Check the labels on all your medicines (such as allergy or cough-and-cold products) because they may contain ingredients that cause drowsiness. The key to https://ecosoberhouse.com/ achieving this goal is to follow the tapering schedule to the very end. By the end of your taper, you might be cutting pills into halves or quarters.

• Follow your doctor’s instructions closely to reduce the risk of side effects.
• They can also answer any questions you have about Xanax use and, if needed, refer you to a treatment center.
• Once you are stabilized on a dose of diazepam, your prescribing doctor will help you slowly taper down a little bit at a time.
• Those who take large doses of Xanax regularly are more likely to develop a substance use disorder than individuals who take low doses of the drug infrequently.
• Less than one out of every 200,000 adults died from a benzodiazepine overdose in 1996.

What are the side effects of use?

Substance use disorder (SUD) develops over months and years, and may not be easy to identify at first.

How Many People in the United States Abuse Xanax?

It is thought that alprazolam works by enhancing the activity of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. The long-term abstinence rates after recovering from xanax addiction vary significantly. About 80% of older adults achieve abstinence, while about 25% of those with complicated addiction with polydrug use achieve abstinence. Detox is a process during which a person stops taking a harmful drug. The severity of the disorder can be classified as “mild” if two to three criteria are met, “moderate” if four to five are met, and “severe” if six or more are met. These classifications may help direct the most appropriate course of treatment.

Xanax Abuse: Short- and Long-Term Effects of Xanax

The drug is extremely addictive and should only be used under a doctor’s supervision. You might need to continue to meet with a therapist for months after your detox is complete, or even for longer. The purpose of therapy is for you to understand your addiction and to gain control so you can avoid misusing Xanax or another drug in the future. During Xanax detox, you would be monitored for signs of withdrawal, and you might need to receive treatment to alleviate and prevent harmful complications.

• But the anxiety that they experience when they stop taking the drug is actually a symptom of Xanax withdrawal.
• Because you don’t live at the treatment facility, it’s common for drug abuse counselors to give you random drug tests to ensure you’re on the right track.
• Xanax is addictive because of how it works in the brain, its short duration of action, and the potent calming and anxiety-relieving effect of the medicine that some people may abuse.
• Keep a list of all the products you use (including prescription/nonprescription drugs and herbal products) and share it with your doctor and pharmacist.
• Without it, the person may feel achy all over as the body starts processing the substance out.

Drugs & Supplements

• In addition to mimicking GABA, Xanax also increases levels of another neurotransmitter called dopamine.
• Her death has led to efforts to improve traffic safety on East Hartsdale Avenue, including the installation of a red-light camera at the intersection where she was killed.
• They may also turn to alcohol or other depressants when Xanax isn’t available.
• Check the labels on all your medicines (such as allergy or cough-and-cold products) because they may contain ingredients that cause drowsiness.

Professional resources