DO NOT STOP TAKING THEM COLD TURKEY, you need to taper off. seriously you will feel nasty side effects no matter how strong your will power is. Your body is use to them, gradually every day reduce the amount until your down to 1 a day. Then you can stop taking them completely. Trust me...

Did you use a 12 step program to kick booze? It may help here as well. I've read about the Ashton Method a lot on here, but have never tried it. Also need Valium to use that method. Should have a Dr involved for that one.

Worst wd's ever, Do not quit cold turkey and if you do, make sure someone is there with you. I had xanax rebound, felt like I was on speed, saw things that wasn't there, and even had my 1st seizure!! Forget sleep..I would pace the floor.

Yet another wonderful example of a stupid doctor who has no clue what he is doing. Giving an ex-alcoholic Xanax is just, well, why not tell the patient to start drinking again? It makes about as much sense.

These doctors need grabbing by the hair and shaking to within an inch of their lives, made to take Xanax themselves for a few years, and then told to withdraw themselves.

Don't worry about being embarrassed about talking to the doc; it's him who should be embarrassed.

This is of course assuming that he knew about the alcohol, not that it would necessarily make the prescription right otherwise.

thankyou so much for all your advice. I did use a 12 step program to kick the booze so maybe i could check out narcotics anonymous for the pills...god I get so fed up with having this illness! I'll try cutting them back and have a word with my doc....he's been treating me since i stopped drinking.

thankyou for not judging me x

Thanks for the info; it's certainly not you who needs judging here, but the doctor I'm not too sure about. May I ask how he treated you initially after you decided to stop drinking? And well done for making that decision, by the way. You now have to watch out for a doctor who can undo all your hard work.

Did he give you a soft landing off the drink, by using clomethiazole, chlordiazepoxide or such drugs? Did he maintain abstinence with disulfiram or acamprosate, or naltrexone, for example?

This isn't a place to be judged IMHO. Addition is an illness and an ongoing battle. My mother dealt with it for years. Some of us are more prone to it than others. Don't be down on yourself. It's great you realize you need help.

he gave me a month supply of librium when i stopped drinking. Although the thought crossed my mind to save them all up and have a binge on them(typical addict) I didn't 'cause I desperately needed them for my withdrawals. Since then (6 years) I haven't had any desire to drink or do drugs. Then the dreaded panic attacks started again.... haven't had one of those for 6 years either, thats when he thought the benzos might help. The thing is that with my addictive mindset I just can't take anything without doing it in excess.
Thanyou also to Tiades for recognizing that addiction is an illness...so many idiots think it's self inflicted and we should all just pull our socks up and just stop (like it's that easy!!)

love to you both x

Going straight for the Xanax was an incredibly stupid thing for your doctor to do. There are many non-addictive drugs which may help panic disorders, which should have been tried first. Not only that, he should be prescribing minimal quantities at a time.

Your best bet is to get a decent doctor to help you withdraw from the benzodiazepine and prescribe something else.

yeah I think ur probably right! I made an appointment with a different doctor today,so i'll see what he has to say. I suppose he thought that since i'd been a long time sobar, i'd be ok on them....unfortunately though once an addict. always an addict!!

kind Regards Molly x

I'm assuming this was a private prescription? May I ask if your doc charges for private scripts?

What does that mean? Something to do with socialized healthcare or am I just too brain dead to figure it out?

i'm in the UK so we get national health...still have to pay but it's only £7.00 per prescription.

Thanks for straightening me out, Molly. ;-)

The NHS won't pay for alprazolam, so you can't get an NHS prescription for it. You can get a private one, but you'll have to pay retail for the meds, plus a dispensing fee for the pharmacy. Sometimes it can work out cheaper than the £7.odd for an NHS prescription, but as the scripts cannot be computer-generated, some docs want paying for writing them out.

Interesting, thanks Neph.