Introduction from Dragonfly

[[dr...]]

Hello, all!  I am so happy to have found this forum!  I am here to try to educate myself so that I can do a sensible taper off Xanax.  I am still trying to get my head around the fact that I was so foolish that I didn't educate myself BEFORE I started taking it, and had no idea of the problems it could cause. 

 

I was prescribed .25mg once per day for a month, then was increased to .25mg three times daily and have been on that for two months (however, many days I only took two, and a few times I took 4).  I thought that was a low dose and a short period of time to be on it.  Now that I have decided I want off of it, I have discovered that it isn't just a matter of stopping.  I took only 1/2 of one pill (my pills are .25mg) yesterday with no problem because I didn't know better.  I learned quickly today that it's not going to be that simple.  I have taken 1/2 of one pill twice today and will probably take another before bed.  If my muddled brain has figured it right, that is a 50% reduction, which I am sure is way too fast.  I was pretty uncomfortable today until I took the second half-dose.

 

I am in a hurry to taper off as quickly as possible because I want to do some testing (saliva testing for cortisol levels) that will require that I am off the Xanax for at least two weeks.  I suspect that my anxiety may be caused by low cortisol as I have had that in the past.  If I had only known that Xanax is not a harmless little helper in times of anxiety!  My fault for not researching first.

 

I am glad to be here amongst people who understand.

 

Dragonfly

 

   

[Guest [Si...]]

Dragonfly,

 

Welcoming you to BenzoBuddies.

 

You will find plenty of support here.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

Sigma.

 

 

[[St...]]

Hi dragonfly

 

I'm glad you found us, at least you did enough research to know how to taper off properly, give yourself credit for that. People have tapered straight off xanax but for some it can be a little tough since it has a short half life. You may want to talk to your doctor about a longer acting benzo like valium to help you wean off slowly.

 

You will find a lot of support here, welcome to BenzoBuddies

 

Star