Alprazolam to Diazepam crosser to end on 12/3

I will have completed my crossover from .5mg alprazolam to 10mg Diazepam on December 3. I substituted 0.25mg alprazolam and 5mg diazepam, one dose at a time, three times a day, every 3 days, with no major issues. Well, maybe a couple of issues. I started this week by somehow misplacing my alprazolam and then hitting a parking pole with my new car. Now the tapering begins. I need to loose that afternoon dose. Anyone with any suggestions? I was thinking 2mg a week. Too fast, or doable?

Starting your taper by reducing 2mg/week is doable but I took 2 weeks.

 

I was on the same dosage of alprazolam and switched to diazepam as well.

I then came up with a plan for tapering diazepam which seems to be working.

I have posted this along with other schedules here.

 

According to your signature you also take 2 antidepressants.

I was also on a SSRI (citalopram) alongside alprazolam.

Some people find ADs helpful in withdrawal while others do not.

Whatever the case 2 ADs seem a bit overkill.

I myself stopped citalopram before attempting alprazolam withdrawal.

If you wish to discontinue your ADs as well,

I would taper one of them before tapering diazepam and,

I would begin with duloxetine due to its short half-life.

 

Hope this helped.

I saw the NP today. She proposes that on 12/11, after 3 days on 10mg diazepam three times a day, I drop the afternoon dose and begin alternating between 5 and10 mg of diazepam twice daily through December. In January we will drop to 2mg and jump. She will see me weekly and assures me that this taper has worked well will her people. We stopped the fluoxetine because the Duloxetine helps me with my osteo arthritis. I’m now just on the duloxetine. I’ll update my signature. My gut is telling me that this taper is doomed to fail, but I feel very comfortable with her. You all have the experience though. If I try this taper and go into withdrawal symptoms then where will I be?

I must agree with your gut; all I see is a series of bad ideas.

 

1. Going from 30mg to 20mg is a 33% cut - well above the 10% rule.

2. Alternating doses is hardly ever a good idea.

3. Same goes for jumping from >1.25mg diazepam.

 

Rather than asking what would happen should this plan fail,

ask yourself whether you can get a doctor to agree on a reasonable one.

Outis,

She agreed to whatever taper I feel most comfortable with! Now I have to write up a plan for her to prescribe to. I’ve spent a lot of time online today and saw something a bit different. A 25% decrease times 2 weeks, and then 10% per week until 80% of the starting dose. At that point it’s 5% or whatever is needed to finish. I haven’t seen this suggestion before. Have you heard of anything like it?

Mary

Hi Mary,

 

I came across such schedules when planning my taper;

advocating a faster rate until reaching 50% the initial dose.

 

Here are my thoughts:

1. The slow-down point seems arbitrary.

2. It's better to be safe than sorry.

 

Let me elaborate on #2 now.

It does not mean one must go very slow,

rather that it's better to start slow and

then adjust the schedule accordingly.

 

The only responsible suggestion I can make is

to check out the link I provided in my 1st reply.

The schedules there are based on Ashton's recommendations.

 

Outis.

Thanks for getting back to me, outis. I actually used your schedule with one I had put together. I’m going to follow your advice and trust my body. Will go fast if possible, but be carefully slow at the end. I’ll keep reminding myself that it took a decade to get here, so what’s 44 or so months.

Mary