HELP! need fast tapering plan from xanax to valium.

[[je...]]

Hi guys, hope you guys can come up with some kind of fast tapering plan for me. My situation is i've been taking 4-6mg/(2-3 white bars) for about only a month straight. I have exactly 20 days to get off these benzos before summer session at university starts. This isn't my first time having benzo withdrawals. I've c/t'ed before off the same dosage and time frame. I was wondering if 20 days is enough to come up with some fast tapering plan to get me off theses *(#($#*^$ benzos! Or else im considering c/t'ing it again. I do not want to be drugged up for school! I have alot of 10mg blue valiums. Thanks for the help!

[[Pa...]]

We can help you taper from the drug, but there is no way to speed up the healing which must be done after you're through with it.  If you have plenty of Valium, why not taper slowly and allow your body to heal as you do?  By doing this, there is a chance you'll be functional enough to deal with school, if you taper quickly or quit cold turkey, most likely you won't be able to start your classes in 20 days.

[[je...]]

We can help you taper from the drug, but there is no way to speed up the healing which must be done after you're through with it.  If you have plenty of Valium, why not taper slowly and allow your body to heal as you do?  By doing this, there is a chance you'll be functional enough to deal with school, if you taper quickly or quit cold turkey, most likely you won't be able to start your classes in 20 days.

thanks for the quick reply! hopefully someone can come up with a tapering plan for me  . last time i c/t'ed a few months back it only took 16 days for most of my withdrawal symptoms to go away though..

[[Pa...]]

It sounds like your last experience withdrawing from the drug didn't turn out too badly, hopefully this one won't either.  What is your average current dose, you mention between 4 and 6 mgs, can we safely say you take 5 mgs a day?

[[je...]]

It sounds like your last experience withdrawing from the drug didn't turn out too badly, hopefully this one won't either.  What is your average current dose, you mention between 4 and 6 mgs, can we safely say you take 5 mgs a day?

yes about 5mgs a day.. but iv'e only been on them for a month..i'm kind of scared of the ashton method because it seems like i might get more addicted to the benzos..

[[Pa...]]

A month is long enough for your body to have built up a dependence to the drug, but you don't have to cross over to Valium if you don't want to, do you have plenty of Xanax?

[[je...]]

A month is long enough for your body to have built up a dependence to the drug, but you don't have to cross over to Valium if you don't want to, do you have plenty of Xanax?

Nope i do not :/

[[xe...]]

Given your history a c/t might work out fine, but the chances of it not come with consequences as severe as death... do you really want to risk that? At the same time, you need to balance the risk of getting off scott free compared to developing a serious dependency by staying on too long...

 

You've been on it a month. I'd say aim to taper off over a month. Try cutting a mg a week perhaps to start off with and see how you are feeling with those cuts.

 

I know the PI for Klonopin, which is equivelent in potency, suggests withdrawing .125mg every 3 days, one can assume this is a fairly safe speed to prevent w/d seizures in the vast majority of cases, but this is perhaps too slow to start with for your history and dose. Sounds like a good speed for the final mg though if you are feeling fine.

 

I'm not a doctor and while I am generally happy to give advice for the slow tapers, giving advice as to what will prevent seizures is an educated guess here...

[[je...]]

Given your history a c/t might work out fine, but the chances of it not come with consequences as severe as death... do you really want to risk that? At the same time, you need to balance the risk of getting off scott free compared to developing a serious dependency by staying on too long...

 

You've been on it a month. I'd say aim to taper off over a month. Try cutting a mg a week perhaps to start off with and see how you are feeling with those cuts.

 

I know the PI for Klonopin, which is equivelent in potency, suggests withdrawing .125mg every 3 days, one can assume this is a fairly safe speed to prevent w/d seizures in the vast majority of cases, but this is perhaps too slow to start with for your history and dose. Sounds like a good speed for the final mg though if you are feeling fine.

 

I'm not a doctor and while I am generally happy to give advice for the slow tapers, giving advice as to what will prevent seizures is an educated guess here...

My fear is getting more and more dependent on the benzos.. i've only been on it for a month.. but the tapering process takes just as long?! is that really safe for me?

[[xe...]]

Given your history a c/t might work out fine, but the chances of it not come with consequences as severe as death... do you really want to risk that? At the same time, you need to balance the risk of getting off scott free compared to developing a serious dependency by staying on too long...

 

You've been on it a month. I'd say aim to taper off over a month. Try cutting a mg a week perhaps to start off with and see how you are feeling with those cuts.

 

I know the PI for Klonopin, which is equivelent in potency, suggests withdrawing .125mg every 3 days, one can assume this is a fairly safe speed to prevent w/d seizures in the vast majority of cases, but this is perhaps too slow to start with for your history and dose. Sounds like a good speed for the final mg though if you are feeling fine.

 

I'm not a doctor and while I am generally happy to give advice for the slow tapers, giving advice as to what will prevent seizures is an educated guess here...

My fear is getting more and more dependent on the benzos.. i've only been on it for a month.. but the tapering process takes just as long?! is that really safe for me?

