Xanax Taper

It takes a bit of nerve to take the jump from the introductions board, but here I am. I have been on Xanax for almost 7 years It is hard to know for sure but maybe half of that time at.25 to '5. It is kind of hard looking back because I knew then there was trouble at doses above .5 and even that was borderline I was able to go back from 1 to .5 without too much trouble back in the day. And way back like 2001 I took 1 mg for about a yer and stopped without an issue. I had no idea I was in any danger then  In 09 I had this throat thing called LPR and eventually started Xanax again a couple of years later

 

  The last two years have included regular cigarette smoking  about a third of a pack a day and several go rounds with painkillers A really large kidney stone has had me on them for about 4 months of heavy use including Percoset. Stopped Cigarettes and pain killers a week ago But to go back in Xanax history, about three months ago a ticked up above 1 mg with about 4 extra doses per month. Then last month it was more than that with at least a couple of days of probably 3 mg per day. Probably 6 weeks ago I noticed a little numbness in toes which is now quite a bit worse and more ubiquitous I know this is usually a tapering symptom but maybe I triggered it somehow with random dosing?

 

So yes pretty scared of all the information I have read.  I guess I am just trying to see if I can hold at 1 mg for at least a week. I took .5 two nights in a row and have been pretty triggered since and have returned to 1. I generally have taken it only at night, and am likely going to have to stay there since sleep seems like the first priority Hard to know for sure how much of the anxiety is from all this information and how much is so called physical is tough to know.

 

I am looking for a doctor and will probably be waiting a week or so before a local pharmacist return from vacation and can hopefully recommend someone, unless someone has recommendations on ow to find a good doctor. I am sure my GP is clueless

 

It seems like all supplements are useless or make things worse? Even chamomile, theanine, Melatonin Magnesium etc? None of them must do a thing since I see no discussion of them I assume eating a health diet and exercise are still good I have been doing regular exercise and would hate to lose it

 

In looking into this question further it sounds like a lot of the advice is to switch to Diazapem or Phenobarbital and then taper. Maybe taper some of the way and then switch

 

Also I am a moderate but everyday Marijuana smoker It sounds like maybe I should stop it first?

 

I don't believe my underlying anxiety was really all that great when I began Xanax though I am not sure if that makes any difference now

 

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

 

I am not sure yet whether it is more appropriate to start a progress log or continue posting here. The last few days I have been trying to see if i can kind of stabilize a 1 mg For the most part I have been aiming at two .5 doses roughly 12 hours apart. Yesterday I took a dose at 9:30 AM and really still felt OK at 9:30 PM Though I could tell I was feeling a bit anxious in bed around 10 Slept OK It is also my first full day without pot and was expecting to notice weird dreams and poor sleep which usually happens when I stop This morning not feeling very well A burger really seemed to set off some of my digestive issues last night and still pretty sick to my stomach I am moving towards gluten free and talk to my naturopath for the first time in months tomorrow

 

I am not sure if any of you saw it but two evenings ago I was having BP spikes up to 170 over 100 It seemed to correlate a bit with being near the end of my dosage window. Yesterday I decided to get some BP med from my GP, who has prescribed my Xanax for the last three years, and when I went in my GP was 124 over 84 which is one of the best readings I have had there. BP seems pretty good again this morning. I guess I want to make a a distinction in the tingliness symptoms There is a more constant version that is kind of numb mostly in my toes that came on two months ago, and then another that seems to come on in waves near the end of dosage windows. Some of them are almost a pleasnt sensation which I again associate with the painkillers of a few weeks ago. I also sometimes feel like I have low blood sugar, kind of shaky, near the end of windows, but this feeling was generally tied to my painkillers previously as well I will be testing for blood sugar soon

 

I should add that I told my GP that I was getting uncomfortable with how long I had been on Xanax and he just said it is no big deal.I of course was expecting that answer, but inside you sit with amazement with what is being said. I am thinking I should try to aim for three doses a day. This is all of course new and weird since I used only one dose at night before to be OK

 

One final point in regard to the painkillers. I was on 1 mg Percoset pretty much 4 times a day for almost a month The three months before that I was on high dose Vicodin 2 to 4 times a day Should there have been a taper plan for this.

 

Also today I am getting waves of what almost feels like little waves that just kind of glide over me like one might have after exercise. Kind like endorphin feelings or that kind of good sensation you might get when your excited, Not innately unpleasant but not great when you know it is likely a sign of some sort of dysfunction.

 

 

Thanks

 

Blood pressure spiking again It would be nice to get some feedback.

