Question by G: is xanax or klonopin easier to get off after a few months use?
i want to get off now before i become more addicted. this is the longest i have used these types of medications on a daily basis. i get xanax .25 ( a quarter of a mg) and i take one in the morning and usually two other times during the day. one in the morning, either 1-2 midday and 2 at night equaling a total of a about 1 or 1.25 mg a day. so thats 3 times a day roughly 1 mg total. i got off after doing this for about a month and just had some trouble sleeping for a few days and was irritable at times. this was mild for 4 days or so and then i was fine. but this time, it has been about 2 months or so. im sure it wont be zero withdrawal, but 1 mg of xanax relatively low for only a 2month period of time correct? i have the option of switching to klonopin. i understand that can be helpful. however, this seems to be the case with people who have been chronic users and i trying to wean off over a period of up to a year. im going to wean off over 2 weeks. would this be helpful or possibly worse? i figure if its a longer half life, it may not be as strong, as it is “spread out” but usually the longer the half life, the longer the withdrawal period and this makes perfect sense, and is the case with opiods. klonopan seems to just help people with the xanax roller coaster effect of ups and downs, but answering me under the impression that this is not a problem for me, wouldnt just lowering my xanax dose be easier as i am already used to “being asleep” with it “worn off” since i sleep 8 hours and xanax has wound down by then usually? seems klonopan would only make sleeping worse getting off of this because it would be in my system during my entire sleep period vs xanax which is just present at the beginning…. any thoughts? please address the issue of short term use, as i can find no information on this other than klonopin being easier to get off of long term… thanks

Best answer:

Answer by Mathieu
Firstly it sounds like the issue is not addiction, it’s physical dependence.

Addiction is a loss of control over substance use with craving and/or compulsive use which is continued despite harm.

Physical dependence is a state of adaptation resulting in drug classspecific withdrawal symptoms upon abrupt dose reduction, decreasing drug levels or antagonist administration.

Yes sometimes Klonopin (clonazepam) is substituted for a shorter acting benzodiazepine however that is actually a very bad idea. Although Klonopin does have a long half-life its plasma concentration is not nearly as steady as many other drugs making it a bad choice. In addition the high potency of Klonopin makes it a pour substitute. Typically Valium (diazepam), Librium (chlordiazepoxide), or phenobarbital would be used to help get a person off benzodiazepines. And like you said it is very likely the Xanax has worn off by the time you are sleeping and if you took Klonopin or the other medications I mentioned they would interact with your sleep. When you wake up do you feel that you are in withdrawal? If you don’t then you likely have little or no physical dependence. Typically a person physically dependent to Xanax will be in withdrawal when they wake and since you only take it three times daily you would likely have interdose withdrawal (withdrawal symptoms between doses) if your physical dependence is significant.

In any case you are correct that switching a person to a different medication is normally done in patients who have been taking medication for years and/or in extremely large amounts (eg 4 mg/day of Xanax). Switching medication may also be done for people having extremely severe withdrawal symptoms even if they have been on a fairly low dose or where taking it for a short period of time.

In reality you will probably be fine just reducing the dose of Xanax you take and quite frankly you are taking a very low dose and you have not been taking it for very long at all. You can probably reduce the dose over just a few days and then stop. You may have a few days of insomnia and some increased anxiety at times but that is about it.

Also keep in mind that when a person thinks of “withdrawal” symptoms most of what comes to mind are not actually withdrawal symptoms at all. By stopping the medication a person can have a recurrence of the original disorder(s) resulting in a return of symptoms (like anxiety), rebound symptoms may occur meaning that something like anxiety comes back worse than it was before (temporarily), but true withdrawal would include NEW symptoms like fever, photophobia, convulsions (rare), hallucinations (rare), and anorexia (loss of appetite).

So if you stop taking Xanax and you get anxious again or get really anxious (rebound anxiety) you are not necessarily in withdrawal. And the amount you are taking, combined with such a short period of time makes the likely hood you will have significant problems extremely small.

Why are you stopping the Xanax again? If you took it before yet had to start it again why are you stopping now? If Xanax helps you it can safely and effectively be taken long-term if you need it. In addition, addiction to Xanax is actually very uncommon, studies have found it has a low potential for abuse. One (independent) study of Xanax lasting two years found that study participants did not develop tolerance, most REDUCED the amount of medication they were taking (about 1.25% were on a larger dose), less that 1/3 of the study participants were physically dependent (about 1/3 of long-term users were physically dependent), and there was no evidence of addiction.

A large US study found the a lifetime prevalence of sedative dependence/addiction (including benzodiazepines like Xanax along with barbiturates and similar drugs) at 0.5%, as well as 7.1% of the U.S. population reporting the nonprescription use of sedatives.

A similar study in Ontario, Canada found 4.3% of the respondents reported nonprescription use of sedative/hypnotic medications, and 0.3% of the sample met criteria for sedative abuse or dependence (addiction).

A French study of benzodiazepines and found Xanax to have (compared only to other benzodiazepines) an “intermediate abuse potential.” About 1.8% of the people in the study who were prescribed Xanax doctor shopped for Xanax.

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