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

[[Mo...]]

Hey Grinch,  I started feeling better the lower I got and when I made a cut I had some symptoms the next day.

[[No...]]

Poll:

 

1. How many of you Xanax users started feeling better on the lower doses?

 

AND..

 

2. When does your uptick after a cut hit? I seem to get hit the very next day.

 

Grinch

 

  Grinch

            The lower my dose of Xanax,  the better I felt too. 

            dosed  8 times a day.  Had  to have my. 0625mg Xanax compounded by

            a pharmacy.

            My body recognized any miniscule dose inconsistencies in dry cutting regular Xanax.

            (fast  metabolizer).

            My sxs  ticked up within 4 hours,  with the next am hitting hard.

 

            Everyone is different. Success lies right around the corner.

              Be well all,  sending you healing prayers.

              Notforme 

 

 

[Guest [Ma...]]

I need to dose 6 times a day, mornings are brutal and I get slammed on day 3 after a cut.

I too have a friend who discontinued 3mgs of K in a couple of days with just a headache?! Unbelievable.....

[[Sy...]]

Hello. It's been awhile. I have been doing this taper for what feels like ever! it has been fulltime all day every day.

 

I have successfully made my way down to .75. Some of you may recall I was having a tough time at first top of this taper. I have actually had a semi non horrific time in the middle but got hit at about 1mg with a new host of sx mostly physical (ringing in my skull is seriously maddening nonstop). Now its not to say it is as horrific as all the confusion and terror that came with the top end of this, but it sure is a thing.

 

Been sitting on this last cut but I am not getting any lift of sx's that i use to kinda get from the interdose, it's just constant. Even with the 4x day dose. Updose does nothing.

 

Learning how to cope (or distract constantly) is key. Just telling myself 'oh thats the flipin WD' and 'well That just happend'  has been a daily thing. I am a bit stressed (ok alot stressed) about how I may have sx after I hit 0. This stuff changed alot of my life for the worst I am so ready to move on.

 

I have avoided coming on because of my overthinking about post taper, and what i call my online OCD. I just wonder if there will ever be a complete lift of whats left? the ringing I would have to say bothers me the most along with fatigue and despair. OVERALL things are better tho.

 

How is everyone? Grinch, V, mrs, Rabbit, True, Juliea, and others? sorry im bid fogy today.

[[ma...]]

It has been 4 days since I started dosing 6 times a day and i must say I feel ALOT better at this time anyway. Thank you all for suggesting that,Now my next question is this.

 

I dose .125 at 10am,2pm,4pm,6pm,8pm,10pm  right now and it is working. We are taking off on our move this next Friday and leaveing at midnight to drive from NC to PA it is about 14 hrs with a uhaul and I will be driving a rental pick up truck. How do i dose on this day? In order for me to be function-able and not have to deal with WD SX all the way up to pa? I know I have to stick with the dosing times i do right now because it works great.

 

So i just up dose for just that time period? midnight-10am this one time or and suggestions?

 

Thank you all again cant wait to start tapering again once settled but for now i am still at .75 from 1mg so i am ok with that for the moment

 

Have a great day all sx free!!!!!

[[th...]]

Marley,

 

I dry dose so I just bring my pills with me and take them at the times I always take them. I just pop the pill when the time rolls around. No matter where I am, or what I am doing, I keep on schedule. I guess I might be confused as to what you are asking. If it were me, I would bring my pills along and take them at the 6 times you are staying at the dose you are at. I don't updose, ever, so that is never an option for me.

 

Grinch

[[ma...]]

What I mean is I will take my regular doses through the day on Friday and sleep from like 9pm to midnight and then we have to drive about 14 hrs to PA so between midnight and 10am I usually do not dose I am asleep until 7 am and then i am fine and take my dose at 10am. But I will be awake the whole night and driving 635 miles so I will prob be feeling the SX since I am usually asleep at the time I will be driving.

 

Just not sure how to work that. I do take my pills on time no matter where i have a pill box lol and a alarm.

 

thanks for the help all

[[ba...]]

I went 3 days without taking my low low dose of xanax the first night i was like " umm i feel ok im gonna try to fall asleep without it" , the 2nd day i felt the same, i activated outside for several hours today on my feet so i felt great, i smoked too many cigarettes though so i had to take my dose after i finished eating awhile ago

[[Sy...]]

