Hello nice to meet everyone

My name is jimmy,

I can't seem to get the signature to work. Each time i click modify with password in it just refreshes the page. Tried maybe 10 times.

Anyhow,

I joined to meet anyone else who is battling this benzo stuff and to also find support. I was prescribed alprazolam .5mg 2-3/d from a family doctor 4 years ago and just recently found out about this tranquilizers effects. Planning on weaning off soon.

 

-Jimmy

Hello jt418, Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

You'll be able to get your signature to work now that you're a member. 

 

You've found the right place to 'meet' others who are battling this benzo stuff, that's why we're here, and I promise you'll find support.  I'm glad you decided to so some research about the drug before you start your taper, its important to get a plan and know what to expect before you being this process.

 

If you'll take a look at the Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans) board you'll see the methods we support, then you can ask our members for suggestions once you decide what will work the best for you. Just start a thread and you'll get suggestions.

 

You might want to drop into the Withdrawal Support (during your taper) area of the forum if you're wondering how it's going to go.

 

You might also take a look at  The Ashton Manual, it's a great resource for understanding what benzo's do to us.

 

We're glad you found us.

 

Pamster

Hi Jimmy, good for you on the decision to stop the Xanax! It has been my experience that you will be able think think much more clearly without it in your system. I wish you luck and I am available at any point if you need support or insight on withdrawing from the medicine.

Thank you guys for answering. I have been researching online the past week in the dark just praying to God before finding this site. Since I couldn't find anything online about benzo wise doctors in my area of Houston, Texas I was feeling helpless. But last night I got into contact with a friend and her brother is a doctor. She said to schedule an appointment with him as he may have to switch me to a different medication to wean off. I'm assuming Valium but he is my only hope and was once my doctor in the past. I shouldn't have ever switched over to the new doctor years ago that prescribed me this poison but my insurance had changed. Please forgive me as I am currently going through minor withdrawals. I know my tolerance with the alprazolam has been 1.5 possibly 2mg a day during stressful events, but mostly 1.5mg I tried doing 1mg this last week but i could feel the interdose withdrawals I ended up doing .50mg every 12 hours and putting .25mg in between doses seems to be helping a little. I have brain fog and the first thing I noticed this past week is increased insomnia 3 hours of sleep if i'm lucky mainly due to this ringing in my ears as well. I would rather stick it out than add to the current dosage. I hope it doesn't affect my recovery. I appreciate you guys and God bless.

 

Now i'm trying to figure out what to bring to the doctor and explain to him what has been going on. I didn't know that alprazolam had to be switched to valium slowly? Then once stable taper from what the ashton manual suggested.

 

-Sincerely, Jimmy

The reason for tapering off the Alprazolam while introducing the Valium is so you can build the Valium up in your system to help you transition off the Alprazolam, it allows for a smoother transition.  I'm glad you read the Ashton manual, it helps to educate ourselves about what's happening to us.

 

I hope your Dr appointment goes well, but some Dr's are hesitant to cross their patients to another benzo, if he is, don't worry, we'll help you figure out a taper, you just need him to prescribe you enough pills to do this slowly. 

 

For now though, try to stick to the same dose each day, it's important to begin your taper from a stable position so your erratic dosing isn't helping your cause. 

Thank you for the reply. Having you guys on here means a lot to me you have no idea. I am scheduled to go in tomorrow. I have been trying my best to stay positive and accept what’s happened to me. As I sit here somewhat numb. Idk if it’s brain fog or DR but it’s been about almost the second week since on the same dosage. Is there anything I can take for it as far as supplements?. I do not want to up the dosage. I’m not sure what the definition is stabilized means. I’ll still have occasional panic attacks but I usually tell myself to calm down. I’ve been researching day and night. Some things make me feel better and some just scare me. I was wondering if there’s a way to find benzo withdrawal specialists in Houston Texas. I rarely see anyone post about the good doctors maybe because there aren’t many. Just thought I’d ask anyways. Thank you for listening any help or advice would greatly be appreciated.

Many of our members swear by the supplements they find, and just as many say they hurt more than they help, I'd proceed with caution when introducing anything new to include prescription medications.

 

It sounds like you're fairly stable at the moment, most members say stable doesn't necessarily mean good, it just means not terrible.

 

Drs knowledgeable about benzo withdrawal are tough to find, but you could try this website.  https://www.benzoinfo.com/doctors/

 

Please let us know how it goes tomorrow, remember the slower your taper the better.

 

I’m so lost and scared. I wish there was more help from doctors with this stuff. The doctor said take lexapro for a week.

Then

week 2 alprazolam .5mg 2x a day

Week 3 .25mg 2x a day

Week 4 .25mg 1x day

Week 5 stop

 

:'( I’m in Houston Texas and have been searching psychiatrists like crazy but I have no idea what to do. I couldn’t find anyone on benzo doc.

 

-Jimmy..

