Long Term High Dose Xanax Effects (Page 2)

I began taking Xanax in 1982. I have been abusing it more and more over the years. I can now take 14 mg and not even tell it. I can stop taking it with no withdrawals. It's like I am immune to it. For the past two years I have been experiencing a lack of cognition, forgetfullness, and general fatigue. It does not matter if I stop the Xanax for a couple of months, I feel like the deficit is permanent. Can Xanax lead to permanent brain damage?

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I have been on Xanax for 6 yrs, along with xyprexa and paxil for depressive/anxiety disorder. I take a max daily dose of 6 mg/day. My psychiatrist has no problems writing my scripts and feels that it has given me my quality of life. I once was told that genetically your liver can need more than the average person (my father was a bad alcoholic) they said my liver could be more tolerant to meds b/c of my liver. Sometimes I abuse it just to get a high which really doesn't work so I don't know why i do it. I don't even get tired on Xanax but now I'm seriously getting worried about damage to my liver. the thought of getting off it scares the crap outta me!

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I get panic attacks when having to fly , doc gave me some Xanax 250mcg to take before flying. Will I become addicted to this medication and will I get side effects or withdrawl symptoms from using Xanax for 2 days flying each way??? Maybe I should just cancel my flight.???

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I am prescribed .5 mg 4 times a day of xanax. I have not taken them at regular intervals; like today I took two at about 1:00 p.m. and one at about 8:00 p.m.; I was not going to take the fourth .5mg xanax, but it is 1:26 a.m. and I'm not sleepy or feeling like I could go to sleep; I just now took the 4th .5mg xanax for this day (1:28 a.m.); I am afraid I have become dependent on xanax, although I don't seem to need them for anxiety now that my wife has left for a while; she's been gone for almost a week, and I'm not as upset as I usually am when she is here, but I just got a bit of that upset, just getting a text from her; she drives me crazy; I think I"m going to have to leave her, even though she has cancer and is bipolar, I used to feel guilty about wanting to leave her, but she has become so difficult to live with that I just don't think I care any more. And I can't remember who I've told that to; I feel like I'm going crazy; like something in my mind has broken, and I'll never be the same; I don't feel love or affection for anyone (myself included); I don't even enjoy the dog any more; nothing is fun; used to love music; not now; jokes aren't funny; I'm a miserable person. I would like to go to sleep forever. ...although I am not suicidal, I would not deliberately hurt myself; I am hoping something will come along and I will be happy again, but it just doesn't seem to be happening; I've been off work and on one after another psychiatric drug for a year, all with bad side effects; I'm tired of it all. Any ideas out there? ... I just don't much care about anything.

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Bobby,
It is amazing how much our situations are similar! I get really bad anxiety when my husband is around and I prefer to be alone/out/doing whatever I can, just to get away from my home. I was prescribed Xanax a while ago, but only recently started taking it on a regular base. Me, too, feel enormous guilt about leaving him and the whole situation started to seriously get out of control. Xanax (0.25mg) can keep me asleep for about 2 hours, max. If I want to sleep through the night, I have to take another pill as soon as I wake up. That scares the hell out of me! without Xanax, I can't sleep at all and daytime anxiety is out of control. Unfortunately, I had to quit my job due to anxiety. I am starting Citalopram today and hope it will ease out some of the symptoms. Take care!!

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Hey all...first time on any post!...so thanks in advance!!
I take 100mg of trazadone and .25mg of xanax every night for the last 4 years. My question is: Will (point 25) .25mg everynight of Xanax cause any bad or permanent side effects...I'm 50 and can't sleep without at least the trazadone...the Xanax is a little bonus to keep me asleep thanks!!!!

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Hi there, thank you... will def talk to a psychiatrist also i signed up to a gym work out i hear can do you good on this matter...although yesterday had panic attack and strong feelings of anxiety so... i took 5 pills of 1 mg during the whole day.... relax and watch some romantic movies (lol) I will follow the path of going to speak to a doc and a female psychiatrist see the out comes ... i 'd like to d-tox from this chemical stuff from my body and exercise and better diet should put me back on the right path... Only thing....? hope to have enuff strnght to keep doing it, eat better, work out... I know i will have those funky days/nights where i just want to be numbed or relaxed ... again Thank YOU! Alexia :)

