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How Long Do Xanax Withdrawal Symptoms Last?
Posted on
Fri, 3 Jun 2016
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 3 Jun 2016
Answered on
Mon, 4 Jul 2016
Last reviewed on
Question : I have been taking .5 mg of xanax for 15 yrs and have decided to stop. It has now been 9 days and I did taper off buy too quickly. I still have severe withdrawl syptoms and feel like I am going to expolde. So shaky, tingling , discomfort ,loss of appetite and just feel so not normal. Please let me know when these symptoms will go away. Not sure if I should go to the ER and get help. Thank you. Also I am 65 yrs old in good health and weigh 135 but so want to get off this medications and live normal
Brief Answer:
That is toward the long side
Detailed Answer:
I cannot say in your particular case and here are several key general points.
Xanax is removed by the liver and if someone either has liver disease or has other drugs that keep the liver from getting rid of medicine then 0.5 doesn't act like 0.5 and it accumulates.
Then, let us assume there is NOT something else going on with the liver. Xanax is a short acting drug. One a day doesn't stay for the entire day. Generally it is given three to four times a day. It is therefore, more associated with problems than other drugs that act the same way and people get onto a roller coaster of ups and downs. This has consequences. All sedatives can give a withdrawal that when the drug isn't around, people get increased nervous system activity.
"A short acting drug, like Xanax, has a short acute withdrawal phase, usually lasting around 7 days. "
http://thecolemaninstitute.com/treatment-options/benzo-detox/faqs#long
that's what I was taught and that is what the textbooks say.
generally.
The seizure risk is within the 7 day period. I have never seen someone have hospitalization even 7 days let alone longer.
Age can have effects on the liver, generally not that much, but could it extend the danger period from 7 days to 10? seems possible.
Mainly, though, this isn't what you are discussing. Seizures, halucinations, fatalities are in that 1 week timeframe but "shaky, not normal, feeling tense" is different. This is a complex brain state partly from the drug and partly entirely a psychological effect of the expectations about the drug (addiction).
And it lasts longer.
Often much longer.
So, if the pulse is rapid (> 100) hospital evaluation has a strong point to recommend it. There could be serious even life threatening withdrawal with an elevated pulse. And If it FEELS like it is 200 but counting it, the pulse is under 80, well, treatment is warrented, but hospitalization is not generally done. A lot of medications have sedation. They all make someone feel better in this context, but as long as they aren't addictive they are going to be ok. Even over the counter benadryl is often tried.
That is toward the long side
Detailed Answer:
I cannot say in your particular case and here are several key general points.
Xanax is removed by the liver and if someone either has liver disease or has other drugs that keep the liver from getting rid of medicine then 0.5 doesn't act like 0.5 and it accumulates.
Then, let us assume there is NOT something else going on with the liver. Xanax is a short acting drug. One a day doesn't stay for the entire day. Generally it is given three to four times a day. It is therefore, more associated with problems than other drugs that act the same way and people get onto a roller coaster of ups and downs. This has consequences. All sedatives can give a withdrawal that when the drug isn't around, people get increased nervous system activity.
"A short acting drug, like Xanax, has a short acute withdrawal phase, usually lasting around 7 days. "
http://thecolemaninstitute.com/treatment-options/benzo-detox/faqs#long
that's what I was taught and that is what the textbooks say.
generally.
The seizure risk is within the 7 day period. I have never seen someone have hospitalization even 7 days let alone longer.
Age can have effects on the liver, generally not that much, but could it extend the danger period from 7 days to 10? seems possible.
Mainly, though, this isn't what you are discussing. Seizures, halucinations, fatalities are in that 1 week timeframe but "shaky, not normal, feeling tense" is different. This is a complex brain state partly from the drug and partly entirely a psychological effect of the expectations about the drug (addiction).
And it lasts longer.
Often much longer.
So, if the pulse is rapid (> 100) hospital evaluation has a strong point to recommend it. There could be serious even life threatening withdrawal with an elevated pulse. And If it FEELS like it is 200 but counting it, the pulse is under 80, well, treatment is warrented, but hospitalization is not generally done. A lot of medications have sedation. They all make someone feel better in this context, but as long as they aren't addictive they are going to be ok. Even over the counter benadryl is often tried.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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