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Xanax crossover to Valium questions


[eb...]

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Personally, I think in your case it would make for a smoother, more successful, less painful taper. Just reading what you wrote, I do not think you are going to be able to dry cut your way off xanax. Xanax was the 1st benzo I was put on. I do recall getting off it for about one year IIRC but I was taking only .5 mgs. I experienced interdose w/d's for many years but would never go up in dose. I just tolerated it. I was able to drop to .25 and stayed there for a month but not really sure from my memory (long time ago). This was in the late 1980s. Then, I took 3 weeks off from work (vacation) and stopped it cold. The w/d was pretty bad, but I was able to tolerate and go back to work after 3 weeks, hoping to fake it until you make it so to speak. I think things started to improve for me after about 6 months IIRC  and at a year off, I was doing fairly ok. (no panic and very mild anxiety). Then, workplace stress (working really long hours, not enough manpower bc company refused to hire, almost impossible demands from supervisors, etc just pushed me over the edge again. Panic came back and so did the anxiety and I went back on which was in hindsight, probably a big mistake. I needed meditation and light to moderate cardio exercise to de-stress, not xanax back then, but I knew nothing about meditation during this time in my life and the importance of doing it daily to manage stress.

 

I went back on just .5 mgs and stayed semi-sick IMO (for several more years) in tolerance w/d until the xanax finally just stopped working, full stop, and I was immediately thrust into hell.....could no longer work or function. That was when I was put on klonopin and stayed on that drug for another 11 years and it turned out to actually be worse than xanax if you can believe that, but that is a whole other story.

 

If you use the Ashton protocol starting at 2.5 mgs of xanax, would your pdoc be willing to eventually put you on 50 mgs of valium after completing the cross and then drop the Valium in 2 mg increments every 2 weeks until you get down to say 14 mgs and then start reducing by 1 mg every 2 weeks?

 

The problem here is that Valium has developed a bad reputation and many doctors would not consider putting you on 50 mgs of Valium even if you tell them you are going to slowly reduce every two weeks. Most will tell you this is too much Valium. They fail to appreciate the Valium equivalence of the more potent benzos like xanax, klonopin, and ativan you are already on. It is actually a little crazy bc many pdocs will think nothing about putting you on 4 mgs of xanax daily but would never consider putting you on an (equivalent) 80 mgs of Valium daily.

 

Also, would your pdoc be willing to prescribe both to you for a while until the cross to Valium has been completed?

 

If your pdoc is unwilling to do this, I would then consider doing a micro taper using water titration using the xanax but I know very little and have no personal experience here.

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Would a crossover to Valium be faster to taper off than micro tapering Xanax as the dose gets lower? 

 

I understand you don't want to think about tapering for years but that shouldn't be what is guiding your decision for now.  What is most important is finding a drug and method that will help you live your life while you taper off the drug.  The time is takes will depend on your symptoms and functionality not the calendar. 

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[eb...]

Would a crossover to Valium be faster to taper off than micro tapering Xanax as the dose gets lower? 

 

I understand you don't want to think about tapering for years but that shouldn't be what is guiding your decision for now.  What is most important is finding a drug and method that will help you live your life while you taper off the drug.  The time is takes will depend on your symptoms and functionality not the calendar.

 

Pamster, tapering for years really is not even an option for me. I understand what you are saying, but it’s literally not an option.

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Why isn't a long comfortable taper like Pam said while you remain functional not an option?

 

I would ideally like to be done by the end of this year

 

I think this is what Pam is talking about. A year seems really sensible to me. You can do this using water titration if your doctor refuses for whatever reason to let you crossover to Valium. You can customize the water titration so that you are off by the end of this year. I think using Valium and the Ashton protocol is probably the best way to go but this is just IMO.

 

Professor Ashton IIRC saw a success rate of over 90%, even in those patients who had taken benzodiazepines over 20 years. This to me speaks volumes. 90% is pretty good odds.  :)

 

 

 

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Would a crossover to Valium be faster to taper off than micro tapering Xanax as the dose gets lower? 

 

I understand you don't want to think about tapering for years but that shouldn't be what is guiding your decision for now.  What is most important is finding a drug and method that will help you live your life while you taper off the drug.  The time is takes will depend on your symptoms and functionality not the calendar.

 

Pamster, tapering for years really is not even an option for me. I understand what you are saying, but it’s literally not an option.

 

I'm glad you understand what I'm saying machka and I agree with both you and Antibenzo7, a year seems doable, I just hope you'll make allowances for the unexpected.  I wish removing the drug didn't have to be so all consuming, I wish the focus could be on living your best life while using the drug to make it even better but sadly that's not the way it works.  I guess I'm being wistful and trying to deny the reality you're faced with.  I'm sorry.

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Finding a balance between having a taper that moves along AND staying functional is what I aimed for.  I went faster with my taper than what is suggested at BB because I knew I would likely flake out with something that took too long.  I tapered over six months and even that seemed long.

 

But if I am reading your post right, you are on a total of 10mg Xanax/day.  With the ultimate end goal of getting off the benzos coupled with having a safe, doable, and tolerable taper plan, a year for the sort of dose you are on seems like a good balance no matter what benzo you taper from.

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I am hoping someone can help me figure out the pros and cons of doing a gradual crossover to Valium from Xanax. I am currently at 2.5 mgs daily, 4x dosing a day. I tried to make a cut to 2 mgs but I was a wreck by Wednesday night, so I updosed back to 2.5. Holding for 2 weeks and will see my pdoc then to figure out where to go from there.  Interdose symptoms are worse as I get lower in my dose. I’m considering asking about a Valium crossover. Is there anything I should  bring up to my pdoc ? My pdoc is familiar with benzo tapering and said we would take it slower. I would like to think I can do the entire taper with Xanax as that would obviously be easier, but I don’t know if the side effects are going to get worse the lower my doses get. I’m also wondering how long it would take to completely cross to Valium from 2.5 mgs of Xanax ? Does Valium make for a slightly smoother taper or is that wishful thinking on my part?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

I apoligize - I read the above as 2.5mg 4 times daily.

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[eb...]
Kate, no worries. I can see how it could be read that way too. I’m the same way, feeling personally like a very long taper is not something that I can do. For multiple reasons. I do think that at the current dose I’m at that it’s a realistic and achievable timeframe to be done in less than a year. 
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You said you were holding for a few weeks until you see your pdoc. Have you already got a scheduled appointment? Are you going to try crossing over to Valium or are you still undecided? Both Kate and Pam made excellent points. I also think tapers can sometimes be too drawn out  and actually can become counterproductive at some point.
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  • 2 weeks later...

I am switching over to Valium from Xanax XR (started last night).  I was very scared to start as I had a failed attempt at this a few years ago, but my Doctor at that time had no idea what he was doing. 

Anyway, my new psychiatrist started with switching the evening dose of Xanax first to Valium and I am holding here for 2 weeks.  Feel free to message me if you would like.

I am currently taking Xanax XR 1mg in the morning and 10mg Valium in the evening to replace the .5mg I was taking before. 

 

My current psychiatrist is a God send!  He is amazing and extremely knowledgeable, kind and caring.  I thank God every day for this man!  I searched for years for a doctor like this.  He said the way to do it is to switch to Valium and taper 1 mg every 2 weeks.  Xanax doesn't come in a small enough dose to taper.  The Valium so far is much better then Xanax and I was pleasantly surprised last night.  I slept all night, I woke up a few times, but didn't crave the Xanax at all!   

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