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Methadone detox is very hard to diagnose how long withdrawals will last. I've been on methadone 2x the first time in Detoxed in 3 weeks and was on methadone for 6 months and stopped cold turkey at 150mg. The 2nd time I got on I was on methadone for 1yr and 1month and weaned myself all the way to 10mg cause they told me I'd have an easier time getting off. But they lied the longer your on methadone the longer your withdrawal will last, not including the insomnia that comes after the initial physical withdrawls. So the longer u stay on it you will have the worst withdrawals you'd never wish your worst enemy to experience. I just finally said F*** this. I'm not gonna let the methadone clinic rule my life and I'm sorry but there's no remedy to help with methadone detox if your planning on getting off just make sure you have 1 month open cause my last and final methadone detox lasted 3 weeks with the worst imaginable pains and hell I've gone through. If I can do it twice you can do it just stay STRONG and when your In the heat of your detox just stay positive and know that after the first two weeks you'll start feeling better everyday will start be become more and more manageable...... Stay strong and I hope I helped with and questions regarding a methadone detox...
P.S- methadone stores In The bones so take a lot of calcium and other vitamins of that nature

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Ariana75 Hi there I would love to talk to you more I m going through the exact same situation in a very avery all four types of abuse in this abusive relationship I havent taken xanex in six years and this is this time i need it ten times worse it was prn but i told the doctor in my circumstances if i take as needed i will be taking them all day long. I literally in theis relationship have panic attacts 247 with no avail. Finally today i feel some releif and calm but Im still trying to find a way out of this complex relationship senario and I cant find my way out of it. I love life and I love him but I realized yesterday That I cant jeopardize my health and my life for someone that i love unconditionally thats not willing to go to anger managment. I would love to talk with you about what you did maybe our circumstances were the same maybe not i dont know. hit me up please

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Over the past 6 years I've abused Xanax off and on, usually for periods of weeks or months daily with short intervals in between, the longest being a few months. When I started when I was 13 my first time taking them I took a few of the 0.5mg and it didn't really do a whole lot. My second time I had gotten the 6 of the 2mg from my friend in middle school and took five of them during 1st period. Got arrested with the last one at school a few class periods later. After this, my drug use drastically increased. At first I would switch between drugs and mix a lot of them at the same time, mainly using xanax, ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana and alcohol. But xanax and ecstasy quickly became my favorite, often mixing them with alcohol. (Rarely all 3, usually xanax + alcohol or ecstasy + alcohol) Eventually I got to the point where I couldn't function sober, my whole life revolved around drugs. I would take xanax at school, at work, anywhere I was really, and take large doses of usually at least 10-14mg ranging up to 30-45mg+ daily and more often then not drinking on them. I could feel the affects of the drugs and alcohol working on my body, began throwing up blood the next day after I'd drink. It got bad a couple years ago when I thought I was going to die after taking 4 xo's (ecstasy) and drinking a handle of vodka and 30 case of beer with two friends. Began throwing up, horrible cold sweats, couldn't talk, couldn't think, could barely move. And no one would take me to the hospital. I barely slept that night, freaking out the whole time. That's when my anxiety attacks really started to occur a lot more frequently. At first, I just had to stop taking uppers such as ecstasy, cocaine, ect. After the incident I tried to take only a couple xo's a week or two later and began to freak out again, which is when I began to be worried and decided not to take any uppers. My xanax use became more frequent, with longer lengths of time and shorter intervals inbetween, probably because I discontinued the use of most other drugs and xanax still remained my favorite that I wouldn't freak out if I took it. But then I had my first sober anxiety attack, and it reminded me vividly of the time I thought I was going to die on the ecstasy and alcohol. It lasted three days, and I was sure I was dying. I went to doctors and got examined, and they all said I was fine it must be anxiety. But I couldn't believe it, couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that anxiety could be so bad that I had intense physical pain and literally thought I was dying. After awhile of seeing doctors and having anxiety attacks more and more frequently since the first time, I began to accept it, but it would not stop. No matter what people told me, what relaxation techniques I learned, nothing helped. My xanax abuse grew even more during this time, and if I wasn't on it I had my unbearable anxiety. Finally my drug and alcohol abuse led me to the point where I was homeless again living under a bridge late november. I woke up one morning, took my last 6 2mg pills I had on me to stop the shaking, which I woke up with daily until I took the xanax and let it kick in. I realized I had to stop, so I called my mother and asked if she would let me move in to get sober. After letting her think about it for awhile, she allowed me to move back in and I quit my job because most of my drug use occurred at work and with co-workers. After my mother found out what drugs I was taking she researched it and decided to pay for a detox program for me to go through so i wouldn't die from withdrawals. I got horrendously sick for a few days and was bedridden, and it took a couple weeks of taking 18 pills/vitamins daily that the detox program The Right Step gave me to deter seizures, help sleep and other things before I started to feel a little better, but barely. Just good enough to move around and not have a seizure. Now it's been a little over 3 months since I last used, February 22, 2011 precisely. (I went to rehab beginning of december but relapsed about a month later for a short time) For the longest time I thought my anxiety was attributed mainly to all the ecstasy I took and the time I though I was going to die, (my ecstasy addiction was almost as bad as my xanax one for quite awhile) but after reading a lot of information about xanax-abuse effects it sounds a lot like what i go through, albeit milder than mine seems to be. But I live in a fog, it's hard to think, hard to focus, have insane migraines every day (most likely attributed to multiple concussions in the past year), and my anxiety, although quite a bit better than it used to be, is still a constant thing and my intense anxiety attacks still occur although not with the frequency they used to (however I did have two pretty bad ones this weekend, but was most likely due to smoking because I do get really anxious when I smoke pot, which i don't do much anymore for that reason.) I've been extremely afraid that this condition is permanent, because I do not think I could live through my life if this were to continue. Even though I feel physically miserable most of the time, and have crazy mood swings, depression and anger, I still try my best to stay as positive as possible and move on with my life. My life is going better than it has in a very long time (even though it doesn't feel like it), I have somewhere to sleep, food to eat, and am undergoing job training. It's just extremely difficult to think, study, do work, and live my life like a normal person. But after reading about it taking 3-18 months to recover, I now have new hope that I may be able to feel normal again one day. You don't even understand how f***ed up in the head I feel like I am. I am still worried that I may have done some long-term damage to my body, but that may just be attributed to paranoia and anxiety (my physical feelings and worries are the main reason for my anxiety) because I am still very young, (will be 19 in a couple weeks) and I often hear and see people doing drugs for a lot longer than me even if not as much as I did. I am very grateful that I am still alive, although a little surprised that I am, but I'm tired of that life and I don't want it anymore, I just want to feel normal. It's so hard to think clearly.

