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Withdrawal symptoms or effect of long term use? Please help! I'm so confused.


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I've been taking Xanax for 19 years now. I only stopped once when i became pregnant. I have pretty much been on the same dosage the entire time. Obviously, it's not helping me anymore. For the past 2 years I have been very depressed & hospitalized twice because I was suicidal. I've been reading all of the wonderful posts & have learned so much about the different withdrawal  symptoms. I have been suffering from so many of these, ESP since I tapered from 6 mg a day to my current dose of 4 mg a day. Is it possibly I'm going through withdrawal even though I still take 2 mg two times a day?? I hope that I'm  making sense. I've had a very hard weekend. Does anyone have any thoughts about this?  I feel like I'm going crazy.  :-\

 

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I've been taking Xanax for 19 years now.... I have been suffering from so many of these (withdrawal  symptoms), ESP since I tapered from 6 mg a day to my current dose of 4 mg a day....

 

How fast and how long ago did you do that taper from 6mg to 4mg?

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I was taking 2mg of Xanax 3 times a day then down to 2 mg of Xanax 2 times a day a little over a year ago. I was taking regular Xanax & when I went down to 2 times a day my dr switched me to Xanax Extended release.
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I was taking 2mg of Xanax 3 times a day then down to 2 mg of Xanax 2 times a day a little over a year ago. I was taking regular Xanax & when I went down to 2 times a day my dr switched me to Xanax Extended release.

 

So how long did it take you to go from 2mg TID (6mg per day) to 2mg BID (4mg per day) exactly?  Then when exactly did you switch to XR?

 

You may want to consider switching over gradually to Valium from Xanax XR to taper off slowly.

 

Have you read Ashton?

 

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

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I'm sorry I swear I feel like my brain is broken. I did the change from 2mg 3 x a day on the regular Xanax straight to 2mg XR 2 times a day in one step. I didn't do a more gradual taper. One day I was at the 6mg/day total then the next 4 mg/ day total.
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I apologize for having to post again to fully answer your questions. My memory is shot. I can't remember a thing & I'm so tired of feeling brain dead. I did the switch this past April. I was also in the hospital (suicidal) when I did the taper. Maybe that's why it wasn't a more gradual taper.

 

Thanks! I have an appointment scheduled after the holidays with my dr. I'm gonna see if she will switch me over. I really appreciate your patience!

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I'm sorry I swear I feel like my brain is broken. I did the change from 2mg 3 x a day on the regular Xanax straight to 2mg XR 2 times a day in one step. I didn't do a more gradual taper. One day I was at the 6mg/day total then the next 4 mg/ day total.

 

So you cut from 6mg a day to 4mg XR a day in one day?! :o  That should have taken you between 4-8 months to cut especially because you are a long time user.  No wonder you have suffered greatly and still feel like shit!  I personally would not even think about doing a slow taper in January.  You may need to reinstate first and start over with a microtaper with long holds and/or cut Ashton's way with a longer acting benzo such as Valium.

 

Don't worry about feeling like your brain is broken.  It is right now but it can be fixed.

 

Please read Ashton and talk to your prescribing physician ASAP.

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What does reinstate mean?

 

It's sad that it's taken me so long to realize that for me to feel better, I need to get off my medications. Thank goodness I started reading this site when I did. I probably would have asked for an increase in my medications because of how I felt. I am so thankful to all of you for sharing your experiences. It has helped me "seer the light" & it also gives me hope!

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What does reinstate mean?

 

It means going back to the 6mg or maybe even having to go higher than 6mg to stop the withdrawals.  Then once you stabilize, start the taper all over again but,  this time do it in one of the different ways I have mentioned, with either a microtaper with long holds or Ashton's way with a gradual transfer over to Valium.

 

It's sad that it's taken me so long to realize that for me to feel better, I need to get off my medications. Thank goodness I started reading this site when I did. I probably would have asked for an increase in my medications because of how I felt. You are probably going to have to do that anyway now.  I am so thankful to all of you for sharing your experiences. It has helped me "seer the light" & it also gives me hope!

 

It is a great forum and you will find a lot of support here.  Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

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I really appreciate your help! Thank u! I def will be asking more questions! There is so much to digest. I am so happy for having this site.  :)
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Please weigh all the pros and cons of raising your dose back up to 6mg or beyond. I'm assuming you were feeling pretty poorly at the 6mg dose as well as you were in the hospital at that time. Taking more and more of the drug may not help if it is no longer working for you. I've read of people here raising their doses to get stable and feel better, and it never happens for them. Your case reads like you could be in tolerance w/d.

 

This is not to freak you out, would just hate to see you up your dose to 6 or 8 mg, have it not work and then have twice as deep a hole to climb out from.

 

I am not advising any course of action, that is for you to decide with your doctor. Just pointing out that beginning to taper from where you are at 4mg is also an option to consider. Upping the amount of benzo taken is not a 100% guarantee to eliminate symptoms, but should also be considered. Wishing you the best!  :smitten:

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That should have taken you between 4-8 months to cut especially because you are a long time user.

This is a rather absolute statement to make and it isn't necessarily true.  I was on 6mgs of Xanax long term and quite frequently I would taper down from 6mg to 3mg with no aversive effect.  Granted I tapered in steps and not the 2mg chunk that ChiMom did in one big cut, but this took me no where near 4 months to taper 1 additional Mg.  I'd taper .50mg every 10 to 14 days and this would take me about 2.5 months. I'm not recommending this as a taper schedule though it certainly worked for me for a number of years when I was on a high Xanax dose.

