nooooo more xanaxxxxxx

[Faerie]

Originally Posted by Derubael [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Benzodiazepine's are one of only three drug withdrawals (along with methadone and alcohol) that have been known to actually kill you. Severe withdrawals from long-time use almost always include seizures and intense psychosis (read: hallucinations and delusions) along with the other standard substance abuse withdrawal symptoms. The seizures for Alprazolam (Xanax) in particular can start as early as 24 hours after your last use, depending on your last dose, due to the short half-life in comparison to a longer lasting Benzo like Clonazepam (Klonopin) or Diazepam (Valium).

Pretty nasty stuff. Get hooked on life, its just as likely to kill you, but far more rewarding in the long run. Plus, no one likes the babbling intelligible sack of a human being benzo's turn people into. Good luck!

Edit: I'll add to this that while benzodiazepine's can be an effective short-term solution to anxiety, they should never be abused or used as a long-term solution to a psychological or physiological issue.

This. You guys want a benzo story?

I was hardcore addicted to benzos from ages 18-19. My psychiatrist prescribed me 270mg alprazolam (xanax) each month. For a while it was great; my life fell to pieces around me and I wasn't even there to hurt for it. I started taking more and more at a time, until I reached a point where I was literally swallowing handfuls of those 2mg pills at a time, washed down with some vodka. When I ran out of pills, I would buy more from friends. There are entire months of my life that I don't remember.

Eventually, the seizures started happening when I ran out. Every single time I suffered a seizure, my right shoulder would dislocate. The pain was excruciating and I could never get it back in without going to the ER and having them knock me out with drugs, the muscles were just too tight. At first I didn't know why I was having the seizures, but it became apparent pretty quickly. Like a true addict though, I didn't tell my psychiatrist until I absolutely had to, which was when the doctors caring for me decided that I needed surgery. My shoulder had started to dislocate just from regular movement, and whenever it did it was a huge ordeal getting it back in place.

So I underwent a surgery on my shoulder, while on a plan to slowly wean myself off of the drugs. Both went well, though I lost some range of motion in that arm and was in a bit of pain during recovery. Then for reasons I don't remember, I started buying huge amounts of benzos online. The result was dozens more seizures and another surgery when I fucked the first one up. Now I have even less range of motion, and the muscles in that arm ache constantly. No more benzos, at least.

A few years after all of that, I started having seizures again. My neurologist told me that I had developed epilepsy. I asked him if the benzo addiction and frequent seizures in the past could have been a contributing factor, and he said it's likely but there is no way to know for sure. So I have that to deal with for the rest of my life, now.

Benzo addiction isn't all that cool, if you ask me.