Withdrawal

Xanax withdrawal is a complicated process in itself. It usually comes at a point where the full and lasting effects of the medication have been given to the patient, allowing him or her to become more or less cured or alleviated of their crutching panic attacks or anxiety syndromes. The need to stress proper withdrawal methods is due to the delicate nature of the symptoms involved. Usually when patients cease treatment from Xanax prematurely, they must note that it is possible for pre-treatment levels of the symptoms such as depression to reappear and manifest themselves again, leading to the need to renew Xanax treatment again.

Not all withdrawal effects are evidence of true dependence or withdrawal. Recurrence of symptoms such as anxiety may simply indicate that the drug was having its expected anti-anxiety effect and that, in the absence of the drug, the symptom has returned to pretreatment levels. If the symptoms are more severe or frequent, the patient may be experiencing a rebound effect due to the removal of the drug. Either of these can occur without the patient’s actually being drug-dependent.

Usually it is in patients prescribed to take more than 4mg of Xanax a day wherein dependency on the drug is most likely to occur. This dosage regimen conditions the body to receive a large amount of  the drug and is generally more at risk when stopping col-turkey. All users of the drug must regulate the tapering off of the medication and dosages so as to avoid serious withdrawal symptoms such as seizures and the like.

It is generally suggested that all patients taking Xanax, be it of large doses, small doses, extended periods of time or even short term, to take withdrawal gradually. Too quick a withdrawal could mean psychological side-effects which are a result of sudden drops in levels of medicine in the brain and body.