Best way to taper my last 1mg of Xanax (alprazolam)?

[[fa...]]

Hi all! I can't believe I am actually down from 4mg/day to 1mg/day 

 

Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to taper down at this point. I have been pulling 2ml per day out of my 800ml solution and then dividing that into 4 jars. I know going down from 1mg I will probably feel the "cuts" more. My question is...

 

1. If I continue pulling 2ml/day I know I will reach my 10% that Ashton suggests pretty quickly. I am wondering how to do this as my % per week is going to go higher fast. Do I keep adding more water and recalculating?

 

2. What is a good safe point where people usually jump from xanax?

 

3. If I go till zero and not jump, how in the world will I still be able to split into 4 jars?

 

**side note, to go from 2 to  1mg I used 800ml of solution and pulled out 2ml/day and when I reached pulling out 400ml I was at 1ml. I was still able to stay within my recommend % drop and have a tiny amount to put in each jar.

 

I would appreciate any help with this as it all gets so confusing 

[[Ji...]]

Hi faithx4

 

Could you share with me a few questions please?

 

I can't believe I am actually down from 4mg/day to 1mg/day

That's a real achievement! Congratulations!

How long did it take you to taper off 3mg/day? Did you experience symptoms during the taper?

 

I have been pulling 2ml per day out of my 800ml solution and then dividing that into 4 jars.

What is the quantity of alprazolam does your 800ml of solution contain? What is the solvant used to dissolve benzo?

 

1. If I continue pulling 2ml/day I know I will reach my 10% that Ashton suggests pretty quickly. I am wondering how to do this as my % per week is going to go higher fast. Do I keep adding more water and recalculating?

I would be able to answer that precise question if I know how much benzo there is in the 800ml. In that way I could deduce what is in 2ml/day you take.

 

2. What is a good safe point where people usually jump from xanax?

According to Ashton's, the suggested jump dose for Alprazolam(Xanax) is 0.025 mg/day. When you reach this threshold, it appears that the drug lost any useful therapeutic effect. But I have seen buddies going lower. Was it for the peace of mind?

 

3. If I go till zero and not jump, how in the world will I still be able to split into 4 jars?

I may shock you with this answer but here it is. You really don't need to separate your solution into several jars. It will only create extra maintenance work with no added value. Use just one jar with solution that can give you your 4 doses a day during a few days. As with any liquid medication, for instance cough syrup, you just draw up your dose with a syringe and swallow it entirely. You repeat the same operation 4 times a day. How much to swallow? If I can get the answers in the previous questions, I will try to provide you with a tentative planning with the quantity of solution you will draw up for each dose each day. Once I know how your solution is prepared and your taper pace (e.g: reduction 10% every 14 days) I could provide an accurate planning. Like this one (just an example):

 

 

 

If you want to have a look to the tool by yourself,  here it is.

 

Wish you a smooth journey towards freedom.

 

 

[[fa...]]

Good Morning Jim!

 

I'm not sure if my little progress at the bottom of my post is showing for you. I might have done it incorrectly lol.

 

I started at 4mg/day Dec of 2018. So it has taken me since then to reach 1mg. I did have symptoms the entire time, but some days better and some weeks horrible. I did however continue to work the entire time even though some days my head was in a fog and I hadn't slept for a week! DP and DR, trembling, major heart palps, hands shaking all the time, dizzy, lips numb and hard to find words, etc. On the good days which are more frequent, my head feels so much clearer than it has in 20 years. Looking back, I feel blessed because overall I think I am feeling better (despite symptoms) the lower I go!!!

 

The quantity of my alprazolam in my 800ml of solution in the beginning was 4(1mg) pills crushed/dissolved in 800ml of just water. I pulled out 2ml of this every day. So day one I tossed 2ml, day 2 I tossed 4ml, day 3 I tossed 6ml and so on until I reached the point where my mg intake was at 3. I would then start only crushing 3(1mg) pills in 800ml of water and continue the same until I reached 2, etc.

 

I wish I knew how to insert pics of my excel sheet I used. I forget where I got it. It's called the water titration spreadsheet. I just checked...it is from Benzo support.org.

 

Most recently I was down to 2 (1mg) pills crushed in 800ml of water. I pulled out and tossed 2ml/day. I started this November 2019. I pulled/tossed 2ml then 4ml, 6ml etc until I reached the point where I was tossing 400ml per day. It was at that point that my spreadsheet said I would be 1mg intake. When i was at the end my spreadsheet said my 2 week cumulative drop was 6.42%. I held there for a week and am now only crushing/dissolving 1 pill (1mg) in my water and not pulling any out. I have never used a solvent like milk or vodka. I've just used water and it has worked for me!!!

