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

[[th...]]

I'm just not able to cut.  the feelings of insanity are too much for me.  What do I do?

 

Then wait until your symptoms settle down.  Usually I was cutting every 10-14 days.  Take your time and take it slow.  Also, try smaller cuts.

 

Bunny T,

 

I am right behind you in tapering 

 

G 

[[va...]]

Anyone have crazy head pressure and jaw pain near the lower doses that resolved reasonably once they jumped??

 

G

 

Hey!  I just noticed you and I are at about the same place now.  You're one cut ahead of me.    Wanna race to the end?  j/k 

 

hugs.

 

~K 

 

Hey ya we are!!  I cut every 7 days... The end can't come soon enough!!!

 

G

 

yaaa, I'll try doing that now that I'll be cutting .0625 instead of .125.  I was waiting between 9-12 days, usually going for 10 days.  I just want it to be over.  This is tedious. 

 

~K 

[[Ch...]]

Anyone have crazy head pressure and jaw pain near the lower doses that resolved reasonably once they jumped??

 

G

 

Hey!  I just noticed you and I are at about the same place now.  You're one cut ahead of me.    Wanna race to the end?  j/k 

 

hugs.

 

~K 

 

Hey ya we are!!  I cut every 7 days... The end can't come soon enough!!!

 

G

 

yaaa, I'll try doing that now that I'll be cutting .0625 instead of .125.  I was waiting between 9-12 days, usually going for 10 days.  I just want it to be over.  This is tedious. 

 

~K 

 

.0625 was the magic number for me.  If you look at my signature, I sky dived through the last few cuts.  The last few didn't kick up any symptoms for me.

[[va...]]

I've now gone over to the .0625 cuts, so I'll start cutting more frequently.  Cut last night, and no symptoms today except my ever present frenemie tinnitis.    Of course, I slept almost all day, so I wouldn't have noticed much. 

 

Namaste.

 

~K 

[[va...]]

Anyone have crazy head pressure and jaw pain near the lower doses that resolved reasonably once they jumped??

 

G

 

Hey!  I just noticed you and I are at about the same place now.  You're one cut ahead of me.    Wanna race to the end?  j/k 

 

hugs.

 

~K 

 

Hey ya we are!!  I cut every 7 days... The end can't come soon enough!!!

 

G

 

yaaa, I'll try doing that now that I'll be cutting .0625 instead of .125.  I was waiting between 9-12 days, usually going for 10 days.  I just want it to be over.  This is tedious. 

 

~K 

 

.0625 was the magic number for me.  If you look at my signature, I sky dived through the last few cuts.  The last few didn't kick up any symptoms for me.

 

  I'm hoping the experience is similar for me.  so far my taper has been relatively uneventful, so I hope that bodes well for the future and keeps progressing easier.

[[No...]]

 

      Food for Thought~~~~

 

      Not every Xanax taper went so well, as described here lately.

     

      I never "sky dived" through my cuts, nor had minimal symptoms. I am pointing this out, for those

      whom may be reading these threads, not posting.

   

      We all experience Benzo Withdrawal differently, so classifying a Xanax taper as "easy", "Go fast",

      "be done with it" etc does not help those whom suffer a symptom based taper no matter what they

      do.

 

      If I was struggling with tapering Xanax, reading this thread would lead me to believe that I was doing

      something wrong or wrong with me.

 

      Please be careful how you come across, as we want to help those in need, not scare them away.

 

    Just my Own Honest Opinion, from someone who had an extremely difficult time tapering off of Xanax.

 

   

[[mr...]]

 

      Food for Thought~~~~

 

      Not every Xanax taper went so well, as described here lately.

     

      I never "sky dived" through my cuts, nor had minimal symptoms. I am pointing this out, for those

      whom may be reading these threads, not posting.

   

      We all experience Benzo Withdrawal differently, so classifying a Xanax taper as "easy", "Go fast",

      "be done with it" etc does not help those whom suffer a symptom based taper no matter what they

      do.

 

      If I was struggling with tapering Xanax, reading this thread would lead me to believe that I was doing

      something wrong or wrong with me.

 

      Please be careful how you come across, as we want to help those in need, not scare them away.

 

    Just my Own Honest Opinion, from someone who had an extremely difficult time tapering off of Xanax.

 

 

 

 

For more information about my own personal taper, symptoms, and story, check out my signature line as well as a more recent post in the benzo-free section: http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=120817.0 

 

The dream is real.  You can be benzo-free, and heal.  Just keep moving forward!  As Mr says, "Slow growth is STILL growth."

 

Mrs.

[[ba...]]

 

      Food for Thought~~~~

 

      Not every Xanax taper went so well, as described here lately.

     

      I never "sky dived" through my cuts, nor had minimal symptoms. I am pointing this out, for those

      whom may be reading these threads, not posting.

