Need help

Hi All,

 

I started taking xanax .5mg to 1mg for 3 weeks or so then 1.25 to 1.5mg about 4 weeks ago. How should I taper?

I was om xanax 1.5mg for 8 months in 2021 and I tapered down by .125 every 2 weeks then .0625 toward the end and I had no symptoms. Does it matter that I have been on it for less time now or should I do the same as last time?

 

My psychiatrist said to go down to 1mg for 2 weeks then .5 for 2 weeks then .25. I think that is too aggressive. Thanks.

If you didn’t experience symptoms last time then you may be able to taper rapidly this time, do you have reason to believe things might have changed?

I was just thinking that the xanax may be making me more anxious as it's wearing off and causing me more anxiety.  I don't really know for sure though. It could just be all anxiety. I am dealing with really bad anxiety at the moment and the xanax has been very helpful but I don't want to be on it long.

Do you think being on it for 7 to 8 weeks makes a difference vs being on it for many months or years? I was thinking maybe another option I can do is go down by .25 every two weeks and then .125 at the end since I haven't been on it that long. Not sure if my body is dependent already after two months and if that might be too fast.  Thanks.

I’m torn about this because there is a theory I happen to believe in called kindling, it says that the more times you expose yourself to starting and stopping benzodiazepines, the greater chance you’ll suffer increased symptoms. Kindling

 

Since you didn’t experience symptoms before, there is a chance you won’t again, but there is a chance you will and I’d hate to see you go too fast for that reason.  However, experimentation on ourselves is the only way to get off of these drugs so you’ll have to begin your taper to find out if you’re going to be susceptible to symptoms.

 

Tell me about your anxiety, does it feel like the normal stuff or is it more intense?  When we become dependent and tolerant to our dose, the drug begins to cause what we went on the drug to fix, namely anxiety, panic, insomnia and countless other problems.

 

 

When the anxiety started it was intense and I wasn't sleeping. It has remained intense except when I take the xanax. Last week Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday I was feeling better and sleeping a bit better but all of a sudden I went down hill and felt worse again. When the xanax wears off the anxiety is intense in between doses and now sometimes I feel the anxiety come back within 3 hours taking it but that has been only out in public when my anxiety is increased. I tend to overthink everything but I'm just not sure.

 

When you say "When we become dependent and tolerant to our dose, the drug begins to cause what we went on the drug to fix, namely anxiety, panic, insomnia and countless other problems." are you saying when I actually take the xanax I can feel all of those symptoms or only in between doses? For instance, I was feeling very anxious right before I took my last dose and after I took it I felt much better. Do you mean that instead I would have felt worse?

 

No, the Xanax should take care of the anxiety when you take it but when it wears off, does the anxiety occur spontaneously without cause?  I understand anxiety can appear out of nowhere even if not on benzo’s but when our body is dependent, the anxiety is a given and its a lot more intense than the normal stuff.  I took Klonopin for sleep but when my body got dependent, I sure found out what its like.

 

I know you said the anxiety happened when you were in public but what you describe in this sentence tells me you’re most likely dependent and you probably need to take this slow.  “When the xanax wears off the anxiety is intense in between doses and now sometimes I feel the anxiety come back within 3 hours taking it but that has been only out in public when my anxiety is increased”

 

Regardless of what we come up with here, I think starting slow is a good idea and if you don’t get hit with symptoms, you can think about increasing. 

OK. I understand. I will say yesterday I took Xanax at 4pm and when it wore off I didn't feel much anxiety. But today I felt terrible as soon as it wore off. Just to be safe I will start slow. I don't know if trying to go down by .25 is too high for the first cut but maybe I can start there and see how I feel. How soon after the cut would I start to feel withdrawal?

Just to clarify. Kindling has more to so with withdrawal right? Not interdose withdrawal correct.? I have had times where I can't wait to take my next dose because the anxiety is so bad in between doses but then like Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I didn't have interdose anxiety. But today I did so it's not consistent. My anxiety in general right now is very high and it's all over the place.

I’m glad you’re going to take it slow, and you should know soon enough if it’s going to hurt because Xanax is so short acting. Reducing by .25 is a lot, I don’t normally recommend a 17% decrease but I guess you have to start somewhere in this nightmare experiment.

 

I think kindling can show in up other ways besides increased withdrawal symptoms, I believe it can bring on tolerance faster, meaning it will shorten the time you feel relief at your dose.  It looks like you had to raise your dose from .5 to 1.5 in a few weeks time, I don’t know the reason for raising your dose by so much but was it because it ceased to be effective at the .5 mg dose?

I increased because it was the dose that I was on in 2021 and my anxiety symptoms were so bad that I just wanted relief. Honestly, I think it was mental. .25 per dose probably would have been fine but I was used to .5 from the past. I should not have done that. I have taken 1.5 for about only 2 to 3 weeks that is why I was thinking of cutting by .25 for the first one. Then go slower after that.

I hope it goes smoothly, will you keep us posted so we can learn from your experience?