Benzo withdrawal or Augmentation?

Use this forum to discuss any issues associated with Augmentation
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MJDK
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2019 8:33 pm

Benzo withdrawal or Augmentation?

Post by MJDK »

Dear Support Group, The past two nights have been tortuous. I've never taken more than .5 mg of xanax per night - - - and usually I only take .375 mg. I've been taking it every night for 3-6 months because it works for my insomnia. I've also had to increase my ropinirole from .25 mg to .5 mg most nights to keep my RLS at bay. I really want to get off the xanax, so I took it upon myself to decrease my dose to .25 - just one quarter less than usual. I've done this the past two nights and I've had full body RLS, skin irritability, moving 'worms' in my legs which is a new sensation, and insomnia. I thought it was augmentation only, but I wonder if the decrease in xanax might be the cause? I'm thinking about taking ropinirole with 2.5 hydrocodone and .25 xanax tonight. If I should not take the hydrocodone with the xanax, then what can I do to offset this misery? Should I just go back up to .375 mg of xanax? I am really hoping not to have another horrible night. Thank you.

Rustsmith
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Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:31 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Re: Benzo withdrawal or Augmentation?

Post by Rustsmith »

Getting off of Xanax is a very tricky thing that takes lots of time and should be done under your doctor's close supervision. Xanax withdrawal can involve insomnia, anxiety and other psychological symptoms, but the RLS urge to move symptoms would be unusual. Your dose of ropinerole is rather low, so you have probably been controlling your RLS with a combination of the Xanax and the ropinerole.

Adding hydrocodone to the mix would help the RLS, but introduces the danger of taking two central nervous system (CNS) depressants (Xanax and hydrocodone). This is like mixing alcohol and sleeping pills (Xanax). Too much and you can stop breathing during the night. This is why it is very important to consult with your doctor on how to manage all these meds. Horrible insomnia and full body RLS are sheer misery, but it isn't worth accidentally overdosing on two CNS depressants.
Steve

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

MJDK
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Feb 24, 2019 8:33 pm

Re: Benzo withdrawal or Augmentation?

Post by MJDK »

True - thank you, Steve.

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