Re: how to taper from xanax

  My Docs, who are pleased I am going off of Xanax are thinking about 8 weeks to taper off of 1 mg.  I am 70 and have been on it for 1-2 years. I, actually started today. I was taking .25mg 4x.

This morning the dose was cut to .125.

I, simply don't like this stuff. For many years I have dealt with autoimmune issues which are tough. Mix in the anxiety and depression and it has not been fun. However, I take no other meds. Antidepressants do not agree with me. I practice mindfulness, my wife and I do daily guided meditation, I practice " Acceptance" therapy, I walk, eat right etc. 

We will see.

Best to all, Rcristal

  My Docs, who are pleased I am going off of Xanax are thinking about 8 weeks to taper off of 1 mg.  I am 70 and have been on it for 1-2 years. I, actually started today. I was taking .25mg 4x.

This morning the dose was cut to .125.

I, simply don't like this stuff. For many years I have dealt with autoimmune issues which are tough. Mix in the anxiety and depression and it has not been fun. However, I take no other meds. Antidepressants do not agree with me. I practice mindfulness, my wife and I do daily guided meditation, I practice " Acceptance" therapy, I walk, eat right etc. 

 

We will see.

 

Best to all, Rcristal

Good to hear you've got some coping strategies Rcristal, you're on the right track. 

Pamster,

  Much thanks for your response.  It is good knowing there are so many good people in here.

Because I am on no other meds and given I have been on 1 mg, we are planning on 6-8 weeks. Of course it may take longer.  I am a believer in acceptance and in allowing time to pass.  I started yesterday by cutting one of my 4 daily .25 doses to .125 and will plan on staying there for one week. We have chosen one of my daytime doses as a starting point. 

My problems are many. I suffer from Sjogrens Syndrome and a variety of additional autoimmune issues. Add in depression, migraines and anxiety and it is a little rough.  I am extremely sensitive to meds which has been m

I need clarification from you, are you planning to complete your taper in 6-8 weeks, if so, this sounds very aggressive.  We stress symptom based tapers, this is what keeps us functional so I hope you'll be open to being flexible.  Your age, length of use and other health conditions should all be taken into consideration as well.

Typically those who are reducing Klonopin will begin to feel symptoms around day 3 and a leveling at around day's 7-10, I'm just trying to give you an idea of what to expect.

Hi Rcristal

Welcome to BB. I saw that you suffer from Sjögren’s, so do I. Do you take hydroxychloroquine like I do? I have dry mouth and eyes along with joint inflammation and pain. Sjögren’s is definitely not pleasant nor is benzo withdrawal. I’m here daily if you need anything.

Best to you

Jan aka KID

Is weaning off of .75-1 mg daily easier or is it the same as weaning off of higher doses? I have been getting different opinions from docs. I am curious what any of you good people think.  I have been on this dosage for about 18 months. I take no other meds and live a very healthy lifestyle. I am 70 years d and deal with other health jss8.  Meditation and Acceptance therapy help me a great dea6.

Much thanks

Rcristal

Tapering from lower doses can be just as difficult as from higher doses, one may take longer but even that isn't guaranteed because of so many different factors.  Length of use, dose, general health, genetics, lifestyle and many other things come into play. 

We never really know how we're going to react to a taper until we begin it, some can taper relatively easy, able to make reductions on their way to freedom.  Others find out right away that they have to go very slowly with long holds in between reductions in order to function while going through this. 

It's good to have therapies in place like you do, a good attitude can help and being generally healthy and active is also helpful but even with all of those in place, the process can still be rough.

How do you feel after the .125 reduction?

Jan/Pamster,

  Living with Sjogrens, Tinnitus, Rhynauds, GERD, Neuropathy pain, daily migraines, aura migraines, depression and so on has not been easy.  Keep in mind I take no meds for them.  Telling the difference between autoimmune symptoms and Xanax weaning symptoms can be confusing.  This is day 4 cutting from 1 mg to .875.  i don't feel well, a bit confused and a bad migraine today.

Having said this, I continue with Acceptance and we took a good walk today.  This entire withdrawal thing is not like me.  I never thought I would be in this situation given my healthy lifestyle.  I am encouraged that the very conservative Docs at the major medical center I use think 2 months will be fine.  However, I am prepared.

I just wish I could withdraw from Sjogrens after 8 weeks lol.

Rcristal

I'm sorry to hear you suffer with migraines, benzo withdrawal can exacerbate these I'm sorry to say.  You have quite a bit on your plate health wise so I hope that if your symptoms become too overwhelming you'll slow things down so you can continue to function. 

