5 year Low dose Xanax taper. Need help!!

[[na...]]

Hey guys,so  I have been taking low dose xanax for roughly 5 years. I kind of got into a bad habit of taking it everyday at work because i found that it would make the workday go by faster (stupid, i know). I realize this was a terrible idea and am looking to cut the benzo use all together. I used to take 1 mg pretty much everyday for 2-3 years, then worked my way down to  taking .5 mg daily for probably the last 2 years. For the better part of the past year i have taken only .25mg daily, and occasionally .5mg a day if working long shifts.

 

Then I quit my job and for the past 4 months i have been taking just .25 mg maybe 2-3 times per week. I dont really "crave" taking it but i do notice that if its been like 3 days from my last .25mg dose i start to get a headache and irritable and then take a .25mg dose to alleviate the symptoms, then go another 2-3 days without any doses.

 

My question is, should I taper down to .125mg and just continue take it every 2-3 days until i feel i dont need to take it any longer, or should i go back to taking .25mg every day and then taper down 10% every 10-14 days until at 0? It would seem counterproductive to start taking it everyday again when i only take it 2 times a week now, unless it will help me completely stop by giving my body some consistency.

 

Any thoughts? I appreciate it.

[[jr...]]

it is my opinion Not to take it daily. I would stop ASAP and stay far away from it. If you take it 2 times a week, I would say it doesn't have you YET!!!

[[me...]]

I agree. Xanax is not a long-acting drug. If you can get by with only taking it 2-3 times a week, you shouldn't have much issue just quitting. Give it a shot and let us know how it goes. It might be more of a "habit" thing now, so you'll need some new, more positive, ideas for how to deal with stress.