Need Taper Plan

[[Be...]]

I am down from 6 mg to 4 mg a day, have been for months there’s only a couple times I’ve went up maybe a .5, and then back down. I have been diagnosed ADHD. I’m trying to come off of Xanax. I am also recently prescribed a medication for my ADHD, which really helps me not feel like I have all that need for Xanax. I just need my body to not need the Xanax.

[[Pa...]]

I was looking at your posts from last year, are you still dosing 5 times a day?  How did you taper the 2 mgs of Xanax and what is your pill size?

[[Be...]]

I have 6 mg still Xanax bars and I just did it. Let me add an. I have been trying SSRIs and that probably help me. I was on them for a little bit. I don’t know how just slowly went down. Right now what I’m doing is taking .5. Once when I wake up, and then I spread it out throughout the day to equal 2 milligram. And then around 7:30 PM I’m taking 1 mg and then at 11:30-12 I am taking 1 mg I started to take .5 before I went to sleep because I was really tired but I want to head and took the 1 mg instead. My biggest fear last year was the seizure part but I moved past that and I think that really help me be able to taper down not thinking that was gonna happen all the time.

Edited July 23, 2023 by [Be...]

[[Pa...]]

Yes, I remember you were concerned about seizures, I’m glad you’re feeling more calm about that.  I’m still not sure of your pill size, are they 1 mg?

Are you taking the same amount at the same time each day, its important to get on a schedule and stick to it.

[[Be...]]

I just started this new schedule of breaking them in to .5 during the day. I have the same schedule of taking the dose in the morning and the night. I am prescribed 2 mg pills. I would like to go ahead and go down another .5. But I’m not sure where to do that at. I was thinking about at night, but I don’t want to wake up with too much morning anxiety.

[[Pa...]]

You can probably get away with reducing by .5 for a bit but as you get lower in dose, you’ll most likely need to slow things down.  Will your doctor prescribe smaller pills so you can continue to dry cut for as long as possible? 

I wouldn’t suggest cutting your nighttime dose, this could interfere with your sleep and may help with the morning anxiety high cortisol levels can cause. What about mid afternoon?

[[Be...]]

I haven’t spoke with my doctor about my taper yet because I was afraid that she would cut back too much on my medication. But I may have that conversation with her next time right now I’m just gonna stick with what I have. In the past I had been offered valium in place of Xanax, but it wasn’t anywhere near equivalent. Yeah I can definitely try cutting a daytime dose for sure. That would probably be better. How long should I try that for a few weeks?

[[Pa...]]

I'm sorry you're worried about your doctor taking things too far, this is very common so you're probably wise to be cautious.  I can see a prescriber being nervous about the high dose of Valium you'd need but if you're managing your interdose withdrawal symptoms well, there's no need to switch.

I'd hold until your symptoms tell you its time to reduce again, a symptom based taper will hopefully keep you functioning.  Its important to keep detailed records of your reductions as well as your symptom severity to guide you.

[[Be...]]

Thank you yeah, I’ve been documenting every time that I take my medication. I’ve been doing this for quite some time now. Hopefully I can get to a spot where I don’t have to wait too long and I can reduce again. 

[[Be...]]

Just another question if I wanted to try to do 1 mg jump instead of the .5 is that just too much or should I try if I can? 

[[Pa...]]

Thats quite a large reduction so let me share what we understand about this process.  There is the taper, then there is the recovery and that can take as long or longer than the taper.  Getting the drug out of our system is only the first step, the damage its done has to be repaired and it doesn't happen overnight, typical recovery for long term users is between 1 and 2 years.

Most members will taper slowly in order to stay functional, but after the drug has been eliminated, you no longer have it to buffer your symptoms.  A slow taper will hopefully allow your brain to heal incrementally so the more healing you do as you taper, the better your chances of having an uneventful recovery.  I quit cold turkey and it took me 14 months to recover, this is actually a shorter time than many who taper so as you can see, there is much to take into consideration. 

[[da...]]

Please don't jump too much. You have to take it slowly. You are on an extremely high dosage. 

I took my 1mg Xanax pill and dissolved it in 2ml of Vodka. Then I combined it with 98ml of water to give me 100ml solution (1mg/100ml). Then I would take a syringe and slowly work my way down over 3 months. 100ml, 97ml, 95ml, 91ml, etc. This solution is stable for a few days. Keep it away from sunlight and in a cool place. 

If you are doing 4mg per day, then you would use 400ml of solution, and then slowly work down. It will take you a few months. Let your body give you the feedback and you can decide your pace. 

[[Co...]]

Hi,

Just a small caution here: we do not know how reliably homespun methods result in solutions or suspensions. The available data would suggest that they are generally unreliable suspensions, and certainly cannot be assumed to be 'solutions'. They are liquids. The distinction is important because it affects expectations of reliability.

[[Te...]]

Im curious i take .5mg of xanex each night and have for 6 years .. I dont think i need it I juts dont know how to taper that dose .. all the other folks i find on line are taking 4 or 6 mg.. and they have long taper tables .. do yall think i need a long time table 

[[Pa...]]

