Help plan a taper from 0.25 every other day

Hello to who ever reads this. I’m trying to plan a taper from 0.25 Xanax every other day. I was prescribed 0.5 mg Xanax 2x a day but never took it like that. I took it as needed which was like once every 2 to 4 days. Now when trying to stop went through withdrawal with body twitching, racing mind, extreme anxiety, even went to ER for them to tell me keep taking it and to take it as prescribed which I thought would make things worse if I upped my dosage. Im currently at 0.25 every other day but the days I don’t take it the withdrawal symptoms are there and now I’m worried that I need to take more. I’m lost. I have spoken to a couple of members on here already and was told to move my taper questions here. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks to who ever reads this.

We always advise to get on a steady dose meaning you need to take the same dose every day the same time. It may seem to you as if you're taking a step back but you're already experiencing interdose withdrawal i.e. your body is craving the meds on the days you're not taking it.

 

The reason you need to take it consistently is to keep your blood serum levels consistent. This way you can better manage the withdrawal symptoms. If you only take it every second day it's like you're giving your body whiplash.

 

How would you feel about changing your dose to a daily dose of 0.25mg?

Hi Jelly Baby. Yeah I’m coming to terms with the reality I might have to take every day smh. So yes to answer your question I’m going to start taking 0.25mg at night before I sleep, or should I take at different time? And how long should I hold that dose before I attempt to cut or reduce that dose. Hopefully I still have some hope to not have long term effects of this crap. I really don’t want to up the dose if I get tolerance withdrawal. Thanks for the response.

I think you should just take it when you're used to take it or don't you take it at a regular time? If not, then bedtime would seem fine to me. I think getting into a pattern for about two weeks to see how you do at this dose and scheduling should be okay and then reasses at two weeks? The most important thing about tapering is to be flexible. We can set a tentative timeline, but we shouldn't be rigid about it. We should just go with how your body reacts.

 

I'm glad you're okay to take it every day. As I said it may seem like you're going backwards, but actually you're doing your body a favour and setting yourself up for a much better taper.

Thank you for the help. I’ve been on this medication since Dec 23, 2023. Just over a couple months and never took it every day just when I would feel a strong panic attack come on due to a health issue I’m still having, and only 0.25 to 0.5mg at once. Never would I have thought this would turn into this nightmare. I’m willing to give the taper a try. Just want to minimize the seizure risk as I have enough health issues already. lol Thank you for helping me out.

Most of us had to find out the hard way what these drugs do unfortunately. But you'll be fine. You'll get through this.