How fast have you successfully tapered?

[[is...]]

I have been on alprazolam (prescribed) for 6 years now. I tapered from 6 mg daily to 3 mg’s daily. Tried going lower and withdraw symptoms became unbearable. I held there for almost 2 years now. I started a slower taper in July and got down to 1.5 mg daily. My current withdrawal symptoms are borderline unbearable, but I am pretty stubborn and refuse to let this poison win. I have a urine test for a potential job in 3 weeks. It’s for a railroad and benzos are a banned substance. I have to pass this urine test or I won’t get the job.
So my question is: Has anyone come down 1.5 mg’s in 2-3 weeks? I plan on dropping 0.25 mg’s every 3-4 days. Obviously my withdrawal symptoms are terrible. If you’re answering this, you know what they are and how nasty they can be, so I’m not going to list them all out. I was just curious if anyone has had to come down this quickly, and if so, when did the really bad withdrawal symptoms stop? Example: The bulk of the nasty symptoms were during the taper and ended 7-14 days out. The withdrawal symptoms that are fairly manageable with some coping skills ended at such and such time, or, are still ongoing.  
I understand this is fast, but it has to be done. I need this job extremely bad. Any tips, POSITIVE advice, SUCCESS stories, etc., would be appreciated. 
Thank You!! 

[[Pa...]]

I quit cold turkey and was pretty much non-functional for 2 weeks, but by the 3rd, I was able to go back to work.  I’d been there for years so it wasn’t as difficult for me as it will be for you learning a new job, but I showed up.

Do you know how quickly you metabolize medications, what is your drop dead date for getting the benzodiazepine out of your system? 

[[is...]]

Yea, that’s the other tricky part, having to learn a new trade. I know I metabolize alprazolam fast. I usually start getting withdrawal symptoms about 6-8 hours after my last dose. I also have a pretty lean body type, so there’s not a lot of fat for the meds to linger around in. 
I have to be clean by October 10th. I will start the job October 30th if I pass the urine test. That gives me about 2 weeks to come off and roughly a week too flush my system out. I’m very tempted to go cold turkey here soon. It’s miserable to taper, it’s miserable cold turkey. I should be past the point of having to worry about seizures as my dosage is relatively low now. What are your thoughts? 

[[Pa...]]

How is your general health, have you taken and stopped benzodiazepines in the past, what is your age, do you have other stress in your life besides needing this job, do you have family support?  You don’t have to answer these questions, but I feel they should be taken into consideration when making your decision.

Bottom line is, you have to do what you have to do.  You know the risks, you know what to expect and but if you’re determined, you may be able to pull this off.  It’s going to be rough, whether you rapidly taper or quit cold turkey, in fact, the timeline you’re looking at, I see very little difference between the two. 

[[is...]]

I have taken them before in the past but never this long. I was on Ativan 1 mg on and off for a long time. Break in case of emergency type thing, never longer than 2-4 weeks. Then in 2017 my mind broke and I was prescribed  alprazolam at 1 mg 3x daily and slowly crept up to 6 mg daily prescribed.

As for where I’m at in life, I don’t know if there’s ever a good time. Things are going good, this too shall pass. Things are going bad, this too shall pass. I feel like I could make a million excuses to not take the dive cold turkey. Every time I step down in dose I feel terrible for weeks. Why keep doing this over and over? This is where I’m at with this poison. I’m done. I’ve had enough.

Now, am I strong enough to do this? I don’t feel like it. Withdrawals are relentless. Wave, after wave, after wave. But, if there are people out there that have been on this high of a dose for this long that have stopped cold turkey at the lower end of the taper, then Heaven help me, so can I. 

Edited September 16, 2023 by [is...]

[[Pa...]]

It hope you’ll keep us posted, it sounds like whatever you do, its going to be rough but, you’re right, others have done it and made it out, so you can too. 

[[He...]]

@[is...]

How did you taper initially from 6 mg to 3 mg? Did it take long, and did you have withdrawal symptoms? I'm curious because I'm almost in the same boat as you. I'm currently on 2 mgs a day, taken .5 mg four times a day. I'm desperate to start tapering so I can get off of these things. I've been on them for over 10 years. 

[[me...]]

On 16/09/2023 at 14:13, [[P...] said:

I quit cold turkey and was pretty much non-functional for 2 weeks, but by the 3rd, I was able to go back to work.  I’d been there for years so it wasn’t as difficult for me as it will be for you learning a new job, but I showed up.

Do you know how quickly you metabolize medications, what is your drop dead date for getting the benzodiazepine out of your system? 

Hi pamster 

I'm curious about going cold turkey with clonazapam if you don't mind me asking how much were you on and how long   thanks

 

 

 

[[Pa...]]

32 minutes ago, [[m...] said:

Hi pamster 

I'm curious about going cold turkey with clonazapam if you don't mind me asking how much were you on and how long   thanks

 

[[...]]

I've been on 1.5 mg of Alprazolam for 8 years. You can read my history because it's long and drawn out. I've been wanting to taper for 7 years and kept putting it off. I'm starting my taper tonight. I take my dose at bedtime. I shaved a very small amount of the 1 mg, measured. About 1/32 in millimeters off. I have a ruler to make sure it's accurate. I determined to get off this crap. Good luck to all who are in this quagmire of taking these poisons.