Wow 2 days of taper

wow.

 

I have been taking xanax 0.5 mg at breakfast and 0.5 mg at lunch then ambien 10 mg to sleep for 2 years. Started doing this after I finished chemotherapy. Anxiety is apparently very common post cancer as you readjust to your life.

 

2 days ago planned on breaking a pill in half and taking only 0.25 at lunch. That didn't work. yesterday I updosed to 3/4 a pill at lunch. It's 3 am and I'm wide awake.

 

Not sure what question I have. This is my first post. Maybe it's, how do people do this? I got over a 10 year heavy speed habit once. That took about a month. But this is horrific.

Nope, can't do this yet. I obviously have to stop drinking and smoking first.

 

Lots of hope and light to everyone going through this.

First, congratulations on beating cancer!  I am sorry you had to go through it and I wish you good health going forward.

 

Starting the taper can be hard.  When I started last year, I went way too fast in the beginning.  I cut .25 each week for three weeks and it caught up to me - and very hard.

 

I would start very slow and go low with the dose (meaning the amount you taper).  I would also suggest that you bring your doctor into the loop. My doctor was extremely helpful and I think having her support is the reason I was able to complete the taper.  I also used liquid Klonopin which made the reductions so much easier than cutting the pills. You might want to try it.

 

I wish you the best on this journey. Reach out when you need support and know that it does get better.

wow.

 

I have been taking xanax 0.5 mg at breakfast and 0.5 mg at lunch then ambien 10 mg to sleep for 2 years. Started doing this after I finished chemotherapy. Anxiety is apparently very common post cancer as you readjust to your life.

 

2 days ago planned on breaking a pill in half and taking only 0.25 at lunch. That didn't work. yesterday I updosed to 3/4 a pill at lunch. It's 3 am and I'm wide awake.

 

Not sure what question I have. This is my first post. Maybe it's, how do people do this? I got over a 10 year heavy speed habit once. That took about a month. But this is horrific.

You are trying to go too fast unless you e only been on the benzo for a couple of weeks you most likely have to slow down and cut a little and hold n repeat...by lottle I mean 10% at a time.

10% at a time seems too much to me now. I'm making a plan to reduce 4-5% every 2 weeks on a liquid taper.

10% is far too much for most people. You need to cut down slowly. It's a good idea to do a liquid micro taper. You can reduce very small amounts daily and then you can hold for a while if your body is complaining!

Good Luck.

You mentioned alcohol - alcohol works on the same receptors as benzos, so yes, you should definitely quit that before the benzos, otherwise there is a good chance you will just keep triggering withdrawal symptoms.  (Many people cannot drink for a long time after stopping benzos because it causes a massive setback.  Some people have drank just a beer or so and ended up with worse withdrawal symptoms than they had during acute withdrawal, so it really is important to stop all alcohol before you start tapering.

 

 

Thanks Dolphinator! Good Advice.

I woke up at 2:30 am and I'm up again. I must be having interdose withdrawals. And I haven't even started my taper yet!

You need to slow down your taper, make smaller cuts and hold longer. Insomnia is not unusual especially as you begin this process. It may also be a good indicator that you are cutting too big and too fast. So please slow down and realize that this is going to take a good deal of time. If you go too fast, you'll be so horribly uncomfortable that you'll want to throw in the towel every time. If you slow down and keep yourself relatively comfortable, you can do this.

    Try to cut back the alcohol - believe it or not it can contribute to insomnia unless you drink yourself into a coma. If your alcohol addiction is severe, it does have to be addressed prior to the benzo withdrawal. By severe, I am talking about that you start shaking badly if you don't drink or if you drink all day long and cannot get through the night without a drink.  If you are severely addicted to alcohol, this has to be medically supervised since it comes with possible life threatening issues. In either case, quitting the alcohol would be a good idea. The benzos help with the alcohol withdrawal, but the alcohol aggravates the benzo withdrawal.

  Once you stabilize you should start to notice more stable sleep patterns occurring. Remember too that anxiety will also cause insomnia - I only get about 4 hours a night and wake up due to anxiety and am done for the night. This anxiety could also be the result of taking too large cuts and not allowing yourself to stabilize before the next cut.

Thank you Newmoon! Yes, I am currently planning out my microtaper by the day. And I'm sure I will have plenty of holds. I am going to do the liquid microtaper method.

 

I am finally realizing that my morning jitters when I wake up aren't due to coffee, but to interdose withdrawal. Ugh.