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

[[Be...]]

YAY ME 

[[Mo...]]

Hey All, I have been following this thread but haven't ever posted on it. I started having panic attacks about two years ago.  After finally finding a  psychiatrist that is wonderful I finally got the help I needed.  I have tried many antidepressants and also Klonapin.  I have been on Xanax XR for about a year now.  Started at .5mg twice a day, which didn't touch my anxiety and ended up on 1mg Xanax XR twice a day and also took .5mg regular Xanax around Noon for a month or so.  After being on 1mg twice a day for about 8 months I decreased my dose to 1mg Xanax XR in the morning and .5mg Xanax XR in the evening.  That was about 2 1/2months ago and my p-doc said to stay here and "live" for a while.  He thinks cutting too quickly may cause my anxiety to come back.  He felt my body needed time to heal from everything it had gone through.  I really hadn't had any issues with that cut but I am ready for the next one.  His plan is to cut out .5mg Xanax XR and wait a few months and when I get down to .5mg Xanax XR, He will switch me to regular Xanax and go from there.  I have been given another taper plan with using the Xanax XR and regular at the same time so I wouldn't be cutting .5mg each time and I plan on asking him about it.  He has told me that the XR is easier to get off of than regular Xanax but he is also listens to my concerns very well.  Well after the holidays I plan on asking about my next cut so I will be following all of you.  It was nice to find a thread that is so positive.  I wish you all well and hopefully I will have a taper that is not too bad.  I am more that ready to quit taking this stuff.  Thanks

[[Pe...]]

WTG Benzy!!!!! Lookin forward to your 'Jump'!!!

Luckily my wifey has a bunch of .25's I think I'm going to talk to her and try to reason with her that I'll only be making very small cuts over a long period of time. I think if she really loves me, she'll stick with me through this. I simply can't lie to her and do this behind her back.

Hopeful TY For your kind words of encouragement, and your open offer to help 

 

Monique, you can do it!! Just take it slow, were with ya!!

[[Ju...]]

PepsiMoon, milk isn't used to titrate Xanax.  Unlike Klonopin, (where full fat milk is needed to form a solution), Xanax has no affinity for the fat in milk.  So water is usually used to titrate Xanax.  This forms a suspension, rather than a solution.  With a suspension, particles of Xanax are floating around in the water, so the person titrating must move very quickly when reducing their dose.  When Klonopin is mixed with full fat, regular homogenized milk, (non-super homogenized), it actually dissolves.  However, Xanax dissolves in neither milk nor water.  So there is no advantage to using milk with Xanax.  This is why most here use water.  HopefulGirl or mrsalw can help you with Xanax titration.

 

Yes, like Benzy said we use the .25mg Xanax to get the .0625mg cut.  I snapped the Xanax in half and then cut the half in half with a drugstore pill cutter.  I would imagine doing the Xanax part of your taper in dry cuts would be gentle enough if you opted to cut .0625mg per taper.  This would put your cuts way below 5% the whole way down on the Xanax part.  Then I would tackle my Klonopin.

 

Yea, 10% seems a bit fast of a taper for me.

The recommendation is not 10% but 5-10% of 'current dose'.  This means that the % is always recalculated from whatever dose the person is on and is 'no more' than 5-10% of that dose if the person chooses to follow this method.  So, the starting cut is not maintained throughout the taper.  You may be thinking of a linear cut of 10% off the starting dose until off.  That's not the way that kind of taper works.

 

 

[[Ju...]]

