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

[[Ju...]]

Hi Juliea,

      Thanks for the post on my blog!

        We did it, and that my friend feels good to say.

       

        Never give up, fellow Xanax Tapering BB.

       

..........Nfm

 

Yes, we did it Notforme!!  This is the beauty of BB's.  All of we folks who managed to become benzo free have walked in the same shoes as those who are tapering now.  We get it!  Boy, do we get how challenging a taper can be.

 

Great to see you Notforme. 

[[Bl...]]

I have been Xanax free for over a year. Life is much better for me now. I will be forever grateful to all the BBs who helped me through my taper. I do not think I could have done it without you. Thank you.

 

Blue

[[No...]]

Congratulations BLUEBELL!!!!!!!!

So great to see you!

Old home week, perhaps?

    1 year and 2 months for you. 

      Hugs

      Notforme

[[Bl...]]

 

Blue

[[fe...]]

freeandheal said:  I have decided to taper down from 2mg. My psychiatrist wants me to start off by just taking 2 mg for a month and then go from there.

 

freeandheal, thank you for completing a signature.  I can see how you got to 2mg now, but I can't see from your signature how long you have been at this dose.

 

Ok, you made a substantial drop, going from 2.5mg to 2mg.  This is a 20% drop.  For the first several dose reductions, the general recommendation is no more than 5-10%. 

 

When I tapered down from 2.5 to 2, I made the transition in .25mg steps.  Even my .25mg dose reductions brought on some significant symptoms.  A .50mg drop might bring on some difficult symptoms for you.  However, this being said, some folks can 'get by' with these types of reductions because they aren't as sensitive to the drops as others.

 

Please check back in with us and let us know how long you've been at 2mg.  Also, please let us know how you are feeling after making this drop.

 

When doing a benzo taper, it is often best to make smaller drops more often, than a huge drop monthly.  This appears to be what your doctor has planned for you.  A pretty large monthly drop.  You might wish to reevaluate this so that you can step off of the Xanax in a more gentle fashion.

 

Take care. 

 

Juliea,

 

Thank you for all of your help and support. I apologize not responding in the Intro thread, yesterday was a bit rough- coming to the realization that I've finally made the decision to get off of this. Today I have a more positive out look though I woke up feeling pretty crappy. Lots of tingling in my limbs, emotional, muscle soreness (I am having trouble straightening my right arm at the moment, not sure if maybe I slept on it funny or if it is physical sxs) and brain fog like crazy. I'm also getting over a cold, so I'm wondering how much my sxs will change once I kick that. Thankfully my sleep has not been affected....yet. I keep telling myself over and over "you will be okay, you will be okay."

 

I'm going to go back in my signature and edit it today- I realize it's a big confusing! I have actually already printed off your taper schedule and I want to show it to my doctor, if that's alright with you. I think a .50 drop is is also too much.  I'm going to see how the next few days go. I was fluctuating between 2-3 mg (usually taking 3mg though...and sometimes taking up to 5mg) so I guess my doctor felt like I would be okay at 2 mg to start (though he did give me a few extra pills "incase") 

 

I see on your taper schedule that you took all 3 mg at one time- I have never taken mine like this, as I was taking mine more for anxiety and less for sleep. I usually would start off at 1-1.5 in the mornings and then increase by .50 throughout the day as needed.  I have also found that it helps when I come down from the Vyvanse (usually around 5pm)- although I am able to replace this with marijuana (I have been smoking for a while and have my medical card, and if anything it has helped my anxiety...I realize there are a lot of things to be cautious about when mixing marijuana with other substances..however, I also feel like if I didn't have marijuana to help, then I would have been taking a lot more xanax) As I mentioned in my intro, I just finished school (graduated with my bachelors in psychology) and found that I did my best studying after smoking a little as it would help keep my mind off Xanax as well as lower my anxiety. It certainly depends on the strain though, and thankfully having a medical card- I am able to chose ones that won't knock me out. I ended up graduating with a 3.8 GPA. Not saying this is the best way to go about it, but I feel as if it didn't have a negative impact on my school work. Anyways, where I was trying to go with that was do you (or anyone else) think it would better if I were to try to take a small dose before bed?

