Planning on using ashton method and have quetions to taper Xanax

[[Buddie]]

First of all bless all of you in this forum. There's a lot of wonderful information.

My xanax use started much like most, I was prescribed by my primary care physician for anxiety as needed and then that rolled into sleep5 or so years ago. I have always been one that took my xanax dose at night like a sleeping pill and had no desire to use it during the day as i would wake rested and feel good all day long. i would keep my dose low (.5 - .75 sometimes 1) but that was always my line I wouldnt cross until 2021. In 2021 some things happened in my personal and slowly over the year I began to take more. I can honestly say I dont even know that I needed it. I got to the point in December that I was taking 2mg at night for maybe 60 days give or take  and I made the decision in my mind it was time to back it down. Soooo .. I cut back too 1.5. And pretty much right at the same time that began I suffered some pretty catastrophic events in my small business that caused pretty severe anxiety. COVID related things that seemed they were going to ruin me financially. I went down a rabbit hole of anxiety and panic and I began to educate myself on xanax withdrawal and determined that the .5 cut was a pretty big cut and was probably contributing big time to my inability to function.

I immediatley got in touch with my PCP and he was a complete A hole (new one) Old one retired. Which made it all worse. He gave me 2. 10 mg diezepam and basically said go find a psych.

Fortunately through this site and Benzo Coalition I have found a Dr. That has educated himself on benzo's the Ashton method and has explained he will not rush me in anyway which is very comforting. So I have the medical support or prescription support but He basically said I will need to find what works for me. Dose wise..

With that being said I am trying to cross over to diezepam to follow the Ashton method to taper down. I would love help with a suggested crossover as I dont want to just quit the xanax and move directly to diezepam.?

2. I started taking .5mg 3 times daily rather then the one big dose at night and I feel like I struggle much more with the lower dose spread through the day then I ever did taking one big dose at night. Should I stick to one big dose at night and taper or continue to spread them out ? Does it matter if Im not updosing? I do much better after 1 big dose although I havent tried that since  was instructed by my dr to do 3 a day and frankly I think I know more then they do ? My anxiety is worse in the morning. Typically by evening I feel decent.

[[Buddie]]

Hi [...],

I am in a similar position. I am at the beginning of a alprazolam taper - i take .25 3x a day. My doc said to take .50 every 12. that was too much time in between, but Im slowly stretching the time between. I thought 1 mg was too much so I dropped to .75 right away. I experimented at .50 that was too big a cut. I was terrified with jelly legs, insomnia, extremely negative thoughts and lots of crying.

Lately, I've been shaving off a little of each .25 dose, and stretching the time between doses. This is not scientific at all - I just read my body and adjust. I will accept a certain amount of discomfort. Mornings are the worst that's when I take the fullest .25. then the next one is smaller. then the night dose is the smallest. I do tend to wake up around 4:45 most mornings - sometimes I can fall back asleep, other times, no. I do not take a pill then I wait for 8 am no matter what. If theres one thing Ive learned on BB is not to panic about the lack of sleep. its going to happen so accept it and trust your body WILL get the rest it needs eventually.

Im not going to switch to valium - im planning a straight taper - my appointment with neurologist is wednesday lets see what he says. I just think (for me) it will be better to not introduce another pharmaceutical. Im going to attempt a 90 day taper and am studying a liquid tritiation and looking into getting liquid alprazolam or finding a compounding pharmacy.

Im glad you posted. Ive been looking for a buddy in more or less the same stage. We can do this!

[...]

[[Buddie]]

Since you reduced that .5 mg and have been experiencing discomfort I'm doubtful you'll be able to go back to once a day dosing.  For some reason when members reduce too much and decide to go back to what they did before things change, it's like you can't go home again, this is your new normal and believe me I know how ridiculous it is for me to say normal in this context.  You can certainly try one dose at night but don't be surprised if it doesn't work. 

Its quite common to feel morning anxiety, some of our members attribute this to higher cortisol levels in the morning.