Hey All, I have been following this thread but haven't ever posted on it. I started having panic attacks about two years ago.  After finally finding a  psychiatrist that is wonderful I finally got the help I needed.  I have tried many antidepressants and also Klonapin.  I have been on Xanax XR for about a year now.  Started at .5mg twice a day, which didn't touch my anxiety and ended up on 1mg Xanax XR twice a day and also took .5mg regular Xanax around Noon for a month or so.  After being on 1mg twice a day for about 8 months I decreased my dose to 1mg Xanax XR in the morning and .5mg Xanax XR in the evening.  That was about 2 1/2months ago and my p-doc said to stay here and "live" for a while.  He thinks cutting too quickly may cause my anxiety to come back.  He felt my body needed time to heal from everything it had gone through.  I really hadn't had any issues with that cut but I am ready for the next one.  His plan is to cut out .5mg Xanax XR and wait a few months and when I get down to .5mg Xanax XR, He will switch me to regular Xanax and go from there.  I have been given another taper plan with using the Xanax XR and regular at the same time so I wouldn't be cutting .5mg each time and I plan on asking him about it.  He has told me that the XR is easier to get off of than regular Xanax but he is also listens to my concerns very well.  Well after the holidays I plan on asking about my next cut so I will be following all of you.  It was nice to find a thread that is so positive.  I wish you all well and hopefully I will have a taper that is not too bad.  I am more that ready to quit taking this stuff.  Thanks

I think I might have been the person who spoke with you about using a combo of the regular Xanax along with the XR and tapering off using the regular to reduce your dose.  I know HopefulGirl tapered the XR at some point in her taper, so perhaps she can give you some pointers. 

 

The reason your doctor believes that the XR would be easier to reduce than regular Xanax is because the XR lasts longer in a person's system.  Thus, the problem of interdose withdrawal would be alleviated 'somewhat' by the XR's longer action.  HOWEVER, please be aware that Xanax XR has no where near the long half-life of Klonopin and Valium and many people here have a great deal of difficulty getting off of these meds.  Regular Xanax and Xanax XR are both the exact same drug, one just lasts longer in the system.  You might be a person who can reduce this medication without much of a problem.  I'm not certain.  Not everyone has great difficulties getting off of benzos.  BenzoBuddies is a 'self-selecting' group and the people posting here do have difficulty discontinuing, for the most part.

 

I do know though, if it were me, I would not reduce my Xanax XR by .50mg if I were only taking 1.50mg of Xanax per day.  This is a 33% reduction and is not recommended.  This would have been much too large of a reduction for my body to handle.  I would opt to take 1mg of XR and then use the .25mg Xanax to taper off of the other .50mg in no more than .0625mg chunks, (1/4 of a .25mg), at a time.

 

Also, many doctors believe that when anxiety occurs during a benzo taper that this is some underlying anxiety problem recurring.  This 'may' be true, however a benzo taper produces discontinuation symptoms for many of us.  One of the symptoms man of us gets is anxiety.  I had some increased anxiety that would often occur as a cut was 'hitting me'.  All of this cleared up when I finally was able to stop taking the drug.

[[Be...]]

woo hoo! The race is on today...withdrawal sxs's are wayyyyy in the lead!! 

[[Ch...]]

Benzy…you are so close!!  Happy for you… Benzy the Benzo Free.

[[ch...]]

Hi everyone!

 

No xanax since Friday night and just got back from a 5 mile bike ride. My third this week and feeling groovy.

 

I guess a few more days and i'll be free.

 

Lucky for sure it seems

 

 

[[Ch...]]

Hi everyone!

 

No xanax since Friday night and just got back from a 5 mile bike ride. My third this week and feeling groovy.

 

I guess a few more days and i'll be free.

 

Lucky for sure it seems

 

I think you've got this, chimchim!! 

[[ch...]]

Thanks Challis99! I think I do as well! 

[[Be...]]

ya, If you make it the next 2 days or so, Id say you beat it... just dont try it again, if you use them again only use one as needed, not everyday.....

[[Be...]]

so far so good..... constant washed out feeling, sudden weakness, like the verge of anxiety attack... no attack so far though.....in 2 or 3 days I should be good.....then wait til after NYE to start thinking about jumping, that will be about 14 days away anyway....

[[ch...]]

Thats awesome Benzy! 

[[Bl...]]

Good job Benzy!!!!

 

Blue

[[Je...]]

