Hey Im Mia..Ill tell you a little bit about myself :)
Hi Mia,
Welcome to the site. There's a lot of great information on the site and kind, caring people with a lot of wisdom to offer.
I also was addicted to another benzodiazepine (Klonopin) after taking it
daily for a number of years because I couldn't take other medications
to control my anxiety/panic. I recently got off of it, but it was one of
the worst experiences in my life. I didn't go the cold turkey route
since it's one of most difficult and dangerous -- as you know from the
seizures you experienced. Instead, I switched to an equivalent dose of
Valium and tapered down over a period of months, then switched to
Neurontin to get off the last bit. I still take Neurontin daily and have
Valium on hand when my anxiety gets really bad.
In the class of drugs called benzodiazepines, Xanax has a high potential
for addiction because of it's potency (.5mg of Xanax=10mg of Valium)
and relatively short half life (time it takes for half the drug to leave
your body, Xanax is 6-12 hours and Valium is 20-200). Half life is
important because a drug with a short half life wears off more quickly
creating more of a cold turkey effect, while a drug with a long half
life wears off more gradually creating more of a tapering down effect.
That's why I switched to Valium to get off of Klonopin. It was really
hard for me to get off the last few mg's of Valium but Neurontin got me
through it. Neurontin is technically an anticonvulsant (anti-seizure), but it works in
controlling anxiety for some people. It also has a low side effect
profile and a low potential for addiction.
Ok, if you're still with me, a few suggestions. It sounds like you're
in control of taking Xanax since you're using good judgment before
taking it. If you're really concerned about getting addicted again, you
might want to ask your doctor about switching to Valium since it has a
lower potential for addiction. I can't necessarily recommend Neurontin
as an alternative to using a benzodiazepine since it's not considered an
anti-anxiety medication, though it does work for me. If your
interested, you can talk about it with your doctor (a psychiatrist will
probably know more about it's properties than a GP).
Finally, I hope you don't consider yourself a "druggie". You just chose a
drug that has a very high potential for addiction and you were strong
and smart enough to get off of it. There are a lot of people that are
addicted to alcohol, and the only difference is that it's legal and
socially accepted. There's no reason to carry the druggie label around
for the rest of your life. At worst, you might just have a
predisposition for addiction so will need to make sure you take things
in moderation.
Take care,
Flint
