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

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While away on vacation / at a show I was experiencing extreme social anxiety because I was around large groups of people I don't know. Anyone find any coping mechanisms for this? I've always been uncomfortable around people I don't know and especially bigger groups 4+ people.

[[th...]]

While away on vacation / at a show I was experiencing extreme social anxiety because I was around large groups of people I don't know. Anyone find any coping mechanisms for this? I've always been uncomfortable around people I don't know and especially bigger groups 4+ people.

 

I understand. I also get the intense feeling of unreality or, I know its called depersonalization but for me it feels more like "increasedpersonalization". I start to notice everything about my person, my gestures, my speech, my expressions. It's very creepy. And I think other people think I am weird or are staring at me. They most likely aren't. I think for me its getting used to it and expecting it. Anytime I am out around people I just assume to be anxious with those other syxs. When they arise, I just remind myself it's wd related and there isn't anything fearful or weird happening and move on. Sometimes I retreat a little until it passes. If it doesn't pass then I just keep pushing thru it. If I stew about it I tend to get worse and have to leave. So I take a deep breath and forge ahead. Not very helpful, I know. I don't know if there is any way to control the feelings when I am out, I haven't found any yet, so dealing with them is the only option IMO. I can't wait for this syx to go away for good!!!

 

G

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thanks man I'm glad I'm not the only one.

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Does anyone feel that if they go backwards and up the dose they've cut to (like I did on the 19th-22nd) that you essentially reset the ticker and start back at whatever dose you went back to? When I did so the other day I was faced with harsh withdrawl symptoms for about a week afterward. I did get home and try and bounce right back pretty quickly. Maybe I should have eased back into things or better yet not have taken the extra doses at all last week.

[[Ra...]]

Hey V girlfriend!  I'm not so sure I would combine your day doses at this point.  I only dose twice, but I've been that way most all of my taper.  I don't have any I/D w/d yet (knock on wood).  I think trying to combine those day doses would be too stressful at this particular point. 

 

If I were you, I would just taper your nighttime dose until it's equal with your other doses.  That should give you time to get your personal life headed in a good direction and then take on the loftier task of combining doses.  Your system seems to be so sensitive, I'm not even sure I would combine doses.  At the point where the doses are so small you can eliminate one, then before you do that, I would probably start gradually moving the timing of the 3 day doses so that 2 of them are pretty close together.  At that point, I would then eliminate one.  I have no idea if this would work for you because you are so sensitive, just tossing that out as an idea. 

 

I'm SO glad to hear you are pretty stable right now.  That's a world away from where you were a year ago. Good work honey!  Hugs to you dear friend 

 

Bunny

[[Ra...]]

Hey Grinch, how are you doing post jump?  What are your symptoms?  I know you struggled through your entire taper with grueling symptoms.  Have they lightened up since you jumped?

 

Hugs to you 

 

Bunny

[[VC...]]

Hey V girlfriend!  I'm not so sure I would combine your day doses at this point.  I only dose twice, but I've been that way most all of my taper.  I don't have any I/D w/d yet (knock on wood).  I think trying to combine those day doses would be too stressful at this particular point. 

 

If I were you, I would just taper your nighttime dose until it's equal with your other doses.  That should give you time to get your personal life headed in a good direction and then take on the loftier task of combining doses.  Your system seems to be so sensitive, I'm not even sure I would combine doses.  At the point where the doses are so small you can eliminate one, then before you do that, I would probably start gradually moving the timing of the 3 day doses so that 2 of them are pretty close together.  At that point, I would then eliminate one.  I have no idea if this would work for you because you are so sensitive, just tossing that out as an idea. 

 

I'm SO glad to hear you are pretty stable right now.  That's a world away from where you were a year ago. Good work honey!  Hugs to you dear friend 

 

Bunny

 

Well, hey there, Bunny Rabbit! Thank you. Makes good sense, and I'm actually leaning towards that (just cutting my bedtime dose until I'm all evened-up). Won't be long til I hit 0.5mg so I'll start then. Appreciate your input.