 

I have read that I am wasting pills this way and HopetoDoThis and others have been so kind in helping me in the past. They did suggest making one batch as I think you are suggesting and just taking what I need BUT I have never completely understood how to do that. I apologize for my trouble in grasping just how to do this. I have looked at the tool you are talking about but never understood what to enter in all the info needed. 

 

Sorry for the long ramble. I appreciate your help and I truly appreciate your congrats and support 

 

PS With my new clearer mind (most days) I am planning to fulfill my lifelong dream of going back to school. I have been an LPN for over 15 years and want to go back to college for my RN. Not obtaining this has always been my biggest regret in life and I now hope to reach my dream. I am concerned however about the ability to bring my liquid doses to class and how I will handle that 

[[fa...]]

My first attempt at uploading a photo. Fingers crossed.....

 

[[fa...]]

I think I've got it now!!

 

[[Ji...]]

Hi faithx4

 

The quantity of my alprazolam in my 800ml of solution in the beginning was 4(1mg) pills crushed/dissolved in 800ml of just water.

If 4 x 1 mg pils are completely dissolved in water then the concentration of benzo in your solution would be: 0.005 mg/ml (=4/800). I said "if" because actually Alprazolam is NOT soluble in water. When you use water to dissolve Xanax you might at best get benzo "suspended" in water in small particles but not "dissolved". But water with its poor viscosity is NOT a good suspension liquid. When buddies learnt about this constraint, some furiously stirred the solution and while the whirl was at its top speed quickly drawn up the wanted dose. As benzo is NOT uniformly distributed, what they ended up to get in the syringe, to swallow or to toss, might be some benzo, much benzo or no benzo at all. In no way they obtained the right dose. Accuracy is the big looser in the process. In your case by tossing small amounts of solution, the particles of pills that remain in the jar by gravity went swallowed by the end of the day. But when you tossed, you may have tossed some benzo, much benzo or no benzo at all.

 

The best solution would be to use Alprazolam liquid Rx (ALPRAZOLAM CONCENTRATE SOLUTION - ORAL) and add water to make up the right volume. If no liquid Rx can be prescribed, and it may be the case in the US, then you can do your home brew solution as you are used to now. Dissolve Alprazolam tablets with a solvent like Vodka, propylene glycol, fatty milk... so the drug changes its state from solid to liquid. When water is added dissolved benzo get uniformly distributed in the solution and there is no risk that benzo will deposit at the bottom. You may see solid particles floating on the surface or laying at the bottom of the jar. They are not benzo, just excipients (coating, disintegrator, filler, binder, colorant...) and don't require any special attention to deal with.

 

I started at 4mg/day Dec of 2018. So it has taken me since then to reach 1mg

It took you about 16 months to taper off 75% of the initial dose (3 over 4mg) of alprazolam. It roughly corresponds to an average reduction of about 2.5% every 14 days. The general recommendations are to reduce between 5-10% every 10-14 days. You are on a good, conservative end of the taper pace. The fact that you first crushed 4 pills in 800 ml of water, then 3 pills in the same volume and lastly 2 pills in the same volume turned your solution less and less benzo concentrated. The fact the you continue to toss exactly the same way as before means that you go slower and slower over the time in your reduction of benzo. That is good.

 

I did have symptoms the entire time, but some days better and some weeks horrible. I did however continue to work the entire time even though some days my head was in a fog and I hadn't slept for a week! DP and DR, trembling, major heart palps, hands shaking all the time, dizzy, lips numb and hard to find words, etc. On the good days which are more frequent, my head feels so much clearer than it has in 20 years. Looking back, I feel blessed because overall I think I am feeling better (despite symptoms) the lower I go!!!

All those symptoms led me to believe that they are withdrawal symptoms. They kick in when the dose of benzo is no longer sufficient for your craving body. In addition the fact that you started to sporadically feel better is a clear sign you are gently recovering as your CNS starts to learn how to function with less and less benzo.

 

They did suggest making one batch as I think you are suggesting and just taking what I need BUT I have never completely understood how to do that.

Example:

You decide to prepare your solution enough for 10 days. You have 1 mg pills. You have at home alcohol at 40% (e.g: 80 proof Vodka). In your small and clean jar, you put 10 pills by breaking them to 2 or 4 parts with your fingers. You add 20 ml of Vodka and make sure all the pills are well immerged in the Vodka. You wait 10-15 minutes for the alcohol to completely dissolve benzo. You stir then add plain water. How much water? 80 ml. The total solution (alcohol + water) will be 100 ml having a benzo concentration of 0.1 mg/ml.You will use then a small syringe (e.g: 1 ml) to draw up and drink the doses based on a precise daily planning (see examples)

 

 

 

If you press this button at bottom right corner (see pic), you can see the details of what I talked about.

