Short-term xanax, hoping for help to taper

[[Le...]]

Hi everyone, I’m hoping you can help. I was prescribed lorezpam due to a spinal cord injury on 9/14 which I was then switched on to Xanax on 9/23 0.25mg for a panic attack related to my illness.  I was told to take it twice per day moving forward.  I didn’t do that and was taking various amounts averaging 0.5, occasionally up .75 until last week when I realized many of my symptoms - headaches, visual snow, tinnitus, constant nausea, stomach pain, etc - was likely cause by interdose withdrawal. I finally ruled out any additional health issues that could be causing these particular symptoms so it’s likely the withdrawals. The last 5 days I’ve been on .375 divided into 3x per day at .125 morning, afternoon, night. I need to get off this, never understood what this drug does and never should have been prescribed it. 
 

So I’m hoping you can help advise what a taper should look like for me considering about 8 weeks on 0.5 xanax on average.  Should I be switched to diazepam or clonazepam and if so how and what comes after or just try to taper down on x.  
 

We are due in 2 months with a baby boy and girl and I want to be ready for them.  We also have 2 young daughters that are the joy of my life.  
 

Please help.  Thank you. 

[[Co...]]

Hello @[Le...]. Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

9 hours ago, [[L...] said:

Hi everyone, I’m hoping you can help. I was prescribed lorezpam due to a spinal cord injury on 9/14 which I was then switched on to Xanax on 9/23 0.25mg for a panic attack related to my illness.  I was told to take it twice per day moving forward.  I didn’t do that and was taking various amounts averaging 0.5, occasionally up .75 until last week when I realized many of my symptoms - headaches, visual snow, tinnitus, constant nausea, stomach pain, etc - was likely cause by interdose withdrawal. I finally ruled out any additional health issues that could be causing these particular symptoms so it’s likely the withdrawals. The last 5 days I’ve been on .375 divided into 3x per day at .125 morning, afternoon, night. I need to get off this, never understood what this drug does and never should have been prescribed it. 

An hour or two after a dose, do you feel better? I ask this to help establish that you are suffering interdose withdrawal effects.

What dose are the pills you use? It is generally available in 0.25mg tablets. I presume these are what you use and that you are halving them - yes? If so, are you able to reliably quarter them? This will allow you to make smaller cuts if required.

Failing this, Xanax is available as a liquid, which should allow you to make even smaller cuts if required. You would need to ask your doctor.

9 hours ago, [[L...] said:

So I’m hoping you can help advise what a taper should look like for me considering about 8 weeks on 0.5 xanax on average.  Should I be switched to diazepam or clonazepam and if so how and what comes after or just try to taper down on x.  
 

 

I would caution to not draw out your taper for too long. The longer you take the medication, the greater the risk of developing dependency or deepening dependency. Obviously, you cannot just stop taking your benzodiazepines, but you might wish to aim to taper off over some weeks (or maybe a month or so), and certainly not over several months.

Having said that, I suggest that you adjust your taper according to how you react. It is unrealistic to expect plain sailing during your taper. But neither should you feel so unwell that you cannot cope. Expect some discomfort, but push forward as you are reasonably able.

 

9 hours ago, [[L...] said:

We are due in 2 months with a baby boy and girl and I want to be ready for them.  We also have 2 young daughters that are the joy of my life.  

Please help.  Thank you. 

Congratulations!

Well, I think that timescale is probably achievable. And I would suggest that you aim to be off a few weeks in advance of the due date. This will allow time to adjust and also some wriggle room in case the baby arrives a little early.

[[Le...]]

Thanks.  I have been taking Pepcid and prilosec for 2 months for stomach pain and nausea.  I learned that prilosec can increase the blood serum levels of Xanax  so the amount I’m on is probably with that effect.  I dropped from .5 to .375 for the last 4 days but then also stopped prilosec as well yesterday. I am having terrible withdrawal symptoms.  Should I increase the Xanax to .5 or add prilosec back 

[[ou...]]

On 13/11/2023 at 07:06, [[L...] said:

So I’m hoping you can help advise what a taper should look like for me considering about 8 weeks on 0.5 xanax on average.  Should I be switched to diazepam or clonazepam and if so how and what comes after or just try to taper down on x.  

I'm generally for switching to Diazepam after long term use but 2 months is not long enough. My rule of thumb for short term use is aim to taper no longer than the time you've been on it and reevaluate if things get tough. Switching would take a couple of weeks. That's nothing if you've been taking benzos for years but it seems too long in your case.

[[Co...]]

23 hours ago, [[L...] said:

Thanks.  I have been taking Pepcid and prilosec for 2 months for stomach pain and nausea.  I learned that prilosec can increase the blood serum levels of Xanax  so the amount I’m on is probably with that effect.  I dropped from .5 to .375 for the last 4 days but then also stopped prilosec as well yesterday. I am having terrible withdrawal symptoms.  Should I increase the Xanax to .5 or add prilosec back 

Since you are wishing to taper off, and within a set timeframe, you should avoid any increases. I suggest that you try to treat this as a cut to your dose and part of your taper.

How much effect dose Prilosec supposedly have blood levels of Xanax? Unless it is large, my above suggestion stands. But you are the best judge. Taper according to how you feel, and your goal, but also within what is manageable for you.