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Xanax to Valium


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Hi all.

 

I've recently recovered from a very serious case of hyperthyroidism in which I was prescribed beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, Hydroxyzine (as needed for sleep), Zofran (for nausea), Buspirone (for anxiety) and 2mg/day of Alprazolam for the serious anxiety and hyperactivity I was feeling due to my severe hyperthyroidism. I had been on a full 2mg/day of Alprazolam since December 1, 2021 - so no too long, but long enough.

 

My question is about my crossover to Diazepam. My Dr refuses to prescribe more than 20 mg of Diazepam per day, stating it would act like a very strong sedative.  That said, I do have enough Alprazolam and Diazepam to at least begin my crossover. As of this writing, I have been on 1 mg Alprazolam in the morning and .5 mg of Alprazolam + 2.5 mg of Diazepam later in the morning, totaling 1.5 mg of Alprazolam with 2.5 mg of Diazepam.

 

Can I continue (as long as I move along very slowly) to treat 1 mg of Alprazolam = 10 mg of Diazepam, or should I use 1mg of Alprazolam = 20 mg of Diazepam by trying to find a doctor who will work with me on my taper? I have had some windows, but have been experiencing many withdrawal symptoms since starting my taper/crossover. I am also seriously looking into a tiny bit of 1:1 ratio CBD/THC (I have received my medical marijuana card), but would like to see some success stories (i.e. any relief at all) before even trying one drop of the tincture.

 

Thanks in advance! Here's my current crossover and taper plan (I plan to go as slowly as I need to!).

 

taper_schedule.png

 

Here's to healing

 

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I know you may be faced with a shortage of Diazepam but I'm concerned you're attempting to taper while crossing over.  Your body is going through a huge adjustment just trying to get used to the Diazepam, I'm worried you're going to get hit with severe symptoms right out of the gate because Diazepam takes awhile to build up to full effectiveness.

 

This online calculator provides a wide range of equivalencies so while we typically use the .5=10 charts, there is a possibility you could make due with less.  If at some point you get into trouble with the dose your doctor has laid out and you're in a lot of distress, do you think your doctor would reconsider?  I hate to see you go shopping for another doctor at this point in your journey because in the US at least, many are uncomfortable prescribing Diazepam and not many are well versed in benzo withdrawal.

 

https://clincalc.com/Benzodiazepine/

 

You can find member discussion of the benefits of cannabis here: http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=165140.0

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Thanks so much, Pamster!

 

I will do my best to try to get my cap on daily diazepam raised. Like you, I also believe I need about 15-20 mg for every 1 mg of Alprazolam. After my first diazepam substitution, I felt withdrawal symptoms after about 24 hours that have lasted a few days (I substituted 2.5 mg of diazepam from .25 mg of Alprazolam).

 

Fingers crossed. I may try one more 2.5mg substitution for another .25 mg of Alprazolam, or I may try 5 mg of Diazepam to see how it feels and just hope I can increase my prescription.

 

Thanks for the cannabis link. I'm off to read it now! I'm very grateful for your help and hope you're doing well.

 

 

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I am no expert by any means and just begin tapering again after a horrible failed attempt many years ago.  I have finally found a Psychiatrist who understands and believes in crossing over to Valium to taper off Xanax.  He understands the intensity of Xanax and is extremely compassionate and willing to let me keep tapering every 2 weeks by 1mg or hold for longer if I need.

 

I was taking 1mg Xanax XR in the morning and .5mg Xanax XR in the evenings and .25 Xanax IR before bed.  I tapered the .25 Xanax IR myself before switching to my new psychiatrist. 

 

He started me with this schedule:  Xanax XR 1mg in the morning (is leaving this dose alone for a while) and crossed me over to 10mg Valium in the evening.  I held here for 2 weeks to let my body adjust.  Then tapered to 9mg Valium in the evening after 2 weeks.  I just tapered again last night to 8mg Valium in the evening. 

He feels the conversion is 1mg Xanax to 20mg Valium.  He also states many doctors don't understand this conversion and don't feel comfortable prescribing such high dosed of Valium, but it's actually the same dose!  The medical community is so un-educated about Benzos- they can get you on, but can't get you off! 

 

Just sharing my experience with you....Xanax is a tough drug to taper.  Hugs to you!

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Good morning!

 

That's a very interesting option I had not considered. Very clever. How are your symptoms so far?

I am currently at 1 mg of Alprazolam in the morning and .75 mgs late morning. I could certainly do it this way and never actually be taking more than 20 mg of Diazepam in a day, which concerns my doctor. My doctor is not particularly a benzo expert by far, as much as they have served me well with my other issues.

 

Did you simply make one switch to 10 mg of Diazepam from your .5 Xanax XR dose, or did you do that gradually? I would be crossing over from .75 mg of Xanax to 15 mg of Diazepam to cover my daily second dose, while leaving my morning dose at 1 mg of Xanax.

 

I would think the results would be mixed, as some people might do well with some of their "original poison" still in their body while slowly tapering off another dose via Diazepam.  On the other hand, I would (best case) prefer to get all of the Xanax out of my system in exchange for Diazepam as soon as possible, but I may not have that option.

 

In the meantime, I am going to treat the equivalence as 1 mg of Xanax = 20 mgs of Diazepam and continue this way until I can (hopefully) convince my doctor to let me cross over to a total of 35 mgs of Diazepam to cover both doses.

 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I'm going to do this one way or the other! I hope the rest of your taper goes smoothly.

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I simply just made one switch from .5mg Xanax XR to 10mg Valium and held for 2 weeks to give my body time to adjust.

