tapering from 1.5 mg of Xanax Extended release

[[My...]]

Does anyone have experienc of tapering from Xanex extended release?

[[je...]]

Hi @[My...]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

We have had a few members who tapered Xanax XR. I can't remember all of them but there is one I remember who crossed to Valium. I will have to go and search for the thread. How long have you been on Xanax and have you started tapering yet?

[[My...]]

1 minute ago, [[j...] said:

Hi @[My...]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

We have had a few members who tapered Xanax XR. I can't remember all of them but there is one I remember who crossed to Valium. I will have to go and search for the thread. How long have you been on Xanax and have you started tapering yet?

Yes I tapered from 2 mg to 1.5 several months ago but I think this is too fast of a taper to continue. I have been on regular Xanax 1mg  for several years befor a doctor put me on the extended release to help with sleep.It isnt working now for sleep. Still waking up. 

[[je...]]

I had the same issue with Clonazepam. But I didn't have sleep problems prior to taking the drug. It was only a year or so after starting the drug that I was having insomnia. 

How many times a day are you dosing? Are you having interdose withdrawal?

[[je...]]

Here  is one thread of someone I remember on Xanax XR. You can also use the search function in the top right corner to search for more threads about this topic. 

[[My...]]

I am taking .5 in evening and 1 mg a before bedtime. 

[[je...]]

How did you taper the previous 0.5 mg and over how many months?

[[My...]]

On 10/03/2024 at 11:11, [[j...] said:

How did you taper the previous 0.5 mg and over how many months?

I did it all at once. Just saw my dr. and he transfered me to valium 10 mg 3 times a day. Everything I read says it should be a gradual switch from Xanax to Valium but he didnt want to do it that way. I question if this is a good idea.

[[je...]]

2 hours ago, [[M...] said:

I did it all at once. Just saw my dr. and he transfered me to valium 10 mg 3 times a day. Everything I read says it should be a gradual switch from Xanax to Valium but he didnt want to do it that way. I question if this is a good idea.

Yes it should be gradual. Do you have enough Xanax to do a gradual crossover yourself?

[[My...]]

2 hours ago, [[j...] said:

Yes it should be gradual. Do you have enough Xanax to do a gradual crossover yourself?

I do have some left. How gradual?

[[je...]]

Well, maybe we can make it work and make it less uncomfortable. Assuming you haven’t started a direct crossover yet, let us know how many pills you have and we can see if we can work something out for you. 

[[An...]]

10 hours ago, [[M...] said:

I did it all at once. Just saw my dr. and he transfered me to valium 10 mg 3 times a day. Everything I read says it should be a gradual switch from Xanax to Valium but he didnt want to do it that way. I question if this is a good idea.

I think you will be fine with the abrupt switch. Xanax is a lot more potent so give the valium enough time to get in and the xanax enough time to leave. I went straight from Klonopin to Valium in 2006 and it worked for me.

[[je...]]

11 hours ago, [[A...] said:

I think you will be fine with the abrupt switch. Xanax is a lot more potent so give the valium enough time to get in and the xanax enough time to leave. I went straight from Klonopin to Valium in 2006 and it worked for me.

According to my understanding the gradual crossing over doesn’t relate to potency but to half lives. Xanax has a short half life working out very quickly and Valium has a very long half life taking a long time to take effect. These two in combination leave you with withdrawal symptoms if switch directly. 

This will also explain why your Klonopin crossover was easier because Klonopin has a long half life.