Xanax Addiction (Alprazolam) Facts & Treatment
Xanax (Alprazolam) Addiction and Xanax overdoses are becoming more common as “Xanax bars” are seen as a culture drug. When abused or not taken as prescribed, Xanax is extremely dangerous. There are many people who after being prescribed Xanax become dependent on taking it after their tolerance increases. You may try to stop or quit on your own will however this can be extremely painful as severe Benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms can take place if you try to quit cold turkey.
Once you recognize that Xanax may be a problem you might try and quit cold-turkey or detox from xanax at your house by yourself or use untested drugs to relieve withdrawal symptoms. There are often very severe medical complications from withdrawals which can result in coma and at times death. We highly suggest contacting a trusted Xanax addiction treatment center for the absolute safest and most comfortable recovery. You can call us at Zephyr Medical Group 24/7 for helpful answers and how to help yourself or a loved one.
Why Xanax Addiction is Dangerous
Xanax addiction can cause many ongoing physical and emotional problems.Just like all substance use disorders, abusing xanax you have a high chance of not only potentially overdosing, but losing everything you have going on in your life such as your job and even family! Addiction to Xanax can completely overtake your life and cause you to make increasingly worse decisions. Substance abuse can lead to illegal behaviour to help support your using, emotional distancing from your friends, your family, and your hobbies/interests, and completely undo all of the positive things and effort you have put forth in your life. Some other dangerous Xanax addiction symptoms include:
Slurred speech
Frequent confusion and/or tiredness
Increased depression
Increase levels of anxiety
Physical Impairment
Stealing prescriptions or money to support the habit
Forging doctor scripts
Overdose and Severe Withdrawal Symptoms
Xanax Addiction Signs & Symptoms
The telltale signs of being addicted to any substance is that you try to quit or stop taking them on your own but are not able to. The chemical structure of drugs like Xanax will literally change the thought processes in your head to justify the use. You may not even know that you have become dependent on Xanax until things spiral out of control. These are other common signs and symptoms of Xanax addiction:
- The inability to function without the use of Xanax
- The inability to reduce your dosage or stopping use of Xanax
- Requiring higher doses of Xanax to get the same effects;
- Drug-seeking behaviors, such as illegally obtaining Xanax like “doctor shopping” or visiting multiple different doctors with the attempt to obtain a prescription for Xanax
- Worsened performance at school, work, or home
- Sudden lack of interest in hobbies or activities you are passionate about
- Experiencing Xanax cravings and withdrawal symptoms when not taking them
What Xanax Withdrawal is Like
Addiction to xanax is a crippling disease. That’s why it’s so important to reach out to to carefully and safely get past any withdrawal symptoms. After you reach out for help, a xanax addiction specialist will assess your unique use case history, we will bring you into our facility to safely detox off of xanax. When you are overseen in a medical facility you will be as safe and comfortable as possible. We do not recommend trying to quit xanax cold turkey or on your own as it can lead to painful medical complications and death. This is a standard timeline for xanax detox and withdrawal symptoms:
Most xanax users will begin to experience some withdrawal symptoms within the first 6 hours after taking their last dose. This is common amongst short-acting benzodiazepines. Typical symptoms within this time period include increased xanax cravings, irritability, anxiety and early depression symptoms, as well as insomnia, which may get worse over the next few days to weeks.
Within the next 2-5 days you may experience increased sweating, panic attacks, nausea, headaches, and other flu-like symptoms. Most people going through withdrawal can be very irritable during detox. You may experience fast occurring mood swings, and at times violent outbursts. Some people going through xanax withdrawal can experience seizures or hallucinations. These withdrawal symptoms tend to peak after 4-5 days and then will plateau.
Here, xanax withdrawal symptoms will start to reach their peak and then begin to slowly get better and better. This phase can typically last for 2 weeks or more for most people.
Xanax Post-Acute Withdrawal Symptoms
Post-Acute-Withdrawal Syndrome or PAWS is extremely common when quitting long term drug use. Some people report experiencing these symptoms can last for several months after stopping and your mind can play tricks on you here. These Post-acute symptoms tend to occur in users with a long history of xanax abuse or other drug use.
Lethal Xanax Drug interactions
Most of the time, mixing different drugs can have lethal consequences. This is because the chemical structure of the different drugs can enhance the effects of one another and very commonly lead to overdoses and death. Some common xanax combinations are Houston cocktail—Hydrocodone, Xanax, and Carisoprodol and Kitty Bending – mixing Ketamine and Xanax. Alcohol and Xanax are an especially dangerous combination as alcohol will drastically increase the potency of Xanax. Call us 24/7 for answers and help to recover from Xanax or benzodiazepine addiction.
How to Recognize a Loved One Addicted to Xanax
If you suspect a friend or loved one is addicted to Xanax, The first thing you should do is to call a reputable drug and alcohol treatment center like Zephyr Medical Group to better understand the signs and symptoms better. It’s very important that if a problem or addiction to Xanax does exist, they need to be willing to get help. This is something we can coach you and/or them through. Depending on the frequency of Xanax use and how long they have been abusing Xanax other than as prescribed, the signs may vary. The typical signs of Xanax abuse can include:
- Using more Xanax than is prescribed
- Not taking it as directed by the doctor
- Looking for illegal prescriptions online
- Saving up your Xanax pills to take more pills later
- Stealing Xanax from others
- Doctor surfing, or trying to get multiple prescriptions
- Stealing money to illegally buying Xanax
- Trying to quit Xanax on your own and not being able to
Types of Xanax Addiction Treatment
Recognizing treatment for xanax addiction is the first step towards you or your loved ones lasting recovery. Depending on how heavily you are using xanax and for how long, you have various treatment options. Detox is typically the recommended start as you will need to safely get the drugs out of your system. After detox, residential treatment or intensive outpatient treatment become options. Residential treatment is recommended for a more intensive recovery process. You will be living at the facility in a sober living environment surrounded by others also in recovery and given a daily schedule of counseling, therapy sessions, outings, etc… High-quality meals are typically also provided for you in a residential inpatient setting. Intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) is the preferred addiction treatment for executives and busy professionals. IOP allows you to get customized counseling for approximately 3-4 hours a day, typically 3 days per week. You can call us right now to discuss your treatment options so you can fully recover from xanax addiction.