   

      We all experience Benzo Withdrawal differently, so classifying a Xanax taper as "easy", "Go fast",

      "be done with it" etc does not help those whom suffer a symptom based taper no matter what they

      do.

 

      If I was struggling with tapering Xanax, reading this thread would lead me to believe that I was doing

      something wrong or wrong with me.

 

      Please be careful how you come across, as we want to help those in need, not scare them away.

 

    Just my Own Honest Opinion, from someone who had an extremely difficult time tapering off of Xanax.

 

 

 

Ditto. This is the exact reason I don't post here anymore.  I have watched so many just disappear from this thread, not because they were healed or even feeling better, but because they had great difficulty and were simply ignored.  This thread should be called "No Scary Stories"! 

[[ba...]]

 

      Food for Thought~~~~

 

      Not every Xanax taper went so well, as described here lately.

     

      I never "sky dived" through my cuts, nor had minimal symptoms. I am pointing this out, for those

      whom may be reading these threads, not posting.

   

      We all experience Benzo Withdrawal differently, so classifying a Xanax taper as "easy", "Go fast",

      "be done with it" etc does not help those whom suffer a symptom based taper no matter what they

      do.

 

      If I was struggling with tapering Xanax, reading this thread would lead me to believe that I was doing

      something wrong or wrong with me.

 

      Please be careful how you come across, as we want to help those in need, not scare them away.

 

    Just my Own Honest Opinion, from someone who had an extremely difficult time tapering off of Xanax.

 

 

 

 

For more information about my own personal taper, symptoms, and story, check out my signature line as well as a more recent post in the benzo-free section: http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=120817.0 

 

The dream is real.  You can be benzo-free, and heal.  Just keep moving forward!  As Mr says, "Slow growth is STILL growth."

 

Mrs.

 

Hi Mrsslaw, congradulations on quiting xanax !! i wished i did a water taper i quit from 0.0625mg xanax on 9/14 , after 2 1/2 months i still feel crappy i still feel better week by week , i hope you enjoyed your thanksgiving too!! 

[[Bl...]]

 

      Food for Thought~~~~

 

      Not every Xanax taper went so well, as described here lately.

     

      I never "sky dived" through my cuts, nor had minimal symptoms. I am pointing this out, for those

      whom may be reading these threads, not posting.

   

      We all experience Benzo Withdrawal differently, so classifying a Xanax taper as "easy", "Go fast",

      "be done with it" etc does not help those whom suffer a symptom based taper no matter what they

      do.

 

      If I was struggling with tapering Xanax, reading this thread would lead me to believe that I was doing

      something wrong or wrong with me.

 

      Please be careful how you come across, as we want to help those in need, not scare them away.

 

    Just my Own Honest Opinion, from someone who had an extremely difficult time tapering off of Xanax.

 

 

 

 

For more information about my own personal taper, symptoms, and story, check out my signature line as well as a more recent post in the benzo-free section: http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=120817.0 

 

The dream is real.  You can be benzo-free, and heal.  Just keep moving forward!  As Mr says, "Slow growth is STILL growth."

 

Mrs.

[[va...]]

I've seen a lot of people here having a very hard time, and I didn't see them being ignored.  I certainly don't mean to belittle anyone else's experience, or make them feel like there is something wrong with them.

 

I think a lot of it comes down to perspective.  I've been living in extreme physical pain for over a decade, and I already had many of the symptoms long before I ever took xanax, so I was already used to them.  That might explain why I feel like it's been easier, when actually, yes, sometimes symptoms drive me crazy, or they hurt.  I'm not going to stop tapering or slow down because of them though. 

 

I also think attitude has a lot to do with how it goes for some people.  Allowing fear to control you might make it worse.  This is just my opinion, however, and I would never tell anyone else to do what I do.  I take risks that other people shouldn't take, and I always have.

 

I sincerely apologize if I made anyone feel bad, or unheard.  It has never been my intention to make anyone feel invisible or unimportant. 

 

Namaste.

 

~K

[[No...]]

   

   

 

    The reality is,  not one individual experiences benzo withdrawal

    tapering, length of time, how you metabolize meds, your health

    age, dose the Same.  Upregulation of gaba, and the neurotoxicity

    of glutamate, going rampant inside my brain did not have anything

    to do with,  Perspective, attitude.

     

    Be well and take care.

   

   

 

   

[[Bl...]]