Im an idiot! got slammed today I felt ok when cutting, up untill about 1mg now the intrdose is nonstop! Think I Have messed up beyond repair? Tried to bump up 2 doses but it did nothing. Am back to being bed ridden and this raging squeal in my head has me literally screaming out to god  for any lift in the sxs, wanting to not go on anymore (not that i would do anything) I can't take much more all day every day with this battle.  Does anyone know if crossing over to diazapam this far down would help at all or will this go on for months now that i rushed a bit. Maybe a lift with the sx? Because reinstating does nothing!.. I know I messed up thought I was feeling my way down.

[[th...]]

Synapse,

 

Personally I wouldn't switch over at this point. I d slow it way down low. Hold and make no cuts until syx begin to lift. Then would only do .0625mg cuts every two weeks at the most. That's what I would do anyway. Sorry you got slammed  :'(

 

G

[[Sy...]]

hey G

been up last 48 hrs two nights, last night was seriously bad. Still.

Been sitting at .75 since the 9th because it has become full on w/d since 1mg.  It is scarry stuff, the shrill ringing all difrent pitches, headaches, blacking out, teeth gnashing and moments where all body will just stutter. None have stopped, unlike when I would get a tiny lift after dosing thats why i kept going. Now even adding .25 back to see if 1mg would help does nada. Seriously thinking this might be somthing else but may just be the big w/d.

[[No...]]

Synapse

              I would  HOLD until  sxs  became tolerable.  Looking at your  taper rate,

      You've done considerable big cuts. Now is the time to slow things down for

        your  brain to catch up. My opinion,  I am  so sorry  you're getting  slammed.

 

          Notforme

[[Mo...]]

Hey Synapse,  I agree with Notforme about holding.  You have made some pretty big cuts quickly. I would let my body catch up and then try dropping by smaller increments.  Hope you start felling better.

[[Sy...]]

I completely agree with you all on the holding.

I only made one cut that I didn't feel any lift before cutting and it was the last cut of .25. I am just trying to figure out if bumping up to the last cut amount then holding would smooth it out.  Somehow I passed out for about two hrs, Less stressed

all the twitchy stuff and tinnitus are still full force tho. I never wanted to ever crossover to diazapam till now only because it is longer acting. The tinnitus and headaches scare me so much because of a small pituitary tumor that was treated when I was 19. That of course now freeks me out. I do need to get another mri soon  

Synap

[[Ra...]]

Synap, that is a pretty fast taper it appears to me.  I agree with the others, I would HOLD until you feel more stable.  I'm not sure if I would cross to valium or not.  Once you get a bit more stable, might take a month or even two, I'd try a .0625mg cut and see how that feels.  If it's still bad, you might want to cross over to valium.  My heart goes out to you. 

 

Many hugs,

 

Bunny

[[Sy...]]

Today was a much better day.

Still sitting at .75 but decided when I couldnt sleep to get up and do somthing. I put my headset on to drown out the the tinnitus, lifted some weights and forced myself to jog a small bit. I was so beat that I got home and passed out without any noticeable ringing or depressing thoughts.

 

When I got up felt sore and cruddy, but put headset back on and sorted out my shed. seems like doing things on a sorta autopilot really helps. Not cutting again till another week goes by. Life changes by the hr. At least I can tell things overall are way better. I just have to remind myself this crap wont go on forever. 

[[Ra...]]

Synap, glad to hear you seem to be feeling better.  You are more motivated than me, lifting weights and jogging, goodness, I would be on cloud 9 to feel like doing that stuff.  Good for you!

 

So have you decided how much you are going to cut next time?

 

Hugs,

 

Bunny

[[va...]]

YAY!  I finally found the xanax thread.  I've been reading people's blogs, and always this thread was mentioned, but I didn't know where it was.

 

Backstory, I started taking xanax .5mg pills off and on about, maybe, 16 months ago.  I had tried almost all the other ones but they did nothing for me.  I was taking it for anxiety and sleep.  Last August after I went through an extremely traumatic experience, my doctor increased my pills to 1mg/60/month.  I took them off an on, and eventually, since around Jan, started taking them more regularly.  The last 2 months have been very erratic.  I've never taken them every day, but I was taking up to 4 pills on some days, usually (averaged) probably 2/day.  Then, I ran out of pills and went 6 days without them.  I couldn't sleep.  I started having both auditory and visual hallucinations, my skin was extremely sensitive, I was seeing the color red around the periphery of my vision, I was extremely jumpy, nothing felt right, or real.  I thought it was from sleep deprivation.  It didn't occur to me it was the xanax.  I had no idea.  (In the past, I kicked cocaine (heavy user, every day for a year), cigarettes, alcohol (long time abuser), ambien, all kinds of ADs, all CT with no problems.)  One of my friends told me it was the xanax.  I didn't believe her at first and she told me to go read some forums, and then I learned.  After over 20 years clean, I'm addicted to a prescription medication.  I could kick myself. 

