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Hey I'm new to the board, Ive been on xanax for over a year and a half. I take 6 milligrams a day and have come to realize it is doing me more harm then good. I'm sick and tired of having mental battles with myself to convince myself im not going insane. I am going to speak to my doctor the day after tommorow and see if he will let me use the ashton method to get off of this terrible drug. Anyway I'm just saying hi because I'm new. wish me luck.

Hi! Good to have you here.

You've made a very good decision.

Come back and let us know how the doctor appt went. If you are in the U.S. Your doc may balk at the valium crossover that Ashton recommends, as most doctors here think valium is the evil one. They will usually try to get you to crossover to klonopin. But if you are in GB, then you are in luck.

If you can't get valium, there are other methods that we can also help you with.

I am in the US and am worried about my app. Does anyone have any advice on how to go about suggesting this to my doctor. Should I bring Ashton's manual with me? How should I bring it up? If he wants to prescribe me much less valium then the manual says is = to my dosage of xanax then what should I do? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Hi NTC,

  Welcome to Benzobuddies!  You have come to the right place for help with your taper.  We will get you started and help you all we can, even if you can't get support from your Doctor.

 

I am in the US and am worried about my app.

Don't be worried. Remember YOU are in charge, not your doctor.  Be firm in your commitment to get off the Xanax!

 

Does anyone have any advice on how to go about suggesting this to my doctor. Should I bring Ashton's manual with me? How should I bring it up? If he wants to prescribe me much less valium then the manual says is = to my dosage of xanax then what should I do? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Yes, if you can, print Ashton's manual and give it to your Doctor.  Some Drs. are receptive to it, some are not.  If he/she will not help you do a crossover to Valium, we can set up a titration schedule for you to follow.  It will be tailored for your own needs and tapering ability.  If you like, you can start a blog in the NEXUS section.  That will give you a place to track your progress and become part of the community.  We are glad to have you here.  Someone is usually around to respond to any questions you might have, so don't be shy.

 

  XXXXX

  Christine/BlueMoth

Thank you so much for your help Christine. I really appreciate the welcoming environment... it feels so good to feel like im not alone anymore in this battle. To add a bit to my storry... I recently moved to a new place and have no friends at all... I am going to try to take a course at a school where I moved to . Iv'e been here for since summer and still have no friends who are peers. At times I am unable to talk and I did not understand why for so long. Before xanax I had anxiety issues, but nothing like this. I hope that my doctor is willing to do the Ashton method because It will be extremely difficult to titrate off of xanax itself. Ive attempted it on my own and cannot seem to be able to make any progress. Again I appreciate any input and help anyone can provide to me. Thanks Everyone

 

-Ntc

welcome to benzo buddies.

Hi NTC,

when you previously attempted to taper unsuccessfully, how much did you cut by? 10%, which is recommended, would be .6mg, or aprox. half a mg. So if you did a drycutting taper, and if you have 1mg pills, you should have been cutting by a half a pill every 1-2 weeks. Is that what you did?

You could actually get down pretty far using that method, and then you could always go with titration, which we can help you with.

If you can't get the valium

wish me luck.

Good luck!

 

The Ashton method is very good to get off Benzos. I did it and it was so much easier.

 

 

Best of luck!

 

We're here for you.

 

I was prescribed 4mg of Xanax but at times would take up to 6mgs. Your biggest problem with presenting a doctor the Ashton method is you are taking an equivalent of 120mgs of Valium. The most an American doctor can prescribe is about 45mgs. My current doctor said he did not prescribe Valium. Most doctors think you are talking about a crossover or reluctant to have their own taper plan questioned by a PHD. Still with all the good things I heard about it I wanted to do the Ashton plan and finally found a doctor who would work with me with it. Unfortunately I was not able to tolerate the Valium. It made me incredibly anxious and sick even at the initial first step of adding 10mgs Valium to my 4mgs of Xanax.so I went back to my original doctor. I tried a klonopin crossover and that I also could not tolerate. So I have no choice but to do a direct taper of Xanax.

 

I have been able to get down to 2mgs with very few problems. When I was first put on Xanax we moved after about a year and I tapered off 3mgs of Xanax in a month. I saw someone on another forum, who was on 4mgs of Xanax, Did a direct taper and is currently at .25mgs. This person is actually going through medical school during his taper!  Someone on this forum here was able to even C/T off of it. So it is very possible to taper off Xanax. My guess would be you heard so much negative information about Xanax withdrawal it enabled you not to get off it. The Pfizer Company likes it like that.

 

Withdrawal is hard work but can be done. Valium isn't necessarily an easy route but with its longer half-life some people do prefer it. Like I said you are currently taking an equivalent of 120mgs of Valium. There are people on this forum still tapering at 2mgs and less of Valium. If your doctor tries to do a crossover to just 45mgs of Valium which some may try (I've seen even worse here) you would technically be talking about dropping from 6mgs of Xanax to 2mgs. Ouch!

 

Hope you can find a plan that works best for you.

Dave

 

let us know how your appointment whent.

 

i had the same problem before i decided to taper - i didn't know it was the drugs but i knew i was not doing well at all - i thought everyone was crazy except me - when i was pushed into getting off of these drugs i strongly suspected i was the one who was nuts.

 

oh well - things do get better - i tapered directly off of ativan and seemed to have less problems then those who did a cross over.

 

but everyone is different - there is no right or wrong - direct or cross over - it is whatever is less traumatic for you.

Hey everyone thanks for the comments. My appt went well and I was prescribed the valium. I am currently on 10 mg valium in morning 2 mg xanax xr in the morning and another 2 mg xr in the evening / afternoon and 20 mg valium at night. In addition my doctor has me on zoloft 200 mg daily and rozerem 8 mg at night. I dont really know where to go from here. I seemed to tolerate the valium, and have multiple options to proceed. I have available 1 mg instant release xanax to possibly make the transition off the xrs easier, ie take off less at a time. I told my doctor that in this process I do not wish to go over 60 mg valium so Im not sure were to go but I need some help to taper off the xanax. I feel weird everyday possibly b/c of the zoloft and rozerem but I could not fall asleep at night. Please help me with ideas on how to procede. Thanks.

Hi,

 

I seem to have missed welcoming you to the forum - er, welcome!

 

You seem to have settled in, so I'll leave you in the capable hands of the team and the rest of the membership.

Hi NTC,

 

  Well you certainly have a great doctor who is supportive in your wishes to get off benzos. First things first.  You have some options here. Why don't you try titrating the xanax this way.  Split one of the morning xanax Xr so you are taking one mg of the xr and one of the instant release.  Start cutting the instant release by 1/8 or 1/4 of a pill.  Hold that for a couple of weeks and see how you are doing. Keep going until you are down to one mg of the xr and then do the same with the afternoon dose.  Alternate between the two until you are off of the xanax and on the valium alone.

 

  As to the zoloft and rozerem. You were prescribed the rozerem for sleeping, but why did the doctor give you zoloft?  Are you just starting out on this AD?  Are you sure you want to be on it?  Have you researched the side effects of zoloft?  Did you know that one of the side effects is sleeplessness and agitation?  I urge you to go and do some research on the internet about the interactions between antidepressants and benzodiazepines.  Antidepressants will not help with benzo withdrawal and will have to be eventually tapered off as well. They have a huge laundry list of side effects and withdrawal symptoms, some worse than benzos. I am not telling you to get off or stay on, I just want you to seize you health in your own two hands and not just blindly take whatever the doctor hands out to you.  Please be careful with your health!!

 

XXXX

Christine/BlueMoth