XANAX Support Blog: If you're tapering Xanax/alprazolam, join in the discussion!

[[ho...]]

Hopefulgirl, thanks for the information.  It doesn't make sense to me either as far as skipping a day, then trying to skip two days,, then three, and so on.  From what I've read about benzos this isn't a rational plan.  I'm going to stay on .5mg daily  until I see the psychiatrist, I am hoping he will be willing to incorporate regular Xanax in my taper plan.

 

[[Mo...]]

Has anyone had nose bleeds in withdrawal? Wondering if its unrelated or if its being caused by excessive stress/blood pressure spikes.

[[ma...]]

I went to a new dr and she to was pushing SSRI but Zoloft this time. She did give me nexium for my stomach pain i took one this am and it feels better already not sure if that is just in my head or not lol. She was NO help at all worse then my other dr had no time to listen so I am back to my old one. To bad i cannot find a Dr that will take the time to listen instead of saying oh your taking xanax everyday you cant do that here is a ssri. UHG

 

I am wondering if I am tapering to slow i know SLOW IS BEST,my dr says i could remove 0.25 every 3 days and be fine with not serious problem. I do want off them or at least down to ONLY prn again. At this time i have no nervousness like i did before but i am VERY scared of the whole seizure thing. I am just so confused by all this i have started a slow plan by reducing 1/4 from each dose and holding for 7-10 days i do have 2 more refills of 60 pills and still have some on hand. I am trying to figure out if that will be enough 0.25 mg pills at the rate i am going. I am not sure my dr will refill it again who knows with her. Just looking for any info or if I am on the right track.

 

thank for the help 

[[Ju...]]

I went to a new dr and she to was pushing SSRI but Zoloft this time. She did give me nexium for my stomach pain i took one this am and it feels better already not sure if that is just in my head or not lol. She was NO help at all worse then my other dr had no time to listen so I am back to my old one. To bad i cannot find a Dr that will take the time to listen instead of saying oh your taking xanax everyday you cant do that here is a ssri. UHG

 

I am wondering if I am tapering to slow i know SLOW IS BEST,my dr says i could remove 0.25 every 3 days and be fine with not serious problem. I do want off them or at least down to ONLY prn again. At this time i have no nervousness like i did before but i am VERY scared of the whole seizure thing. I am just so confused by all this i have started a slow plan by reducing 1/4 from each dose and holding for 7-10 days i do have 2 more refills of 60 pills and still have some on hand. I am trying to figure out if that will be enough 0.25 mg pills at the rate i am going. I am not sure my dr will refill it again who knows with her. Just looking for any info or if I am on the right track.

 

thank for the help 

Your doctor has recommended a taper, (tapering .25mg every 3 days), that would have plunged me into acute withdrawal at the dosage I believe you are on Marley.  What dose are you on now, your signature says .075mg.  Do you mean .75mg?

 

Please give me some more info about the pills you have on hand.  If your prescription is for .75mg per day and you got 60, .25mg Xanax in this prescription, if you continued to take .75mg per day, you would run out of pills early this month.  Do you have left over pills of a higher Mg and if so, what dose of those do you have and how many?  If you give me this info, I will help you figure out if you have enough pills.  Also, please tell me how long have you been holding at your current dose?

 

Also, if you plan to continue taking Xanax as-needed after you complete your taper, I would do so only with the understanding that this habit could continue to make my anxiety worse.  Taking Xanax as-needed also causes dependency, (addiction).  I believe the only way that we can get over this dependency is to take no more Xanax or another benzo after our tapers conclude, and to be dedicated in stopping our benzo use. 

[[ma...]]

I have 0.25 mg pills and i take one at 9,1,5,10 i have taken 1 mg for the past month about since i was not stable at all on the other dose and the way i was taking it was all over the place. I started to cut my 9 am dose 1/4th of the 0.25mg pills on the 2/14 and then on 2/26 cut 1 pm dose by 1/4th also.

 

I just worry about seizures and so on since i have done alot of reading lately on xanax,but I am unsure if the dose I take would cause that as my Dr says there is NO way. But i want to be comfortable also.

 

Most nights I am so tired i have to drag out of bed to take my 10 pm dose,could i be taking to much for my anxiety? Is that possible why I feel like I don't need that last dose. I am not sure BUT I do not want to do the wrong thing and end up with nervousness all over again like I was before i got my dose stable.

 

Thanks again

[[Ju...]]

Marley:  So, if I understand your post, you have made 2, .0625mg cuts, (a quarter of a .25mg).  This would bring your dose to:  .875mg per day.