 

I've also become agoraphobic over the last year.  I hate going out anywhere.  I don't even walk my dog anymore, I used to walk her about 2 hours day.

 

After the harrowing experience above, I took 4mg to knock myself out, woke up next day, felt fine, felt normal.  (that's when I wrote about it and found out what the problem was.)  Next day I didn't take anything, and the symptoms started returning.  That's when I knew.  So, people told me to divide the dose 4x day.  I decided to try 3x day, taking a higher dose at night to help me sleep (.5 around 10am, .5 around 5pm, and 1mg around 11pm).  I've been feeling fairly OK.  I have tinnitus, but I've had that off and on for years.  This had been going on for about 4-5 days, I think, feeling very stable.  Yesterday I thought I would see if I could manage a lower dose, and also try dosing 2x/day instead of 3x, because the day before I felt like I could do it, but I took the 2nd dose anyway because I had to go out and I didn't want to be out and have panic strike, and I usually only took them at night before.  Last night I started feeing very anxious, so I added .25 to my regular 1mg dose.  It's 9:30pm now, 2nd day, and I didn't take the 2nd dose again, I'll add to my night time dose.  I'm feeling some anxiety, and the ringing is louder, but I think I'll be fine.  My eyesight also gets tired and I'm seeing spots.  This happens to me all the time when I'm very tired though.  (I have chronic fatigue syndrome.)

 

I'm just wondering, is it wise to go from 3x day to 2x day?  I'm going to hold at this dose for at least 2 weeks and make sure I'm stable before making any more cuts.  (hopefully I won't get a bunch of symptoms, but I know it's a possibility.  I might not should have cut yet.  And if I do, I'll probably add the 2nd dose back in and take it out of the nighttime dose.  Is that wise?) 

 

I'm flying by the seat of my pants here.  I did end up sleeping really late today, which I think was good.  I hope I can sleep late tomorrow as well.  It might help me make it through the next few days.

 

Thanks to everyone for being here and creating this forum, and a safe place to come talk. 

[[Be...]]

Hi all,

 

I'm new and just recently joined BB. I am reading & researching. I have not started my taper yet. I am leaning towards X taper, no crossover. Not sure if I want to dc or lt.  (I still need to develop/get a taper plan.) 

 

I also have a thyroid auto-immune illness (in remission) that cost me my thyroid in 2012; this should be fun keeping my thyroid levels in ck while I taper. No thyroid = must keep thyroid levels up. Stress is a enemy of my AI. ack. I thought I was well & recovered from that illness and BAM...got dx with cdc positive Neuro Lyme disease. That began round two major health battle (also now in remission). Two major battles back to back and I am still here.

 

Most if not all of the X taper w/d sx will be mimicing both of my illnesses. Sooooo not looking forward to it but yet, I am. Illnesses got me here to begin with. Ironic. Now X taper is going to be round three battle fighting for my health. But I want my life back!

 

About me...I like to laugh (it got me through a lot in my illnesses), sarcasm is my first language, I'm country laid back straight forward, I am a retired nurse, kids all grown & married, 9 gkids, supportive husband, I love to cook (slinging flour in my kitchen makes me happy). Umm..what else. I like geneaology/ancestry.

 

I like to help others, support others when I can. When I was ill...I found out how important it is to have a safe place to go to talk, vent, cry, share, laugh, etc... with ppl who truly understand.

 

I know this will not be easy and that once again my very being will be tested beyond what I percieve myself to be able to handle. BUT...two other things tried to kill me back to back...I'm still here...bring it X.   

 

ok...Enough tough girl jibber jabber...  (remind of the tough girl later, ok) 

 

I will post to offer support...and also when I get my taper plan in place to begin this major battle for my health (hopefully the last battle for a long time...3's a charm right!).  Wish me luck.

 

  Be well.

[[Mo...]]

Hey Benzo Fuzz, sounds like you have a great plan.  Good Luck starting your taper. 

 

Monique

 

 

[[Mo...]]