 

Girlfriend, I was one hot mess when I got here last year. Acute tolerance w/d. Ugh. My HPA axis has really healed a lot this year, thankfully. Slow like a turtle, but I get there...ha.

 

Been thinking of you! 

 

Hugs,

V 

[[mr...]]

Hey V girlfriend!  I'm not so sure I would combine your day doses at this point.  I only dose twice, but I've been that way most all of my taper.  I don't have any I/D w/d yet (knock on wood).  I think trying to combine those day doses would be too stressful at this particular point. 

 

If I were you, I would just taper your nighttime dose until it's equal with your other doses.  That should give you time to get your personal life headed in a good direction and then take on the loftier task of combining doses.  Your system seems to be so sensitive, I'm not even sure I would combine doses.  At the point where the doses are so small you can eliminate one, then before you do that, I would probably start gradually moving the timing of the 3 day doses so that 2 of them are pretty close together.  At that point, I would then eliminate one.  I have no idea if this would work for you because you are so sensitive, just tossing that out as an idea. 

 

I'm SO glad to hear you are pretty stable right now.  That's a world away from where you were a year ago. Good work honey!  Hugs to you dear friend 

 

Bunny

 

Well, hey there, Bunny Rabbit! Thank you. Makes good sense, and I'm actually leaning towards that (just cutting my bedtime dose until I'm all evened-up). Won't be long til I hit 0.5mg so I'll start then. Appreciate your input.

 

Girlfriend, I was one hot mess when I got here last year. Acute tolerance w/d. Ugh. My HPA axis has really healed a lot this year, thankfully. Slow like a turtle, but I get there...ha.

 

Been thinking of you! 

 

Hugs,

V 

 

 

Mrs.

[[Ra...]]

Mrs.  :smitten:

[[th...]]

Hey Grinch, how are you doing post jump?  What are your symptoms?  I know you struggled through your entire taper with grueling symptoms.  Have they lightened up since you jumped?

 

Hugs to you 

 

Bunny

 

Hey! Instead of restating everything again here hop on over to the "benzo free" board and find my thread. You ll be able to see how I am doing! 

 

G

[[ma...]]

Sooo today is DAY 5 WITH NO XANAX!!!!!! I never ever thought i would be here ever,I feel so much better being of this crap. I look back at my posts over the past and I cannot believe how bad i was feeling. I just went at MY own pace and if i needed to hold for a month or more I did and then when i could i moved on. Thank you all again for the support.

 

To anyone who is struggling you can get through this I was not on a high dose BUT I was in a bad spot and I Got through it and so can you.

 

[[Mo...]]

Sooo today is DAY 5 WITH NO XANAX!!!!!! I never ever thought i would be here ever,I feel so much better being of this crap. I look back at my posts over the past and I cannot believe how bad i was feeling. I just went at MY own pace and if i needed to hold for a month or more I did and then when i could i moved on. Thank you all again for the support.

 

To anyone who is struggling you can get through this I was not on a high dose BUT I was in a bad spot and I Got through it and so can you.

 

 

 

 

Awesome Marley! 

[[va...]]

Congratulations Marley! 

 

I'm now on day 9.  woo hoo!   

[[ba...]]

hi im really happy to see folks here making great progress in their tapers and successfull jumps !! many hugs to you'all 

[[th...]]

Vang and Marley!!!

 

[[va...]]

Vang and Marley!!!

 

 

  Thanks Grinch! 

[[Gu...]]

Hi everyone, new here, just began a slow taper this morning, tried a ct off 1mg Xanax per 24 hr, was tough, reinstated to stabilize and did first 5 % cut this am. Came to read others stories and work in getting off these menacing pills, thanks for any advice !!

[[va...]]

Hi everyone, new here, just began a slow taper this morning, tried a ct off 1mg Xanax per 24 hr, was tough, reinstated to stabilize and did first 5 % cut this am. Came to read others stories and work in getting off these menacing pills, thanks for any advice !!

 

GG, I posted on the thread you started on the other board. 