 

Ok, let me ask you again.  How many extra pills do you have from previous prescriptions and what strength are they?  Your doctor did not provide enough pills to get you through a month at your current dose, if he only prescribed 60, .25mg tablets, (with 2 refills).  Refills can only be filled by the pharmacy every 30-days, if going through most retail pharmacies, unless designated on the prescription to be filled earlier.  This means that you would run out of pills prior to the end of the 30-days, if you have no backup supply of Xanax from previous prescriptions.

 

The only way I can estimate if you have enough pills for a taper is if you give me this info.

 

Seizures would be the last thing I would worry about if I was tapering slowly.  In my opinion, your doctor has recommended a WAY too rapid taper.  For someone like you, with a preexisting anxiety disorder, I would sooooooooooooooo not advise doing this taper .25mg every 3-days.  No way Jose.

[[Ju...]]

Has anyone had nose bleeds in withdrawal? Wondering if its unrelated or if its being caused by excessive stress/blood pressure spikes.

I didn't have them.  You might open a post on Withdrawal Support, (During your Taper), on the main board and ask about this.  It seems I have read about others having nose bleeds, but I'm not certain.

[[ma...]]

Ok i have 28 0.25 mg pills left in this script after today's doses and also i have 17 0.5 mg pills and also i safe the 1/4 th cuts i am making. that is what i have right now. My script is written for 1 tablet four times a day  and they are for 60 pills each time. I got this one on 2/17.

 

Hope this helps thanks

[[VC...]]

Still trying to stabilize on my xanax; doing better overall except sleep is still an issue sometimes. Not quite ready for taper. Stopped taking Ganoderma (reishi mushroom) and had w/d SXs from that. Didn't know it affected GABA receptors when I started it (per doc recommendation).

 

Thinking to add a 4th dose to my regimen at this point, but can't deal with setting another alarm in the middle of the night - already waking at 5:30 to take thyroid. Question is, how do I add 4th dose without further destabilizing a sensitive CNS? Just add it?

 

Currently:

0.5mg at 11pm

0.125 at 7am

0.125mg at 3pm

 

Thinking about going to:

0.375mg at 11pm

0.125mg at 7am

0.125mg at 1pm

0.125mg at 7pm

--------------------

0.75 mg total (staying the same instead of updosing)

 

Some suggest updosing, but I think my destabilization was always due to sporadic dosing (PRN) the past couple years and it just messed me up.

 

Using 0.5mg tabs but will try to convince doc I need 0.25mg in plenty supply to accomplish a slow taper, whether dry cutting or L/T. So far, cutting these 0.5mg tabs is a real pain.

 

Will the pharmacy fill a new script for 0.25mg while I'm still using the 0.5mg??

 

 

[[Ju...]]

Ok i have 28 0.25 mg pills left in this script after today's doses and also i have 17 0.5 mg pills and also i safe the 1/4 th cuts i am making. that is what i have right now. My script is written for 1 tablet four times a day  and they are for 60 pills each time. I got this one on 2/17.

 

Hope this helps thanks

Well, I would call my pharmacy and tell them that I could not take my medication at the dosage directed on the bottle and have it last 30-days for me.  I'd say that the doctor may have made a mistake and see if the pharmacy can call the doctor and have this rectified.  The doctor should have prescribed 120, .25mg Xanax to take as he directed.  Your doctor only gave you 15-days supply.

 

Here is where I see you standing.  Given your current dosage, if you continue reducing a quarter of a .25mg, every 10-days, (I used a 10-day reduction just as an average), you will be right about even in using up every single pill you have on hand, by the time you can get your prescription refilled on 2/17.  It was close, but if you are saving the .0625 pieces, I believe you will have enough.

 

However, when you get your refill, your estimated dosage will have just reached .75mg per day if you continue cutting at the rate of .0625mg.  This means that you will not have enough pills to last for 30-days during your taper down from .75, unless your doctor corrects your prescription.

 

Marley, this doctor sounds like he is trying to force a rapid taper on you.  Do you have another doctor who can prescribe you the .25mg pills, if this current doctor won't?

[[ma...]]

No I do not have another Dr. I have a appt to see her next Thursday and she already knows i want to do this slowly so maybe she will help me out she just acts like it is no big deal to just do the taper like she says,well I will not let her do that I am sick of Dr telling me what is best for my body. I am have done research and I will taper the way i feel is best for me.

 

It is there fault I am on xanax for suck a small ting to begin with and they never told me the warnings and just kept prescribing it and I will let her know that also. So I will just keep at the 0.0625 cut every 10 days and hope for the best. And that she will understand and help me

 

On another note have you ever known xanax to cause stomach issues? I am trying prevacid OTC to see if that will help i get pain in my upper stomach not sure what that is either. But i have no idea what could be causing it.

