Xanax Detox

Jump to:

1. Xanax and the Brain
2. Xanax Withdrawal Syndrome
3. Tapering Down
4. Detox for Addicts

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that two to five percent of Americans have a panic disorder. These people face severe and debilitating attacks of panic on a seemingly random basis. Their hearts race, they’re covered in a cold sweat and they feel as though they’re about to die. For these people, Xanax is simply a godsend. It can calm their active minds and allow them to get through the day without feeling a debilitating sense of fear.

While the medication might be helpful, there may come a time when the user wants to stop taking them. Perhaps he or she feels as though a sober lifestyle would be more beneficial, for example, or perhaps the user simply wants to try living without medication. These people often work closely with their doctors to slowly taper off their Xanax dose.

When it comes to Xanax, however, there is a hidden group of users. These people take Xanax without a doctor’s prescription. They may not even have panic disorders. Instead, they have a serious addiction to the medication. In order to conquer that addiction and lead a sober life, this group of people needs to enter a Xanax detoxification program. Here, they’ll get the help they need to stop abusing the drug.

Xanax and the Brain

In order to understand why detoxification is necessary, it’s best to understand what Xanax is designed to do and how it works on the user’s brain. In an article published by the National Anxiety Foundation, the authors give the analogy of a car speeding toward a dangerous curve in the road. A chemical in the body called GABA is designed to help the car slow down and make that curve safely. People with panic disorders don’t have enough GABA, so they’re sliding toward this curve with no brakes. Xanax helps augment the GABA signal so the car slow down. Over time, the body recognizes that it doesn’t need to produce so much GABA, as the amount it is using seems to be proving effective. And the liver begins to produce more Xanax-destroying enzymes in order to clear the high levels of the drug from the user’s system. As a result, the user might need to take very high levels of Xanax in order to feel the same effects.

These changes take place both in people who have prescriptions for Xanax and those who do not. The drug doesn’t discriminate, and it will force these changes in both groups of people at an equal rate. These changes form the crux of Xanax addiction. Now that the body has modified its systems due to the presence of Xanax, it may be unable to function without the drug. According to some experts, this level of change occurs after a month of regular use.

Xanax Withdrawal Syndrome

People who stop taking Xanax abruptly force their bodies into a severe form of withdrawal. The body is accustomed to having access to Xanax at all times, and when no amount of the drug is available, the body’s systems begin to overreact. According to the National Library of Medicine, these are symptoms addicts commonly feel when they abruptly stop taking Xanax:

Some people experience severe forms of withdrawal, and they develop hallucinations, fast heart rates and seizures. People can die due to these symptoms. This risk of death came to the nation’s attention in 2008, when a man arrested in Cleveland for nonpayment of child support was denied access to his Xanax prescription for six days. According to news reports, he developed hallucinations and aggressive behavior, and then died in police custody due to Xanax withdrawal symptoms along with other concurrent medical conditions. This sad story highlights the risks involved with enduring a Xanax withdrawal process without adequate medical supervision.

Tapering Down

For people who are taking Xanax under the supervision of a physician, detoxification is a relatively easy process. These people meet with their doctors and determine whether or not this is a good time for the person to stop taking the medication. The doctor might ask questions such as:

• Is this a stressful time for you?
• Why do you want to stop taking the medication?
• Is someone available to watch you while you taper down?
• Will you agree to take the drugs in the dosages I provide, and not set a faster withdrawal pace without consulting me first?

Then, over a period of a few weeks or a few months, the person will take smaller and smaller doses of the medication until he or she is clear of the drug. If anxiety symptoms return during this process, however, the person must go back on the drug.

Detox for Addicts

People who are using Xanax without a prescription face a slightly different process. After all, most doctors won’t prescribe Xanax to addicts just to allow them to taper off the drug and beat an addiction. Instead, the addict will need to enter a structured detoxification program and admit that he or she is taking the drug without a prescription. Then, the addict must admit how much of the drug he or she is taking, and submit to a urine test to ensure additional drugs aren’t at play.

During detoxification, the addict will be given smaller and smaller doses of Xanax and doctors will stay on alert for withdrawal symptoms. Some people may choose to go through a rapid form of detoxification, where the tapering happens quite quickly. According to a study published by in the journal International Pharmacopsychiatry, withdrawal symptoms tend to disappear within two weeks, whether or not medications are given, so this might be a valid option. The addict will, more than likely, have to agree to take medications if severe symptoms such as shaking or seizures occur. While many addicts would prefer to make a commitment to using no drugs at all, starting from the day they walk into the detoxification facility, this isn’t always a realistic strategy.

In addition to medications, the addict will need to begin to develop a series of tools he or she can use to stay clean when detoxification is over. This can be an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to Xanax addiction, especially for younger people. According to a study published in the Journal of Drug Education, teens stated that stopping Xanax use would be difficult because their social groups seemed to encourage drug use. In other words, peer pressure would make it too hard to stay clean.

Addicts will develop an entire toolkit to use to beat addiction through their completion of a Xanax recovery program. In most cases, they’ll start work on this program as soon as withdrawal symptoms subside and they can think clearly. As part of this program, the addict will:

• Participate in sessions with a counselor.
• Join a 12-step group, such as Narcotics Anonymous.
• Participate in group sessions with the family, if needed.
• Talk to peers about why he or she wants to stop using drugs.

Detoxification is just a small part of the work the addict will need to complete in order to make a full recovery from Xanax addiction. To find out more about how these programs work, please contact us at Alta Mira.