Cold turkey after 3mg daily for a month

[[bu...]]

@[Fa...] thank you for the advice right now I'm just anxious and shaking my legs ha. I'll try 3 days then a .5 cut to see how I respond. Only taking it once around 4am I thought I started to feel more anxious around midnight last night 

[[Fa...]]

@[bu...] That would make sense you feeling more anxious 20 hrs from your previous dose, but I would try not to overly worry yourself right now.  Though you are showing signs of initial physical dependency, it is most likely minimal and you are not showing signs of tolerance (or you most likely would not have slept 7 hours taking 2/3 of your previous dose after 5 days of no use).

My advice is to not ‘doom’ scroll on here as you will most likely be just fine discontinuing over a few weeks to a month.  I’m sure your sleep may not be great if that was a pre-existing condition, but I would continue to work, distract and live your life as you have been.  Keep us posted and/or let us know if you need additional support.  Wish you the best. 

[[bu...]]

58 minutes ago, [[F...] said:

@[bu...] That would make sense you feeling more anxious 20 hrs from your previous dose, but I would try not to overly worry yourself right now.  Though you are showing signs of initial physical dependency, it is most likely minimal and you are not showing signs of tolerance (or you most likely would not have slept 7 hours taking 2/3 of your previous dose after 5 days of no use).

My advice is to not ‘doom’ scroll on here as you will most likely be just fine discontinuing over a few weeks to a month.  I’m sure your sleep may not be great if that was a pre-existing condition, but I would continue to work, distract and live your life as you have been.  Keep us posted and/or let us know if you need additional support.  Wish you the best. 

Thank you. I took it at 4am instead of 10am and I'm feeling worse as the night goes on I usually get off work at 2am. Do you think I should go to s doctor and try to get on a longer lasting one to taper off? And are doctors understanding of this type of thing?  

[[Kh...]]

If you cant get a longer acting Benzo  you could consider dosing smaller/equal doses 2x daily to get thru the day and taper both doses accordingly.  Not sure if that's been suggested yet but have seen it mentioned here before - just a thought.  I did that with Xanax until i crossed over to valium.  Still tapering going on 2+ months now.   

[[Fa...]]

12 hours ago, [[b...] said:

Do you think I should go to s doctor and try to get on a longer lasting one to taper off? And are doctors understanding of this type of thing?

This decision will be up to you.  If it were me in your shoes, I’d probably attempt to get off on my own first.  I understand you are feeling worse the further you are aware from your single dose, and this would be a common sign of initial physical dependence.  If you are too uncomfortable to continue dosing as you have been - you could, as @[Kh...] suggested, attempt to split the 1mg doses 12 hrs apart (taking a total of 2mg every 24 hrs).

If your desire remains to discontinue the medication sooner rather than later (or within a month), my opinion would be to attempt to stick to your current dosing, or if too uncomfortable attempt 1mg every 12 hours.

I think you can do it if you mentally prepare yourself to be a little uncomfortable.  I doubt your physical dependence is anywhere as strong as most members on this site - like myself who almost daily took a long acting benzo for 3+ years.

If this ends up proving to be too much for you, we can certainly assist you in the process of finding a cooperative medical provider whom may be willing to prescribe you a long-acting benzo such as diazepam - to proceed with a patient-led, symptom and functionality-based taper.

In full transparency, I’d mention you may have some difficulty finding a medical provider to prescribe you an equivalent dose of diazepam and allowing you to lead a patient-led taper with your history (I.e., taking someone else’s prescription of Xanax).  Again, I think it’s best in your situation if you can push through this next month or so if you are able. 

[[bu...]]

5 hours ago, [[F...] said:

This decision will be up to you.  If it were me in your shoes, I’d probably attempt to get off on my own first.  I understand you are feeling worse the further you are aware from your single dose, and this would be a common sign of initial physical dependence.  If you are too uncomfortable to continue dosing as you have been - you could, as @[Kh...] suggested, attempt to split the 1mg doses 12 hrs apart (taking a total of 2mg every 24 hrs).

If your desire remains to discontinue the medication sooner rather than later (or within a month), my opinion would be to attempt to stick to your current dosing, or if too uncomfortable attempt 1mg every 12 hours.

I think you can do it if you mentally prepare yourself to be a little uncomfortable.  I doubt your physical dependence is anywhere as strong as most members on this site - like myself who almost daily took a long acting benzo for 3+ years.

If this ends up proving to be too much for you, we can certainly assist you in the process of finding a cooperative medical provider whom may be willing to prescribe you a long-acting benzo such as diazepam - to proceed with a patient-led, symptom and functionality-based taper.

In full transparency, I’d mention you may have some difficulty finding a medical provider to prescribe you an equivalent dose of diazepam and allowing you to lead a patient-led taper with your history (I.e., taking someone else’s prescription of Xanax).  Again, I think it’s best in your situation if you can push through this next month or so if you are able. 

I really appreciate all the help here. It's been difficult because I take my dose at around 4am and after the drop to 2mg I work until 2am so I start feeling it pretty much just as I start work and it progresses through the night. It really messes with me I have no prior experience with this kind of thing.  