 

~K 

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Hi friends in recovery, it is comforting knowing others are on this journey also. In 2001 my MD prescribed Xanax for GAD that presented itself strongly during nursing school, and I have been taking it ever since. Mind you, this year will be 28 yrs alcohol, marijuana, crank and cocaine free. My dose for Xanax has always been 2 mg daily and I never had the urge to increase it, in fact, six weeks ago I ran out on a Thurs but couldn't get it filled till Mon so I decided to just quit. I am an RN who retired at 57, two years ago and I figured no more stress/anxiety, no need for Xanax. I went 3 nights and 4 days without Xanax and I can tell you it was the most horrible experience I've ever had. 100x worse than stopping methamphetamine. I thought I was going insane. At that time I researched it and OMG, you are never to cold turkey off it! So that Monday I restarted it at 1.5 mg as my new MD suggested. I am titrating down slowly and am at 0.75 mg now. Some may ask "you are a nurse, why didn't you know", well to be honest, I totally trusted my MD and didn't give it a second thought. If he had warned me about this drug I would have never tried it. Now it's like a living hell at times- I feel like crap after I take it and feel like crap between doses. The sweats and chills are awful and unpredictable, I get a blast of anxiety right before they hit. I hope to God I can recover from this, I dislike the spacey feeling I get at times. thanks for being here.

[[Ch...]]

Hi rdb and welcome to the Xanax thread. 

 

There are quite a few nurses on the forum and they didn't know how problematic benzo withdrawal can be either.  My own daughter's a nurse and is still skeptical when I tell her about my own withdrawal.

 

I tapered from 2mg of Xanax after years of use and am nearly three years from the end of my taper and doing quite well.  You will recover from this too, however it can be a longer process than we think is reasonable.

 

If you'd add a 'signature' (benzo history including tapering details) it'll help people know where you are in the process and they can best reply to your posts with that information.

 

Here's how to do that: Go to the top of the page and select Profile, then choose Forum Profile, insert drug history/timelines into the text box and click Change Profile.

 

Challis

[Guest [ga...]]

Hi friends in recovery, it is comforting knowing others are on this journey also. In 2001 my MD prescribed Xanax for GAD that presented itself strongly during nursing school, and I have been taking it ever since. Mind you, this year will be 28 yrs alcohol, marijuana, crank and cocaine free. My dose for Xanax has always been 2 mg daily and I never had the urge to increase it, in fact, six weeks ago I ran out on a Thurs but couldn't get it filled till Mon so I decided to just quit. I am an RN who retired at 57, two years ago and I figured no more stress/anxiety, no need for Xanax. I went 3 nights and 4 days without Xanax and I can tell you it was the most horrible experience I've ever had. 100x worse than stopping methamphetamine. I thought I was going insane. At that time I researched it and OMG, you are never to cold turkey off it! So that Monday I restarted it at 1.5 mg as my new MD suggested. I am titrating down slowly and am at 0.75 mg now. Some may ask "you are a nurse, why didn't you know", well to be honest, I totally trusted my MD and didn't give it a second thought. If he had warned me about this drug I would have never tried it. Now it's like a living hell at times- I feel like crap after I take it and feel like crap between doses. The sweats and chills are awful and unpredictable, I get a blast of anxiety right before they hit. I hope to God I can recover from this, I dislike the spacey feeling I get at times. thanks for being here.

 

If I am reading this correctly, you are titrating very, very quickly, not slowly. My psych told me it would take 3 months to get off of 2mg Xanax, and that was optimistic.

[[va...]]

