Need a taper plan off Xanax

[[Sn...]]

I took .5mg of Xanax for 7 months. I cold turkeyed for 3 months and instead of getting better I continued to get worse. So I started taking it at .5mg again for relief. The 3 months of insomnia made me become suicidal. I have been back on for about two months with some relief but want to properly taper off now. My doc will not cross me over to Valium. Is Xanax available in a liquid or is it possible to dissolve Xanax in a liquid? I want to do this right this time. Any help and advice is most welcome.

[[Ni...]]

Hi Snookiebutt,

 

I'm sorry you had such a difficult time in a cold turkey off of Xanax. I'm tapering Xanax as well.

 

We have several different sections at BB, where members share their experiences with tapering. Xanax does dissolve in water and some members slowly taper using a water method. Here is the link to the Titration section:

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?action=unread;board=62.0

 

From what I have learned from my taper from Xanax is:  go slowly, listen to your body and taper down at a rate that you can tolerate and consult with your doctor if you have symptoms that are bothering you.

 

We're here to support you and help you cope with any withdrawal symptoms you may have. Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

[[ca...]]

Hi Snookiebutt and welcome to BB. I am so sorry to hear of the hard time you had with Xanax and are still having. You may want to look into titration, it allows you to make smaller cuts and get down lower before stepping off. I am glad that you have a Dr to work with. Hang in there and let us know how we can continue to help support you.

[[Sn...]]

Would it make sense to cross over to a liquid Ativan? I understand that Ativan is avaiable in a name brand liquid. I mean then i wouldnt havevto mix the pill with milk or water right? Is this correct? Is Ativan similar to taper from as Xanax? The half life's seam similar. I took Ativan a few times and it agreed with me better than Xanax. What do you think?

[[Sn...]]

Hi Nicolette and can't wait. I have decided after reading the Ashton Manual that I want to cross Ive to Valium.

 

Here is my plan. Please look at it and tell me if you see any potential issues.

 

1. Crossover as outlined in the Ashton Manual. No need to break that down here.

 

2. Get on a stable dose where I am a bit sedated during the day and hopefully sleeping well at night. Stay at this dose for a month or so while the Valium builds up.

 

3. Right now I am quit sedated when first taking .5mg of Xanax but then 12-18 hours later I am feeling a bit jittery. Nothing to bad though. So I think it's all due to the short half life. I'm hoping to stabilize on around 10mg of Valium maybe less since it should help with the interdose issue.

 

3. I have been taking my .5mg dose of Xanax at 10pm just before bed and plan to continue this schedule with  the Valium. I have needed to add .25mg at 10am the past 4 days to help with the interdose. I hope to drop that and remain at one dose with the Valium at night only.

 

4. I plan to use the liquid only from start to finish and start from a very stable and slightly sedated place. I figure why start with pills and have to switch down the road. I understand consistency is very important.

 

5. I will go as slow as necessary. I plan to cut .1mg every other day which comes to 1.5mg per month. At this rate it will take me about 6-7 months to complete my taper if I start from 10mg (still to be determined)

 

6. Instead of going fast in the beginning and then slowing it down in the end I am hoping that going slow the whole time will get my body and CNS into a rhythm that works. I understand yo-yoing is not a good thing either. I just want this to be as smooth as possible. I own a business an I HAVE to be functional during this.

 

By the way I am not on any other psychotropic drugs or medications at all. Never have been. Also I do not plan to take any supplements, vitamins, herbs, or drink alcohol during my taper. Just eat healthy natural simple foods and do light exercise.

 

What do you think?

 

Thanks

 

 

[[Sn...]]

Hello anyone?

 

[[pr...]]

Snookie, your crossover plan sounds solid to me.  Sensible and well thought out.

 

You may want to start posting in the Tapering area of the forum now, where you might get quicker responses to your tapering questions.

 

Good luck! we're rooting for you!

[[Sn...]]

Hi Prhiannon yeah I did post there and never got a response. I have educated myself thoroughly over the past few weeks so I feel good about my plan. But again I just wanted to get advice and support here to make sure I didn't miss anything. Thank you for responding. I guess there must be more people needing help and support than there are people to give it. What a big mess these drugs cause. I also started a blog. I'll add info there as I taper.

 

Thanks again!

[[Sn...]]