I'm not surprised to hear you're feeling undermedicated by dosing 3 times a day, any change to our dose or schedule seems to elicit a response.  How long have you been on 1.5 mg? 

This is a handy equivalency calculator for when you feel you're ready to begin your crossover.  https://clincalc.com/Benzodiazepine/

This schedule in the Ashton manual is for Klonopin but Xanax is roughly equivalent to Klonopin so you could use it for your crossover but of course you'll want to pay attention to your symptoms before making reductions, they should guide you, not your doctor or a schedule.  You need to be able to live your life while tapering, right?  https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm#s5

[[Buddie]]

[...] I am glad to be your buddies this is something I never in a million years thought I would be dealing with. I was always the friend that didn’t want to “party” and said no to everything. Unfortunately I suffer from generalized anxiety disorder and Xanax just works too damn good. I went through pretty tough few weeks after that .5 drop but I never went back up. I hope that I have now been through the worst of it. But all of the unknown is what is so scary.

I actuallly feel pretty calm at night but in the morning through the day I feel a lot of anxiety. I also think I have really psyched myself out with all of the online reading I’m
Doing. Need to just put it all down. Morning anxiety has been my main issue since I can remember but when I took Xanax to sleep I would feel great. I need
To learn to think more positively other then the 30lbs I’ve lost

[[Buddie]]

I have been dosing .5 3 times a day for close to a month now. I feel ok after the first dose. And typically by the evening I feel pretty calm at this stage. I am
Hoping that I have endured the worst of my experience as it was pretty debilitating to drop .5 in the beginning. I feel like I am trying to recover from that shock.

[[Buddie]]

A month is good, this is enough time for your body to acclimate to the new dose and schedule but if you're still feeling bruised from that reduction I'd give it a little longer.  Let us know if you need any help with your crossover and dosing requirements.

[[Buddie]]

I am tapering from Xanax XR 1mg in the morning and .5mg in the evening.  I am so excited to report I begin my crossover to Valium 6 days ago and it's going shockingly well (if that's a word, LOL). 

My Psychiatrist started with the evening dose of .5mg- crossing that over to 10mg Valium and keeping the 1mg Xanax XR in the morning.  I am holding here for another week.  I have to say, I like the Valium much better, fell less anxious in between doses and can't wait to cross over the morning dose and get off of this Evil Drug!   I know there are going to be ups and downs, but I am ready to be FREE! 

Feel free to reach out to be privately anytime.

[[Buddie]]

Thanks for the encouraging words! Does the Valium become more effective after a few days? I felt the Valium didn’t feel equal to the Xanax effectiveness.

Please reach out to me anytime as well!

[[Buddie]]

The Valium is more sedating for me ( I am not sure why?) and it lasts much longer.  Maybe it has to do with me taking Xanax XR instead of the IR?  I am not sure.  It did take a few days to feel "normal" again.  I am nervous to taper, but so ready and am just going to to take things as they come.  I tried to taper a few years back and failed miserably, but did have a horrible Dr. at the time who got the dose all wrong. 
When are you taking the Valium?  and how much compared to the Xanax?  What is your schedule?

Thanks for the offer to reach out!!! 

[[Buddie]]

I have found a dr that is willing to allow me to use the Ashton method and provide all of the support I need. I ignorantly made a big cut of .5 xanax from 2mg nightly for sleep in December and paid the price. Before finding this dr i was dosing .5mg 3 times a day and having inter dose withdrawal. I have been crossing over to Valium but still dealing with anxiety.

I understand that this is going to be a process and that i will deal with anxiety but I also need to live my life if at all possible. How bad is it to updose during taper do I reverse all progress immediately? I haven’t gotten a haircut in 3 months(vain I know just an example). I Struggle to get out of bed or even stop thinking about all of this. Will i feel debilitated for the entire duration of my taper. It almost seems more torturous to spend the next year tapering then to just jump and take it as my does is fairly low (i think) really want to do this the right way but also don’t want to put my kids, wife and all around me through misery as well. Any insight appreciated. Is ther any joy during taper ?

Thanks so much