 

Thank you again for everything! 

[[Ju...]]

Good to see you blue!!  It's old home week, indeed. 

 

 

 

Freeandheal, I have no problem with you using my taper schedule as an example for your doctor.  But remember a taper schedule is pretty individual and some can go faster and some folks must go even slower.  Also, you will notice that I did not hold for the same exact amount of time between dose reductions.  Rather what we do is listen to our bodies and cut based upon a hit and stabilization pattern, rather than a schedule.

 

Knowing now that your dosing has been anywhere from 3mg on average to up to 5mg, I am even more concerned for you about your cut to 2mg.  This is the deal.  Often when people make aggressive cuts at the top end of their tapers, this brings on some extremely uncomfortable symptoms that might take a good long while to resolve.  I believe that it's critical to taper carefully from start to finish and try to avoid these kinds of big cuts, if possible.  You have heard the old saying about trying to get toothpaste back into the tube once it's out.  Well, symptoms can be a lot like this.  Once they start they can stick around and hang with us for the duration of a taper and also I believe cause very difficult challenges for us in the low doses and also, post jump.

 

Just some food for thought on how I see a benzo taper. 

 

When tapering we want to stabilize our dosing and take the same amount each day.  No more as needed dosing and I also believe tapering carefully in order to avoid up dosing is extremely important.  I did not up dose even once during my taper.  I just very slowly stepped off.

 

Yes, I was a one time per day doser.  But I was unusual in that I did not get interdose withdrawal.  Most people who take/taper Xanax dose multiple times per day.  And most of these folks say that making their doses even helps them a great deal.

 

You are going to be fine but my taper would focus on symptom minimization, if I were in your shoes.  The way we do this is tapering slowly and carefully from the very start. 

[[Ra...]]

Hi Feel,

 

I agree with Juliea.  I started out at 3mg but something went wonky and I was in acute for 3 months.  I had to start taking another medication to get stable, not ideal, but I was out of options.  Anyway, I patterned my taper after Juliea except I did not make the big cuts at the beginning.  Given that I had just come from 3 months of unfunctional acute, I was terrified to start my taper, so after talking with my doc, he agreed I could go as low and slow as I wanted.  So I chose to start by making .0625mg cuts every 14 days.  So far so good, I've been very fortunate so far, knock on wood.  I'm not symptom free, but I'm working and functional, so for now, that's good enough. 

 

Unlike Juliea though, I'm very regimented with my taper, at least so far.  It's .0625mg (1/4 of a .25mg pill) every other Friday night.  So far it's taken me 4 months to drop .5mg, so I'm down to 2.5mg per day.  At this rate it will take me 18 months to shed the rest of this crap and that's if all goes well.  I just can't risk going faster and throwing myself into more severe symptoms as I'm the main support of our family.  Everyone is different and I'm a chicken when it comes to symptoms, others are much more hardy than me and can handle symptoms better.  Will your doc prescribe you 2 different strengths of pills?  If you choose to decrease by smaller increments you will need different sizes.  Right now, I'm using 1mg pills and then .25mg pills.    I wish you the best of luck.

 

Jerr, sounds like valium might be a good option for you since you're really having problems with interdose. Mornings are always worst for me, I'm very shaky most mornings, but it usually gets better by about 9:00 or so.  Then I'm usually good for the rest of the day.

 

Mrs. - I'm so glad to hear that you're not feeling your cuts much anymore, that is music to my ears.  Good for you honey!

 

NFM and Juliea, thank you both SO MUCH for sticking around to help us still tapering.  What dedication.  Right now I'm thinking when I'm done with this taper and healed, I just totally want to forget about this whole experience, but that would be so selfish.  I will try to be like you guys and come back to give encouragement and advice to those still tapering.  You guys are SO appreciated!!!

 

Grinch - it's such a bummer you just can't get stable.  I can see why you want off fast, but it might be worse.  I hope and pray for you that once you jump, your body heals quickly.