 

thanks for the information and all your help 

[[Ju...]]

Still trying to stabilize on my xanax; doing better overall except sleep is still an issue sometimes. Not quite ready for taper. Stopped taking Ganoderma (reishi mushroom) and had w/d SXs from that. Didn't know it affected GABA receptors when I started it (per doc recommendation).

 

Thinking to add a 4th dose to my regimen at this point, but can't deal with setting another alarm in the middle of the night - already waking at 5:30 to take thyroid. Question is, how do I add 4th dose without further destabilizing a sensitive CNS? Just add it?

 

Currently:

0.5mg at 11pm

0.125 at 7am

0.125mg at 3pm

 

Thinking about going to:

0.375mg at 11pm

0.125mg at 7am

0.125mg at 1pm

0.125mg at 7pm

--------------------

0.75 mg total (staying the same instead of updosing)

 

Some suggest updosing, but I think my destabilization was always due to sporadic dosing (PRN) the past couple years and it just messed me up.

 

Using 0.5mg tabs but will try to convince doc I need 0.25mg in plenty supply to accomplish a slow taper, whether dry cutting or L/T. So far, cutting these 0.5mg tabs is a real pain.

 

Will the pharmacy fill a new script for 0.25mg while I'm still using the 0.5mg??

Your new proposed dosing schedule looks good to me, VC.  Whatever works is what I say.  As far as getting another script for the .25's in addition to the script staying intact for the .50's, I've seen this work too.  What has to happen though is when the new script is prescribed, the doctor has to designate on the new prescription that these tablets are prescribed in addition to the existing script and I believe they usually say something about that the smaller Mgs are used for titration.  Titration meaning reducing dose, not titration as we commonly use the term on the forum as being liquid titration.

 

I'd call my pharmacy and tell them what you wish to accomplish and they should be able to tell you what the doctor should write on the prescription.  I just got my doctor to prescribe me all .25's in the equivalent dosage I needed and ditched my prescription for the 1mg Xanax I had been used to taking.  When I switched to a prescription of .25's, my dosage was a 1.5mgs.  So I got 180, .25's every 30-days.  I used a combo of left over 1mgs and .25's to get me to 1mg in my taper and from 1mg down, I only used the .25s. 

[[Ju...]]

No I do not have another Dr. I have a appt to see her next Thursday and she already knows i want to do this slowly so maybe she will help me out she just acts like it is no big deal to just do the taper like she says,well I will not let her do that I am sick of Dr telling me what is best for my body. I am have done research and I will taper the way i feel is best for me.

 

It is there fault I am on xanax for suck a small ting to begin with and they never told me the warnings and just kept prescribing it and I will let her know that also. So I will just keep at the 0.0625 cut every 10 days and hope for the best. And that she will understand and help me

 

On another note have you ever known xanax to cause stomach issues? I am trying prevacid OTC to see if that will help i get pain in my upper stomach not sure what that is either. But i have no idea what could be causing it.

 

thanks for the information and all your help 

Yes, stomach issue are very common in benzo withdrawal.  I had them too, when I first started tapering.  There are tons of GABA receptors in our digestive tract and these receptors are damaged by our benzo use.  This is why we taper slowly, to help these receptors heal as we very slowly and carefully reduce our dose.  I started using a probiotic every morning and this helped me a great deal with the GI problems I experienced.  Good luck with your new doctor! 

[[mr...]]

Looking forward to total victory someday soon!! Despite the waves, despite the lack of feeing belief and faith and joy, despite the symptoms, I choose to believe in my total restoration, and I believe tomorrow will be so much better than today. I can do all things through Him that strengthens me, and no weapon fashioned against me can prosper. I am feeling better and better by the minute.

 

Thank you buddies for being here with me. We shall see each other make it through to victory Hope your night is going great

 

Mrs.

[[la...]]

I went to a new dr and she to was pushing SSRI but Zoloft this time. She did give me nexium for my stomach pain i took one this am and it feels better already not sure if that is just in my head or not lol. She was NO help at all worse then my other dr had no time to listen so I am back to my old one. To bad i cannot find a Dr that will take the time to listen instead of saying oh your taking xanax everyday you cant do that here is a ssri. UHG

 

I am wondering if I am tapering to slow i know SLOW IS BEST,my dr says i could remove 0.25 every 3 days and be fine with not serious problem. I do want off them or at least down to ONLY prn again. At this time i have no nervousness like i did before but i am VERY scared of the whole seizure thing. I am just so confused by all this i have started a slow plan by reducing 1/4 from each dose and holding for 7-10 days i do have 2 more refills of 60 pills and still have some on hand. I am trying to figure out if that will be enough 0.25 mg pills at the rate i am going. I am not sure my dr will refill it again who knows with her. Just looking for any info or if I am on the right track.

