The Ashton Manual

Hi,

 

In the Ashton Manual it's mentioned that valium would be a good substitute for Xanax withdrawal. It's my understanding that the dosage ratio between valium and Xanax if pretty big. I'm on 8 MG of Xanax and I am trying to find out how many MGs of valium it would take to match the dosage of Xanax. Any help pointing me in the right direction to find this information would be great.

 

Thanks

 

Ernie

Hi Ernie, you are right, the Ashton equivalences do not seem to agree with other benzo calculators in internet. In any case, in my opinion it is better to taper the original benzo first, if things do not work well, then the cross over to Valium is recommended. I think you can try to cut Xanax with 10 percent cuts every 2 weeks and see how it goes, then when you arrive to 4 mgs you can cut 7 percent, then at 2 mg, 5 percent cuts. All the best 

How similar/different would anyone care to guess Rivotril is compared to Valium?

I believe 1mg of Xanax is the equivalent to 20mg of Valium. So if you're on 8mg, you'd need to switch to 160mg. That seems a little much! I agree with Clona that you should taper down to a smaller amount of Xanax, and then make the switch.

 

Good luck!

 

-Cat

Xanax is 10 times more potent than Valium so 80 mg would be the equivalent to 8 mg of Xanax. The substitution to Valium is done because of its longer half life. It is said to be a smoother decent down when tapering. However, a cross over is typically done when one can not taper directly from their original benzodiazepine. We do have members here who have successfully tapered off Xanax.

I tapered down from 8 MG of the Xanax to 6.5 MG at a rate of 0.5 MG a month but still got the awful withdrawal symptoms. I went back up to 8 MG yesterday and when I woke up this morning the symptoms seem gone except some lingering depression. I was suffering from major depression at the 6.5 MG dose so now I don't know what to do...

I'm still in shock about the nasty email I got from my daughter when I asked for family support. I will be 65 in January. She said parents support children and not the other way around. Ouch!

Hi Red, the equivalence of Rivotril (clonazepam) to Xanax is 1:1, so Rivotril is 10 times stronger to Xanax according to most of the benzo calculators and 20 times stronger according to Asthon manual.

All the best 

 

Hi Ernie, 0.5 mg, when you are under 5 mg is Far too much, more than 10%. What If you Try to cut of 0.125 mg (the half of 0.25 mg) every 2-3 weeks instead? I think the best is to hold For a while, like 1 week or more, then to do smaller cuts more often.

Isn't 10% of 8 MG 0.8 MG? I am on 8 MG. I'm confused. But you are right about cutting down less than 0.5 MG a month. That didn't work for me. I am kind of discouraged after having such a strong withdrawal reaction. At least the nurse that prescribes them for me said I could go back up to 8 MG. I am going to see a new doctor on the 24th. I am afraid he might now do the same. Like I said. Right now I feel so discouraged.

Right now all I want to do sleep. And I'm really depressed.

are there any hotline someone can call for someone to talk to?

I went back up to the 8 MG I was taking but now I am still in withdrawal. I don't know if I can handle this.

Xanax has a short half life...... you need taper while you crossing over to a longer half life benzo. GL

You are on a pretty big dose of Xanax. The Valium equivalent would be 80 Mg.  Many think it is a easier ride down because of its longer half life. However, a direct taper off Xanax can be done. We have members here who have tapered from it. It may be a good substitution though if you are unable to taper from the Xanax. My best piece of advice would be to taper slowly from whatever benzodiazepine you use.