Getting Off Alprazolam (Xanax): The need for Recovery

A comment on my old blog referred to a discussion about the withdrawal from Xanax, or Alprazolam, a short half-life benzodiazepine:

Clonazepam (Klonopin) actually is not the drug of choice used in benzo withdrawal, rather it is diazepam (Valium). Clonazepam It is not a very long-acting drug, with a half-life of only 18-50 hours; diazepam’s half-life is 20-100 hours, with its metabolite hanging around for twice that long.

Absolutely the worst thing about benzo withdrawal (take it from me) is that it never ends. That is why I still take them.

Sadie

My Response:

The ‘drug of choice’ for benzo withdrawal depends on many factors beyond half-life. Diazepam (aka Valium) is absorbed very quickly and so the onset of action is as fast as 20 minutes; this is useful in some situations, but is also thought to contribute to the increased addictiveness of diazeapam over clonazepam (Klonopin). Both drugs stick around long enough to accumulate with repeated dosing; diazepam has active metabolites, making the effective half-life even longer than the pharmacologic half-life. But who cares? In either case the person coming off alprazolam (Xanax) can take the longer-acting benzo four, three, or two times per day– even once per day could be sufficient to prevent seizures with either drug, providing the dose is high enough.

It is very hard for most people to get off Xanax… or any benzo. For that reason, the best medication for alprazolam withdrawal may be a non-benzodiazepine anticonvulsant. I have used valproic acid (Depakote) or phenobarbital in patients for treatment of benzo withdrawal and/or alcohol withdrawal. Pretty much anything that works for alcohol withdrawal will work for benzo withdrawal– which is consistent with the fact that alcohol, benzos, phenobarb, and valproate all have actions at the GABA receptor. Other factors to consider when choosing a medication for benzo withdrawal include liver function– diazepam in particular lasts forever in patients with bad livers. Phenobarb affects the metabolism and plasma levels of many other medications. Valproic acid can cause liver damage and tends to stimulate appetite; is also causes heartburn and nausea in many patients.

The biggest problem with coming off benzos is losing the fuzzy haze that covers life and tolerating the harsh glare of reality. Patients complain of ‘anxiety’– many times they are simply feeling what everyone feels all of the time, but they have lost the ability to tolerate the normal stresses of life. This is where 12-step programs come in; working the steps provides everything that is needed for a person to learn to tolerate reality. After 15 years of going to meetings, I am still amazed at the value contained in the 12 steps. EVERYTHING is there! How to tolerate one’s self; how to deal with others; how to cope with rejection or loneliness; how to begin to understand a purpose for living… the answers to all of these questions– questions faced by most drug addicts on a daily basis– are contained in the steps. I strongly encourage, and invite, people learning to tolerate reality to come to recovery and join the others who are looking for the same thing– and finding it at AA or NA.