 

This is obviously getting dangerous, I am going to try .5 three times a day and see what happens. I tried to hold the line at 1, but something has changed

  Yesterday I had a  couple of little BP spikes, but I was able to get down to 1.25 Today no blood spikes and would have been able to get down to 1 mg with no problem, but I decided to sit at 1.25 for a week to 10 days just to be conservative It seems to be really calming down after a pretty tough week. Never know what tomorrow might bring, but two days with lots of improvement. If anyone thinks I should just go down to 1 please let me know

 

 

  Two weeks of painkillers and cigarettes today Three days off Marijuana, most sweets, and coffee I am doing some caffeine pills in pretty small amounts in trying to taper down to avoid headaches

 

Still have the parathesia but not expecting it to disappear overnight Feeling much better

Today I found I found Dr Ashton's original study that I will includea link for here. Likely a lot of folks here already know of  the results, so pardon if this is redundant for most of you. I had known that she recommended those tapering off Xanax switch to Valium but I did not understand that all of her patients in this study did so. Considering the high success rate it seems that virtually all Xanax taper candidates, except for those on very lose dose short duration exposure, switch to Valium for tapering therapy. Unless there is some research out there that shows high success rates for those tapering down on Xanax alone or a secondary replacement regimen such as Librium or Klonopin

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/ashbzoc.htm

Hi Matt,

 

Good to hear from you.  I was on Xanax 1mg per day for about 1.5 years (typically washed down with booze, which is obviously not a brilliant idea).  I used the Valium taper method (by way of Klonopin) and was very successful with it.  I actually don't know what the

interaction is between pot and benzos.  Alcohol is generally not recommended because it works on the same receptors, but not sure

about pot.  The BP issues are very common.  My BP spiked to like 180/130 a couple of times.  Very scary, but also very common for those on benzos.

Hi gogogaba Thanks for the response. Yes I am not convinced one way or another on pot, but I am coming off unemployment and I have a little work and a little savings but I usually spend a 100 a month, so that gives another reason to quit Thanks for the BP info because I wanted to make sure I was not some kind of outlier. I have gotten back to just 1 mg the last couple of days and think I can hold their. Still waiting to hear back from Doc's since they no longer answer phones or return calls as once was the case. I suppose I could just use my GP since the protocol seems fairly clear, but in theory it would be nice to find someone who had some knowledge of the situation

No, you're not an outlier at all--BP changes (and blood SUGAR changes for that matter) are par for the course. If it continues to be an issue, you might discuss a BP medication with your doctor, but that assumes you aren't ready for a med vacation yet. 

 

The protocol for Valium crossover and tapering is pretty cut and dry (no pun intended).  However, your GP has to be open to prescribing several dose levels of Valium, and working with you on a longer taper than they might have the stomach for, unless you're up for a liquid titration or something like that. Since GPs are usually less knowledgeable than psychs about these meds, sometimes they aren't willing to go slower or prescribe several levels (they immediately think you're an addict or something).

Matt

 

6 mgs 20 years. See notes. I found people in here that dry tapered from Xanax. High doses. It can be done. I’m here.

 

Kristin

Hi Kristin

 

Pretty awesome that you have held in there against tough odds Thanks for the support

Kristin,

 

That is badass--much respect.

Matt, try a low dose of Trazadone. It's amazing for sleep, a little groggy and nausea, but it subs out the xanax for going to bed, so maybe just take a small dose in the AM for functioning and sleep with the Traz.

  Thanks Poundtown I have heard a nit about this and it certainly would help me spread out my X more throughout the rest of the day without worrying about saving the majority of my dose for sleeping

I have continued with trying something close to the following dosing. .25 approx 3.  approx .15 around 6.30, .25 at 9.30, and then another .25 whenever I wake up 1 to 3.  However if I am going to be able to ad some added jobs, I am likely going to need to have some regular dose in the morning Pretty dizzy  and out of it until around 4 when 3 PM does kicks in As I have said before it is kind of an interesting challenge to push this afternoon window but not sure how good of an idea I have decided to get off my current BP medicine, Metoprolol, which I have found out provokes acid reflux which is a big issue for me Going to taper off a couple of weeks, though I have been on it 16 days

After some inconsistent dosing I took DME123's advice to get on a strict 4 times a day every 6 hour dosing pattern. That his been for maybe 5 days now. Also I have some pretty serious throat issues with LPR which is a form of acid reflux that goes up to the vocal chords I thought that problem might be helped by getting off my BP medicine, Benicar, so yesterday I took only half my dose. My blood pressure was mostly in the 140 to 85 range before all the kidney stone and turmoil of the last few months so I am not convinced I need BP medicine in all things being equal  Today for sure I noticed I was having a tougher time with some of my interdose windows in the last hours before the time for a new dose It 's not they are that difficult to eal with, but I just wonder what is going on I ate to think I am actually losing ground on my present hold. My dry cutting is pretty primitive and that could be part of what is happening as well. My other thought is whether a reduction in BP meds could be causing me to get withdrawal effects more quickly MY BP was certainly up the most it had been at the end of a window Only about 130/80 , but I don't think I had seen a diastolic over 70 for weeks before this. I don't think I am worried about BP like that just wondering about the big picture Been sleeping better with .3 mealtonin and around 20 mg Zinc before bed Also on a new low acid diet for acid reflux. Pretty easy for me to eat an incredibly bland diet when this desperate for relief

My Wife wants me to consider trying to dose 3 times a day instead of four so that my sleep is not interrupted with  an extra dose in the middle of the night Lately I have been struggling a bit more with making it through my interdose windows, and am a bit reluctant to change tings But walking up in between dosing windows is pretty much my least fun time