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I used xanax, vallum, klonopin, & lorazapam (shopper) for about 5 years, been clean 3, the day before I ended up in the PSYCHATRIC HOSPITAL on a 5150, I had taken 3 1/2 grams of cocain & 200 mils of a mixture of the above listed meds. I was 98lbs. I went down to 96 in detox. After not receiving proper counseling at rehab, although ive been clean since oct 2, 2007, ive recently went back to counseling for some unresolved issues. I was informed by my therapist (whom I trust for the first time since entering counseling @ 14), that my extreme mood swings are due to the fact my brain has not recovered fully. Not to mention ive since had my 2nd child & still weigh only 115 @ 5'6. So now after everything ive worked for for the last several years, I get to hear im annorexic, or why dont u eat more :/... PLEASE PEOPLE, STAY AWAY FROM BENZOS! & if thats the first suggestion from your doc, GET A 2nd OR EVEN 3rd opinion. (this was not ment as a personal reply, new to site, appologies :) )

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I am currently in the same situation. The high doses of xanax seem to help me face the day and do those healthy things like intense workout, eating extremely well. But I can't seem to do those things without the xanax. I am a straight A grad student but still have panic attacks, low self esteem and chronic depression. What has worked for you since your post.

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Id imagine if taken for long periods, considering I was using for only a handfull of years & after nearly 4 being clean, according to my doctor, my brain is still in "recovery & not quit working properly just yet" as far as mood & anxiety goes.

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Alcohol and Xanax withdraws are the only two substances that you can die from. so I suggest all of the users in this panel to proceed with your further abuse with caution!

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I would recommend eating more food. And say on a healthy eating schedule. But don't take food so far that its another addiction. AdAm