 

thank for the help 

 

Hey Marley,

 

I'm curious if your use of xanax is to help relieve anxiety?  If so, I'm not really seeing what is wrong with your doctors advice about using an SSRI instead of a xanax.  That seems like a pretty normal recomendation to me.  Have you had some bad experiences with SSRI's in the past, or just 'anti-all medication' after dealing with xanax?

 

Personally, I'm on an SSRI, and we are currently increasing the dose to help with anxiety while I go off the  xanax.

 

Also, you sound like me in that you are worrying about sezuires.  By that, I mean, excessively scouring the internet, and reading horror stories.  I've found it best to not do that, as it adds to anxiety sometimes. 

[[Tr...]]

I referred to the slight nausea I experienced all through my taper and for well over a month post-jump as "my constant companion." It wasn't ever horrible during my taper and seldom affected my appetite, but it was sometimes a little worse post jump when I also developed sweats. One day I woke up and both were simply gone!

 

I accepted my withdrawal symptoms an understood they were nothing more than my body healing.

If I can do this, anyone can!

[[mr...]]

I accepted my withdrawal symptoms an understood they were nothing more than my body healing.

If I can do this, anyone can!

 

This is great advice, indeed, and I will take it and apply it tonight

 

Thank you for posting this, TS

 

Mrs.

[[ba...]]

Ok i have 28 0.25 mg pills left in this script after today's doses and also i have 17 0.5 mg pills and also i safe the 1/4 th cuts i am making. that is what i have right now. My script is written for 1 tablet four times a day  and they are for 60 pills each time. I got this one on 2/17.

 

Hope this helps thanks

Well, I would call my pharmacy and tell them that I could not take my medication at the dosage directed on the bottle and have it last 30-days for me.  I'd say that the doctor may have made a mistake and see if the pharmacy can call the doctor and have this rectified.  The doctor should have prescribed 120, .25mg Xanax to take as he directed.  Your doctor only gave you 15-days supply.

 

Here is where I see you standing.  Given your current dosage, if you continue reducing a quarter of a .25mg, every 10-days, (I used a 10-day reduction just as an average), you will be right about even in using up every single pill you have on hand, by the time you can get your prescription refilled on 2/17.  It was close, but if you are saving the .0625 pieces, I believe you will have enough.

 

However, when you get your refill, your estimated dosage will have just reached .75mg per day if you continue cutting at the rate of .0625mg.  This means that you will not have enough pills to last for 30-days during your taper down from .75, unless your doctor corrects your prescription.

 

Marley, this doctor sounds like he is trying to force a rapid taper on you.  Do you have another doctor who can prescribe you the .25mg pills, if this current doctor won't?

 

Juliea,

 

You are amazing! 

 

 

 

[[la...]]

I referred to the slight nausea I experienced all through my taper and for well over a month post-jump as "my constant companion." It wasn't ever horrible during my taper and seldom affected my appetite, but it was sometimes a little worse post jump when I also developed sweats. One day I woke up and both were simply gone!

 

I accepted my withdrawal symptoms an understood they were nothing more than my body healing.

If I can do this, anyone can!

 

Just wanted to thank you for posting this TS

[[la...]]

 

Juliea,

 

You are amazing! 

 

 

I agree, she's awesome!

 

Just out of curiosity babyrex.  I was looking at your sig, and wondering.  Did you take your xanax dose all at once, or did you spread those doses throughout the day?

[[la...]]

Also, did Benzy get banned from the boards here?  I was wondering how he was doing.  He was so close to jumping off Xanax last time when I was posting here.

[[ba...]]

Hi Lacey,

 

Before my taper began,  I took .5 mg in the morning, and 1.0 mg in the evening before bed.  Sometimes more, sometimes less.

 

But I listened to the advice here and adjusted my doses to 4 x per day.  It really helped until mid-taper, then not so much.  But everyone is different, and your best bet is to adjust to the short half-life of Xanax.

 

 

 

[[ba...]]

Also, did Benzy get banned from the boards here?  I was wondering how he was doing.  He was so close to jumping off Xanax last time when I was posting here.

 

I can say with all honesty, I don't know.  But Benzy has a way of reappearing, so expect to see him again. 

 

You'll be ok lacey, it's not fun but it is doable.

 

[[Bl...]]

Also, did Benzy get banned from the boards here?  I was wondering how he was doing.  He was so close to jumping off Xanax last time when I was posting here.

 

I wonder too. I hope he is living life and doing well. What a character. I still miss him.

 

Blue

[[ba...]]

Hugs to mrs and blue