Home » Expert Q & A » Addictions » Addictions: Lita Perna

Dangerous Situation: Dual Benzodiazepines / Morphine addiction

  • Bouy63 Asks ...
    Bouy63

    I am a 46 year old male who has been taking Xanax 1 mg tabs 4x's per day for about 1 and 1/2 years. I have had anxiety and panic attacks since I was a child. Though Xanax has helped them almost completely go away I feel the need for more of them especially when it comes to helping me sleep. I also have some insomnia issues. I can definitely can tell when I do not have enough Xanax in my system by the uneasiness feeling I get mostly in my feet. My feet also will twitch at times and I get the sweats. On top of all this back in October of 2008 I feel of a ladder on a driveway where I have two compound fractures of the L1 and L3 vertebrae. So I have been on two types of morphine for 3 years and 5 months. One I take 4x's per day it is a fast acting type. The other I take 3x's per day and it is a slow release form. I feel like I should come off of these meds because of the way I feel if I start to get nervous waiting for the next refill to come or if I am having a bad day taking more than prescribed. So my tolerance level is fairly high for all these meds. I am scared to tell my doctors this for fear of they will completely take me off of the meds and have some serious withdrawals. I am just scared all the way around. Please any advice would be helpful. Bouy63

  • Lita Perna Says ...
    Lita Perna

    You seem to know you are in a dangerous and possibly deadly situation. Your fear is the most healthy thing about your situation. In your case, fear is good. You say you feel you should come off the morphine. You say you take more of Benzodiazepines and Morphine than prescribed. You say you're getting the sweats. Who can know if this is Xanax or morphine withdrawl? You say your tolerance level is high for both drugs. It is. It will increase. It may kill you.

    Let your fear motivate you. Let your fear keep you alive. Let your fear get you the help you desperately need. You can't do this alone. You don't have to.

    Act now. Today. This minute.

    You need to get yourself to a professional ASAP who specializes in anxiety disorders (look up therapists on Google or get a referral) who can also link you up with a physician who treats addiction.

    Being brave is not, not feeling fear, but acting in spite of it. Get help fast. Do it now.

    Do this FAST! Don't wait.

Featured Experts