18 years was xanax 4mg

Hello everyone,

  I am in the early stages of my taper i guess? I was prescribed Klonopin at 18 years old and when i got pregnant my dr switched me to xanax. I water tapered then and was close to off. I didnt know the dangers, i wish i had kept with my taper. here i am now as i built tolerance i was prescribed more for my panic and anxiety, the most i was taking is 3.5mg of xanax a day. split into doses throughout the day at certain times.

I have now tapered to 2.65mg and have had some withdrawl symptoms. Im scared as i work full time, and drive constantly and have kids. I am afraid i will lose everything. The doctors are pushing me off the med but i think its to fast so im tapering quicker than i feel i should.

Right now i am doing a Gemini scale and just breaking pieces off and holding for 3 weeks then breaking another small piece off.

I am truly terrified. Any advice for a long term patient who has been on a high dosage? Thank you! This taper i started in early August.

Hello caseymw25 and welcome to BenzoBuddies!

We're glad you're here. I'm sorry you've been going through such a hard time in withdrawal from Xanax.  First of all I hope you'll take comfort from the fact that we have many members here who were on a benzo long term go on to complete healing.  You'll find a ton of information here to help you with your taper and support from others who understand what you're going through. Don't forget to look at Success Stories when you need encouragement.  I'll leave the link below.

I'm glad you're resisting doing a fast taper advised by your doctors.  A slow, symptoms led taper is the best way to ensure you remain as functional as possible during your taper.  As a general guideline we typically suggest reducing your dose 5-10% every week to 10 days.  But again, the best method is often to tune into your own system's needs and make reductions when your symptoms stabilize.  You'll find more information to help guide you as you explore the site.  Please feel free to start your own threads with questions.  I'll give you some links to get started.  Please let us know how we can help you.

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

Success Stories

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidelines

Chapter 3 Ashton manual, list of symptoms

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