 

I am planning to fulfill my lifelong dream of going back to school. I have been an LPN for over 15 years and want to go back to college for my RN. Not obtaining this has always been my biggest regret in life and I now hope to reach my dream.

I can just say that after the decision to get off benzo you made another great life changing decision. I could not agree more. You will come out from here not only healed but become a smarter human being of great values. Keep on going with your head high!

 

I am concerned however about the ability to bring my liquid doses to class and how I will handle that

This solution will be best kept in a closed jar at room temperature not directly exposed to sun light. Refrigeration is not required although it does not harm. For what it contains it can be a small jar you can keep in your bag. Attention to not break it!

 

If questions please ask.

 

Wish you all the best!

[[fa...]]

Jim,

 

I am forever grateful for your kindness and showing me how to understand this process. I have read through your description and much appreciated photos. I filled it out exactly as you did and was shocked to see that I could be finishing in September!!!!!!! The way I have been doing it, I had calculated that it would take me approx another year and a half to get to that point. May I ask...does this mean I will be going "faster"? I know I am able to work on the rate I am going now, I had no idea I could be at .25 in such a short time!

 

I understand the importance of a solution and am willing to add vodka to make it more accurate. I have Tito's in the garage, I will have to go check and see what proof it is.

 

I am a little confused, am I putting everything into 1 jar and not using 4 jars for the day anymore? This one jar will be for 10 days? Am I then taking the first dose of 2.48ml and I am just putting that in my mouth or into a jar again?

 

What happens after the 10 days? I crush another 10 pills and add the vodka and water but continue with line 11 (so I would be pulling out 2.30)? Forgive my lack of understanding. I don't know how I ever managed to calculate IV drip rates and conversions haha. It's been a long time since I was in school and with my benzo brain and age I think I have forgotten everything 

[[Ji...]]

Hi faithx4

 

I filled it out exactly as you did and was shocked to see that I could be finishing in September!!!!!!!

Well I just filled out an example to show how to reduce a fixed quantity of benzo each day. In that example that quantity is 10% of the initial dose of 1mg. Of course you can start with a lower quantity for instance 7% and listen during 1 or 2 weeks to how your body reacts. From then you can decide to cut smaller (5%) or higher (10%).

 

am I putting everything into 1 jar and not using 4 jars for the day anymore?

If instead of benzo solution, it was a cough medication, you would have only one bottle where you draw up your 4 daily doses. You definitely will be having ONE ONLY jar from now on.

 

This one jar will be for 10 days?

You can decide for how many days to prepare your solution. It can be 5 days, 7 days, 10 days. I have read of someone talking about 15 days but I wouldn't go that far. Of course it depends on the solvent too. If fatty milk was used then it would be better to do the solution each single day to avoid milk to perish. Then hygiene is a must for the jar, the cover, the spoon...

 

Am I then taking the first dose of 2.48ml and I am just putting that in my mouth or into a jar again?

By using a syringe you draw up the dose of 2.48 ml and swallow it. Nothing to put back in the jar. You rinse then the syringe after use by drawing up a full syringe of plain water and inject it to your mouth. You repeat the operation to not leave any residual benzo in the syringe.

 

What happens after the 10 days? I crush another 10 pills and add the vodka and water but continue with line 11

What remains in the previous batch can be disposed and the jar carefully cleaned before use. As the previous batch has ended, you prepare a new batch of solution and draw up your 11 dose from the new batch.

 

Hope I have answered your questions. If doubt just ask.

[[fa...]]

Jim,

 

I was just playing around with the percentage and I realized that I won't reach the end until NEXT September...and that is if I can manage 10%. In my excitement I thought it was this September. If I go down to 7% it's going to take me about 712 days. WOW.  :'(

 

I know, it's not a race... I probably should have gone down quicker when I was at higher mgs. Well, I have to do what I have to do! Who knew this would be a 5 year journey (not including whatever lies ahead once I jump)!!

 

I can't thank you enough for all of your help with this. I am so lucky to have found this forum that is full of so much support for others 

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you 

[[Ji...]]

Hi faithx4

 

I care about how you prepare your solution, your planning. I really do. Once you have made up your mind on how to proceed, could you please share it with all of us? Thanks!

 

Wish you a smooth journey towards freedom.