Hi friends in recovery, it is comforting knowing others are on this journey also. In 2001 my MD prescribed Xanax for GAD that presented itself strongly during nursing school, and I have been taking it ever since. Mind you, this year will be 28 yrs alcohol, marijuana, crank and cocaine free. My dose for Xanax has always been 2 mg daily and I never had the urge to increase it, in fact, six weeks ago I ran out on a Thurs but couldn't get it filled till Mon so I decided to just quit. I am an RN who retired at 57, two years ago and I figured no more stress/anxiety, no need for Xanax. I went 3 nights and 4 days without Xanax and I can tell you it was the most horrible experience I've ever had. 100x worse than stopping methamphetamine. I thought I was going insane. At that time I researched it and OMG, you are never to cold turkey off it! So that Monday I restarted it at 1.5 mg as my new MD suggested. I am titrating down slowly and am at 0.75 mg now. Some may ask "you are a nurse, why didn't you know", well to be honest, I totally trusted my MD and didn't give it a second thought. If he had warned me about this drug I would have never tried it. Now it's like a living hell at times- I feel like crap after I take it and feel like crap between doses. The sweats and chills are awful and unpredictable, I get a blast of anxiety right before they hit. I hope to God I can recover from this, I dislike the spacey feeling I get at times. thanks for being here.

 

If I am reading this correctly, you are titrating very, very quickly, not slowly. My psych told me it would take 3 months to get off of 2mg Xanax, and that was optimistic.

 

This was my thought as well.  Might want to slow down just a little bit, especially if symptoms are that bad.  How many times/day do you dose?  I was dosing twice/day and that worked for me.  I was dry cutting though. 

 

Also, just a thought, but it might be possible that some of this is related to the fact that you were taking 2mg for all those years, but after your short CT you stabilized at 1.5mg instead of back at 2mg.  I'm not sure how relevant that is, but I remember when I first figured out what was going on with my CT experience, I was told told to stabilize back at 2mg and hold for awhile before tapering.  (well, I only held for 5 days, then made a large cut of .25mg, which was a lot, but I learned from that and started cutting much less from then on out.)  I took 6 months to taper off 2mg xanax.  I jumped 11 days ago. 

 

Anyway, welcome to the board!  There are some really great people here who are generous with their time and help.  You'll find great support here. 

 

Namaste.

 

~K   

[[...]]

I am feeling so discouraged right now, I had 3-4 good days at a new cut from 0.875mg to 0.75. Then last night I was slammed all night long with skin crawling hot flashes and sweating. How can you have a couple good days and then awful days? I should mention I stayed at 0.875 for just a week, could I be reacting to too quick of a taper?  Should I go back to 0.875 mg for a couple weeks? I am lost, I don't know what to do. Should I cut by just 5%? I can't go through another night like last night. Thanks for any advice. rdb

[Guest [ga...]]

I'm sorry this is hitting you so hard. Other people have been where you are and got better. You will get better if you slow down and give your brain and body time to adjust.

 

I'm not one of the more experienced people on here, but what you are describing sounds a lot like what others have described from tapering too fast. I think you will find that most people cut 10% of their med per month.

 

I'm not sure about reinstating. I'll let one of the more experienced people comment on that. If you do decide to reinitiate, 2 weeks may not be enough time to allow your brain to stabilize. My understanding is that your brain was re-wired by the xanax and now much actually rewire itself back. It sounds like it is trying to do that right now.

 

There will be good days and bad days while it does this. When I am having a bad day I tell myself I am in a "waiting time" and try not to fight it.

 

Hang in there. You are on a path to healing.

[[th...]]

I am feeling so discouraged right now, I had 3-4 good days at a new cut from 0.875mg to 0.75. Then last night I was slammed all night long with skin crawling hot flashes and sweating. How can you have a couple good days and then awful days? I should mention I stayed at 0.875 for just a week, could I be reacting to too quick of a taper?  Should I go back to 0.875 mg for a couple weeks? I am lost, I don't know what to do. Should I cut by just 5%? I can't go through another night like last night. Thanks for any advice. rdb

 

Yes, it can happen. I was all over the place in my syxs under 1 mg. I was seemingly doing a little better for a few weeks then got hit hard again. Then it would sorta get better then bad again. I was never going to reinstate so that wasn't an option for me nor was holding longer than planned. Sometimes it just took pure grit and white knuckling thru it. It is so hard I know, but I made it. My taper and wd was horrendous. And I made it, so I know it can be done. You will have to find what works for you though, that doesn't mean syx free it means find what works for you to keep moving forward. That's what is important. No matter what you do, it's the right choice if it keeps you moving forward. 

 

Grinch