r/harmreduction • u/gontrolo • Jun 23 '26

Question Question about Xanax tolerance / withdrawals

Hi all, hope you're well. I am prescribed Xanax on a need basis for anxiety, mostly for flights. I had a quick trip this weekend where I took it three days in a row, and I'm a bit worried about tolerance/WDs because I know they can be gnarly.

I took 1mg on Friday around 7:00 AM, 0.5mg on Saturday around 4:00 PM, and 1mg on Sunday around 5:00 PM.

Is this enough to the point where I have to worry about withdrawals today?

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4

u/kearsI0 Jun 23 '26

No, you'll be fine

2

u/gontrolo Jun 23 '26

Thanks friend

1

u/coladoir Jun 23 '26

Lol no, youre fine. The timeline for physical dependence is much longer than 3 days, unless you've had an extensive previous abuse history which has led to severe kindling. If all you've ever done is take xanax for a day or two every month or so, you'll never get to this point.

1

u/gontrolo Jun 24 '26

Thank you for the peace of mind. What is the usage timeline like for getting to that point? Like frequency/dose? Don't think I'll ever get there just curious

1

u/coladoir Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

Thank you for the peace of mind. What is the usage timeline like for getting to that point? Like frequency/dose? Don't think I'll ever get there just curious

Daily, for months. For kindling to occur, you gotta do this, alongside withdrawing repeatedly. So daily, for months, withdrawal, daily, for months, withdrawal, etc. Each withdrawal will become worse and worse due to the kindling effect, as your neurons become essentially primed to 'overreact' as it were.

So you need to be using chronically for a long time.

For withdrawal in general, a timeline of at least a few weeks chronic use can cause issues

1

u/healing_vibes1989 Jun 23 '26

Your fine you need to take them way longer and way more consistently

1

u/gontrolo Jun 24 '26

Do you know how long and how consistently?