Xanax (Alprazolam) Withdrawal Signs & Symptoms

Xanax Withdrawal Signs & Symptoms

Xanax is used to treat individuals with anxiety disorders, panic disorders, PTSD, and a host of other conditions. This popular drug helps ease patient’s mental distress and can even help you sleep better at night. However, this substance is not meant to be used over a long period of time.

In fact, those who use Xanax longer than they should will experience symptoms of dependence and even withdrawal. Drug withdrawal, with any substance, can be difficult. However, with a benzodiazepine like Xanax (Alprazolam), the struggles of breaking free from this drug can be especially brutal. Xanax can create intense withdrawal symptoms that make it extremely difficult to quit.

What is Xanax (Alprazolam)?

Alprazolam

Xanax, or alprazolam, is one of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S. market. It belongs to the benzodiazepine class (“BZDs”, or “benzos”), which were synthesized in the late 1950s in an effort to replace barbiturates as a medication for anxiety and sedation. These drugs rapidly flooded the market from the 60s-2000s, before side effects such as high addictive potential and slow breathing rate became more well known and categorized. Xanax itself is the most prescribed psychiatric medication in the U.S., with 25 million total prescriptions in 2017.