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

[[Ju...]]

Benzy is right on with the explanation of stabilizing.    I was never 'truly stable', (feeling perfect), during my taper.  I always had symptoms.  For me, manageable symptoms meant something I could manage at home without rushing to the ER in a panic.  I never once resorted to going to the ER for anything Xanax related.  There were times I thought I might have to, but I just didn't because I knew they could not help me at the ER.

 

It's awful to be placed in the predicament of the only thing that could possibly help the way that we feel is ---- you got it ---- MORE BENZO.  Nope, it wasn't going to happen with me.  I wanted OFF and I was willing to do whatever was necessary to get OFF of Xanax.  It takes a HUGE amount of resolve to do a benzo taper.  Everyone ---- dig deep and find your resolve. 

 

I read somewhere that a benzo slow taper could not kill a person.  I chose to believe that and it helped.

[[VC...]]

VCharis, maybe you read the same thing I did once... it said "stabilize" isnt a word we should use during withdrawal/tapering simply because "technically" it doesnt apply... because in tapering/withdrawals things are always changinig....

 

we can however "level out" at different points where we need to, like after cutting we wait until things level out awhile before proceeding... we just always use the word stabilize because we know what each other is meaning....

 

as far as the adrenal surges, you said its been going on awhile, do you mean pre-benzo?

I have what I can only describe as adrenal surges, but I dont know if thats the correct term either, Ive always had them, mostly at night while trying to go to bed, its like a full body "zoom" is what I always called it,,, I think it must be what it feels like to go through a time warp or something, tickles, but it tickles to the point of not being enjoyable at all, mostly starts somewhere low in the body but within a second it goes all over, ending up in my brain it feels like, with a big "vVVVVVooooMMM".... kinda like a "lights out" feeling, then its over....its never hurt me....

 

ps. I guess if ones in bad tolerance they say you never "stabilize" as you taper,, but I was in tolerance and I got mucho better and better as I tapered, at about the 3 or 4th  cut.....

 

Hi Benzy, thanks for your insight. Don't think I had adrenaline surges pre-benzo (that would've been over a dozen years ago. But I do think the p-doc at the time medicated me for GAD instead of stressed out adrenals and hypothyroid. Each doctor afterwards would say "you need to get off that benzo" so I'd just take as little as possible, with the hopes of not getting addicted. Whenever my script was filled for 3 x daily, I'd take only 1/3 (0.5mg) all those years, maybe taking an extra if work was super stressful. However, last 2-3 years I've gone from adrenal fatigue with low cortisol (measured via saliva testing) to high cortisol (saliva testing) to adrenal burnout, and am presently seeking holistic healthcare/supplements for that. It wasn't until about 12-15 months ago that these surges and arrhythmias began to increase. I thought was due to grief and loss and super stress. Cardio & endo just treated it as hypertension, ignored everything else I said. One endo said I *might*have a tiny adrenal tumor due to high aldosterone, causing all this, but he was simply guessing and put me on Spironolactone. A wellness coach recommends destressing, getting off benzos, and replenishing minerals and electrolytes, which I'm trying to do. I'm going nuts trying to get both sides of these health practitioners on the same page. I don't think it's gonna happen, and that stresses me out, too.

 

Rambling, sorry. As to stability, I guess my idea of what that means is to take enough Xanax to get these irregular heartbeats and BP surges to stop, and go from there. But that might not happen? My stressing out has probably exacerbated the symptoms. I just need to get off this crap, pure and simple. Today i was ready to jump out the window. It was tolerable yesterday but the heart stuff continues to scare me, even though you and others have tried to console me. When i can sleep, I handle it better. Had a whole year of sleepless nights (or just 3-4 hrs), so my fear about insomnia is always on the backburner,too. All this adrenaline can't be good on the organs.

 

So if you didn't updose -- and seems you've done well - did your heart stuff get worse? Wait, I think you said you got better with each cut. Well, I'm so glad you've done well with your tapering!! You deserve a party soon! 

[[Be...]]

of course there were a few times when I said to he!! with a stupid body scan and ran down the hall screaming and crying... but I think I just wanted to have a meltdown

[[la...]]

 

When I was in tolerance withdrawal, I sometimes did not feel better when I dosed.  The only thing that helped me was a slow taper off.  Xanax can make us feel like we are a rapid cycling bipolar person when we are not.  Feel ok one hour, awful the next and then back to being ok.  If someone asked me how I felt during my taper, I always said all I can tell you is for this minute, the next minute things may completely change.

That is exactly how I feel.  It's weird, I felt 100% stable, and capable of dealing with anything for 6 months starting Xanax.  Now, it's just rapid cycling of crap.

