10 years / low dose

[[Er...]]

So  10 years ago I was prescribed .25 mg 3x  day as needed    Never liked taking the stuff so cut those in half or crumbs and took as little as possible whenever needed.  Never really thought about stopping or worried about it  But now after forcing a  full day restriction, ended up going in to see the doc in distress.  He said would have to taper so I'm here for tips  to make this successful and a little easier

[[Ch...]]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies, Erichb.

 

Glad you're here for taper support.  The general rule of thumb is to cut no more than 10% every couple of weeks (per the Ashton recommendation in the link below).  The .25mg three times a day leads me to think you're taking Xanax.  I would personally suggest cutting by .0625mg for your first cut, which is 1/4 of a .25mg tablet.

 

Here's a link to the main tapering board where you can post your taper questions to the full membership: General Taper Plans 

 

I highly recommend that you take a look at The Ashton Manual, which is an authoritative source on what to expect during withdrawal and recovery, authored by Dr. C. Heather Ashton, who is an expert in the field. It provides a great deal of information that can be very reassuring during any stage of this process, including a list of common symptoms with helpful explanations on the reasons for their existence.

 

 

Please take some time to Create a Signature. This will help other members understand your history so they will be better able to support you.

Go to the top of the page and select Profile, then choose Forum Profile, insert drug history/timelines into the text box and click Change Profile.

 

Take care,

Challis

[[Er...]]

Thanks for the welcoming in the group.  A couple of questions for more experienced here.  Yes I have been taking Xanax I guess a rather lower dose of .25 as needed for about 10 years.  The as needed Up being most of the three pills each day.  They can be broken in half and I also have a scale as well now if needed.  The recommendation of breaking up into 1/4s has been very doable.  I do have withdrawal effects between taking the medication as it is very short acting.  I asked my doctor about changing to a longer acting and he thought I would be fine tapering as opposed to switching.  So question at this point..  Is it better to take the med steadily every 2 1/2 hours to keep in the system even if not needed at the current time?  As long as maintain under the total amount allowed for the day?  Or  continue to take as needed skipping doses when doesn't feel needed and increasing doses at times and just try and maintain the continued taper?

Thanks again it's great to be able to get some input from y'all

[[El...]]

Thanks for the welcoming in the group.  A couple of questions for more experienced here.  Yes I have been taking Xanax I guess a rather lower dose of .25 as needed for about 10 years.  The as needed Up being most of the three pills each day.  They can be broken in half and I also have a scale as well now if needed.  The recommendation of breaking up into 1/4s has been very doable.  I do have withdrawal effects between taking the medication as it is very short acting.  I asked my doctor about changing to a longer acting and he thought I would be fine tapering as opposed to switching.  So question at this point..  Is it better to take the med steadily every 2 1/2 hours to keep in the system even if not needed at the current time?  As long as maintain under the total amount allowed for the day?  Or  continue to take as needed skipping doses when doesn't feel needed and increasing doses at times and just try and maintain the continued taper?

Thanks again it's great to be able to get some input from y'all

Hi I don't know much about tapering, but I will suggest to move this to the tapering board and I'm sure you will get a lot of support and advices there.

This is just the introduction board and not so many are popping in here. 

 

Here's the link to the tapering board:

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?board=145.0