First Post- Looking for advice and support

[[NU...]]

Well here is my story. Started taking xanax .5mg about 3 months ago for panic disorder. Was taking it on an as-needed basis, but the last month i basically took .5mg everday, once a day only(yes i know its a small dose compared to most others on this forum). I never took more then .5mg once a day for the entire 3 months and I sometimes in the beggining especially I skipped a couple days in between doses, but like I said the last month i basically took it every day. I never had any withdrawal really until i tried to stop completely, made it 4 days and then could take it anymore, took my normal dose, felt better for a couple days, took another dose, then tried to tough it out completely and I lost that battle. After about 48 hours since my last dose and I was having terrible panic attacks, hot/cold flashes, tremors/twitches all over, cloudy foggyness just a terribly uncomfortable feeling so I just did .5mg and i feel much much better almost instantly. So hes my dilemma, what do I do now? Should I try to go to the doctor and get a valium script and possibly c/o, or should I try to ween the xanax down and jump off that relitively soon. im aleady at such a low dose and I havent been taking it for too long so if i can just get past the first few days Ill probably be ok? Ive also though about just taking valium for a few days to get past the hump and see if that will work? Any advice would be greatly appreciated and specifically anyone that has been in my situation as far as dosage and time being on xanax would be phenomenol. Sorry if this is a rant my head is kinda cloudy still. Im so glad I found this forum as I really dont have anyone that I can count on to help me out as far as family and friends go. BTW Im on a 6mg per day dose of suboxone for my past opaite abuse that I plan on keeping at that level until im free and clear of these god damn benzos

 

thanks a lot

nuk

[[Ju...]]

Hello NUKNUK,

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

 

We have lot's of members who begin their tapers at .50mg of Xanax, so you aren't alone.  Since you've been taking the medicine daily for a month and intermittently prior to this, I would opt to taper rather than try to stop abruptly again.  You might consider trying a .125mg reduction, but if this also proves too difficult, you could drop your cut down to .0625.  The .0625 cut is how I got free of Xanax when I was at your level of benzo.  I would try tapering the Xanax in much smaller chunks prior to considering a Valium crossover.  Tapering Xanax was doable for me, even after long term use.  I just had to go slow.  Good luck with stopping and I'm so glad you caught this as quickly as you did.

 

Here are some helpful links:

       

You can post a topic about tapering on our General Taper Plans Board.  The second pink-highlighted post explains the three accepted taper methods.  Also:

 

The Ashton Manual is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field.  She describes and explains withdrawal symptoms, and there is also a section with withdrawal/taper schedules.

 

Members discuss their symptoms on Withdrawal Support (during your taper).

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

 

Welcome to the board!

[[NU...]]

thanks for approving me and posting a reply so quick. I was horrified when I felt the acute withdrawal symptoms, I literally almost had a freak out and i certainly would be right now had I not decided to get back on and do a taper. The only problem is my doctor way over prescribed these things for me and he gave me 2mg bars, and now since I have no insurance anymore I basically dont have a doctor. Luckily though I was so over prescribed and only took like 1/4 of what the doctor wanted me to take that I have a huge surplus of pills and I could almost certainly last me a year tapering down(hopefully it wont be that long before I jump). So im gonna try to do the xanax dry cut and see what happens. One question though, what is the best way to taper down using the 2mg bars. It would be kind of hard to know how much im getting by breaking the pills up. Is there an easier way besides breaking the pills, seeing as right now I have no other way to get a liquid formal or the smaller sized pills?

 

thanks

nuk