 

Hugs to all the Xanax tapers!

 

Rabbit

[[Je...]]

Thanks Bunny

 

--------

 

Jerr, sounds like valium might be a good option for you since you're really having problems with interdose. Mornings are always worst for me, I'm very shaky most mornings, but it usually gets better by about 9:00 or so.  Then I'm usually good for the rest of the day.

 

Mrs. - I'm so glad to hear that you're not feeling your cuts much anymore, that is music to my ears.  Good for you honey!

 

NFM and Juliea, thank you both SO MUCH for sticking around to help us still tapering.  What dedication.  Right now I'm thinking when I'm done with this taper and healed, I just totally want to forget about this whole experience, but that would be so selfish.  I will try to be like you guys and come back to give encouragement and advice to those still tapering.  You guys are SO appreciated!!!

 

Grinch - it's such a bummer you just can't get stable.  I can see why you want off fast, but it might be worse.  I hope and pray for you that once you jump, your body heals quickly.

 

Hugs to all the Xanax tapers!

 

Rabbit

[[Ca...]]

With as low of a dose as I'm at now, I do not feel cuts anymore (So there is an end to the cutting effecting how you feel, hooray!) But I have experienced the symptom you refer to, Jer It is common, for sure! My apologies for a short message, as I am at work Take care buddy,

 

Mrs.

 

Mrs,

  This is great news...lets do a little dance! Holy cow...what a ride!

Sending friendship,

Carita

[[ba...]]

hi bluebell how did you cut the 0.0625mg dose in half ?? water taper?? , i been stuck at the 0.0625mg dose for around 8 months

[[Bl...]]

I got really good at using my pill cutter. When I took my very last little piece of Xanax, I just slid off with ease.

 

Blue

[[th...]]

BabyAngel,

 

I have read that some people crush the .0625 and divide the powder in half. I hope I don't have to do that bc I plan to jump at .0625mg but if I need to go a little lower before jumping I will prob do that for a few times and then jump. Just an idea. Liquid taper is another option. I d ask on the taper board.

 

G

[[Ra...]]

I got really good at using my pill cutter. When I took my very last little piece of Xanax, I just slid off with ease.

 

Blue

 

So Blue, you didn't experience acute when you jumped?  Oh please say you didn't 

[[Bl...]]

I got really good at using my pill cutter. When I took my very last little piece of Xanax, I just slid off with ease.

 

Blue

 

So Blue, you didn't experience acute when you jumped?  Oh please say you didn't 

I can honestly say I did not experience acute withdrawal when I jumped

 

Blue

[[ma...]]

It has been a long week. We drove to oc md stayed the night and drove back were home one night and Hurricane Arthur was on his way. I live on the coast of NC so the kids and i went inland 2.5 hrs but all went fine no damage at all.

 

I have been at .75 since May had alto of sx. Going to make another cut on Sunday but smaller then .0625 this time i am in no hurry and feeling pretty good right now. Have trouble with falling asleep and heart pals before bed but ok other then that.

 

I hope all is well with everyone here and thank you all for being here. On to my next cut!!!!!

[[Ra...]]

I got really good at using my pill cutter. When I took my very last little piece of Xanax, I just slid off with ease.

 

Blue

 

So Blue, you didn't experience acute when you jumped?  Oh please say you didn't 

I can honestly say I did not experience acute withdrawal when I jumped

 

Blue

 

Oh Blue, that is music to my ears!  Most say they do experience some kind of acute, I wonder why you didn't?  Is it because the majority of those who don't are not on this forum?  Oh please let it be true! 

 

Thank you for continuing to be on the forum and supporting those of us still tapering.

 

Hugs,

 

Bunny

[[mr...]]