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dcat,'
I see your post is over 2 yrs old, but, I identified with what your psychiatrist said to you, with some conditions, unique to me, from my long history of long term benzo + hypnotic use, as well, as very long term abstinence. I took a 1st cousin to Xanax originally, called Roche Valium, for nine (9) years, in my early 20's to early 30's, I also, during this era, got on "binges" and, took, Lemmon Quaalude, for about 3 yrs, why? my Valium tolerance over the 9 yrs rose to as many as 80 mg a day, and, I got in on the Methaqualone (disco bisquit) scene, just prior to our USA government banning that very addictive sedative. I made a about face, went to inpatient treatment, and abstained from all DEA controlled substances, even alcohol, for 23 years in a row. Due to a combination of a devasting Divorce, burning out in 2 career fields, including, the Substance Abuse Specialization field, (now I am not age 34 but I was a 57 yr old male, despondent & depressed, & heartbroken, I started self medicating, with the benzo's, from International Operating Pharmacies about 4 or 5 yrs ago. In the meantime, being married to a RN, and obtaining two college degrees, I discovered, while I am in my good behavior of 23 yrs without Benzo's, or high powered sedatives, (Placidyl, Quaalude, Nembutal, Tuinal, Doriden) nor one sip of alcohol, nor one drag of marijuana, or nicotine, a Psychiatrist, I consult due to mega difficulty focusing in a college classroom, gives me a dx of Attention Deficit Disorder, and, being abstinent so long, I began taking Ritalin, then later Dexedrine with Adderall, closely monitored, by my Psychiatrist, from age 45, until, this very year. (17 yrs use of C-II stimulants, taken as directed) I have tried, since late 2006, for the past 5 yrs, lots of Roche Valium, from IOP's in Mexico, Argentina, Germany, South Africa, U.K. & the Philippines, + Pfizer Xanax, & the EU version Tafil, Bromazepam (Roche Lexotanil, from Pakistan, to Argentina, to Spain) hard to find Pfizer Halcion, (Philippines & South Africa) and even some generic diazepam made by Actavis, from the UK, lots of them, RatioPharm diazepam (Germany), Pak 10 (diazepam from South Africa) even blisterpack Roche Rivotril (clonazepam) from the UK, Germany, South Africa, and even, Romania, & Bosnia, and, the bottom line, is that, all I ever got, was sometimes nothing, many times drowsy, but no classic, "Valium or Xanax warm fuzzy lift" I alway got, during my 9 yrs of pill popping decades ago. I even solicited my Dental Surgeon for 16 USA 5 mg fancy artwork Roche Valium, with the cut-out V, to compare my series of benzo's from all over the world, (ordering only 50 to 60 at a time) and I concluded these two things .... in the past 5 yrs.
A. The overwhelming majority of the IOP's sold me diazepam, alprazolam, triazolam (Halcion), Clonazepam,
temazepam (Restoril), "especially blisterpacked 10 mg Roche blue Valium, that were not "sugar pills" but were on average about 50% strength from their advertised price and milligram content, with the rest with bulk fillers, either 2/3 in blisterpacks "very authentic looking" or sometimes in baggies, unmarked, and, I never received, the distinctive relief from anxiety, coupled with the distinctive "buzz" that is a worldwide feature of especially Valium & especially Xanax, even bought once off the street, some Mylan alprazolam, straight out of the prescription bottle, but, all I felt was that, sensation of a little relief from anxiety, but, "no more buzz". The expensive $3.00 per pill I paid my pharmacist, one time for 16 five milligram rare V cut Valium was a learning curve for me, they were stronger than any benzo, I have bought on the net, in 5 yrs, but, only lasted about 2 hrs. I even broken my 23 years of "no alcohol, washing down some Valium with Vintage 2000
Dom Perignon Champagne, and for the last 10 months, have drank "7 Deadly Zins" of one bottle of white Calif
Zinfandel with two 2 mg Roche Clonazepam, or two ten mg Roche Valiums, from Mexico to Germany, to UK produced, Actavis generic Diazepam, and, I still can't fall asleep, 50% of the time, if I do, I wake up, after dosing off.
B. Only my trusted contact, in the field of Cosmetology, whom I resorted to buying Cannabis from, aids me in, getting a smile on my face, about 50% if the time, after, another 23 yrs of total abstinence, and climbing many mountains, of financial success, worldwide travel to exotic resorts, and ultimate failure. I am convinced, that the IOP market, since I began my journey in 2006, mainly to keep the records off of the Prescription Monitoring Program in 40 states now, has increasingly become proliferated with diluted meds. I have been ripped totally off, amazingly, only four times totally with 100% fake pills, in 5 yrs, once for Upjohn football lavender Xanax, from Europe, once for Generic Diazepam from Pakistan, and once from, Pfizer 100 mg Viagra from, Pakistan, & once from Roche Lexotanil from Argentina.
C. I will conclude this catharsis, of venting is good for my soul, but I realize very wearing on the reader, that, I once had a article from the professional journal Anals of Psychiatry, or, maybe it was, "the Journal of Psychopharmcotherapy" from the late 1990's, that tested,
a control group of abstinent former recreational male and female drug users, who had been abstinent, for like 4 or 5 yrs, and, a "control group, of equal members in age, gender, educational status, marital status, who, had no history with alcohol "dependency" and/or poly pharmacy dependencies, and, they were given unmarked capsules some with the real thing, like a controlled substance, like,
Librium or Phenobarbital, or, Wyeth Lorazepam, and 50% received, on both groups, sugar pills, and, those with a history of addiction, were "disappointed with the double blind test, why? the study selected hard core cases of previously addicted Mandrax/Quaalude/Valium addicts, vs. those with no history of any Methaqualone or Valium tolerances, and, Group A, with the addiction history, were craving more, of the pills, "they were chronically unhappy" even with given a white capsulel filled with a controlled substance (mild tranquilizer) and the Group B, all they felt was :"lethargic, and varying degrees of drowiisness, and no craving, for "give me more pills" only yawning. the conclusion of the study stated, that Group A, the "theory" was that, the brain never forgets, the intense euphoria, from downing a pill, even after yrs of sobriety, and, more studies were needed, but the scientists belief,, were that the brain structure had somehow been permanently altered, with the heavy recreational users, and, the brains of the innocent same age, some gender, same socio-economic status, and IQ's and college education, of the adults with no previous addiction to Methaqualone, or specifically the benzo Valium, were indeed altered, and the patient charts, often showed relapses, and multiple, interpersonal relationship failures, and job changes, thus, the Psychiatrist that addressed Forum member "dcat" may well have truly meant what he said, that once, you are on something, like a addictive medication, for a good while, if you take a break, (in my case a long break) you will indeed likely not be happy again, meaning, you will not re-experience the relief of true anxiety or psycho-neurotic relief, once you stop the mood altering med, then, start over again.

