Question regarding getting off xanax

Used to take xanax as needed (2-3 times a week). The past 6 months, however, I have slowly began taking more and more on a daily basis. I have been taking about 1mg-1.5mg/day and am terrified of seizures (thanks anxiety). Just trying to get a sense of how to taper/get some sort of reassurance that I wouldn't seize if I were just to stop tomorrow. To be clear, I won't stop tomorrow - but having some sort of reassurance that I most likely am not taking a high enough dose for that would be really helpful for my mental state!

 

***No history of seizures, also on an SSRI***

 

1.5 mgs of Xanax is a large dose and stopping cold turkey is not advised, seizures are rare but possible.  The purpose of a taper is to hopefully minimize symptoms as you reduce your dose, have you experienced withdrawal symptoms?

Can't tell if I experience withdrawal symptoms. Usually what happens is I start to get super anxious and have physical anxiety symptoms thinking that I'll have a seizure and then I take more to compensate...this is the cycle I am in.

When you've tried to reduce, how much have you reduced of your 1.5 mgs and how long did you last before taking more? 

Usually I take 1 mg and am fine, have also had days when I take .5 and am okay. Two weeks ago I went three days in a row just doing .5. The issue is then I panic about seizures and feel like I have to take more unfortunately.

If you want to be rid of the drug, a slow taper can accomplish this and with a slow taper, a seizure would be extremely rare.  I'm not sure how we can address your fear other than to tell you this.  Are you seeing a psychiatrist, if you are, have you shared this fear with them so they can help you overcome it? 

Developing some sort of a taper plan you have a reasonable amount of confidence in may help allay your fears although most of us have at least some trepidation about tapering - I certainly did.  Once I got started with tapering and saw that I could actually do it, the fear diminished somewhat.  Here are general BenzoBuddies guidelines in regard to tapering directly from the benzo you are currently taking:

 

Direct Taper

Advantages: simple; wide support from doctors; probably all that's required by the majority of people in the general community looking to quit benzos.

 

Disadvantages: many benzos are too potent to allow a smooth taper for some people (or the pills prescribed are too large in dose for successful pill-splitting); many benzos have too short a half-life to allow a smooth taper (interdose withdrawal is often a problem); can be tricky to split pills accurately.

 

We suggest that unless past experience of attempted tapering indicates otherwise, members should initially try cutting their dose by no more than about 10%, and will probably make new cuts (about 10% of their dose at the time of the new cut) every 7-14 days. These figures are intended as ballpark estimates - mileage will vary.

I started at 2-1.5 daily - it was relatively short period of time taking that much - about 10 weeks. I did try cold turkey it was pretty rough: insomnia, jelly legs, dark dark thoughts, weeping, despair, paranoia, etc. Then I backed up and started a taper. I am doing a straight taper - I didnt switch to valium as recommended by Ashton. I start each new cycle of taper with 3x a day for what ever dose (every 8 hours) then gradually spread the time to 2 doses every 12. After that feels normal I drop to next cycle. I dry cut. I read every post I could on water titrations and taper methods and realized Id never do it. My best advice is to choose an approach that matches your natural inclinations. This journey is highly individual as you can see reading the posts. I can feel myself "coming back". Good luck to you!