54
In reply to Addicted to Xanax, posted by LesaH on November 29, 2000, at 23:43:45
6 years on 5 mg of xanax is real tough I bet. Try 3 mg of xanax for 20 years. That's how long I have been using xanax and under my doctor's advice and consent! That xanax is bad stuff. I am now trying hard to get off of xanax for good. I am down from 3 mg per day to 2 mg per day in just over a week. I am determined to rid myself of this demon created by medical science. My advice to anyone considering taking xanax even with the consent or advice of their doctor is DO NOT DO IT! This Drug Is Dangerous! and to LesaH, my advice is Please get to a doctor who can help you kick this addiction....Good luck.
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