 

We're all different in how we respond to a benzo taper.  Yes, even we long terms users sometimes are able to taper at a faster speed than shorter time users.

 

Having any kind of preconceived notion about how long a taper should take is not a good idea, in my opinion.  We taper by listening to our bodies.  And if our bodies can handle a quicker taper than others, then so be it and I say good.  I tapered 3mg of Xanax off in 9 months but the slow part was when I hit 1.5mgs to zero.  This is why my particular taper took this length of time.

 

ChiMom, please also know that an automatic substitution of Valium isn't always necessary, in my opinion.  This may be what you land on and many people do cross over to Valium or Klonopin, but not everyone.  It's a personal choice and many people chose to taper directly from Xanax.

 

Good luck ChiMom.     

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Hello Chimom. Sounds like u are really suffering. I am so sorry. It took me a long time to realise that my problems with my health were benzo related. The good thing is that u know what the problem is. Now u can fix it! Please don't ever think u can't .

        I agree with inadaze! I think u are in tolerance w/ds. I also wonder if changing over to Valium would be a good idea for u...? That's because it has a long half life so it's theoretically easier to taper from. Whatever u decide u are in the right place . Lots of support to be gained here.

        I hope u find some comfort in that.  Hugs Pinkee

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One thing I forgot to mention is that some folks here report feeling more clear-headed as they taper. It's possible the fog from the xanax could be contributing to your depression and perhaps will ease as you lower your dose. There are all kinds of possibilities here, not all of them negative  :)
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That should have taken you between 4-8 months to cut especially because you are a long time user.

This is a rather absolute statement to make and it isn't necessarily true.  I was on 6mgs of Xanax long term and quite frequently I would taper down from 6mg to 3mg with no aversive effect.  Granted I tapered in steps and not the 2mg chunk that ChiMom did in one big cut, but this took me no where near 4 months to taper 1 additional Mg.  I'd taper .50mg every 10 to 14 days and this would take me about 2.5 months. I'm not recommending this as a taper schedule though it certainly worked for me for a number of years when I was on a high Xanax dose.

 

We're all different in how we respond to a benzo taper.  Yes, even we long terms users sometimes are able to taper at a faster speed than shorter time users.

 

Having any kind of preconceived notion about how long a taper should take is not a good idea, in my opinion.  We taper by listening to our bodies.  And if our bodies can handle a quicker taper than others, then so be it and I say good.  I tapered 3mg of Xanax off in 9 months but the slow part was when I hit 1.5mgs to zero.  This is why my particular taper took this length of time.

 

ChiMom, please also know that an automatic substitution of Valium isn't always necessary, in my opinion.  This may be what you land on and many people do cross over to Valium or Klonopin, but not everyone.  It's a personal choice and many people chose to taper directly from Xanax.

 

Good luck ChiMom.   

 

Yes Juliea, you are correct and I offer my sincere apologies.  I have just seen so much of this and been doing it for so long that I have a strong opinion because of the percentages of success rates I have seen and not seen.  But it is VERY individualized.

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That should have taken you between 4-8 months to cut especially because you are a long time user.

This is a rather absolute statement to make and it isn't necessarily true.  I was on 6mgs of Xanax long term and quite frequently I would taper down from 6mg to 3mg with no aversive effect.  Granted I tapered in steps and not the 2mg chunk that ChiMom did in one big cut, but this took me no where near 4 months to taper 1 additional Mg.  I'd taper .50mg every 10 to 14 days and this would take me about 2.5 months. I'm not recommending this as a taper schedule though it certainly worked for me for a number of years when I was on a high Xanax dose.

 

We're all different in how we respond to a benzo taper.  Yes, even we long terms users sometimes are able to taper at a faster speed than shorter time users.

 

Having any kind of preconceived notion about how long a taper should take is not a good idea, in my opinion.  We taper by listening to our bodies.  And if our bodies can handle a quicker taper than others, then so be it and I say good.  I tapered 3mg of Xanax off in 9 months but the slow part was when I hit 1.5mgs to zero.  This is why my particular taper took this length of time.

 

ChiMom, please also know that an automatic substitution of Valium isn't always necessary, in my opinion.  This may be what you land on and many people do cross over to Valium or Klonopin, but not everyone.  It's a personal choice and many people chose to taper directly from Xanax.

 

Good luck ChiMom.   

 

Yes Juliea, you are correct and I offer my sincere apologies.  I have just seen so much of this and been doing it for so long that I have a strong opinion because of the percentages of success rates I have seen and not seen.  But it is VERY individualized.

No apologies necessary!  :thumbsup:

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Sometimes I try to be too helpful.... :-[

 

I thought your advice was helpful Revel Maven :) I hope you didn't take it personally that I offered some caution. Unfortunately this is all so unpredictable that different things work for different people and it's hard to point anyone in a certain direction. Updosing absolutely does work for some people here.

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Innadaze:

 

Thank you.  I can't stress enough how caution is definitely the operative word here as most of us are in a very neurologically and/or psychologically fragile state.

 

It is very individualized and there is only one way to do this correctly:

 

Listen to your mind and body and adjust accordingly.

 

RM

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