 

I was scared to do it, but it was actually much better then the Xanax evening dose.  I don't get the interdose anymore and it lasts so much longer and I am currently sleeping much better!  I am now at 8mg Valium right before bed. 

I do notice some minor issues like everyone else, but manageable, NOTHING like before when my old psychiatrist switched me from Xanax to Valium without crossing over, that was a PTSD experience.  This time, I am going slow with a good Psychiatrist (it's only by the Grace of God I found this man). 

I think the reason it is so manageable, is that he has left the morning dose of Xanax XR 1mg alone for now.  I am not in a race, just want to get off of the evil drug.  I have been on it for 17 years, so my body needs time to adjust- don't we all know that- the Hard way!!

 

I see him Via Telehealth every 2 weeks as he's almost 3 hours away.  It's taken me years to find someone to help me get off of this drug! 

He currently has my taper at just over a year.  I know that is not for everyone, you have to do what works for you and meets your needs.

 

I see him again on 3/21.  I am going to ask about when he will start to taper the morning dose.  I'll let you know the plan.

 

All the Best and hugs!

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Hi again.

 

I upped my second dose from .50 mg of Xanax and 2.5 mg of Valium this morning to .50 mg of Xanax and 5 mg of Valium (Bringing me up to 1mg of Xanax = 20 mg of Valium). After a day or two, I will simply drop the .50 mg of Xanax in exchange for a total of 15 mg of Valium for my second dose, while I keep my morning dose at 1 mg of Xanax. Then I will begin a slow taper off the Valium dose.  Thank you so much for this approach.  I'm very optimistic.

 

You're extremely lucky to have found a doctor who will work with you. I am afraid I will be struggling trying to educate my doctors, but am hoping for the best as there is so much material out there to support a slow taper. I wish your doctor was near me! So far, I've not had any who truly grasp what these medications to to you.

 

Thanks again for your response and support!

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VintageGuitar, I hope it works out for you is way!  I will post my tapering schedule here every 2 weeks when I taper.  Hoping we will be talking on here next year done with this drug!

 

All the Best to you

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VintageGuitar, I hope it works out for you is way!  I will post my tapering schedule here every 2 weeks when I taper.  Hoping we will be talking on here next year done with this drug!

 

All the Best to you

 

Thank you! I will do the same. Having a rough morning this morning, but had a great window yesterday. Looking forward to being rid of this awful stuff. Enjoy every good moment.

 

I know there are no short-cuts, but I really am curious about people's success with medical cannabis, so I'll be looking into that as well and will post about it.

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VG, how is your Valium crossover going?

 

Hi Cooper5!

 

So far, so good. I'm currently at:

 

1 mg Xanax (Alprazolam generic) in the early morning.

-and-

.5 mg Xanax (Alprazolam generic) + 5 mg Valium (Diazepam generic) late morning.

 

Tomorrow (Tuesday 3/14) I will cut another .25 mgs off the Xanax, and my dose will look like this:

.25 mg Xanax (Alprazolam generic) + 10 mg Valium (Diazepam generic) late morning.

I will hold here for a few days and exchange the last .25 mg of this Xanax dose for a total of 20 mgs of Diazepam. Then I will start tapering the Diazepam. I bit unorthodox, but my doc won't prescribe more than 20 mgs of Diazepam per day (though they had no problem giving me 2 mgs of Xanax a day for as long as I live...).

 

I have windows where I can function, but still feel withdrawal symptoms off and on. I'm wondering if I shouldn't get rid of the Buspirone first, but don't want to complicate things.

 

Thanks for checking in. I hope you are doing well!

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I'm glad things are going good, or not horrible.....which is good!  I will keep you posted on my next taper.

 

Thanks! Looking forward to hearing some good news about your taper. I'll update as things happen, too.  :thumbsup:

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  • 1 year later...

I'm glad things are going good, or not horrible.....which is good!  I will keep you posted on my next taper.

 

Hi cooper. Just an update. I've had a rough taper, but am officially down to 4.25 mgs per day from a 40 mg diazepam equivalent. Things improved slightly for me at 16 mgs when I started doing a dry daily micro taper. I'm hoping to be finished by July, but can't predict the future. I can only be optimistic!

 

How are you doing with your taper? Hard to believe it's been a year since you helped me out with my crossover to diazepam from a limited amount of diazepam. Thank you for your help. It kept me moving forward.

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Its so good to hear your taper has improved a bit, we don't often see that as members get to the lower doses but you're smart to know there could still be bumps in the road.  Congratulations on going from 40 mgs to 4.25.  :thumbsup:
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Vintage Guitar,

 

Congratulations getting to 4.25!  That is amazing.  I am now at 4.7mg before bed.  I have to taper 10% every 2-3 weeks as the W/D makes my IBS flair

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Its so good to hear your taper has improved a bit, we don't often see that as members get to the lower doses but you're smart to know there could still be bumps in the road.  Congratulations on going from 40 mgs to 4.25.  :thumbsup:

 

Thanks so much, Pamster! I feel like I'm ready to face any of those bumps as I get closer to the finish line. One major improvement is my ability to think clearer and more realistically on lower doses. I'm assuming this is because I am not feeling the sedating effects like I was when I was on 40 mgs!  Have a great day,

 

Dan

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I'm glad things are going good, or not horrible.....which is good!  I will keep you posted on my next taper.

 

I'll take "not horrible"!  :laugh:

 

Looking forward to hearing how you're progressing. I know this sometimes seems like hours of boredom followed by moments of sheer terror, but we will be well again someday soon. Wishing you the best,

 

D

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