I used to be quite afraid of an acute phase in withdrawal, so I had done everything in my power to avoid one. Suffice to say, when I began to experience one, I was heartbroken, depressed, scared,...to name a few emotions I was experiencing, lol. But, thanks to my Father in heaven and my Savior Jesus, and my husband, I have gotten this far. I won't sugar coat things and will tell you that I have had some seriously horrid moments (they felt pretty bad, anyways!). But at the same exact time have occurred some amazing opportunities for strength and growth. I've been forced to face my fears and to march on and through -- and while it doesn't always feel good to do that, it IS good for me to do

 

So I don't wrote to you here full of confidence or cockiness that I am "over it all" or anything But I can tell you that I've come this far, and I'm grateful to have gotten here, and I'm starting to see that this might be what it means to get to the other side to victory

 

I cannot tell you what tomorrow may bring, but its like what "Mr." always says: We have grace enough for today. One day at a time, my Bunny buddy Even if you *get the opportunity* to walk through an acute phase, you will come out the other side We are healing everyday buddy Take care, and I hope you are encouraged and have an excellent day

 

Mrs.

[[Je...]]

I cheated this morning and I feel guilty.  Usually I take my AM dose of .43 at 7:30.  This morning I got

up at 6, I pounded down a full .5 and went back to bed.  I feel guilty and that .5 made me feel shitty too!  Ah well, I will take less this evening to make up for it.

[[ba...]]

i didnt do so well on my taper today ive been taking 0.0625mg of alprazolam i cut an old 1mg i needed some serious sleep i took approximatley 0.125- .25mg from the 1mg so i can sleep well earlier when i had a 3 hour nappy ive done this before like once a week ill take a higher dose like that to catch up with rest or if i had a stressfull day i seem to be able to jump back on 0.0625mg in a few days

[[Ra...]]

Jerry, I'm sure you're not the first person who has caved and took a higher dose.  It's not going to kill your taper.  Are you still considering c/o to valium?

 

BabyAngel,  boy, I wouldn't do that PRN dosing that often if I were you.  Kind of derails the taper.  A one time thing is one thing, but doing once a week every week could make your taper less effective and harder in the end.

 

Mrs., thank you for your words of comfort and encouragement.  I need them. I was visiting with another buddy today about the fear of jumping and jumping into an acute period after suffering a long taper.  Not really something that sounds that appetizing.  I guess it is what it is, everyone's journey is different.  Hoping you're feeling OK.

 

Hugs,

 

Bunny

[[mr...]]

Sweet Bunny

 

Most of my taper has been just peachy, hunny Symptoms, yes, but very doable/manageable! And even my acute phase is doable/manageable, through my Savior. Its no picnic, but God is faithful and he provides well You will do great also, sweets No matter your journey, you will do well

 

Take care and have a great rest of your weekend

 

Mrs.

[[ma...]]

I have a quick question. I can no longer drink 1/4 glass of dunkin decaf ice coffee and i get jittery. I use to drink a glass a day. I stopped for a month but now i cant even hardly drink any it is my fav thing ;( any ideas thanks

[[th...]]

Marley,

 

From what I hear lots of things go gnarly in wd and taper. I say, if it doesn't do you well....stop. I am off gluten, pork, bananas, alcohol, caffeine, msg, green beans, tuna, processed sugar and food .....if it doesn't sit well with me...I stop.

 

G

[[ba...]]

Marley,

 

From what I hear lots of things go gnarly in wd and taper. I say, if it doesn't do you well....stop. I am off gluten, pork, bananas, alcohol, caffeine, msg, green beans, tuna, processed sugar and food .....if it doesn't sit well with me...I stop.

 

G

 

Grinch,

 

What?

[[mr...]]

Marley,

 

From what I hear lots of things go gnarly in wd and taper. I say, if it doesn't do you well....stop. I am off gluten, pork, bananas, alcohol, caffeine, msg, green beans, tuna, processed sugar and food .....if it doesn't sit well with me...I stop.

 

G

 

Grinch,

 

What?

 

Baby!

 

I didn't notice that before, but it made me giggle now I think she meant any foods that don't agree with her during withdrawal

 

Happy 4th to you and yours, girl. I think about you almost every day. If it weren't for your friendship and encouragement in my early days I simply wouldn't be where I'm at today. Thank you for your friendship.

 

Oh, and just for old time's sake:

 

Love you.

 

Take care,

 

Mrs.