 

I know... I wish I could tell you some perfect rate to prevent seizures, but I'm not sure one exists, even if you were to ask 10 doctors you'd probably get 10 different answers... I'm sorry I don't have better advice for you... You could try cutting every 3 or so days based on how you are feeling and take it that way...

[[je...]]

Given your history a c/t might work out fine, but the chances of it not come with consequences as severe as death... do you really want to risk that? At the same time, you need to balance the risk of getting off scott free compared to developing a serious dependency by staying on too long...

 

You've been on it a month. I'd say aim to taper off over a month. Try cutting a mg a week perhaps to start off with and see how you are feeling with those cuts.

 

I know the PI for Klonopin, which is equivelent in potency, suggests withdrawing .125mg every 3 days, one can assume this is a fairly safe speed to prevent w/d seizures in the vast majority of cases, but this is perhaps too slow to start with for your history and dose. Sounds like a good speed for the final mg though if you are feeling fine.

 

I'm not a doctor and while I am generally happy to give advice for the slow tapers, giving advice as to what will prevent seizures is an educated guess here...

My fear is getting more and more dependent on the benzos.. i've only been on it for a month.. but the tapering process takes just as long?! is that really safe for me?

 

I know... I wish I could tell you some perfect rate to prevent seizures, but I'm not sure one exists, even if you were to ask 10 doctors you'd probably get 10 different answers... I'm sorry I don't have better advice for you... You could try cutting every 3 or so days based on how you are feeling and take it that way...

i've decided to stick with a 2 week plan and feel it out. I'm going to be taking 5mg valium before bed and after i wake up for a week. 2nd week i'm going to cut that in half. third week cold turkey. Would that take me out of the danger zone?

[[Pa...]]

Just to let you know, the equivalency tables we use to suggest substitution tapers puts the Valium equivalent of the 5 mgs of Klonopin you've been taking each day at 100 mgs of Valium.  http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm

 

You're asking us if you'll be safe taking 10 mgs of Valium a day, we have no way of knowing the answer to this.  I strongly suggest you speak with your Dr about your plan, we don't want to see you come to any harm.

[[xe...]]

Honestly, this is a really tough one, risk of needless suffering vs risk of death. I'm a bit uncomfortable saying much more... like I said, my suggestion is really just a guess, I have no idea really what is best, no matter what you do there are risks involved, of making your dependency much worse by staying on too long or of having very serious w/d that could risk your life by going too fast... I would say the "safe" answer would be a slow taper off, but I wouldn't wish this suffering on my worst enemy, so believe me I understand your concern 100%....

[[Mi...]]

The main concern with doing a cold turkey off of 4-6 mgs Xanax (which equals 80 - 120 mgs Valium), is running the risk of seizure and possibly death.

 

Some people can stop benzos with no problems the first time around, but for some reason, each successive attempt gets harder and harder.

 

You mentioned in your intro thread that you were getting your benzos from a source other than a doctor (which is illegal, by the way).  I would strongly encourage you to find a doctor, explain your situation, and let him help you with a plan to get you safely off these drugs.

 

It won't be easy, but you can do it, just as many others have.

 

[[je...]]

The main concern with doing a cold turkey off of 4-6 mgs Xanax (which equals 80 - 120 mgs Valium), is running the risk of seizure and possibly death.

 

Some people can stop benzos with no problems the first time around, but for some reason, each successive attempt gets harder and harder.

 

You mentioned in your intro thread that you were getting your benzos from a source other than a doctor (which is illegal, by the way).  I would strongly encourage you to find a doctor, explain your situation, and let him help you with a plan to get you safely off these drugs.

 

It won't be easy, but you can do it, just as many others have.

 

thanks.. i've been takign 10mg val for 2 days now.. and not feeling too shabby.. better when i c/t'ed last time!

[[ma...]]

Once you do the math (20 days) divided by your pills, = how many pills you have a day. Take that number of pills and divide by three. The pills must be taken three times a day to avoid the highs and lows of interdose withdrawal. Once your on a three times a day schedule, do what Pamster says. My signature needs updating. Throw in a month of ativan, and I have the same problem. Only 3  .25 pieces of Ativan left....and then the withdrawal will hit.

 

And I can't get more Ativan. so I decrease according to math.

 

Once I figured out how many I can take a day (I hope you like math) EACH CUT MUST BE THE SAME. Personally, I think you should ONLY decrease according to math and not time, but if your determined like I am, to decrease according to both time and math....all you HAVE TO DO THE MATH.

 

The next math equation is how much can you get down to zero by making THE SAME CUTS (every three days pam? I'm deferring to your judgement, your the moderator, I just have the same problem) and then what you have is THE SAME CUTS EVERY TIME YOU MAKE A CUT. The same cut must be made to all three daily dosages. The same cut must be made every time you make a cut. (Only if your DETERMINED TO DO EXACTLY WHAT YOUR ASKING) then what you have is a system where each day, three times a day, every three days, you make the same cut, until on the 20th day your last cut is the same as your first cut.

 

If you don't want to do the math, good luck. Pamster, you are absolutly correct. Tapering without considering how your body reacts is not neccesarily the best idea. The math is correct...(considering the half-life of xanax, the time frame, etc....) but what is missing from the formula is the body's reaction. Personally, I need more ativan. Good luck with your plan.