I love that you're walking, I did a lot of this when I was recovering, its a great distraction and will hopefully help keep you healthy and engaged in the world around you.  This process has a tendency to make us agoraphobic, withdrawn and fearful so anything you can do to keep your life as normal as possible is a good thing.

I really am curious about dosage.  As I have said, I was on .75mg of Xanax for 1-2 years and 1mg for about 2 weeks.  Today is day 10 of my tapering schedule. I am at .875 which I had thought would be for one week.  However, I am accepting and am fully aware this is not linear.  I imagine I will reduce to .75 next week after I speak with my Psychiatrist and Therapist.  Of course this is not a given as I am playing it by ear.  I take no other meds of any type, do not drink, exercise, meditate and eat healthy.  I absolutely HATE Xanax and how it makes me feel.  It is not my style but I was ignorant of the issues it raised.

Aside from weaning, which I have fully embraced I have a question.  Not that it matters but I want someone to tell me if .75-1 mg is a low dose. I continue to get differing opinions from Docs and pharmacists.  I am simply curious.

Best to all,

Rcristal

You sound very pragmatic, this will serve you well throughout this process.

As for your question, I consider your dose of Xanax to be fairly large because it's such a powerful drug when compared to other benzo's. 1 mg of Xanax is equal to 20 mgs of Valium and 2 mgs of Ativan to name a couple. 

You sound very pragmatic, this will serve you well throughout this process.

 

As for your question, I consider your dose of Xanax to be fairly large because it's such a powerful drug when compared to other benzo's. 1 mg of Xanax is equal to 20 mgs of Valium and 2 mgs of Ativan to name a couple.

I totally agree with you.  Xanax is a very powerful drug and the affects it has do not take long to take hold on a person.

I appreciate your answering this.

  I am one week into my second taper. Again, I was at .75mg for a few years. Then I was 1mg for about one month. I am at total of 3 weeks into this taper. I spent two weeks at .875 and the past week at .75. I am scheduled to reduce to .625 in one week. We will see.  These days are uncomfortable.  Because I took this poison 4x daily my weaning now includes 6-8 hour periods of " only" .125. I can definitely feel it. 

Mixed in with my various autoimmune issues and constant pain this is tough.  However, while I hate continuing to put these tablets in my body I am accepting that it will take patience.  As Dr Weeks says, let time pass.

I have meditated twice today with my Wife and gone for a nice brisk walk.  I constantly practice my acceptance therapy and focus on my breathing. I allow the anxiety to float over me. 

This is not for the faint of heart.  70 years old and dealing with pain and tapering ain't fun lol. However, this will pass.

One darn mg per day caused all of this. Certainly wish I had known.

Best to all,

Rcristal

Its good to hear how you're coping with this, your acceptance and willingness to do what it takes to get off of this drug is key to your recovery, I admire your perseverance. 

In two days I will cut from .75mg Xanax to .625mg.  This will be the start of my fifth week of tapering.  This is according to my three physicians recommendations.  I was @1mg for a couple of weeks and @.75mg for a couple of weeks.

The interesting thing is that, when I taper down from .75mg this will be the least amount I have been on in a long time.  I check in with my PCP weekly. We discuss the taper and my various autoimmune issues.  I get with the Psychiatrist once per month and my terrific Rheumatologist regularly.  Also, I meet with Therapist weekly. As tough as the autoimmune pain and tapering symptoms are I am most fortunate.  My Wife is by my side every step of the way.  All in all I am fortunate to be in a comfortable environment during this rough period. 

I am hoping to be done in a couple of months.  However, it will be what it will be.

I send my best to each of you,

Rcristal

I continue to find it difficult to gather information as regards tapering off of lower doses.  As I have indicated, I have used Xanax at a low dose.  However, I have been on it for a few years. I, absolutely understand that is the problem. I get it. However, there is nothing I can find that offers information about tapering off of lower doses.  Even the Ashton Manual has nothing.  Anyone aware of where I might look?

I am most fortunate to have a Psychiatrist, PCP and Rheumatologist at one of the nation's leading medical centers.  This is along with my Therapist.  They have teamed up on putting me on a tapering schedule. I am simply looking for additional input.

Best to all,

Rcristal

I'm not sure what you're asking for, are you looking for published material, if so I'm not sure where you can find it since professionals are much better at putting us on the drug than they are at withdrawing us from it.

Most of our members develop their own taper plans through experimentation on themselves unfortunately, when they get to the lower doses they've learned valuable lessons from their tapers thus far so they intuitively know when to slow down or speed up.