My doc gave me the Valium to cross over to. Now over the next month that is what I am going to do. I told him that I am a good bit sedated when I first take my .5mg pill of Xanax and that I feel it worn off after about 18 hours. He believes that I can get stable on 5mg of Valium because the "hit" of the dose will be much more spread out. It's like .5mg Xanax is to much when I first take it and not enough 1-24 hours later. So 5mg of Valium may be just right. Make sense? I will begin the crossover tonight.

[[rs...]]

snookiebutt, great name! sorry to hear about your nightmare w/xanax. as you know xanax and adivan are short acting benzos but very powerful. valium is also very powerful and is in your system 4-6 weeks after it is crossed over. the main thing is to not stop taking the drug or you run the risk of a seizure. It sounds like a good plan to cross to valium and taper slowly. I was prescribed xanax for several months off and on and developed tolerance w/d before i knew what it was. I just stopped c/t and had a major seizure. I did a taper for a year and then c/t at 10 mg. You really need to get with your doctor and follow his advice carefully. if he is starting you at 5mg. it may take awhile for you to stabilize. you don't want to go up in dosage. I don't remember but i think 1mg. xanax = 10 mg. valium. the conversion chart you have. the problem with crossing over is it is a slow drawn out proccess. I wanted to just get it overwith but was affraid of another seizure. the people here are well informed and will help you as much as they can. I'm sure tapering is the best way but there is still alot of suffering doing it this way. good luck and let us know how your crossover is going,rstud

[[Sn...]]

Snookie, your crossover plan sounds solid to me.  Sensible and well thought out.

 

You may want to start posting in the Tapering area of the forum now, where you might get quicker responses to your tapering questions.

 

Good luck! we're rooting for you!

 

 

Hello again,

 

Well I tried the Valium and I know it was just one day but I felt horrific from it. It gave me terrible nausea which I've never had from Xanax. Also anxiety through the roof and I just felt spacy and confused all day. I know everyone says it takes time to build up in the system but i don't think I could take a week of this to just maybe find out it does not agree with me.

 

I see you also had trouble when trying to crossover. What happened? I also see that you are tapering direct off Xanax is that right?

 

My doc told me that Valium does not agree with sime people and as a backup plan just in case he said that he wants me to go up to 1mg of Xanax for 2-4 weeks and then use the liquid oral solution made by Roxane labroritries to taper down on Xanax itself since it agrees with me more than any other. I've been taking .75mg and it seams to enough but he wants me in a good stable place before my taper.

 

What do you think?

[[Sn...]]

Hi Snookiebutt,

 

I'm sorry you had such a difficult time in a cold turkey off of Xanax. I'm tapering Xanax as well.

 

We have several different sections at BB, where members share their experiences with tapering. Xanax does dissolve in water and some members slowly taper using a water method. Here is the link to the Titration section:

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?action=unread;board=62.0

 

From what I have learned from my taper from Xanax is:  go slowly, listen to your body and taper down at a rate that you can tolerate and consult with your doctor if you have symptoms that are bothering you.

 

We're here to support you and help you cope with any withdrawal symptoms you may have. Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

 

Hi Nicolette,

 

Trying to reach a specific person is very difficult here. I see you've had a good bit of time and experience with Xanax and I was just wanting to ask you a few questions. I hope you get this.

 

I tried to cross over to Valium and I stuck it out for a few days. I guess I'm one of the ones that can't do it. Maybe I'll try again another time. But for now I really would just like to taper off of the Xanax. I really feel I can. I have tried Klonopin as mentioned but it just did NOT work out for me. I dislike them all but Xanax seams to be the one that I do best with. It is unfortunate that it has a short half life.

 

Please tell me what has worked for you. I see you were on for a few years and then CT'd. How long did you CT before you went back on?

 

How many times a day do you dose etc? I think I may be where you were at one point and I like to learn from others wisdom.

 

Thanks so much

 

[[2w...]]

Hello snookiebutt,

 

My doctor loaded me up with valium to stabilize me and I felt horrible afterwards. I was only on 20 mg of valium at the time and I was taking 10 mg every 4 hours. It made me very sick and I was unable to do the taper.

 

I finally had to c/t off of everything, but it has been a hard road for me. I think that it depends on the individual. If the valium doesn't work for you, I think you are better off tapering down off the xanax over time. Adding valium to the situation on made my experience worse.

 

If you trust your doctor and he knows your history, then I would think it would be best to work with him on it. You haven't been on xanax that long, so I think you will be fine if you taper off of it slowly. In my opinion, it is very important to figure out what caused the initial anxiety so that you will have better tools to deal with it when you no longer take xanax.

 

I hope this helps. Take care !