Quitting Xanax Xr .5 Mg And Already Stopped Clonidine

[Powder]

Hi all, thanks for any advice.

I quit my Clonidine first, two weeks ago, and feel fine, better almost with my PTSD. I've been really sick with a long cough though.

So I talked to my Dr. about tapering off Xanax XR just because I don't know if I really should be on it for sleep every night.

She put me down to .25 mg every night, but not XR. It's just been hard to sleep and making lots of errors, memory lapses, etc.

But I am now with a fever, pains, and shingles in a bad way, headache, nausea, racing heart, chest pain. You get the drill.

I've been on this for almost 2 years. So my body is not too happy right now.

Any advice? I'm grouchy, too.

Does exercise and water help? Any natural things, like foods or what to do if you can't sleep?

Thank you for your advice.

Muse

 

[Powder]

Another reason to quit, besides cost, is that I have to see a Dr. every 3 months in Florida, which is ridiculous for a med you're stuck to be on indefinitely. Just a way for Dr. to make money or a way the RX industry and Med industry are in bed together.

Additionally, there is the concern over dementia, which is not yet established. But a concern is a concern.

Finally, there is the fact of dissociation as a major feature of my problem, and drugs can, I have read, complicate matters with dissociative disorders that are comorbid with PTSD. In other words, the PTSD side of things may be calmed a bit by the drugs, and better sleep is good all around, but dissociation could be worsened. This seems to be the case for me, anyway. We'll see.

But I have had panic attacks all along with or without the meds for anxiety. I am unsure about what to do about that.

 

[shimmerz]

I juice and drink a boatload of water to help flush out my system. There are also natural liver cleanses out there that you can google. I also use Bentonite Clay to get heavy metal toxins out of my system.

I found the best thing for dissociative stuff was to blast my system with sour or spicy stuff. I kept it with me. I would use it if I felt my eyes focus out - until I got my eyes back again. Not sure if this is helpful to you or not @Muse.

Congratulations on taking control.....

 

[WillyKat]

I quit my meds about 5 years ago, without medical supervision. Not a good idea, but things worked out for me OK.

Exercise and more water can't hurt, so I'd go for it.

I have a 1 liter bottle at work that I must drink every day. That's just at work. I drink about the same amount at home so I'm somewhere around 2 liters per day. I started doing that about the same time I reduced my intake of caffeine. What do you know, it helps with both staying awake and getting better sleep, both of which help fighting PTSD.

 

[Powder]

Thank you both. Do you find caffeine to be detrimental to PTSD? I have found that I have more sustained energy throughout the day without it, IF I can get over the morning slump.

Some days, I don't do well without a coffee to start my day. I try to avoid it and then it goes downhill from there. But if I can get off coffee for two weeks. then it's smooth sailing.

 

[Powder]

Got shingles again. I really need to keep better track. I get it so often, every other month now, and on my face.

Has anyone had shingles come back repeatedly?

All doctors say this is like NOT POSSIBLE for a 38 year old to have this weak of an immune system. Yet, here I am. And it's usually not a large rash. The first few, when I got it annually, were larger in area. Now I get it more frequently in smaller patches.

Thank you for any advice.

 

[The Albatross]

I read Muse but had no experiences to offer... my immune system sucks but to have reoccurring shingles or even a rash, well I don't have a clue. You been tested for auto immunes? I was for some of the common ones... a couple doctors think I likely have one but there are more than a thousand... I was negative for the ones I tested for.

 

[Ocean5]

Shingles - I've recently learned of studies that some benzos like Xanax and Klonopin can weaken your immune system.

 

[Powder]

Thank you, @Ocean5 that would make sense in my case.

I used to get Shingles annually, but every other month is a clue that SOMETHING is wrong in my body. I might not have any control over this: it could be that long-term PTSD is doing this, and there is not much I can do about that. But I do suspect the Xanax because it was only after taking it for a while that I started to get Shingles frequently.

I just want to try removal of the meds by tapering off this medicine to see if that might help my immune system fight the virus that, like PTSD, lies in wait for me in my body, pouncing when it is weakest. I need to nurture and care for my body, so that it can heal and feel okay.

 

[Ocean5]

Have you had blood count test done? There are some online sites in U.S. where you can order yourself without having to see a doctor, but might depend on state. Then bring into doctor if something is out of ordinary. Generally they show if you are in normal range or not from what I remember.

 

[Powder]

Yes, I had my Dr. do several tests and bloodwork before I moved to Florida. We basically proved that it was Shingles (herpes Zoster) by eliminating the other types of herpes.

We looked at white and red blood cell counts, anemia, and whatever the heck Dr.'s order on their routine tests. We'd already done the liver, pancreas, and other blood levels when my digestive problems made the Dr. think it was my gallbladder. My gallbladder had a little sludge in it, but no stones. My digestion problems led to an endoscopy, which showed everything to be healthy.

So they decided it was a Motility disorder, likely Esophageal Spasms.

Those are exacerbated by food allergies. Wheat is a family food allergy, so I eliminated it, and I no longer have the E.S. This is good. Also, my baseline anxiety levels are much lower not eating wheat. Wheat, I began to notice, causes my heart to race and my immune system to kick into overdrive. It was making me have excess anxiety, racing heart, racing thoughts.

So eliminating the allergen has helped me, which is why I feel that I was medicating that allergy along with my PTSD with Benzos. Perhaps I can reduce or eliminate the Benzo now that I located the root of the physical problem with an allergy.

Since I stopped consuming wheat altogether, I am now more sensitive to it. If I consume any amount now, I can have difficulty breathing. My chest gets tight, and I feel like I'm going to die.

I had thought this was all PTSD-related but have learned to separate out more and more what is from PTSD/trauma memories and what is from a biological problem.

Finding the root of the problem is difficult when one has a chronic problem like PTSD, especially when the symptoms overlap or worsen each other.