Librium vs Valium for tapering off Xanax ?

Hello,

I am currently taking 1.5 mg Xanax daily and I am preparing to start my taper based on the Ashton Manual.

I was hoping someone out there might have some insight on cross tapering with Librium vs. Valium ?

Dr. Ashton seems to favor Valium when transitioning from a short acting benzo to a longer acting benzo. However,

I have consulted with a doctor who prefers Librium.

I would greatly appreciate hearing from anyone who has tapered from Xanax, or who has transitioned to a Valium or Librium taper...and particularly if anyone has thoughts on Librium vs. Valium.

Thank you.

Hi there. I’m tapering off of 2.5 mgs of Xanax per day and I am down to .5 per day. I am doing  a direct taper because I couldn’t tolerate Valium but a lot of people have had good luck with it.

If it were me, I wouldn’t take Librium if I could help it. Hopefully others will weigh in. I’ve never taken it myself but haven’t heard good things about it.

Valium is known to be a safe way to go while tapering. It’s also possible to do a slow taper directly from Xanax.

I dose 4 Times per day to help with interdose withdrawals and I cut and hold. Usually for a month, sometimes more. You could also do a micro taper. There are a lot of people on here doing that.

I’m on my second taper now and was just prescribed Valium on Monday now that I got to .25mg of Klonopin.  The first time I got off I went to detox and they used Librium.  Both Valium and Librium have the same active metabolite (desmethyldiazepam) which is what creates such a long half life.  So, it doesn’t really matter which you take. 

That being said, I had a fairly easy time getting off Klonopin the first time with Librium.  Had been on high dose Klonopin for 17 years.  Detox for a week.  The withdrawal hit me hard once I was 10 days off.  I was prescribed propranolol as soon as I got off which helped with some symptoms.  Was off for 10 months and was in bad shape, mostly due to what I now know were bad reactions to antidepressants.  For a long time my doc was incredulous at the fact that the antidepressants could be giving me such problems and chalked everything up to withdrawal and an anxiety disorder.  But, it later became clear that the Viibryd I was taking for depression gave me uncontrollable anxiety and vertigo-like symptoms.  So, I was put back on Klonopin which gave me some stability and control.  Now, I’m off all medications except for 2mg of Valium I take twice a day. 

So, doing my second taper now and it’s a lot harder.  Word to the wise to stay off once you get off because kindling is real.  I have suffered from major depression for 20 years, which I actually think was exacerbated by antidepressants and benzos, so I’m going to try going completely med-free this time.  If I have to get back on an antidepressant, I at least know not to take Viibryd or Abilify because they both gave me extreme anxiety.  Mirtazapine helped calm my nerves a lot but made me feel like a zombie and gain 25 lbs.  I also tried Paxil over that time frame and while it helped with anxiety/panic, I felt like I’d had a lobotomy.  Mirtazapine and Paxil withdrawal sucked as well.  I’m quite over medication.