Hi Jimmy,

 

Many of our members only use their Drs to get their pills refilled, they design and follow their own taper plans, this puts the power in our hands.  Your job is to find a Dr willing to let you do a slow taper, one based on your lifestyle, health, work commitments and family obligations, this process should and needs to be patient driven.

 

We can help support you through this, we can help you with your taper, you just have to find a Dr to prescribe the pills.

 

Pamster

 

P.S.  That taper plan looks too aggressive, but I figured you already know this. 

Hey Pam,

Sorry it’s been a long few weeks. I just got back into town last night. I drove 3 hours to find a benzo wise doctor. He memorized the Ashton manual even before I pulled it out. He switched me to Valium but with a direct cross over to 30mg a day. I did ask him about the cross over but he said I was on a fairly low dose. I believe he mentioned something about prescribing too much if he added alprazolam. I have to call to refill every 2 weeks and go out of town every two months to see him.  I hope things go smoothly. I took my first dose at 8am. After 2 weeks he wants me to follow the Ashton manual and cut 2.5mg every 2 weeks. It’s been rough lately I try to stay away from the scary stuff on here and to remain positive while I’m going through the withdrawals. I really need emotional support at this point. Thank you for being here. I hope to make more friends during this journey.

 

-Jimmy

 

Hey Jimmy,

 

Good for you for going way out of your way to find a Dr willing to work with you, I hope the drive won't be too much for you, sometimes when we're going through withdrawal we get a little fearful.

 

So, you were on 1.5 mg of Ativan and now you'll be taking 30 mg Valium with no Ativan?  That's quite a bit of Valium, I see most tables put 1.5 mg Ativan to 15 mg Valium but since he's not introducing the Valium slowly and taking the Ativan away slowly, perhaps he feels you're going to need this much? 

 

If you'd like to make friends who are positive and upbeat, I can point you to a member who fits that bill.  He has a blog and you could drop by for a bit of moral support.  Here is the link.  http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=236184.0

 

Would love to hear your thoughts about my questions though. 

 

 

 

 

Hey Pam,

Thank you for replying so fast. Even though I’m slow like a turtle right now brain fog a bit. I was on alprazolam 1.5mg not the Ativan. Yes the drive was quite long I had my wife and baby with me. We try to look at it like a family trip. I try my best to fight the withdrawals and if it’s too much I have to rest a little. Still have fatigue, ringing ears, tight muscles, and cog fog. I have been able to get some sleep for now. At times things don’t seem real and I’m numb it’s quite weird. But hopefully this transition to Valium won’t be bad. All I can do is pray to God.

 

-Jimmy

Well, I knew it started with an A!    Much better, you're on the right dose of Valium.

 

Very glad to hear you have your family with you, that reassures me.  It sounds like you're dealing with the classic symptoms, has your wife read about them in chapter 3 of the Ashton manual, it might help her to understand your situation a bit more.  The Ashton Manual

Yes, I am thankful my wife is actually the one who found this benzo wise doctor. She hasn’t read the Ashton manual personally but she did do a lot of research into finding out what’s been going on with me. I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on with me  good to know I’m on the right dosage. I calculated at about 30mgs as well. Thank you for caring. You don’t know how much it means to me. It’s hard not to feel alone during these times. I go from what’s wrong with me to “I need to heal” do we heal as we’re coming down slowly during the taper?

 

-Jimmy

Yes we do heal as we taper!  Your brain adapted to the presence of the drug, it altered it's function to accommodate it.  When you withdraw the drug slowly, the brain begins to regain normal function, its repairing the pathways your brain used to send messages to just about every part of your body.  By doing this slowly, we hope to make the symptoms more manageable.  But even those who quit cold turkey like me can heal, its just that instead of keeping the symptoms manageable, we're left to experience them full force.

 

None of our options are good ones, but this is all we have for now.  Your wife sounds wonderful. 

I appreciate everything Pam. I’m sure you have many posts to respond to and I’m grateful that you’re here. I read the blog you posted and he’s amazing. I can only imagine what a cold turkey would feel like. I’m glad you are recovering. My wife is wonderful and hopefully her patience holds up. Today wasn’t too bad except for a few panic attacks where my heart wouldn’t stop pounding for an hour. I suppose it has to do with the direct cross over. I took 5mg morning, 5mg noon, and 5mg afternoon. I just took my nightly three 5mg to total out to 30mg. Should I post a thread about my experience with this direct cross over somewhere?

 

-Jimmy

Hi Jimmy,

 

I'm sure the direct cross is making you uncomfortable, we typically see members ease into the substitution, hopefully things will settle down soon.  It would be great if you could start a thread in another part of the forum, the introductions board doesn't get much traffic, we typically just use this board to send new members to the more appropriate boards for their situation.

 

If you'd like to start a thread on the substitution board you can, but if you'd like to speak with others about your symptoms you could start a thread in withdrawal support.  Here are the links.

 

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

Keep up the positive attitude, it's an important part of this process.