I don't know if you've looked at these websites, they have some helpful information although I'm not sure if they have what you're looking for.

https://benzoreform.org/

https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/

Much thanks for the links.  I will definitely check them out.  I am at peace with knowing that this taper will take several months.  I completely understand. What I am curious about is this,,,,,, even though I have been on this stuff for a number of years is my tapering situation identical to that of someone on a much higher dose.  My main Docs are on board with the 10-15 week schedule.  However, I have had several docs and pharmacists tell me that coming off of 1 mg or less than Xanax should not pose a problem.  My jitters today (day 4 of the third taper) tell me otherwise.  What I don't know is if this is my usual anxiety and depression or the taper.  Of course, at the end of the day it doesn't matter.

Bottom line is that I am curious why, if weaning off of 1mg is serious there are no articles or schedules about it anywhere.

The best to everyone,

Rcristal

In my experience reading member posts it's my opinion that length of use plays more of a role than amount, a higher dose can take longer to taper from but someone on a low dose for an extended period of time will suffer just as much as someone on a high dose for an extended period of time. 

These are my observations, I don't have hard facts to back me up but I've seen members who have taken large amounts of the drug for a month be able to get off of it fairly quickly and recover in a few weeks versus someone on .5 mg for many years who will suffer terribly.  Of course, another person on the drug for a short time can also suffer for months and years, I've seen this too.

Bottom line, your dose was low but the changes your brain made as a result of your use can't be reversed quickly.  That's what we're dealing with, this pill changed how our brain operates, scary stuff.

As for schedules for low doses, as I said, tapers are all about experimentation in order to stay functional using the drug to hopefully mitigate the symptoms.  Too many medical professionals don't recognize our plight and their attempts to minimize what that low dose has done to us is frustrating, no dose is low when it has the power to change how your brain functions.

I am simply in so darn much physical and mental pain it is rough. I literally have 3-4 concerning health issues on top of this taper. Makes it tough to figure it all out. Anxiety is simply all over me. I am even finding walking and meditation difficult although I do both.  I am simply overwhelmed.

I am " scheduled" to cut from .625 to .5 next Monday. However, I will play it by ear. And I have my second vaccine on Tuesday. At the very least I will wait to taper until Thursday or Friday.  Today is day 35.  I started at 1mg.

I very much respect the opinions of the good people in here. And, I am most fortunate to have the medical team I have.  They are talented, thorough, caring and experienced.

Rcristal

Rcristal, the reason this benzo withdrawal forum exists is because there is no recognition/reliable approach and training by the medical community about how to taper us off benzos.

I know you trust your doctors and they are at a leading medical center but they are simply tapering you too fast. They shouldn't have you on a set schedule of cutting your dose. Or a set static amount of .125mg.

We will agree to disagree.  These are experienced holistic and integrative Docs.  They non pill pushing docs.  We use meditation, accupuncture, exercise, acceptance etc.  Nothing is etched in stone. We all have my best interest at heart. And, we all are aware of my physical ailments.  We will make decisions as we go along taking it all under consideration.  I hear you about the medical community being ill prepared for this. Actually, I agree 100%.

At the end of the day none of us are experts either.  Unfortunately we are the poor souls going through this nightmare. However, do I trust my Docs ?  Yes I do. And I am no fan of the medicine community.  So, with all due respect I will choose to rely on them. My Wife and I ask many questions and not blindly led.  This is a team approach.

I mean absolutely no disrespect. However, I was warned, several times to be wary of this forum.  The warning was not that there is ill intent or a lack of knowledge. Rather, the warning was that the negativity would overwhelm me at a time when I gave no emotional reserve.  I chose not to listen to the advice.

I wish all the very best and hold each of you in the light,

.

Rcristal

I apologize if I offended or triggered you. That was not my intent. I didn't know it was a flexible program or as you say, "nothing is etched in stone". I misinterpreted and thought you were being tapered on a strict schedule.

I also wish you only the best.

Hi Rcristal,

It makes me feel bad to hear you were warned about the negativity of the forum, we try to balance it with positivity but its a battle for sure.  Be that as it may I'm glad you're here because we all can learn from each other to hopefully help each other and the next poor soul who ends up here.

I'm glad you're set for your second vaccination, I'm getting my first tomorrow and can't wait to hug my daughter someday soon.  I'm glad you're going to play your next reduction by ear after getting the vaccine, I've heard that one can be a bit of a bear for some.  My dermatologist told me today that she slept for 36 hours after hers, I thought that sounded kind of nice but she must have felt pretty lousy to sleep that much.  Ugh, can you imagine the aches and pains of laying in bed that long, I'm close to your age and know that much bed rest can be uncomfortable.

Anyway, sorry to fill your thread up with my stuff but I wanted to let you know I'm sorry for the pain you're in.  The member I communicate with has Sjogrens syndrome too and it's painful for her.  The mental anguish we feel can be worse than the physical, it takes normally uplifting and positive people and turns us into people we don't recognize and probably would avoid.