The tapering schedule I used with success

The most hellish year of my life was the 12 months of being in a dependence/withdrawal cycle while regularly taking Ambien CR (every night) and Xanax ("as needed").  This occurred from June 2014 - June 2015.  My primary care doctor, my psychiatrist, and my psychologist couldn't figure out why I was having severe anxiety and panic attacks - especially in the late afternoon.  The attacks would last anywhere for an hour to three or four hours.  I would almost always end up lying in my bed, nearly frozen for all of that time.  The crushing tension in my chest day after day resulted in nerve damage in my sternum.  Thankfully, the nerve damage healed after about a year, but to this day, I still have chronic tension around my right ear, and my Eustachian Tube has been dysfunctional ever since the withdrawal symptoms began four years ago.

 

Adding fuel to the fire (and eventually explaining why my anxiety was the worst in the late afternoon) was the fact that I was also taking Wellbutrin XL 300 during that time.  Wellbutrin is an antidepressant that is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, so it's very stimulating.  The last thing someone needs when they're having anxiety and panic is more stimulation.  The reason my anxiety/panic peaked in the late afternoon had to do with the time-release of the Wellbutrin XL.  Blood plasma levels peak approximately 8-12 hours after taking it.

 

I switched to a new primary care doctor 6 months after the anxiety/panic began.  He took me off of Wellbutrin, but couldn't figure out why I was still having problems with anxiety.  I had a hunch that it had something to do with my long-term use of Ambien CR, but all of my so-called health care professionals shot down that idea when I suggested it.  I was repeatedly told, "No one has withdrawal symptoms from Ambien."  I was instructed to continue using Xanax for my daily anxiety/panic, and Ambien CR at night.  The anxiety/panic was so intense, however, that Xanax barely made any difference for me.  I went to the hospital emergency room three times within about two months - two of those three times were by 911/ambulance - completely convinced that I was having a heart attack or suffering from some other horrible malady.  Of course, no problems were ever found, other than anxiety.  So, I'd go home, take my Ambien, sleep relatively well, and then start the whole cycle over again the next day.

 

Finally, after 12 months of this hell, I told my primary care doctor that I came across a tapering plan produced by the geriatric department at the University of Montreal.  (I'm in my 40s, but the plan still looked very appealing to me.)  I hoped and prayed that my doctor would agree to it, and thankfully, he did.  He said he didn't realize I had been taking Ambien every night for years - which seemed a little hard for me to believe - but whatever.  At least I finally had some hope.

 

Because I had been told by so many doctors that my anxiety was "all in my head", I had my doubts that it would work.  Still, I wanted to give it a try.  Even if it didn't work, it would still be a very welcome relief to take Valium every day for awhile.  It's a 16-week tapering plan, and I'm happy to say that it worked.  Sixteen weeks seemed like a long time, but I figured that if it was going to work, the tapering would have to be very slow.

 

I was aware of the Ashton Manual, but honestly, I think this plan is better.  The dosages ebb and flow, and since Valium has such a long half-life, I never even felt the decreases in dosage amounts.  My problem with the Ashton taper is that the decreases in dosage are hard-set.  A more gradual, ebb-and-flow taper made much more sense to me, and it still does.  I highly recommend it to anyone who's having trouble getting off of benzos.

 

You'll find the tapering schedule on page 11 of this brochure:

 

http://www.criugm.qc.ca/fichier/pdf/BENZOeng.pdf

 

I'll be happy to respond to questions.

