‘My friend killed his girlfriend’s pet hamster’: We asked for your experiences on Xanax

Xanax can be taken to help sleep, relax before an exam, and to help mental distress generally, but a lot of students have starting using it recreationally.

Combined with alcohol it gets them waved, unaware of its potential danger and consequences to health.

Our recent investigation revealed how the drug is a growing problem on UK campuses and gave an insight into the dark world of student Xanax addiction .

We asked you to send us your stories about when your recreational use of Xanax has got out of hand and here they are.

George – Manchester

I used to like Xanax a lot. My friends friend from home came to visit one weekend and brought 100 bars with him but nobody really knew why. The next thing we know it’s been 5 days, 8 crates of beer and all of the bars gone, there were just a small group of us sat in this dutty cave which was my mates bedroom.

It was so weird like suddenly coming out of this dream state and realising how fucked we had all been for almost a week. We had to make timelines between us of the weekend but couldn’t figure anything out that had happened other than we must’ve gone to the shop everyday for beer. It was grim and I would literally never touch the stuff again cause it fucked me over for at least three weeks after that.

James – Bristol

Someone pissed themselves in two beds in one night, neither of the beds were his.

Emily- Royal Holloway

A friend killed his girlfriends pet hamster by throwing it at a wall and completely forgot about it.

Megan – Liverpool

I was addicted to Xanax and other Benzos, mainly Diazepam (Valium). I realised when I was taking nine pills a day and couldn’t imagine life without them and felt like I could not socialise or do anything if I wasn't on them.

When I was on them I would do some pretty crazy stuff like swearing at random people in the street, calling strangers numbers and trying to have a conversation with them, and also loads of horrible stuff I regret and don’t remember doing like shouting at friends or stealing money to buy more drugs. The worst thing I heard is my friend’s friend jumped off a building whilst intoxicated on mainly Xanax but also other substances.

Ellie – UWE

I’m not addicted anymore but the whole of January was a complete blur. Within a few days of first taking Xanax I was selling them. Having so many on me I was taking 4-5 a day, I would take two as soon as I woke up.

The first night I ever took one, the boy I was seeing crashed his car and got arrested (he's now awaiting a court date for drug driving).

A few weeks later we were both popping them like there was no tomorrow and my housemates were obviously concerned. I went cold turkey not knowing the dangers and had a few nights of my head shaking to the extent that my eyes would roll into the back of my head and wake me up.

One night I had a seizure when my body was full on shaking (luckily i was in bed with my friend who got me out of it, as he said my eyes were open even though I have no recollection of this happening).

Around the same time the boy I was seeing had a seizure whilst driving and woke up on the way to the hospital.

Olivia -Durham

I was prescribed Xanax by a doctor a few years ago and became instantly addicted to it. When I came to uni last year I met a bad crowd of friends who stressed me out to the point where I fell back onto Xanax to get me through the day.

I soon realised I had relapsed when I couldn't sleep without taking two or three. I ended up distancing myself from those people and have now kicked the addiction, just occasional cravings now every now and then. Never took Xanax with alcohol or for a sesh.

John – Birmingham

We were on holiday in Dubai and my mate decided it was a good idea to ride a quad bike while Xanned. Needless to say he crashed it and smashed the quad bike to pieces.

Alice – Coventry

I've only done them a few times and recreationally with my ex, who's a dealer and severely addicted to xans. I did maybe a 2 or 3 bars one night in a bottle of soda, energy drink, and codeine. I was hallucinating so badly, and couldn't stay conscious, my eyes were rolling into my head and I was drooling. The comedown was unlike any other, I was in physical pain. I was later told he wanted to take me to the hospital.

Monty- Leeds

Not addicted and wouldn’t take more than two bars because I become such a mess with no memory of what happened while I was on it. But I do depend on it for social situations because it helps with anxiety and I’m more social.

Matty – Leeds

I heard of someone blacking out and getting very aggressive towards his housemates and good friends, smashing things in his own house and had absolutely no recollection of it the next day.

Joe – Leeds

My mate took ten Xanax and couldn’t remember what he had done for three days.

Tom- UWE

I took six Red Devil’s (press of Xanax that is red in appearance and stronger than normal), went to sleep Monday after bender, woke up on Thursday.

The names in this article have been changed to protect the identity of those who shared their stories.

If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction you can find out more about their services here.