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@ Jay, Do you have a family doctor that can run tests on you? I think what you're experiencing(pain and vomiting) is due to another problem besides cocaine withdrawl. I don't mean to scare you but the symptoms you explained reminds me of pancreatic cancer. If you don't have a family doctor maybe the next time you go to the emergency room ask them if the can screen you for it. Again I don't want to scare you but just want ya to get checked out.

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been in benzo withdrawals for over 8 months now quit after 24 yrs of beening on and off of xanax. The first 4 months were like if somebody did surgery on my head and took my brain out.i could not function at all im surprise i didnt burn the house down.i just want to know when is this going to end.e-mail if anybody knows

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Guys, it's all about drug tolerance management. All these drugs were created for a reason. They have positive effects on people's lives when used correctly. The problem is, human nature prevents us from using it correctly. We naturally always want more. 1 xanax turns into 2, 2 turns into 4, before long you'll be taking wayyy more than you ever wanted to, just because you always want the drug to kick in. Too bad our livers aren't bullet proof. We will develop a tolerance to everything.
I have been prescribed to Xanax for 3 years now, 2mg daily. It's changed my life for the better. I've done plenty of research before taking it and heard so many stories about addiction. I prepared myself mentally to prevent being addicted. Let me tell you, 2mg daily does not mean you should take 2mg every day! You WILL become tolerant no matter what. Soon enough, you won't feel it. What I do is take them when necessary, but EVERY week, I detox a little to gain back my tolerance. For example: on sundays, when i have the last human contact, I detox. That way, i know on Monday, when I take a xanax, it'll kick in that much stronger.
Xanax has the power to positively impact your lives, you just need to be responsible. Know your limits, get a feel for your tolerance. Manage it. In a world full of drugs, it's the only way to survive.

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almost any amount close to that high can kill. however i have taken 150 0.5mg klonopins and 200mg of oxycontin... as well as 400mg of phenobarbital... and drank 2 40 oz's at the same time. this eventually lead to me having a serious overdose where i threw up and was suffocating on my vomit. doing anything like this is stupid. i spent 5 days in the ICU coughing up blood. i went to rehab after this and am now clean. CHILDISH GAME WITH ADULT CONSEQUENCES!!!

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I would like to share my experience with my neighbor who had taking xanax for about 4 yrs. This woman was originally prescribed xanax because of having difficulty sleeping. She was having kidney dialysis 3 times a week, and probably weighed less than 100. Lbs. I watched a steady deterioration as she grew increasingly obsessive. Gradually the obsessiveness changed to paranoia. She complained a blurred vision and went to serveral eye doctors in an attempt to correct the problem. Soon after this she was unable to distinguish letters from numbers and even became unable to dial a phone number. The paranoia was often accompanied by hallucinatiopns at this point. I am convinced it was all stemming from abuse of xanax. I lcontacted her relatives who were unwilling to step in---i also contacted her nurses at the dialysis center as well as her social worker. Nothiong was done as far as changing her prescription for the xanax. She is now in a nursing home and i believe some of the damghe may be irreversable. I is my. Belief that xanax is a very dangerous drug when taken for long-term or when debilitated, as was my neighbor.

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