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PLEASE Help- Going to Reinstate!


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Hi,  After suffering the worst physical pain after CT from Alprazolam after 2 1/2 months, I have realized that I have pretty much lost my life.  I have an appointment with my Dr. today or tomorrow.  I want to be prepared to know what to say to begin a slow taper.  I need my life back while tapering off of this poison.  I hate the idea of going back on but I actually feel like I'm getting worse entering my 4th week of CT. 

I was taking .5 (two .25 a day of Aplrazolam).  What should I cross over too?  I was thinking about liquid  Klonopin.  Does that sound about right?  What is the equivalent of .5 Alprazolam to switch to the Klonopin? 

Is the drop about 5 %? 

I want to make sure I have all of the information for my DR so I get this right.  I need to advocate for myself! 

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are you adamant you want to reinstate.  you have gone this far it would be a shame to waste the progress. I know it may not feel that way but you are a month closer to being recovered. it is early days so it's quite normal to feel so low. I myself thought many times to reinstate or even take something else, anything to end the hell. I'm so glad I didn't.  there is another life at the end of this.

 

Andrew

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I have only take Alprazolam.  I'm at a crossroads in my life.  I have mostly been in bed the last three weeks with the worst physical symptoms (no mental) after CT.  Extremely tight chest, swollen head, weak legs, adrenalin bursts throughout body, no sleep, sensitivity to sounds, buzzing throughout body,  sharp pains all over body, fatigue. 

 

I am not able to function at all.  I'm so scared.  I have no idea if I should Reinstate or Not.  I was on Alprazolam during having the flu.  I took .25 a day for the first month and .5 a day for the second month.  I began experiencing interdose withdraw quickly. 

 

I'm sooo upset.  I have a dr appointment tomorrow.  I don't know how to do any of this. I don't know how to taper. But I do know I need to be prepared to talk to DR. with information. 

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Hon, what about trying to find a dosage that makes the pain bearable, and cold turkey from that. When I decided to taper, I didn’t know where to start. I was cycling through good times and bad when on it which caused my intake of the drug to go from as low as .25 a day and as much as 4.5 in a bad spell.  I chose somewhere in the middle and started tapering at 2.50.  I’ve been at it for a year and a half and I’m now down to .9 mg per day.  You said you took 30 mg of Xanax, did you mean 3.0 because 30 would kill a person.  (I think).  If you meant 3.0 you might not need that much to let you feel bearable.  That way you also won’t waste the time you have put in.  i would start small for a maybe four days and then creep up and find just the amount that you can tolerate the symptoms with .  You are not looking for total comfort.  You are looking for just above bearable, where you think “this might be somewhat uncomfortable but I can tolerate this.”  This is just a thought.  I wish you the very best.
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Thank you for your advice.  I was at .5 (two .25 a day) Alprazolam for two months.  This is considered a low dose but I'm really having a difficult time with the physical symptoms.  Unbearable. 
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I'm really surprised your symptoms are all physical and not mental. my mental side effects where so severe it was a struggle to continue.

 

What are you plans when you see your Dr

 

I agree with the statement about losing your life but it's a temporary state. with short term low dose use you would hope the withdrawal would not be a long process

 

Andrew

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I don't have any mental symptoms.  I was prescribed this medication due to having the flu to help me sleep. I've never had anxiety, etc.  So, maybe that's why it's hitting me so bad physically. 
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that's really careless to prescribe this for flu, that would be unheard of in Australia.  this medicine is a last resort type of treatment in my opinion.  definatly not for a flu.

 

have you been checked for other causes of your symptoms. when I started to improve I still had bad fatigue.  I had some tests and I had a long term nasal infection. 1 week of antibiotics and I was back to normal. just a thought.

 

Andrew

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Long time Xanax user here. My worst symptoms are the mental ones. I wonder if you can’t work your way through the physical ones. They don’t bother me as much because they tend to ease off a few weeks after I do a cut. I’m not sure I would want to go on klonipin. It’s a nasty drug. What about reinstating at a lower dose of the Xanax and then tapering off. I can tell you from experience that Xanax doesn’t mess around. I ran to the doc recently because I thought I was having a heart attack. The physical pain really seems insane and that it couldn’t possibly be caused by just some Xanax withdrawals. But, it very much can. My exam was normal. Had terrible symptoms today. I felt like I was losing my mind. My brain feels damaged. But, then a window will come out of nowhere and I’ll feel like my old self for a bit. Hang in there. I think you could reinstate but at a lower dose. Taper slowly. Hopefully you will have less symptoms.
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If it was me I would ride it out. There is pain during tapering as well. No guarantee reinstating will take it away.
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I'd reinstate but at smaller amount than you stard from. That way, you will be confident that you haven't failed but made some progress. Hold a while, then restart taper.bthere is no hurry. You are not testing yourself. This is only practise
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Thank you for your feedback.  I am meeting with my dr. today.  I have made no final decisions.  My neck is so tight that I was gagging all night from the muscle ridgitiy.  It's horrible.  This is not a physical symptom that I can tough out. 
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[1a...]

Hi Tall,

I just finished one year 2nd taper of 1 mg K after reinstatement. It was a roller coaster of symptoms but  I'm doing way better than my first taper. I didn't use this drugs that long. Most of the 2 + years has been tapering this crap.

My symptoms have been mostly mental. Anxiety and intrusive thoughts. No physical just muscle pain here and there.

In my experience, if I were you, I would try to hold as much as I can and try to be very proactive with diet exercise and relaxation.

Switching drugs is a russian rulet, it may or may not work. I took Lorazepam and then K for tapering. I didn't want to switch drugs. K had helped me with my terrible insomnia  and it was already a long lasting benzo. If I had to switch I would opt for valium. You have more options to do the tapering with pills if liquid doesn't work for you.

You won't get much opinions about reinstatement here at BB. It is a bad word. I also think is the VERY VERY last option if you can handle it. But if you can't it's not the end of the world. Try to have a good plan with your doctor and go slow, specially 1/3 towards the end.

Hope this helps!

Mice

 

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Having to take a tiny bit to reduce the muscle rigidity sucks but it worked for me.  I had to go through the peak of the drug leaving my system again, but the rigidity was expected and not quite as bad.  If it would have still been intolerable, I think I would have just finished with the c/t duration type taper that I have seen some others do.  Basically you just don’t take any until you need to and then start again.  Keep going longer until your system learns it cannot count on the drugs being present and stops relying on it.  I don’t think that method would have been really effective for the majority of my taper, but the last little bit seems like I could have(should have) stayed out of the ripping/tearing pain/ideation/psychosis/screaming into the pillow - Hell.  I was so scared of the damn drugs that I Couldn’t take them.  Don’t destroy yourself, but don’t give up to the point that you will struggle to forgive yourself later =try to not add to your mental/physical pain.

 

  Do What you can, When you can.

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In my opinion allowing yourself to take a dose as needed when withdrawal becomes to difficult is playing with fire. withdrawal is hell  we all have been through or are still suffering. allowing yourself that dose will ultimately weaken your resolve and slow your progress. everyone is different and it may possibly work for some but that strategy seems like it would prolong the suffering and set you up to fail. we all in the end need to learn to live without this poison, is it easy,no but it will be the best thing you have done.

 

please remember this is just my point of view and may not apply to all but I have a feeling many would agree.

 

Andrew 

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Hey Andrew just red your signature and you said you take Avanza

 

In US that is an opioid, actually mispell of Avinza

 

So I guess you are in NZ or Oz where it is mirtazapi?

 

Different names in different countries for the same drug is really confused for all of us

 

I just discovered that the covid drug remdesivir has comete different name in Europe

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