Hey folks, I'm tapering down from 3.0mg of Xanax.  I get blurred vision...feel disconnected, barely able to think etc...in between Xanax dosages.  Low mood all the time, gets much lower.  just looking to compare notes.

[[Pe...]]

PepsiMoon, milk isn't used to titrate Xanax.  Unlike Klonopin, (where full fat milk is needed to form a solution), Xanax has no affinity for the fat in milk.  So water is usually used to titrate Xanax.  This forms a suspension, rather than a solution.  With a suspension, particles of Xanax are floating around in the water, so the person titrating must move very quickly when reducing their dose.  When Klonopin is mixed with full fat, regular homogenized milk, (non-super homogenized), it actually dissolves.  However, Xanax dissolves in neither milk nor water.  So there is no advantage to using milk with Xanax.  This is why most here use water.  HopefulGirl or mrsalw can help you with Xanax titration.

 

Yes, like Benzy said we use the .25mg Xanax to get the .0625mg cut.  I snapped the Xanax in half and then cut the half in half with a drugstore pill cutter.  I would imagine doing the Xanax part of your taper in dry cuts would be gentle enough if you opted to cut .0625mg per taper.  This would put your cuts way below 5% the whole way down on the Xanax part.  Then I would tackle my Klonopin.

 

Ok So I get that part. When I cut the .25 in half , then in half again. I take 3x .25(=.75 mg) and 3/4 of the .25 per dose for 14 days, 'Hold' Then, .75 + half a .25 for 14 days 'Hold' and so forth, always taking off the .0625 cut? I needed to ask another question as well.. I started a "rescue" dose of 1 mg Xanny 5 days ago. Should I 'Taper" off that or can I just stop it? (Since its only been 5 days for it)  Thanks Again, PepsiMoon

[[Be...]]

how quick are you doing your cuts jerry, how long do you wait in between cuts?

 

[[Be...]]

thats correct on the dry cutting Pepsi..

one trick some of us do is when you cut the tablets, a lot of times the cuts aren't very even, so like, when you cut out that first quarter, leave out the smallest quarter first, then the larger, then the larger, that way you ease into the cut... you know what Im sayin?

 

I always just start with a pinch, like I was at .0125 last time, thats a half of a .25, so when I started cutting this last time, I just broke off a little bitty corner of the half tablet, the next night I pinch off a little more, and so on, until about the 4 or 5th night I finally just broke the half .25 in two and left out the full .0625 cut... makes it a little easier to ease into a full cut that way..

[[mr...]]

Hey folks, I'm tapering down from 3.0mg of Xanax.  I get blurred vision...feel disconnected, barely able to think etc...in between Xanax dosages.  Low mood all the time, gets much lower.  just looking to compare notes.

 

Welcome Jerry

 

I can relate totally to the low moods, weird vision, feeling disconnected, etc...when I was having interdose issues, it almost felt like I was at the end of a long tunnel, and I could see "life" at the other end of the tunnel!  Such a weird sensation   I think they call it "depersonalization/derealization", although I think it, along with "cog-fog", is a very mild version of it  

 

I see in your signature line that you are now down to 2.25mg, and are using 0.0625mg as your cut (so, 1/4 of a 0.25mg tablet correct?).  I am hopeful you are taking things slowly, and have read the Ashton Manual for guidance in drawing up a tapering schedule   It will make things so much easier for you in this process.

 

A lot of us here divide our daily dosage into 4-5 equal parts, and dose it multiple times throughout the day in order to eliminate interdose withdrawal.  It has worked marvelously for me, and all but eliminated the interdose issues I'd had.  I am a water titrater, and am down 74% from my original dose, so I've only got a measly 26% left to taper off of!  I drop my 0.25mg tablet into 250mL of water every day to form a solution, and then divide my current mL I consume into four equal parts and take every six hours.  I toss the leftover solution as my "cuts".  Hopefully I didn't lose you in all that! 