Hey Vangoghshear,  Sorry you are having such a hard time.  Maybe try to stabilized on a dose before you make any cuts and then make small cuts and hold.  For me small cuts worked well with minimal withdrawal issues.  When I tried cutting too big is when all the symptoms got worse.  I am towards the end of my taper, can't wait to be done with it but still moving slowly.  Good Luck 

[[cr...]]

Hey Benzo Fuzz

Welcome and best wishes with landing on a taper plan.  It has helped me to educate myself about possible sx, and to read about the experience of others.  I haven't experienced everything every other person has experienced, so I try not to dread the future, or worry about sx that I haven't experienced yet.  Careful planning and daily recording my taper has helped so far.  A couple of times I've adjusted my schedule due to sx or life events.  My schedule into the future at a high level lines up with the recommended plans I've seen here, but I've given myself some flexibility (I plan to reduce by .5 mg xanax every six weeks going forward, but will do so incrementally, say .125 to .25 mg every 10-14 days, depending on my pill-cutting expertise  .  I've considered a valium crossover, but ruled it out for now. 

 

Be gentle with yourself.  Educate yourself and plan, but don't borrow trouble--you may not experience some sxs that others experience. 

[[va...]]

Hello again everyone.  So, last night I had a very hard time sleeping.  First, couldn't go to sleep, then, kept waking up, all night long.  Early this am I finally slept for a few hours straight, woke up about 10:30, made a cup of Earl Grey tea and had some yogurt with fresh blueberries and strawberries.  I was going to sleep some more, but I'm feeling like it might be better to stay up, and try to do something physical and productive.

 

My question today is this, I'm seeing my doctor on the 3rd, so I need to come up with a plan so I can get the pills I need to start cutting.  I've decided to go relatively slow, cutting every 10-14 days, and not before.  Right now I'm getting 1mg pills, but I think it'll be easier to make the cuts with .5 or .25mg pills.  So how, exactly, should I ask for what I need?  INW, I need a taper plan, along with a plan to explain to him what I will be doing.  (I'm pretty sure he'll go along with me, and I was thinking of giving him this board address so he can read about people's experiences, if that's OK.  I don't want to do anything against the rules here, and I'm not sure where that falls, but I've read that the board is also here for people to read who aren't members, but who want to support their loved ones kicking, and I'm not sure if that extends to medical professionals.)

 

So, should I continue getting 1 mg pills for my nighttime dose, along with .25 mg for cutting?  Or, should I move over to .5mg and .25mg, and how many?  Right now, I get 60 1mg pills/month.

 

I'm thinking of starting a blog, just so I can catalogue what I'm going through on a daily basis.  I'm thinking it might be a good idea to have all that information, and also, perhaps, cathartic to write and keep a journal.

 

Any input from anyone here is greatly appreciated. 

 

[nobbc]width=500 height=281http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj561/charlie3912/catside-story1.gif[/img][/nobbc]

 

(I stole the photo from another member here, who I'd like to give props, but since this thread is open to the public, don't want to mention any names.  You know who you are.    )

 

Edit: deactivated image/gif.  Images not allowed on support threads unless image is related to the subject of the thread, (such as an image of a pill cutter, etc).  Please copy and paste image link into browser to view image.

~Juliea

[[va...]]

Hey Vangoghshear,  Sorry you are having such a hard time.  Maybe try to stabilized on a dose before you make any cuts and then make small cuts and hold.  For me small cuts worked well with minimal withdrawal issues.  When I tried cutting too big is when all the symptoms got worse.  I am towards the end of my taper, can't wait to be done with it but still moving slowly.  Good Luck 

 

Thank you M.  It isn't that bad right now.  Not like when I went through 6 days CT.  That, was a nightmare.  Literally.  I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.  (not that I have enemies, but you know what I mean.  )

 

(It's hard to remember not to mention names on this thread, since it's open to the public.)

 

~K 

[[Ju...]]

Hey Vangoghshear,  Sorry you are having such a hard time.  Maybe try to stabilized on a dose before you make any cuts and then make small cuts and hold.  For me small cuts worked well with minimal withdrawal issues.  When I tried cutting too big is when all the symptoms got worse.  I am towards the end of my taper, can't wait to be done with it but still moving slowly.  Good Luck 

 

Thank you M.  It isn't that bad right now.  Not like when I went through 6 days CT.  That, was a nightmare.  Literally.  I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.  (not that I have enemies, but you know what I mean.  )

 

(It's hard to remember not to mention names on this thread, since it's open to the public.)

 

~K 

 

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