17 hours ago, [[T...] said:

Im curious i take .5mg of xanex each night and have for 6 years .. I dont think i need it I juts dont know how to taper that dose .. all the other folks i find on line are taking 4 or 6 mg.. and they have long taper tables .. do yall think i need a long time table 

Hello Tennessee, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

Some can taper off these drugs with little to no problem, have you ever missed a dose and felt some uncomfortable symptoms?  Have you ever felt uncomfortable the closer you get to taking your dose?

Even if you haven't had any issues, it's a good idea to taper, if your pills are .5, you might consider cutting it into quarters and taking one quarter less for a week or two.  Your body will let you know if its become dependent.

We're glad you found us, if you'd like to start a thread of your own to discuss this, we'll be happy to help you sort this out.

Pamster

[[Be...]]

The last time I posted was July 23 I have been able to come down another .5 solid I was working on it a bit before fluctuating but now I’m good with it. The only time I feel withdrawal symptoms is when I go to bed at 11 and I wake up at 7 I get shakey. I take 1 mg at night. But that doesn’t happen often. I’m ready to go down another .5 possible. Is it too soon? I take .5 when I wake up at 12 and 3 then 1/2 at 6-630 and 1/2 11-1130. I’m on my other med and I don’t really want it to counteract it. I was thinking either a 3pm dose or going down to .5 at 6-630. Because really I feel ready I’m tired at that time not really anxious. I just want my body to be ready. @[Pa...]

[[Pa...]]

Thanks for checking in, its so helpful for other members to actually witness tapers in progress, you're providing a roadmap for others. 

I don't feel its too soon to make another reduction, you seem to have gotten past your last one and because your dose is still pretty high, it may be possible to get away with another large cut.  I wish we had a crystal ball but your body is calling the shots and you listening is the best way we know to get this done. 

I'm curious about your other medication and your concern about counteracting it, have you spoken with your doctor about this or are you relying on sites like this? Drug Interaction Checker - For Drugs, Food, and Alcohol

 

[[Be...]]

They don’t interact I’ve already for sure asked that. It’s Adderall, which makes me feel like I don’t need my Xanax at all. But I know that my body is used to having the Xanax, so I still have to take it to maintain a massive withdrawal. I don’t really think it affects my medication too much. I think I’m just kind of at a place where I’m just taking it and I’m used to the dose so it doesn’t really affect anything but I was basically told the balance each other out anyhow.

[[Pa...]]

Thanks for explaining, I'm glad you've done your homework and are comfortable with the balance you need to maintain.  Fear and worry are negative emotions which can make our symptoms more intense so I'm glad you've educated yourself and feel confident. 

[[Be...]]

@[Pa...] hello so after our last chat, I waited a little bit to go ahead and make the jump to take .5 off. I talked to my doctor for the best way to taper without risk of seizure, she said start spacing every six hours, and then after I can do that start spacing every eight hours. So in order to do this, I went ahead and cut the dose .5. But I’m struggling to make that six hour mark. And now I am actually waking up at 5 AM. Even though I take 1 mg at around 11:30 PM. I am no longer sleeping in. I’m waking right up. I’ve also decided to not take any Adderall today and just see how my body does because I’m kind of a hard time cutting that dose. I can definitely feel the withdrawal. Today is day three. I’m just like do I go back up or do I stick it out? And last night I felt pretty terrible. I know it’s been said before. Don’t worry about seizures that’s my huge thing like that gives me anxiety even more when I start to feel weird. I would like to think that as long as it’s still in my bloodstream, because the half-life of around 11 hours?! I think? That even if I’m going six hours in .5 doses that I would be safe from that happening. The only time I take 1 mg is before I go to sleep. So I guess I kinda have 2 questions here. Do I keep treading ahead or do I go back up an Xanax? And the seizure part?  

 

[[Pa...]]

Hi @[Be...], I need a favor from you.  Could you fill in your medication history, this will help us help you.  It helps to see at a glance where you are in your journey, that way we don’t have to go back through your posts.  Here are the instructions. https://benzobuddies.org/forum/120-taper-planning-adjustment/

I need clarification about your doctor suggested dosing schedule too after you’ve updated your history.

I’d also like to discuss you Adderall dose, I’m not sure making changes to that right now is in your best interest. 

[[Be...]]

I actually found that not taking my adderral today wasn’t going to work out. 

That’s all my doctor told me is what I stated above about the Xanax, there isn’t a lot of guidance. 

[[Pa...]]

Changes we make to our dosing schedule will have an effect on our symptoms, anytime we make changes, its a good idea to hold that change to allow for stabilization.  Constantly adjusting your dosing times by stretching them out could affect your blood serum levels, it’s best to keep steady levels so avoid increased symptom severity and interdose withdrawal.  Steady reductions of dose, with doses taken at the same time each day will hopefully keep you steady.

Glad you’re going to take your Adderral, its too difficult to know what is causing what when we try to taper more than one medication at a time. 

I really need to see your history filled out, thanks.