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

[[Gu...]]

Was thinking cutting out am .25 only and continue pm .25, then taper off the pm dude thanks !

[[va...]]

GG, well, since you weren't on it for very long, and you aren't experiencing a lot of symptoms, it'll probably be OK.  Let us know how it goes.  Good luck!  (and hey!  You're almost done!  YIPPEE!)

 

~K   

[[Gu...]]

I went and jumped the .25 am dose, gonna do .25 evening dose, night time is worse to deal with. I've seen some people really suffering here, and my symptoms at this point seem mild in comparison , can feel the lack of the drug in my system, but it's tolerable in the day, gonna stabilize the evening at .25 then cut from there, I want this over with . Gonna suck it up during the day! Wish me luck !! Thanks to all who post their experiences, it's helped a lot .

[Guest [ga...]]

Good luck, GuitarGuy! Sounds like you are doing great!

[[Ra...]]

So when I start the taper from XR to normal xanax should I really worry about the interdose withdrawal symptoms? When I attempted it a month ago with too big of a cut, it felt like I got punched in the nose and was shaking a lot.

[[vi...]]

Can someone point me to a method to tapper xanax using an ethanol taper?

 

[[ba...]]

hi again everyone  , its been 6 months +  9 days since i quit xanax , i still havnt told my mother yet i was planning to tell her at month 4... then that went by then 5,  now 6 , i guess i'll try to tell her at month 7 , even though im in my 20s im still her "little baby " and i dont want to worry her, or maybe she'll be happy that i quit and i have my life without needing meds?

[Guest [ga...]]

hi again everyone  , its been 6 months +  9 days since i quit xanax , i still havnt told my mother yet i was planning to tell her at month 4... then that went by then 5,  now 6 , i guess i'll try to tell her at month 7 , even though im in my 20s im still her "little baby " and i dont want to worry her, or maybe she'll be happy that i quit and i have my life without needing meds?

 

 

Congratulations! As the mom of a daughter your age, I would be PROUD of you! And, yes, you will always be her baby. There seems to be no way to turn off the mom switch once it's turned on. 

[[va...]]

Can someone point me to a method to tapper xanax using an ethanol taper?

 

I'm sorry, visions, but I don't know anything about doing an ethanol taper.  Maybe someone else will chime in.  Good luck.

 

Namaste.

 

~K   

[[va...]]

So when I start the taper from XR to normal xanax should I really worry about the interdose withdrawal symptoms? When I attempted it a month ago with too big of a cut, it felt like I got punched in the nose and was shaking a lot.

 

Raven, I never used xanax xr, however, if you take 3-4 doses of regular x spread out throughout the day you should be fine.  If you need to, you can even take 5-6 doses/day.  I can't imagine anyone needing to do that, but you could.  Let us know how it goes.

 

Namaste.

 

~K   

[[...]]

Guitar Guy, I don't think it matters if you were taking it for a short time, it really affects your brain chemistry. I think you tapered too fast. Now, for an up to date to fellow buddies. On 3/3/15, I cut from 0.875 to 0.75. It was horrendous, after 3 days I reinstated at 0.875. On 3/28/15 I cut back to 0.75 (0.25 AM, 0.5 PM) By the third day the W/D became awful again. I went to Dr. Ashtons' website and did more reading. I started to think about the fact I had experienced interdose withdrawal for prolly 13 years, but didn't know it and contributed the red hot sweats and anxiety to menopause and the stress that comes with being an RN. I did notice that everytime I cut, the next few days were really tough. I saw on Dr. A's website that her dosing schedules were always three times a day, keeping the blood level stable. It made a lot of sense, my interdose withdrawal symptoms were exacerbated every time I cut back. So I decided to break my dose into 3 doses. And I used milk to titrate the dose. Xanax doesn't dissolve in water, but it does in milk. Be sure to shake it up before dispensing. I mixed 3/4 mg in three mls of milk and take 1 ml (0.25 mg) 3 times a day. This method will allow me to make cuts of 0.0625. I am SO happy to report that taking three times a day has made all the difference in the world!!! I stabilized very quickly, the horrid sweats are much milder and only 5-6 times in 24 hrs instead of almost non-stop. So, I am at a total of 0.75mg daily.  I know it does not seem like much, but after taking 2-3 mg daily for 14 years my brain was extremely dependent on it. It is an extremely powerful medication and I can't wait to be free of it

 

[Guest [ga...]]

rdb, I think you're doing great if you can take it only 3 times. I am still at 5 times. BTW, there is a liquid form of xanax called alprazolam intensol made by Roxane. Tastes nasty but really easy to titrate.

