looking for advice to taper Xanax

[[Buddie]]

taper off
Xanax
since Jan 25th 2022
1/2 0.25mg around 10pm daily since Jan 30th.
47 year old Asian male.
had a bad panic attack back in Jan6th, 2022.
I thought it was heart problem, went through cardiologist's tests, heart seems fine, and CT scanned my dropline gland, no problem. so my endocrinologist concludes it was panic attack.

[[Buddie]]

Hello [...], welcome to BenzoBuddies,

I'm a little uncertain of your status, are you currently taking .125 mg of Xanax a day or have you tapered off already?  If you're still taking it I'd suggest doing a taper since you've been on it long enough for your body to become dependent, are you experiencing any odd symptoms you feel may be related to the drug?

I'll provide some links to get you started but please let us know your current situation so we can best direct you around the forum.

[...]

 Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidelines

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper)

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

The Ashton Manual    

[[Buddie]]

Hi [...]
I am currently still on 0.125mg Xanax everyday (almost everyday, I had skipped for about 6 to 7 days) since Feb 2nd 2022 alone with one or 2 blood pressure medication.
my short term memory is kind of bad after I have been taking Xanax.
this medicine was prescribed by my endocrinologist, she told me this low dose won't get me addicted.
and she said I can take it as needed, but what I heart that, take it "as needed" may make me more addict to it because I would believe the "effectiveness" of the drug.
 
I would like to seek some advice to taper off Xanax.

Thank you so much for your help.   

[[Buddie]]

Sorry I think I wasn't clear about the history
I have never take any prescription drug until this year, due to the high blood pressure and panic attack.
for Xanax total history is jan 25th to feb 1st 0.25mg per day, nothing before
and feb2nd to present 0.125mg per day.

[[Buddie]]

I am also taking beta block Metoprolol Succinate 25mg per day, that drug has some sort of "calming" effect

so I am not sure which drug is more helping on subsiding of my anxious felling.

[[Buddie]]

Benzodiazepines are powerful drugs, I don't believe there is such a thing as a low dose because once your brain senses its presence it makes changes to how it functions to accommodate the drug.  To me, its pretty scary to know this drug will change how my brain works and the problem isn't so much addiction, its dependence.  You don't have to be an addict to become dependent on this drug, dependence can happen in as little as 10 days at any amount.

Once our body becomes dependent the drug begins to create the issues we went on it to fix, anxiety, insomnia and panic so we have to increase the dose and keep increasing the dose until we can't anymore so the only thing to do is taper from and recover from it.

I think you're smart to want to get off of it and smart to consider tapering, why did your endocrinologist prescribe it and are your tablets the .25 mg?

[[Buddie]]

I have bad panic attacks early this year, went to ER for a few times in a short of period of time (about 11 days), third and fourth visits, I was prescribed high blood pressure medication,
but my heart rate were still high, my PCP and cardiologist both doesn't think it was a problem, I was very uncomfortable and has insomnia due to the high heart rate, so I went to see
a endocrinologist, she gave me beta blocker and xanax, I was hesitated to have xanax at that time, so I didn't take it until 2 weeks later.   
Somehow she insisted that I need that, maybe I was a little anxious at her office?

All other doctors I have seen, almost all told me that I don't need Xanax.

I think you are right, I am feeling that it does create the dependence.
Do I need to see a psychiatrist to help me to taper off?
my endocrinologist says they will drug me up more.

I was prescribed 0.25mg twice a day originally.

I have saw some post, I may need some precision scale to break the tablets to have the lower dose?
I think 0.25mg is already the smallest tablet.

[[Buddie]]

Benzodiazepines are only recommended by the manufacturer to be taken for 2-4 weeks, I believe this is still too long but doctors prescribe them for decades, some claiming the symptoms they create are manifestations of the patients condition when in reality, the symptoms are the result of the drug, your other doctors were wise to not prescribe it.

Not many in the medical field understand the need to taper off slowly, a patient led, symptom based taper is the best way to do this, not an arbitrary timeline dictated by someone else.  We're all so different and many people can stop taking these drugs with little to no symptoms, you may be one of them but its best to taper and pay attention to how your body reacts so you can know when and how much to reduce again.

You can dry cut the pill by shaving it and eyeballing the amount or if you're the kind of person who needs things more exact you can purchase a scale for about 30.00 USD on Amazon.  I'll leave you with our Titration FAQ's so you can get a better idea how you want to approach this.

[[Buddie]]

Thank you so much for the advice
[...]

[[Buddie]]

Welcome [...].  You’re lucky that you’re down to .125 at night and haven’t been on it that long.  Like [...] said you can just shave a little off and then  hold that dose for 10 days to 2 weeks. Then shave a little more and do the same till you’re done.  You can use a scale like this one if you want: Fuzion Digital Pocket Scale, 200g x 0.01g Jewelry Gram Scale, 6 Units Conversion Mini Scale with LCD Display, Tare Function for Food, Jewelry, Medicine, Coffee ( Battery Included ) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L8ZVVRM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_T8MRZF1EA2R5T1111EZQ

I’m done with my Xanax taper, but I’m also on Metoprolol succinate ER (Toprol XL) for hypertension and an arrhythmia.  It does help a bit with anxiety. I’m not sure why your endocrinologist has you on heart medication when your cardiologist says you don’t need it.  You might want to check with your cardiologist again about that.

As for your panic attacks,  most of us here have been dealing with them for years.  There are many great techniques and strategies for dealing with them without drugs.  Breathing, cognitive behavioral therapy, etc.  These can all be done on your own without a psychiatrist.  I used Edward Bourne’s “Anxiety and Phobia Workbook “ when I first developed severe panic disorder that landed me in the ER several times.  We’re all different  but I didn’t need a a psychiatrist.

If you look at my signature you can see that when I got down to my last .125 mg at night, it took about 6 weeks to wean off.  I based my cuts on how I was feeling.  Each cut is was bit uncomfortable for the first week, but not unbearable.

You can do this.  Best wishes!