In my opinion, we do have some control over how we respond to the chemical changes that go on in our brain when we taper. If I had not known that the emotional and physical symptoms were caused by rampant chemical changes, I would have listened to my distorted thoughts.  I had to counteract them with positive truths, not the lies my negativity was telling me. I also had to believe that my anxiety, tears and depression would lessen and go away as I healed, and that my body would eventually stop aching, the tinnitus would go away, the fatigue and weakness would improve and I would stop shaking. If I had not, I would not be alive to type this post because it would not have seemed worth it to me. Hope and faith are a powerful. Hang on to them when you are hit by withdrawal that is so bad, that you become bedridden because your body will not allow you to do otherwise, or your mood is so  black, you are consumed by it. Reach out to those that are in a better emotional and physical state. Ask for their support to help carry you through your time of despair

 

Blue

[[mr...]]

Happy belated Thanksgiving to you all; my apologies for not saying so before.

 

Just checking in to say hello, and to let you know that things continue to improve as time passes.

 

Thanksgiving day marked 2 weeks benzo free for me for the first time in over 5 years, so I had much to be thankful for on that day (and everyday). For those of you who don't know me, I micro tapered for almost two years from a starting dose of 0.25mg/day. Almost half of my time tapering was relatively uneventful, most likely as a result of a slower taper (I tapered almost 75% of my dose in the first half of my taper). The second half of my taper (and the remaining 25% of my dose) proved to be one of the most challenging walks of my life, to-date. I am unsure as to why the lower doses proved to be a challenge for me, as by all standards and planning, I'd done things "correctly". It is no matter, as I have learned so much from the experience.

 

I've frequently been more of an "A+B=C" type of person, and this taught me that there is much more to learn about withdrawal. I've also learned that, although there are some general "good practices" so to speak to follow while withdrawling, we are all also so unique and individual in this process. And as such, we'll all have a little (or sometimes, a lot!) different experience through all this. Some may experience depression, nerve pain, and fatigue, while never experience an ounce of anxiety or panic. While others still will experience horrid anxiety, panic, and fear but never know what nerve pain, fatigue, or depression even feel like. Some express their beliefs that some symptoms may be "preexisting" or "reemergences"; then there are others who have never experienced anxiety or depression or panic symptoms except for withdrawal (so therefore not 'preexisting'). I cannot speak for anyone else excepting myself, as I have learned that unless I walk a mile in another's shoes, I truly and simply do not understand what their path is like. It is so easy to "say", and entirely another thing to "do" -- this I have learned oh so much in withdrawal.

 

So many other things I have learned, but I find myself rambling a bit...so for tonight, I will say goodnight. For those who are suffering still, know that you are not alone, and that someone here is thinking about you (and praying for you). You will recover, too -- this I believe to be true.

 

Take care, and rest well tonight. Another day in the "books" towards recovery is done

 

Mrs.

[[ba...]]

As NFM said.

 

For me, positive affirmations and b.s. linguistic contortions have done nothing to help my horrific physical and mental withdrawal.  I will never sanitize my experience in order to follow the herd.  I will always tell the truth of my experience in order to help others. 

 

In addition, I will always be transparent on my healing process.  I will not "scare" people for years with what I perceive to be light and manageable lingering symptoms.  Yep. Some of us will be damaged for life.  Deal with it.  I plan to move on and live the best life I possibly can.  I'm just stubborn that way...

 

[[Bl...]]

You have never sugar coated your opinions and truths Babyrex. I have always admired the strong, and confident person that you are.

 

Blue

[[va...]]

In my opinion, we do have some control over how we respond to the chemical changes that go on in our brain when we taper. If I had not known that the emotional and physical symptoms were caused by rampant chemical changes, I would have listened to my distorted thoughts.  I had to counteract them with positive truths, not the lies my negativity was telling me. I also had to believe that my anxiety, tears and depression would lessen and go away as I healed, and that my body would eventually stop aching, the tinnitus would go away, the fatigue and weakness would improve and I would stop shaking. If I had not, I would not be alive to type this post because it would not have seemed worth it to me. Hope and faith are a powerful. Hang on to them when you are hit by withdrawal that is so bad, that you become bedridden because your body will not allow you to do otherwise, or your mood is so  black, you are consumed by it. Reach out to those that are in a better emotional and physical state. Ask for their support to help carry you through your time of despair

 

Blue

 

  Nicely said, Blue. 

[[va...]]

Happy belated Thanksgiving to you all; my apologies for not saying so before.

 

Just checking in to say hello, and to let you know that things continue to improve as time passes.

 

Thanksgiving day marked 2 weeks benzo free for me for the first time in over 5 years, so I had much to be thankful for on that day (and everyday). For those of you who don't know me, I micro tapered for almost two years from a starting dose of 0.25mg/day. Almost half of my time tapering was relatively uneventful, most likely as a result of a slower taper (I tapered almost 75% of my dose in the first half of my taper). The second half of my taper (and the remaining 25% of my dose) proved to be one of the most challenging walks of my life, to-date. I am unsure as to why the lower doses proved to be a challenge for me, as by all standards and planning, I'd done things "correctly". It is no matter, as I have learned so much from the experience.