 

Anyways, I re-started my taper. 

 

[[Be...]]

VCharis,,, I got on xanax because of pre-existing arrythmias.... I had them a full year, due to 4 previvous years of high stress,,, then I did about a years worth heavy doses of xanax and metoprolol before they stopped, for about a year.... after they "stopped", I just have normal benign episodes here and there throughout the day, which I'll happily stay with!!!

 

I havent had too much of "withdrawal induced" arrythmias...

 

perhaps yours is coincidental, you said you had a bad stress period when they started, so it might take awhile for them to calm,,,,, of course, withdrawing will be tricky if thats the case....

 

actually mine finally left when I quit smoking and quit caffeine (duh).....plus the high doses of meds....also I just finally gave up and decided if they killed me, then I was just gonna be dead...and they left....

 

they wont kill you unless theres a physical reason for them in your heart thats causing them or if youve been diagnosed with one of the few particular arrythmias that are dangerous by themself,,,but I dont think a benzo withdrawal can induce those types of arrhytmias anyway...

 

believe me, I KNOW its awful, regardless of why...

[[Be...]]

maybe I should re-word what I said,,,

 

most arrythmias are harmless (regardless of how it feels) theyre only dangerous if there is a physical reason in your heart that is causing them, and even then that doesnt mean they will kill you...it would be the physical problem that could kill you, so if youve been tested and such, you dont have to worry about that....

 

regularl ol crazy heart palps arent going to hurt you, they actuallys say most people have a LOT during the day and they dont notice them!! (id like to slap those people)

[[ma...]]

Thank you all that is exactly how i feel crazy one minute fine the next uhg!!! Just want this Dr to help me and so what is right for me i have taken 1/2 pill at 730 and another at 1130 and know as i sit here i am getting anxious again hate this if i was to take thought out the day how would i exactly do the 0.5 and then another 1/2 a pill?Like I said I go see her Wednesday just wanna know what might work for me for now thank you all so sad I feel worse then i did also how hard will it be to get off this dose and about how long to take so i dont feel worse doing it thanks aagain so glad i found this site

[[Ju...]]

Marley, I can't understand your post. 1/2 pill means nothing to me to be able to help you.  Please write in terms of Mgs.  If you are on a computer, please try to add periods between sentences or at least "......", like Benzy does.  If you're on a cell phone, I understand that is hard but your run on sentences makes it very hard for me to follow your post and understand what you're asking. 

 

If your dose is .75mg per day.  I would possibly try to break it up to:  .25mg .25mg & .25mg and see if that helps.  Mrs doses evenly every 6 hours and it helps her.  I'm so sorry you're suffering. 

 

If you are already dosing at .25mg per dose, then you might need to try to evenly break up the dose even more to dosing 4 or more times per day.  So much of this is trial and error.  We keep trying to find what works. 

 

I would try to stabilize for 2-weeks to a month before I tried to taper.

[[ma...]]

Ok sorry i take 0.25 mg three times a day, Right now every 4 hours, it is a 0.5 mg pill i cut in 1/2. Sorry just new at this dosage and all that.  I took 0.25mg at 730am and again at 1130am and i just had to take 0.125mg at 230 cause i was not sure what to take, and it calmed me down again so sorry to bother you all so much just need some help figuring out what to take and when. How bad it will be to taper of this dose thanks again hope i got it right his time if not I will not past anymore thank you sorry again

[[Ju...]]

Don't stop posting Marley.  It sounds like you've got a pretty good case of interdose withdrawal.  Maybe break up each dose of .25 to .125 for the rest of the day and see if that makes you feel better.  If this helps, you might try dosing increments of .125 all day tomorrow until you take your full dose.  If I could space them out as evenly as possible that is what I would try.

 

I didn't have interdose withdrawal, so I'm afraid I'm not a lot of help.

 

 

[[Fl...]]

Ok sorry i take 0.25 mg three times a day, Right now every 4 hours, it is a 0.5 mg pill i cut in 1/2. Sorry just new at this dosage and all that.  I took 0.25mg at 730am and again at 1130am and i just had to take 0.125mg at 230 cause i was not sure what to take, and it calmed me down again so sorry to bother you all so much just need some help figuring out what to take and when. How bad it will be to taper of this dose thanks again hope i got it right his time if not I will not past anymore thank you sorry again

 

Hi Marley,

 

WELCOME

 

This is our first time to chat.  I wanted to let you know that I was taking 1.5mg of Xanax (alprazolam) per day, and I started having really bead inter dose WD's.  I had started my first dry cut taper and within 14-days I was having severe SX's.