[[Ra...]]

Hi all,

 

I haven't posted here for a while, most of all the old timers when I first joined are no longer on here.    Regarding some of questions that have been asked:

 

1.  How many times should I dose?  This is a very individualized question.  I've known folks who only dosed once a day and  never had interdose and that person took a fairly large dose as I recall.  3mg I think it was.  Then some other folks are very sensitive to interdose and have to dose 4 or 5 times a day.  So it's a hard question to answer.  If you are having bad interdose w/d, then I would definitely consider breaking up your doses. 

 

2.  Should you 'add' valium to the mix to temper the interdose w/d?  I would only do that as a last resort.  If you can stabilize on your Xanax and go VERY slow, that would definitely be preferred. 

 

3.  How big of cuts should I make?  Again, very individual and may depend on whether you have to work or not. I have to work, so being stable was of paramount importance.  I started out on a whopping 3mg and decided to cut flat amounts of .0625mg every other week (14 days).  So far I've been at it for about 12 months and it's been fairly uneventful.  I did add another drug though which I feel helped me, Seroquel.  Adding additional drugs is really only recommended if you just cannot stabilize and cannot stand it.  That was where I was, at the end of my rope.  I plan on continuing my .0625mg cuts to the end unless symptoms rear up and I have to change gears.

 

4.  How often to cut?  Again, very individual.  Some folks stick to a very rigid schedule, every 7, 8 or 9 days.  If you don't have to work and you can gut out the terrible symptoms, that can work.  I've followed a rigid schedule, but my cuts are only every 14  days, that's a fairly long time between cuts.  Also my cuts are still within the 10% guideline. 

 

5.  Daily titration or dry cutting?  Again, very individual.  I chose to dry cut because I felt I would be nervous wreck with the liquid titration.  I'm not great at math.  I have to say that I was so scared to dry cut, but once I started, I found it was not bad at all.  Also depends on your work schedule.  Liquid titration would be a problem for my work situation, so dry cutting is working out.  That said, if things start to go south (I'm about 1/2 way through my taper) I may have to change gears.

 

So much depends on your individual sensitivity and whether or not you have to work.  Some folks don't seem to have many symptoms and others have symptoms with the tiniest cut, so you have to find what works best for you.

 

Congrats to Tree, Van, Mrs., Grinch and Baby!!!

 

Shout outs to my dear friend VCharis and our Administrator Challis  :smitten:

 

Bunny

[[Ch...]]

Hey Bunnyyyyyyyyy!

Good to 'see' you!

How're ya you doing?

 

Old timer Challis 

[Guest [ga...]]

Thanks for your post, Bunny. Very informative!

[[Ra...]]

Hey Bunnyyyyyyyyy!

Good to 'see' you!

How're ya you doing?

 

Old timer Challis 

 

Hey ole timer Chall, I'm doing pretty good.  Recovering from surgery, so off work for a couple more weeks.  Holding taper right now, but think I may start up here again maybe this Friday or the next.  How are you doing? 

[[Gr...]]

I'm in limbo about something. I'm currently on 1mg Xanax XR + 10mg Valium. I'm debating whether to cross over all the Xanax to Valium, then begin a Valium taper, or if I should hold the current 10mg Valium and try tapering the Xanax.

The reason I hesitate at just crossing over is because I'm uncertain about the Xanax/Valium equivalency. Ashton chart has it at 0.5mg X = 10mg V, while other charts have 1mg X=10mg V. So depending on which chart I use, I could be at either 20mg or 30mg when crossover is completed. That's a big difference.

 

Maybe I could taper 1mg Xanax down to .5mg, then cross over the .5 X to 10 V. Then I would be at 20mg V. I'm concerned how difficult tapering to .5 X would be if I just make little .0625 Xanax cuts every two weeks like some people have.