 

I've frequently been more of an "A+B=C" type of person, and this taught me that there is much more to learn about withdrawal. I've also learned that, although there are some general "good practices" so to speak to follow while withdrawling, we are all also so unique and individual in this process. And as such, we'll all have a little (or sometimes, a lot!) different experience through all this. Some may experience depression, nerve pain, and fatigue, while never experience an ounce of anxiety or panic. While others still will experience horrid anxiety, panic, and fear but never know what nerve pain, fatigue, or depression even feel like. Some express their beliefs that some symptoms may be "preexisting" or "reemergences"; then there are others who have never experienced anxiety or depression or panic symptoms except for withdrawal (so therefore not 'preexisting'). I cannot speak for anyone else excepting myself, as I have learned that unless I walk a mile in another's shoes, I truly and simply do not understand what their path is like. It is so easy to "say", and entirely another thing to "do" -- this I have learned oh so much in withdrawal.

 

So many other things I have learned, but I find myself rambling a bit...so for tonight, I will say goodnight. For those who are suffering still, know that you are not alone, and that someone here is thinking about you (and praying for you). You will recover, too -- this I believe to be true.

 

Take care, and rest well tonight. Another day in the "books" towards recovery is done

 

Mrs.

 

Congratulations on your two weeks being free of benzos!  keep it up. 

 

 

 

[[mr...]]

Thanks vangogh; I hope your taper continues to go very well for you

 

Take care,

 

Mrs.

[[th...]]

All I can say is if I wasn't so determined to get off this poison and have a "DAMMIT I AM GONNA BEAT THIS WD AND NOTHIN IS GONNA STOP ME!!" attitude I would have given up a long time ago bc this is by far the worst and biggest struggle of my life! I have never felt so much chronic pain both emotionally and physically! My strength and attitude does not make the syx go away....it makes me keep fighting and pushing through them. And that is an important aspect, one of the most important for me, of this ride... IMO. My attitude saves me in this regard.

 

G 

[[ro...]]

G,

I'm fighting the emotional sxs every minute..

I want to get thrunthis too, I do get scared, but I keep going..

 

Love rose

[[va...]]

All I can say is if I wasn't so determined to get off this poison and have a "DAMMIT I AM GONNA BEAT THIS WD AND NOTHIN IS GONNA STOP ME!!" attitude I would have given up a long time ago bc this is by far the worst and biggest struggle of my life! I have never felt so much chronic pain both emotionally and physically! My strength and attitude does not make the syx go away....it makes me keep fighting and pushing through them. And that is an important aspect, one of the most important for me, of this ride... IMO. My attitude saves me in this regard.

 

G 

 

Much agreed.  That's what I mean when I talk abut perspective, I think.  Or one aspect of it anyway.

 

Namaste.

 

~K

[[Ch...]]

All I can say is if I wasn't so determined to get off this poison and have a "DAMMIT I AM GONNA BEAT THIS WD AND NOTHIN IS GONNA STOP ME!!" attitude I would have given up a long time ago bc this is by far the worst and biggest struggle of my life! I have never felt so much chronic pain both emotionally and physically! My strength and attitude does not make the syx go away....it makes me keep fighting and pushing through them. And that is an important aspect, one of the most important for me, of this ride... IMO. My attitude saves me in this regard.

 

G 

 

Much agreed.  That's what I mean when I talk abut perspective, I think.  Or one aspect of it anyway.

 

Namaste.

 

~K

 

I'm with you two.

[[va...]]

G,

I'm fighting the emotional sxs every minute..

I want to get thrunthis too, I do get scared, but I keep going..

 

Love rose

 

Rose, everyone feels fear sometimes.  The important thing is to not let it stop you.  And you don't. 

 

********************

 

I know some people suffer a lot, a LOT, more than I probably could possibly imagine.  I know what it was like when I CTd for 5 days, before I even knew xanax could cause the things I experienced, and I know some people, especially people who CT and don't taper, experience those kind of symptoms for months and sometimes years.  I can't imagine what that would be like.  My heart goes out to them.

 

Namaste.

 

~K

[[th...]]

As I creep up on my last 8 cuts I have a question....

 

I will be still dosing 4xday taking .125,.125,.125,.125 and will be cutting .0625 from each of those. My question is do you think I should cut .0625 from each like a round robin till I am at .0625,.0625,.0625,.0625 and then cut out individual doses or cut out doses from the .125?? For example cut out my afternoon dose of .125 to .0625 to 0 than go onto the next dosing time and cut that the same way then the next....blah blah. Or the other way?

 

Does anyone have any ideas if either is best or are they the same when it's down to the last few cuts??

 

Thanks

 

G