 

Just wanted to welcome you to the group here; you're going to love the support you receive!  Let us know if you have any questions, okay?  Have a great night!

[[Be...]]

I dunno what to tell you about the rescue dose thing Pepsi, that could go either way at this point... either go back to your "original dose" , or find a happy  medium,,,, but whatever you do, try to "stabilize" at one dose, then start....

 

Im a Anal Ashton Administrator, and she says updose/rescuedose/reinstating is a NONO...

 

try not to do that if at all possible....

[[Be...]]

Bluebell, young lady, where have you been? Or do we wanna know....

[[Je...]]

thanks for your response.  quite frankly, I don't see how anyone can do this given how badly I feel

from one missed dose.

 

Depression, anxiety, DP. DR...

I wonder if It's the xanax or I'm really depressed.....

 

 

Hey folks, I'm tapering down from 3.0mg of Xanax.  I get blurred vision...feel disconnected, barely able to think etc...in between Xanax dosages.  Low mood all the time, gets much lower.  just looking to compare notes.

 

Welcome Jerry

 

I can relate totally to the low moods, weird vision, feeling disconnected, etc...when I was having interdose issues, it almost felt like I was at the end of a long tunnel, and I could see "life" at the other end of the tunnel!  Such a weird sensation   I think they call it "depersonalization/derealization", although I think it, along with "cog-fog", is a very mild version of it  

 

I see in your signature line that you are now down to 2.25mg, and are using 0.0625mg as your cut (so, 1/4 of a 0.25mg tablet correct?).  I am hopeful you are taking things slowly, and have read the Ashton Manual for guidance in drawing up a tapering schedule   It will make things so much easier for you in this process.

 

A lot of us here divide our daily dosage into 4-5 equal parts, and dose it multiple times throughout the day in order to eliminate interdose withdrawal.  It has worked marvelously for me, and all but eliminated the interdose issues I'd had.  I am a water titrater, and am down 74% from my original dose, so I've only got a measly 26% left to taper off of!  I drop my 0.25mg tablet into 250mL of water every day to form a solution, and then divide my current mL I consume into four equal parts and take every six hours.  I toss the leftover solution as my "cuts".  Hopefully I didn't lose you in all that! 

 

Just wanted to welcome you to the group here; you're going to love the support you receive!  Let us know if you have any questions, okay?  Have a great night!

[[Be...]]

well bless your heart, it'll make a believer out of ya, wont it Jerry...

 

So, you started at 3 mg? how long were you on that dose? were you stable/OK on that dose?? why did you start tapering in the first place???

 

try easing into your cuts like I suggested on the previous posts... are you waiting and stabilizing after you cut??? how long??? its important to get as stable as you can

 

"stable/stabilize" isnt really the right word, but you know what I mean...

[[Be...]]

its amazing to me, I get real confident and cocky with it when I feel ok, but it only takes one little bitty sign of withdrawals to bring me to my knees like a helpless tormented baby....

 

we KNOW how you feel.. but it can be done, it has  been done over and over again, its just hard sometimes...... the reward is worth it tho...

[[Be...]]

Jerry , were you depressed before benzos? Benzo and withdrawal can certainly cause super bad depression..

 

one thing I found, it can be very  mental, when I first started I was pumped and ready to go, I thought Id do just fine, but the first time I felt a withdrawal I went bolistic. I had pre-existing depression/anxiety/panic, I knew that, and I knew a lot of what I was feeling was just that, the pre-existing stuff kicking in with the withdrawals... with that in mind, the next time I had bad withdrawals I kept that thought in mind, and told myself "this is just withdrawals, dont let your mind get into it", and it didnt last as long. Then next time it was even shorter....

 

My withdrawals does come in waves though, its not constant, all the time stuff......

 

have you ever checked out the "body scan meditation" on youtube, it helps a lot,,, all the little things on here you'll learn help get you through, regardless of how insignificant they may seem, as long as you do them religiously...