[quote]Djwlfpack wrote:
Hey everyone,
Just got back from the gym and had a really good endurance workout. Did some rope skipping, medicine ball throws (which I love b/c people in the gym always stop and stare wondering what the heck I’m doing), a bodyweight circuit of hindu squats-pushups-mountain climbers (10 reps of each) and finished up with 5 rounds of sprints. Workout was around 25 minutes.
Had a great night of sleep last night. Actually fell asleep on the couch before going to bed. I did wake up briefly at 3:30, but quickly dozed back off before waking up for good at 7 a.m. Definitely liking the feeling of being refreshed and not sluggish, as I was when I was on Ambien.
Now, the next goal is try and start weening off my Xanax. For anyone out there that went through it, any tips or strategies? I’m taking .5 mg of the control-release. Still looking for a new therapist to help with this, but any tips for me to start weening off on my own before I find one would be great.
Not sure about getting to the gym tomorrow. I have to cover state wrestling and that’s an all-day thing. I should be fine for Muay Thai on Saturday, though.
Take care,
Dan[/quote]
Dan,
Congrats on getting off the Ambien!
It ain’t easy and I’m speaking from my personal experience of getting off of several different sleep, antidepressant and anti-anxiety meds.
The benzodiazipines(Valium, Xanax, Ativan etc.) can be quite tough if you’ve been on a significant dose for a relatively long period of time.
My advice is to take your time and drop slowly in the smallest increments you can. This will ease the possible reoccurrence of anxiety symptoms in the absence of the usual levels of the drug. You may need to get a pill cutter or just develop “mad skills” with a small, sharp exacto knife.
Because you’re on only .5 and it’s time-released, I suspect you’ll do fine. However, everyone is different so don’t be discouraged if there is a temporary rise in anxiety symptoms. That’s par for the course and should reside with time.
Good luck and just so you know, I’m trying to get off of Ativan and 2 other meds right now as well so I’m with ya all the way brother!
Cheers,
Kaleb.