30 years of Benzo dependency

Hi all,

 

I was initially prescribed Xanax for panic attack’s when I was 19, and I am now 49. Two years ago the Xanax was working against me, at my max dosage of 2.5-3 mg daily. I ended up spending two different weeks in an emergency psychiatric facility, where I was switched over to Librium. The second visit was due to a too quick taper schedule after my first discharge that landed back in the ER a few weeks later. After months of outpatient nightmares with doctors who wanted to cold turkey Mee off Librium, I found a great doc. We decided to leave me as is for a year (2017) I have spent this year doing a slow taper, working closely with my doctor. I have so far had manageable withdrawal symptoms, starting at 75 mg and tapering at a rate of 5 mg every 2-3 weeks. I am in the home stretch currently just having dropped from 10 mg to 5, which is a larger percentage than my previous tapers.

Hello Justbreathe50 Welcome to Benzobuddies!

 

We are glad you joined our community, Well done to you and your doctor, you have done a good job with your tapering.  Try not to rush this last stretch, 50% cut is a lot, I found I had to slow down at the low doses.  I am pleased to hear that symptoms have been manageable.

 

The general recommendation is to reduce the daily dose by somewhere between 5% and 10% every 10 - 14 days.  It’s okay to go slower than this, whatever feels comfortable, the aim is to try to keep symptoms manageable.

The Ashton Manual, is a great resource for understanding the effect benzo’s have on our body.  It provides tapering and withdrawal information and includes a list of common symptoms 

 

You will find some very valuable support and information on the forum.  Our members are happy to share their personal experiences with you and support you.. Please feel free to browse the boards and post questions to any of the dedicated threads.

 

I'll leave you a few links:

 

The Ashton Manual. 

Withdrawal Support

General Taper Plans

 

Please take time to add a signature (history of meds/doses etc) it will help members give you relevant advice.  Go to the top of the page and select PROFILE then choose forum profile then insert drug history into the text box and remember to click change profile

 

Welcome aboard

Magrita

 

You are so correct! I am feeling the effects from this last cut already and only a couple of days in. I am going to reach out to my doctor this week for guidance. I am not sure how I can cut without dropping from 5 mg since the Librium is in capsule form. I am very lucky that my job is home based, and this is a slower time of year, so though I do work 8-10 hours a day, the stress level currently is lower and no driving is required.