 

I had to up dose in order to get stable. I use the 25mg pills...Now, I am on 2.5mg per day, and I divide that into 4 equal doses consisting of .625mg which is 2 1/2 pills.

 

I am VERY REGEMINTED and CONSISTANT  with my dose times.  9a.m., 1p.m., 5p.m., and 10p.m. 

 

I am stable and have been that way for about 3 weeks. I will start my water taper on 1/15/14.

 

Now, just because I'm saying I'm stable...does not mean I don't ever have SX's because I do...but, when that happens I get online and chat or try and find something to help distract myself (that one is never easy for me).  There is always someone here to listen, and help talk you through.

 

Good Luck....Hugs

FluterByee

[[ma...]]

Thank you all for the information. I am just so afraid of taking more,I have read so many horror stories of trying to get off this stuff seizures  ect. I am just scared to death but want to feel better at the same time. My family needs me and all this over just having a panic over driving had led me to full blown nervousness. I wish I would have been told about all this before hand I would have dealt with it in another way and now I feel stuck. Thanks again all

[[Je...]]

hey guys.  I wake up at 4AM tweaking for xanax..every freaking morning.    I take it at

6-10-2-6-10. I only ever get 4-5 hours sleep on a good night...

 

thoughts

[[la...]]

Just out of curiosity, has anybody else experienced eye flutters?

 

When I went from 1mg -> .75mg my eye was twitching all the time.  I think that might have something to do with withdrawaling from Xanax's muscle relaxant properties. 

 

I'm hoping this time going down .0625mg at a time I don't experience that.

[[Ka...]]

Hi All,

 

I dose 6 times a day - 0.125 mg per dose.  I take the 0.25 mg pill and split into half.  Then 'dissolve' this cut pill in 100 mL of water.  My schedule is:

2 am, 6 am, 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm, and 10pm.  I tried to taper my night doses first, but was not a good idea.  I think, at least initially, try and make even cuts.  In addition, try dosing 4 times at first.  I c/t in January 2013 and started my taper too early (in September 2013).  My major symptom is head pressure.  Most others (about 60 of them) have gone.  Am holding for over a month now and can feel the head pressure slowly going down.  Will resume the daily cuts once the head pressure is relieved.  HopefulGirl helped me on how to do the liquid titration (had benzo brain at that time).  She is such a motivator - read her recent description.   

 

I ran out of Magnesium Glycinate (Doctors Best) and cannot sleep without it - sleep in two hour segments anyway!  Also, my best months were when I was on Gingko - will start back on it once the head pressure is relieved.  Body scan meditation and alternate nostril breathing is helping a lot.  Had to work through all this last year (from home though) and really do not know how I did it - even filed my detailed and lengthy tax forms in October 2013........Had to let go of 3 frequent flyer tickets, but that was a very small price to pay.  Have not flown for 14 months now.    Take each day as it comes - you are healing at just the right way and speed.

 

Best to all,

 

Kantu 

[[VC...]]

of course there were a few times when I said to he!! with a stupid body scan and ran down the hall screaming and crying... but I think I just wanted to have a meltdown

Hey, Benzy, I did that this morning TWICE....not running, just sobbing like a mess. I do not like me this way at all. Btw, I found a You Tube video last night on body scan meditation. Not sure if that's the same one you're talking about  but I almost fell asleep listening. 

[[mr...]]

hey guys.  I wake up at 4AM tweaking for xanax..every freaking morning.    I take it at

6-10-2-6-10. I only ever get 4-5 hours sleep on a good night...

 

thoughts

 

Jerry,

 

In the early AM hours is when cortisol levels rise and peak, so I am not surprised to hear this

 

Try taking 500-1000mg of vitamin C with your 10pm and/or 2am Xanax doses, and see where that gets ya.  Vitamin C "gobbles" cortisol in the bloodstream.

 

This TOTALLY eliminated my 4am-5am wake-up routine for me.

[[VC...]]

OMG, maybe I've really screwed up again. I'm reading everyone's dosing schedules, amounts, etc., and realize I'm probably STILL not doing it right. Please bear with me.

 

Jan. 7:

last day of any PRN dosing (although I'd taken 0.25mg-0.5mg bedtime doses)

 

Jan. 8-12:

0.5 mg 10pm

0.25mg at 1 pm

 

Jan. 13 (today):

0.25 mg at 10 am (meant to take 0.125!)

0.125 mg at 4 pm (felt no relief whatsoever but too upset to tell)

0.5 mg tonight at 10 pm.