 

 

It is just nice to hear from someone who has not gone through hell After being here for two days I feel like I would be lucky to get off with mild hell for 18 months Between .5 and 1mg Xanax for almost 7 years Really hard to get a feel what one's chances are in this. Thanks for your post

It is just nice to hear from someone who has not gone through hell After being here for two days I feel like I would be lucky to get off with mild hell for 18 months Between .5 and 1mg Xanax for almost 7 years Really hard to get a feel what one's chances are in this. Thanks for your post

 

Thank you, MattNapa.  When I started the taper, I wasn't sure of the proper dosage of Valium for me, but I figured about 5 mg would work based on the fact that I was taking 12.5 of Ambien CR every night.  I can't remember if I proposed the amount of 5 mg to my doctor or if he just happened to come up with it on his own, but thankfully, it worked.  These charts show benzo equivalencies:

 

https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2172250-overview

 

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

 

You and your doctor will have to decide how much Valium you need to get started, if you choose to use the tapering plan that I used.

 

One thing I forgot to add:  My doctor had me get "stabilized" on 5 mg of Valium per day for a full month before I began the tapering process.  So really, it was a 5-month process for me in total.

 

Most people do well on a slow symptom based taper.. Holding, or adjusting the taper rate or amount as needed.. A DLMT seems to suit this best...

It does mean throwing away the calendar though.. -and the stress that goes with it..

I look at Ashton as a fair starting point.. But we are all so different that that can change dramatically either way...

 

But realy, Whatever works is great..!!

 

My 2 cents..

 

 

I agree with Cantfly. I tried an alternate taper like the one given in the calendar and the results were terrible. I felt dizzy all the time and had a lot of muscle issues. Besides, this schedule is way too fast. It s safer to do a slow, steady, daily microtaper.

Most people do well on a slow symptom based taper.. Holding, or adjusting the taper rate or amount as needed.. A DLMT seems to suit this best...

 

 

:thumbsup:

I was aware of the Ashton Manual, but honestly, I think this plan is better.

My problem with the Ashton taper is that the decreases in dosage are hard-set.

A more gradual, ebb-and-flow taper made much more sense to me, and it still does.

I highly recommend it to anyone who's having trouble getting off of benzos.

 

This method is most definitely not better than Ashton's.

The whole point of switching to Valium is to achieve a smooth decline of benzo concentrations.

Alternating doses between days defeats that purpose

and is only acceptable as a last resort when smaller doses aren't available.

What's even worse is that the suggested reductions are rather abrupt.

Below are the percentages for each stage (each one takes 2 weeks).

 

Stage 1. 14%

Stage 2. 25%

Stage 3. 22%

Stage 4. 14%

Stage 5. 8%

Stage 6. 18%

Stage 7. 22%

Stage 8. 57%

Stage 9. 100%

 

Many people end up here precisely because such schedules don't work.

Obviously not everyone is sensitive to withdrawal and I'm glad it worked for you,

but it won't work for most of us here.

Okay, all.  I understand.  I just know that it worked for me.  At least it's another option that people can consider.

 

This method is most definitely not better than Ashton's.

 

As far as I know, there are no studies comparing the two, so I think we need to be open to more than one tapering method.

 

The whole point of switching to Valium is to achieve a smooth decline of benzo concentrations.

Alternating doses between days defeats that purpose

 

Valium has such a long half-life (several days, usually), I think it's very unlikely that a patient would feel a one-day dose reduction.  I certainly don't remember feeling withdrawal symptoms from day to day.  I do remember fearing that I might experience withdrawal symptoms with the reductions, but I also remember feeling reassured that at least I would be able to take a larger dose the very next day - just in case.

This method is most definitely not better than Ashton's.

 

As far as I know, there are no studies comparing the two

 

The tapering method best supported by studies is the Ashton method.

 

The whole point of switching to Valium is to achieve a smooth decline of benzo concentrations.

Alternating doses between days defeats that purpose

 

Valium has such a long half-life, I think it's very unlikely that a patient would feel a one-day dose reduction.

 

Nowhere does it state that you must switch to Valium.

 

Like I said, the worst part is the rapid reduction rate.

Outis for me at least I like that you are recommending switching to from Xanax to Valium for the taper I seem to have really hit a wall with Xanax and am having issues stabilizing at my longtime dose of 1 mg daily. I went through the last four months of heavy painkillers for kidney stones and a little extra Xanax during that period, and i seem to be screwed up since