[[Fa...]]

No problem, @[bu...].  As stated, you could try 1mg every 12 hours if dosing once at 4am is not working.  Again, you will need to expect some discomfort, but working and staying distracted as you are doing is certainly good for you.

[[bu...]]

So I felt better today than I had in a few days since I was able to recover sleep after 5 days of withdrawal with 2mg instead of 3mg could I cut .5 mg instead of half a tablet to see how I react I want off this stuff as soon as possible and after 5 days I dropped a full 1 mg it should be okay to speed up the taper a bit? 

[[bu...]]

I decided I'll try to cut to 1.5mg  this next dose hopefully it doesn't go wrong. I just want off of this. 

[[Fa...]]

@[bu...] If you are able to remain functional, and work, as it appears you are managing with just some discomfort - I see no issue dropping to  1.5mg to see if you are able to get off in a few weeks time.  My opinion remains to not ‘rush’ it much quicker than what we have discussed.  

[[bu...]]

1 hour ago, [[F...] said:

@[bu...] If you are able to remain functional, and work, as it appears you are managing with just some discomfort - I see no issue dropping to  1.5mg to see if you are able to get off in a few weeks time.  My opinion remains to not ‘rush’ it much quicker than what we have discussed.  

I made the cut on my day off feeling really anxious some chills and heart racing but not too bad hopefully it'll be better tomorrow for work after the second 1.5mg 

[[bu...]]

20 hours after my cut to 1.5mg was anxious the whole day but not too bad until around the 18 hour mark cold rushes over my shoulders and arms my eyes started to feel weird and tight ( if that makes sense)  hopefully the next dose of it will stable me out for work tomorrow. I hate driving when my eyes feel like this ugh

[[bu...]]

3rd day at 1.5mg wondering about the jump and are the withdrawals as bad as CT? I CT'd at 3mg and I thought I was going to have a seizure..  is it different after a taper?

[[Co...]]

3 hours ago, [[b...] said:

3rd day at 1.5mg wondering about the jump and are the withdrawals as bad as CT? I CT'd at 3mg and I thought I was going to have a seizure..  is it different after a taper?

There is a risk of withdrawal seizures after sudden session or too rapid taper (this does not apply to very short term use). And there is heightened risk for those with an underlying seizure disorder. It is imperative that they withdraw under a doctor's supervision (they will taper more slowly and perhaps will be prescribed another medication).

Assuming the special cases do not apply to you, a sensible, symptom-lead taper protects against withdrawal seizures.

[[bu...]]

Feeling better today symptoms let up no anxiety only weird eyes with twitching and slight numbness going to cut another .5 and see how it goes I have 7 days off work going to try to get it done.

Edited December 21, 2023 by [bu...]
Left out twitching

[[bu...]]

So 15 hours after the .5 cut to 1mg I feel about the same only thing that really bothers me is the eyes pressure and twitching mild anxiety nothing too bad.

[[Co...]]

7 hours ago, [[b...] said:

So 15 hours after the .5 cut to 1mg I feel about the same only thing that really bothers me is the eyes pressure and twitching mild anxiety nothing too bad.

Great! Of course, it is unrealistic to expect no difficulties. But it is good news that you have experienced no uptick in symptoms.

[[bu...]]

14 minutes ago, [[C...] said:

Great! Of course, it is unrealistic to expect no difficulties. But it is good news that you have experienced no uptick in symptoms.

Thanks @[Co...] yes I'm surprised tapering the .5 isn't harder on me. I'll stick to my 3 days then see about cutting another .5 for the final .5 should I cut that or continue the tapering and half the .5? 

[[Co...]]

@[bu...] It would do no harm to make your final cuts 0.25mg. At lower doses, most people benefit from making smaller cuts to their dose.

[[bu...]]

Anyone experience tiredness when tapering?  I was wired when I went CT didn't think it would calm down this much but now that I'm at 1mg at around 7pm I've been getting tired like I could almost fall asleep 

[[Nu...]]

I would always err on the side of caution with benzos. At a minimum, have a very low threshold to reverse your last taper. The potential consequences can be quite devastating. With that said -- many can taper without issues. Avoiding doom and gloom is important, but do read some of the links provided and understand the basics of a slower, symptoms-based taper.

[[bu...]]

Cut to .5 last night was tired about to sleep and my arm jerked i thought oh no waited a bit got tired again and my leg jumped ugh I didn't stress about it tried to relax and I eventually fell asleep for a good 6 hours woke up feeling okay Hopefully it smooths out tonight 

[[bu...]]

So this evening after last nights cut to .5 mg alprazolam  I feel sluggish and tired and my back in kidney areas are sore. I don't feel really bad just off 

[[bu...]]

First day on 0.25mg. I've been cutting every 3 days and feel about the same no big changes been able to sleep 6-7 hours a night (taking 3mg melatonin)  2 more days and I'll end the taper hope it goes okay 

[[bu...]]

It feels a bit harder at 0.25 should I jump or try to decrease it more?