 

Obviously, these are not equal exact doses, but I thought my bedtime dose needed to stay parked at 0.5mg if it would help me sleep. Ive slept two good nights on it, but only 3 hrs last night. I wake up at 4 or 4:30 am nearly every night - can't always go back to sleep. This could be due to hypoglycemic incidents causing cortisol spikes, or benzo crap. Adrenal stuff messes up sleep cycles and benzos mess up adrenals...sigh.

 

At the risk of sounding dumb, I still don't know what my body needs. I stay upset, and I continue having adrenaline surges even when I'm calmed down; BP reached highest today due to upset from family stuff. One could always hope tomorrow will go better, but my nerves are shot.

 

I feel scared to take too much...not even 1 mg total per day..especially after I've tapered a couple times last year.  Am I being over cautious? Sorry to keep bothering you all.

 

Thanks 

VCharis

[[No...]]

 

 

Have you tried something like .125mg in the a.m., .125mg in the afternoon and .75 at bedtime?

 

It's gotten pretty untolerable to the point where I've quit work and school.

 

I was thinking about doing .125mg in the am.  That's actually what I did today.

 

It seems like too much Xanax during the day and it relieves the anxiety, but adds bad depression.  Without Xanax during the day  get bad anxiety, and no depression.  I think regardless there is going to be some discomfort here.  I just have to find a happy medium with a day time dose that gives a little relief on the anxiety, but doesn't cause depression.

 

Hi Lacey23,

 

          Xanax is short acting as others have noted. You might consider dosing evenly through out the

  entire 24 hour day. I had to do this, to eleviate the interdose withdrawals I was experiencing. I just

  set the clock, and took my dose. You need to get to a stable dose schedule. Everyone is unique, with

  different body requirements.

 

          We are here to help. 

 

    Notforme

 

I appreciate your post notforme.  Actually I haven't talked to you before, but read your update earlier, and it was great to read. Thank you very much for that.

 

I think I am going to be moving some of my Xanax dose to the day time.  I just have to find a balance that doesn't give me day time depression, but aleviates some of the day time anxiety.  For now, I think I'm going to go with .8125mg at night, and .125mg in the morning.  This will be a .0625 dose reduction in totality.  Hopefully it works out.  I might have to consider moving more of it to the day time if it doesn't.

 

Out of curiosity, were you initially taking it all at night, and how did you go about switching it to the day?

  Hi Lacy,

        I was taking Xanax/Alprazolam for PTSD/Panic/Anxiety disorder for a Medical Crises. I went to a PDoc

  for "talk therepy" and walked  out with a script for Xanax PRN, I had NEVER heard of Xanax before.

 

        I started taking as needed during the day. In 2012, Xanax created "rebound Anxiety" for me, amongst

  a lot of other issues. Since It was prescribed "as needed", I had no regular dose schedule. I there fore had

  to create a taper schedule for me that worked. I have found that dosing evenly stabilized me to a certain

  point, IMO. I then started a taper from there. Its all individual, Lacy. You just have to be committed to the

  entire process, with acceptance, help from a trusted  family member (if you can), a trust with your Dr. whom

  will help you taper and encourage you, and BB.

 

      I hope I have answered your question(s). 

 

        In Peace~

        NFM

[[Be...]]

most of the body scans are basically the same, if you almost feel asleep then its a good one!! but try to stay awake and learn to do it lol....

[[Be...]]

  VCharis, you dont have to do your taper just like anyone else,, find what works for you..

I just dose once a day...others dose 4 and 5 times...

[[VC...]]

Could someone scroll back and see my previous question? I'm sorry. Just having a rough day...crawling out of my skin...

 

Oh, Benzy, thanks. I guess I realize that, but I thought it would calm my system down if I spread out the doses. Apparently it hasn't done much for me today. Since it's so short-lived, I thought it would get worse I waited only at night to dose. Everyone tells me different. Feeling overwhelmed, that's all.

[[Be...]]

oh, ps... theres also some that change their program every now and again, to take care of interdose withdrawals and stuff, so ya dont have to stick with just one thing all the time...just dont go up on the dose amount per day of course....

 

sorry if you already know this, I got benzo brain at the moment.. atleast thats my excuse...

[[Ju...]]

You're not bothering us VC.  But I do not know the answers to your questions about dosing.  I only dosed 1X per day.  So much of this is trial and error.

[[la...]]

oh, ps... theres also some that change their program every now and again, to take care of interdose withdrawals and stuff, so ya dont have to stick with just one thing all the time...just dont go up on the dose amount per day of course....

 

sorry if you already know this, I got benzo brain at the moment.. atleast thats my excuse...

Hey Benzy, how ya doing?  Are you planning on taking the leap pretty soon?