Tapering Newbie - Just a Few Questions..

[[ca...]]

So I was having some horrible sleep issues for about 3 months a year ago and my Doctor prescribed me 1mg xanax before bed each night.  It worked wonders quickly and have had no major sleep issues since. 

I've been taking the drug for about 9 months and recently my Doctor retired and for the first time today I saw my "new" Doctor who immediately cancelled my xanax prescription and told me that "benzos" are no longer recommended for sleep and that the preferred treatment was CBT or Cognitive Behavior Therapy, she even told me I could take CBT classes online (like after 3 months of not sleeping I hadn't already tired that!)  Anyway, luckily my old Doctor prescribed me more supply then I needed for the 1mg dose, which will give me a little wiggle room for tapering off, here are my questions:

1. Does everyone experience the horrific withdrawal symptoms I see described in some of these threads?  I've read people experience horrible withdrawals on much smaller doses than I'm on.  I thought 1mg was small, but see people are having trouble coming off .25 mg!

2. Should I cut the pills in half or in quarters? 

3. Find a new Doctor? This one didn't even schedule a follow up appointment for me to make sure I was responding well to the tapering off.

 

Thanks in advance for the answers, just trying to gauge what I'm in for over the next few months. 

 

[[me...]]

Sorry to hear you are up against a forced taper, but you are going about this in the right way, and I think you'll be fine.

 

Please bear in mind that the buddies that post here are the ones who are having the worst time with withdrawal. People that taper or even cold-turkey off without much issue do not end up here. Try not to read too much in the withdrawal sections if it is freaking you out. Find the Xanax thread in the Support forums, and read Success stories for a more positive spin.

 

Xanax is an odd one, some people seem to be able to cold-turkey it without much issue (not recommended) , some have a battle even with small doses.

 

To keep withdrawal effects down, the maximum recommended drop is 10%. You might get by with 12% or a 1/8th dose drop, if you can dry cut that.

 

If your new doctor cancelled your prescription, is offering you no help or concern with tapering, and thinks you can now "fix" your insomnia with CBT, I wouldn't have a huge amount of confidence in them. But you'll have to decide what is best for you.

[[ca...]]

Sorry to hear you are up against a forced taper, but you are going about this in the right way, and I think you'll be fine.

 

Please bear in mind that the buddies that post here are the ones who are having the worst time with withdrawal. People that taper or even cold-turkey off without much issue do not end up here. Try not to read too much in the withdrawal sections if it is freaking you out. Find the Xanax thread in the Support forums, and read Success stories for a more positive spin.

 

Xanax is an odd one, some people seem to be able to cold-turkey it without much issue (not recommended) , some have a battle even with small doses.

 

To keep withdrawal effects down, the maximum recommended drop is 10%. You might get by with 12% or a 1/8th dose drop, if you can dry cut that.

 

If your new doctor cancelled your prescription, is offering you no help or concern with tapering, and thinks you can now "fix" your insomnia with CBT, I wouldn't have a huge amount of confidence in them. But you'll have to decide what is best for you.

 

Thanks for the prompt reply! After giving it more thought I definitely going to be switching Doctors.  After I had a moment to think more about it, I'm a bit alarmed at the care-free/callous attitude of my new Doctor. I realized that she didn't even offer much detail on tapering or side effects and what bothered me the most immediately cut-off the prescription without scheduling me for a follow up appointment to make everything was going "okay".  Is it just me, or does that seem a little impersonal and un-empathetic?  It's not like I was a street user, i had been taking the xanax for under a year under the care of a primary doctor that I'd been seeing for 7 years!! Just doesn't seem like the right way to care for a new patient.

[[sn...]]

unfortunately that is more the norm with doctors than the exception.  I would probably try to find a new doctor or psych doc that would prescribe it for now in case you can't come off it with the amount you have remaining.  otherwise, you might end up in an emergency room.

 

If you can get another doctor to prescribe then i would work on the taper at your own pace so you won't find yourself in a bind again.

 

I have a doc and a backup doc right now that would both prescribe for me at this time.  I am trying to get off now while I have them so hopefully I won't find myself in that situation.

 

Best of luck and keep us up to date.

[[Ch...]]

I'm hearing from a number of sources that doctors are really tightening up on opiates and benzodiazepines, which ultimately is a good thing.  However, it's poor protocol to yank someone off of a benzo without allowing a reasonable taper.

 

If this is your first benzodiazepine use, you may well get off fairly easily.  Many people, especially those who are first-time users, have little problem getting off.  It tends to be the second, third, fourth course of benzodiazepines that cause most of the horror stories you're reading.

 

How many pills do you have left?

[[ca...]]

I'm hearing from a number of sources that doctors are really tightening up on opiates and benzodiazepines, which ultimately is a good thing.  However, it's poor protocol to yank someone off of a benzo without allowing a reasonable taper.

 

If this is your first benzodiazepine use, you may well get off fairly easily.  Many people, especially those who are first-time users, have little problem getting off.  It tends to be the second, third, fourth course of benzodiazepines that cause most of the horror stories you're reading.

 

How many pills do you have left?

 

139 1mg pills left

 

My Doctor was so awesome, he bumped up my doses before retiring so they were cheaper and didn't have to refill as often. He trusted me enough and knew I wouldn't abuse them or take more than the 1 per day.  So I'm lucky I have a buffer to taper. However, I want to do it underneath the supervision of a Doctor who understands the withdrawl process and will help me with my sleep issues. 

[[be...]]

1. No not everyone has withdrawal sxs like the many I'm sure that you've read here.

2. Rather than c/t your Xanax you could try cutting a quarter of it every two weeks. You might find you have very few problems. You might not sleep as well but in time this should improve.

3. If possible I'd definitely find a new doctor. In the meantime you probably have enough to taper while you find a more knowledgeable and understanding doctor.

If needed, you'll get support here. Ignore the frightening posts. They're real enough but remember that most of us here are in the minority of people who come off these pills. you may honestly have very few problems. B

[[ca...]]

1. No not everyone has withdrawal sxs like the many I'm sure that you've read here.

2. Rather than c/t your Xanax you could try cutting a quarter of it every two weeks. You might find you have very few problems. You might not sleep as well but in time this should improve.

3. If possible I'd definitely find a new doctor. In the meantime you probably have enough to taper while you find a more knowledgeable and understanding doctor.

If needed, you'll get support here. Ignore the frightening posts. They're real enough but remember that most of us here are in the minority of people who come off these pills. you may honestly have very few problems. B

 

Thanks tons for the reassurance, it's much appreciated!