I remain alcohol-free 2 weeks after my detox and am still taking baclofen despite having a few problems with it. However the truth is that I was taking 1 mg of alprazolam ('Xanax') every afternoon while I was drinking, in order to suppress alcohol withdrawal symptoms between my nightly drinking episodes. At the time I didn't consider this to even be an issue, since I wasn't abusing benzos. I assumed I'd easily give up the alprazolam during my alcohol detox, but this hasn't been the case, and now I'm taking the 1 mg at night to try and get some sleep plus stop benzo withdrawal symptoms. After becoming AF I tried cutting down to zero benzo use but experienced anxiety, sweating, and other symptoms. This was well after being detoxed from alcohol. I also experience some symptoms during the day, since alprazolam is a short-acting drug.
My doctor has now suggested either tapering the alprazolam extremely slowly or switching over to a diazepam taper. He has suggested a time frame of at least 3 months. After drinking to extreme excess for many years, I know it's no big deal to spend a few more months fully detoxing from the alprazolam.
If anyone has any pointers, including benzo forums, that they have found helpful in dealing with their own benzo use I'd be very interested in hearing from you.
Comment