 

Not making a firm decision until I see my dr 3 weeks from now. I just started 10mg V and dropped my Lunesta 12 days ago (and I'm sleeping great!) I'll be on my current med combo for a month by the time I see my dr, I guess we'll see what my body is doing at that point.

 

Any thoughts?

 

[[Ra...]]

Hi Grapejuice, I would see how you do on the valium.  If it doesn't make you sick or depressed and since you've already added the valium, I would be tempted to cross over to all valium, bit by bit.  I would cross over at the higher equivalency just to make sure you don't have any issues.  Often they recommend that you cross over to a bit higher V equivalency anyway.  I believe that most folks here believe that .5mg Xanax equals 10mg Valium (Xanax is 20 times stronger than valium). 

 

Glad to hear you are sleeping great, so many have problems with insomnia.

 

Please keep us posted on your progress!

 

Bunny

[[Gr...]]

Thanks Rabbit11! So far Valium makes me quite sedated (but I can handle that), plus the quivering & nervousness I had been having for weeks before starting it have gotten a lot better.

I just did the math comparing c/o completely to 30mg total, then taper Valium to 20mg vs tapering Xanax to .5 then c/o to 20mg total. The Xanax taper route would actually take an extra two weeks, assuming two week intervals for every crossover or taper. So it looks like the direct c/o to V would be to my advantage.

[[Mr...]]

Hey Folks!

I've been reading the blog for the past two days. I must say I'm terrified. I feel like some sort of a monster with thd dosage I was taking (16-20mg for 8+months). Now at 2.75 daily. What scares me is that according to the forum and books the end is THE WORST. My symptoms are tough but as soon as midday comes I feel normal. But thinking about the next day and starting all over is horrible... But I'll make It!!!

[[Ra...]]

Mr. Anderson, please don't be afraid.  There are several people on here who's symptoms got better the lower in dose they got and several who have stepped off mostly healed with little to no acute period after jumping.  There is no way to know for sure which you'll get as there is no blue print to make this easy.  Everyone's journey is different.  However a SLOW steady taper seems to work for most.  I was on 3mg of Xanax and my taper will be about 23 months or so by the time it's over IF all goes as planned. 

 

It is not easy, but MANY have made this journey before us and healed and we will too!  Yes for most, symptoms are worse in the morning and seem to get better towards afternoon or end of the day.  I know I'm that way.

 

Grapejuice, glad you have your plan now.  Please keep us posted how you are doing 

[Guest [ga...]]

Hi all. I have a question about w/d symptoms. I am just starting my Xanax taper. From what I've read, I'm guessing that with a short-acting benzo like Xanax, I am going to feel the reaction to the cut sooner than I would with a longer acting benzo. Is that correct? Would love to hear about anyone's experience with this.

[[th...]]

Hi all. I have a question about w/d symptoms. I am just starting my Xanax taper. From what I've read, I'm guessing that with a short-acting benzo like Xanax, I am going to feel the reaction to the cut sooner than I would with a longer acting benzo. Is that correct? Would love to hear about anyone's experience with this.

 

Typically, that seems to be the case, however there are many who feel the cut on the 5-6 day or the 7-8 day too. The important thing is to look for patterns in yourself. I didn't seem to have a pattern that I could track bc it was always different for me. One cut it was 24 hrs later, another cut it was 3 days later and another cut wasn't at all.  Others have been able to really pinpoint the day that the cut hits and it helped them plan their lives and just prepare. I think some people got a journal and kept track of syxs so they could see the pattern in themselves and then plan accordingly if there was one. Glad to see you tapering off! 

[[Mr...]]

Thank You so much Rabbit11!!! 

[[Ch...]]

Hi all. I have a question about w/d symptoms. I am just starting my Xanax taper. From what I've read, I'm guessing that with a short-acting benzo like Xanax, I am going to feel the reaction to the cut sooner than I would with a longer acting benzo. Is that correct? Would love to hear about anyone's experience with this.

 

I felt cuts completely by 72 hours (3 days) and then they started to subside. After I saw that pattern, I began cutting a little faster, but I was very impatient about the whole taper thing… just wanted it over with.