Xanax taper for water or dry, new Dr wanting me to be off in 16 weeks or less

I would like some help on how to finish my taper, been tapering since Jan 2019 from 3.5-4 mg and am at .50 mg split into 4 doses per day.  Have had some struggles along the way but new doctor wants me to be off xanax asap.  He wanted me to switch to clonazepam, but I am not wanting to change meds.  I tried to jump last August from .174 mg xanax and that was a disaster causing me some major withdrawal and sxs that have taken a long time to get better from and am still dealing with some, histamine issues are still bad and I do not look for them to get any better the lower I go in dose.  I had to up dose 3 times but have been at .50 mg for around 85 days now and want to continue my taper.  I do not feel like I am going to get any better than I am at this point so do not think holding any longer is the answer.  It has been 10 months since I have made a cut.

I have a PNP which still prescribes my xanax but I want to get this done also so I can start to feel better and continue to heal.

I am considering doing the water taper (YouTube ) but do not know how many days would be best to try to do and also would like to know the best way to use my pills.  I was having my husband weight and cut pills but that has been too difficult. 

If Bob7 , Libertas , Jelly Baby or anyone else would please give me some information, I would appreciate it.

Thank you!

You are still on a rather strong dose so I would recommend no faster than 6 months.

If you can get 6 months worth of pills, then you can use one per day and use this method.

Cut the pills in half.

Each day, eat one 1/2 pill and for the other 1/2 pill, do this:

-Put the 1/2 pill in a jar.

-You can add a few drops of vodka to help break it up if desired

-Add 180 mL of water

-Mix well

Day 1, throw away 1 mL of mixture and drink the rest

Day 2, throw away 2 mL of mixture and drink the rest

Day 3, throw away 3 mL of mixture and drink the rest

continue until gone.

Then repeat the above to taper the other 1/2 pill.

Note, you can drink the mixture all at once or sip it over 24 hours, whatever works for you.

I have to agree with Bob7, 4 months is very fast. It took me about 4 months to get off 0.125mg and you're at 0.5mg. Even 6 months might be pushing it. When you jumped you thought it couldn't get worse, and I would hate for the same thing to happen again. Benzo's are the gift that keeps on giving.

I do think you should probably start tapering again, but rather than rushing it, why not start out slow? Your CNS has been through so much, I just don't want to add worse suffering to what you're already going through. 

You are still on a rather strong dose so I would recommend no faster than 6 months.

 

If you can get 6 months worth of pills, then you can use one per day and use this method.

 

Cut the pills in half.

 

Each day, eat one 1/2 pill and for the other 1/2 pill, do this:

-Put the 1/2 pill in a jar.

-You can add a few drops of vodka to help break it up if desired

-Add 180 mL of water

-Mix well

 

Day 1, throw away 1 mL of mixture and drink the rest

Day 2, throw away 2 mL of mixture and drink the rest

Day 3, throw away 3 mL of mixture and drink the rest

continue until gone.

 

Then repeat the above to taper the other 1/2 pill.

 

Note, you can drink the mixture all at once or sip it over 24 hours, whatever works for you.

Thank you Bob7 for your response. I appreciate your help!

I think I would rather do one or the other and not do both.  I think I want to try doing the water taper as I would not have to worry about cutting pills.  I have .25 mg pills at this point. 

I understand taking out 1ml and then taking out 1 additional ml per day, my question is, how do I know what mg I am at as I go?   

If I wanted to just do all pills, how do I that with .25 mg pills?  I had seen that you suggest cutting the pills into 1/8 pieces, how many pieces would I cut 2 .25 mg's into and how would I taper from there?  I already know cutting the pieces is not easy.

Also, I was thinking at least 6 months as well but understand that I may need to hold as I go.  I have been wanting to start my taper again myself but now the doctor wants to speed it up which I am not comfortable with as he does not understand benzo withdrawal.  He is a new doctor - in his first year as a intern and the information he was reading was Clinical Guidelines for Tapering Benzodiazepines and we know that does not work for all.  I also understand his concern about me being on xanax for over 7 years now daily and that it has caused so many medical issues for me. 

The other thing is that I do have a good supply of pills for now but have started to have an issue getting my prescriptions as the pharmacy says they are having trouble getting them now.  I can only use one brand and they seem to be having issues getting it recently.

Sorry for so many questions.  I want to do this the right way and not prolong my taper or have even more issues.

Thanks again!

I have to agree with Bob7, 4 months is very fast. It took me about 4 months to get off 0.125mg and you're at 0.5mg. Even 6 months might be pushing it. When you jumped you thought it couldn't get worse, and I would hate for the same thing to happen again. Benzo's are the gift that keeps on giving.

 

I do think you should probably start tapering again, but rather than rushing it, why not start out slow? Your CNS has been through so much, I just don't want to add worse suffering to what you're already going through. 

Hi Jelly Baby,

Thank you for your response!  I also agree that 4 months is very fast - that was not my time frame - it was the new doctor's time frame, which I am not going to go by!  I already know there is no way I can do that!  As you know, what I have been through the last 10 months or longer has been hell and I am not interested in going through that again. I am still dealing with that.  While some things have gotten better, I am still dealing with some issues and my CNS has taken a hard hit from what I did last August, plus the CT I was put on 6 years ago.  So I know I am sensitive anyway!  It was a huge mistake to jump and I will not make that mistake again.  I definitely agree that benzo's are the gift that keeps on giving. 

I think trying to see if I can do the water taper may be a slower process if I can do it.  I tried a liquid titration taper after a couple months of starting my taper in 2019 but could not do it.  It was different than the water taper on YouTube and was very complicated.  I am thinking that since I drink so much water after taking a dose now anyway, maybe this simple water taper might work for me now.  That is my hope!  If not, I will have to use the pills and do a dry taper.  I have read so many people say the water taper or liquid tapers are smoother but either way, I do want to start tapering again.  In the past, sometimes when I have been having a rough time, if I made a cut, it helped, I am hoping that is the case now too!  It is time to get back on course and get off this benzo safely.

Thank you for your continued support and for caring! 

If you have 0.25mg pills and you want to to avoid cutting, then just do the water method.

You do not need to cut anything in half because you have two 0.25mg pills per day.

So eat one 0.25mg and water taper the other 0.25mg pill.

When you start with 180ml of water, you total dose at any day is compute as:

0.25mg for the pill you swallow PLUS (0.25 * (180mL - mL of mixture thrown away)/180mL)

If you have 0.25mg pills and you want to to avoid cutting, then just do the water method.

 

You do not need to cut anything in half because you have two 0.25mg pills per day.

 

So eat one 0.25mg and water taper the other 0.25mg pill.

 

When you start with 180ml of water, you total dose at any day is compute as:

 

0.25mg for the pill you swallow PLUS (0.25 * (180mL - mL of mixture thrown away)/180mL)

Thank you!

A couple more questions  - if I end up just using the pills and doing the dry taper and not the water - how many pieces would I break the .50 dose into using the .25 mg pills?  And how long do you recommend I hold between cuts?

Thanks

You should take a 0.25mg pill and cut it into 8 pieces.  It will crumble so you just need to eyeball the 8 piles and move bits around to make 8 equal piles of dust.

Then, each reduction, remove one of the 1/8 piles.

Hold at least 14 days or until your symptoms are tolerable, which ever is longer.

Thanks Bob7.  I will have to figure out how to do this keeping each dose as equal as possible.  Right now each dose is .125 mg and that is easy but once I start to take away 1/8 pill, it gets harder.

I appreciate your help!