A Xanax life

Hi all.. I have been all Xanax for 17 yrs. with my highest dosage of 8 mg a day , 2mg x 4 times a day and now currently 1 - 1.5 mg a day. Mostly 1mg. .5  twice a day,.

 

After some serious thought I decided to try and tapper off Xanax using Ashton method. My choice of switch was Valium..

 

This was a mistake!! My Dr was a little hesitant to try and tapper with my long Documented history  But ended up deciding to try it anyways.

 

The plan was to reduce .5 Xanax with 7 Mg of Diazepam. ( After reading some stories here I should have allowed a build up ) The problem though was that Diazepam gave me some very unpleasant feelings and my anxiety went through the roof. Still determined to stick with it.

 

2 months of tapper has past. I cannot hand this anymore.:The dreams , insomnia, some evil thoughts , the level of anxiety etc. Now my Dr doesn’t believe me and she thinks I’m abusing both Benzos. So she did not refill my Diazepam scripts again. So now I’m on day 8 cold turkey off Diazepam. Went back to 1 mg of Xanax again and it wasn’t getting it done like it has in the past. Now I am back up to 1.5 Xanax. I have had some serious cramp, insomnia now last 24 plus hours.

 

The tapper was a failure!!! Now after reading a lot on this forum , I’ve notice others not doing well with Diazepam as a crossover. Now I don’t know what to do. Anxiety is high and I don’t want to increase to 2mg a day. I would consider that a personal failure

 

What do you all think about this mess I’m in

Hello Johnnyblaze and Welcome to BenzoBuddies!  We're glad you've joined us!

 

I'm so sorry you've had such a rough time with Xanax and Valium.  You'll find information here, and you'll be able to ask questions, to help you figure out the best way to proceed.    You'll also receive support from a community of others who understand what you're going through.

 

As I'm sure you know, we support tapering with cuts of no more than 5-10% every 10-14 days or longer as dictated by symptoms in order to help you function as well as possible.  This is a general guideline and you'll see various options to consider for tapering.

 

Please explore the site at your own pace and feel free to start a topic with questions about your situation.  Here are two boards to help you get started. I suggest you start a topic on either or both of these boards:

 

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

It's helpful to other members to readily see where you are in your benzo journey so please create a signature.  Here's how. 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.

 

We're glad you're here!

Brighterday. 

 

 

Thanks for the response Brighterday

 

I have seen these ratios in different areas within this site. Still trying to wrap my head around it though..

For instance, if someone is on a 1.5 mg of Xanax using 10% reduction would then be 0.15. So, 0.15 would then be used as the multiplier of tapering choice of other med. 

I would think at these small levels, it would be challenging to create those dosages.. Would it not?

 

Regards , 

Hello Johnnyblaze and Yes! I have been down your path and tapered with diazepam from over 20 years of alprazalam so I KNOW the taper will work. I can’t tell you the HOW of it ( I consulted the Ashton abstract) but I am here to tell you that after about 6 months of tapering I went off of benzos completely and although a rough patch initially, it has steadily gotten easier in all realms, including but not limited to sleep, mental and physical health, mood, energy level, and the ability once again to experience joy. There is light if you keep walking through the tunnel. It is imperative that you get a shrink who will work with you. I actually emailed my doctor the abstract as she’d never heard of it! You have to educate most psychiatrists as they see their job as drug dispensers so you have to teach them which drug you need. The only way you’ll fail at this is if you give up and giving up is not an option! Stay strong! You are a Warrior now! And if I can do it, you can too. ONE step at a time. Yes, I’m a 12 stepper— been clean and sober since Nov. 6, 2008 from alcohol. Sending love your way.💕

Thanks for the response Brighterday

 

I have seen these ratios in different areas within this site. Still trying to wrap my head around it though..

For instance, if someone is on a 1.5 mg of Xanax using 10% reduction would then be 0.15. So, 0.15 would then be used as the multiplier of tapering choice of other med. 

I would think at these small levels, it would be challenging to create those dosages.. Would it not?

 

Regards , 

 

Hi Johnny,

 

It's a lot to wrap your head around especially when you're in the middle of withdrawal. But you'll get the hang of it.  The idea is to cut your current dose by 10% each time you make a cut (not 10% of your original dose).  You're right that as you get down to the lower doses it's nearly impossible to divide a benzo tablet beyond a quarter.  So at that point there are a couple of choices - using a scale or using a liquid to take the smaller doses.

 

I encourage you to start a topic about this on the planning your taper board where you'll get more responses Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

 

Here's another link that may be helpful: The Xanax Club

 

You're surrounded by buddies who will help you and you'll get through this,

Brighterday

Appreciate the motivation ( Inna Light and Brighterday ) I'm going on 10 days cold turkey with the Valium now and i seem to be going to the bathroom with better success and my overall feeling of anxiety has come down little. I actually got Little more sleep last night  . Now for the record, this success is also from increasing my Xanax from 1mg to 1.5mg so it hasn't been as bad as some of the brave members here have gone through or currently going through.

 

The tapering was so horrible the first week though even with the .5mg increase that now im a little nervous on trying it again. For the record, I was Little fast on accessing my doctors response in the beginning, she now is wanting to help me in anyway possible. Her and I agree that cutting my Xanax by 50% ( .5mg ) and switching to 7mg of Valium without allowing Valium to build up was probably the wrong approach. She agreed that we should have went to 10mg of Valium and only reduce Xanax by .25mg for the first week or 2. I can definitely see that the support on this site will allow me to get the courage to come up with a better tapering plan next time.

 

I will continue to read other post on here as it relates to mine and build the knowledge from those experiences.

 

Will update when i get the right plan in place. Thanks > 

I have a general question to some members who are experiencing constipation from Valium. Do you believe its from the Valium or just the change in Benzos ?

 

When i went cold turkey on 7.5mg a day for 2 months, i had severe constipation. But now that im feeling little better the longer as each day passes, Im questioning if Valium is the right choice to taper off of Xanax.

 

I know everyone is different and the amounts people take varies, just wondering what the consensus is

I have a general question to some members who are experiencing constipation from Valium. Do you believe its from the Valium or just the change in Benzos ?

 

When i went cold turkey on 7.5mg a day for 2 months, i had severe constipation. But now that im feeling little better the longer as each day passes, Im questioning if Valium is the right choice to taper off of Xanax.

 

I know everyone is different and the amounts people take varies, just wondering what the consensus is

 

Hi Johnny -

 

You'll get more responses from members if you post this on Withdrawal Support (during your taper) board.  If you click on the link it will take you directly to the board and you can start a topic with your questions.

 

Take care,

Brighterday