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xanax withdrawal using phenobarbital


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Has anyone gone through cold turkey and switched to phenobarbital? I am on day 32. I Switched from 3mg. xanax to 120 mg. phenobarb.

I am now down to 45 mg phenobarb and having a tough time. I must say the phenobarb has kept me from having panic attacks. It has also allowed me to sleep, and is supposed to stop seizures.

 

I have experienced almost all symptoms from D Ts to numb limbs. I want to continue to taper the phenobarb but i am having zaps and

symptoms due to reducing. 

 

 

Thanks Chuck

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Has anyone gone through cold turkey and switched to phenobarbital? I am on day 32. I Switched from 3mg. xanax to 120 mg. phenobarb.

I am now down to 45 mg phenobarb and having a tough time. I must say the phenobarb has kept me from having panic attacks. It has also allowed me to sleep, and is supposed to stop seizures.

 

I have experienced almost all symptoms from D Ts to numb limbs. I want to continue to taper the phenobarb but i am having zaps and

symptoms due to reducing. 

 

 

Thanks Chuck

Sorry you got caught up in the benzo trap.

I don't know anything about phenobarb, sorry, but I have never heard of cold turkeying a benzo and go onto a barbiturate.

 

It sounds as if you have hit a bit of a wall with tapering pheobarb.

 

All I have regarding tapering pills is my benzo experience and seroquel which is a totally different drug.

I don't know if my advice, based on my experience will be helpful, because of my lack of knowledge about barbiturates, but here it is.

 

I had a quick google and the results said barbs need to be tapered down.

Can you reduce the size of your cuts?

Can you hold?

 

It's a tough one, cos I don't know if benzos and barbs are cross tolerant, or, whether you have developed a physical depenndency on barbs.

 

Either way, I would start toning things down by reducing the size of your cuts.

 

Best of luck

 

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Hey there. I did a CT to Phenobarb from Klonopin. I was only on the phenobarb for a month though. Started at 120mg, then went down 30mg per week. The idea was that the phenobarb would prevent seizures. It did, thankfully. As far as relying on it to actually help with sx's of the benzo w/d.....I wouldn't bank on that too much. It did help somewhat, but other weird sx's came with taking the phenobarb. At some point, even in the tapering protocol of Ashton's you really just have to bite the bullet and deal with the sx's you're having. I just didn't do well with Ashton's tapering protocol so I decided I wanted to CT to get things over with and move on with my life. For me, the phenobarb was only to ensure nothing really bad happened....
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Hey there. I did a CT to Phenobarb from Klonopin. I was only on the phenobarb for a month though. Started at 120mg, then went down 30mg per week. The idea was that the phenobarb would prevent seizures. It did, thankfully. As far as relying on it to actually help with sx's of the benzo w/d.....I wouldn't bank on that too much. It did help somewhat, but other weird sx's came with taking the phenobarb. At some point, even in the tapering protocol of Ashton's you really just have to bite the bullet and deal with the sx's you're having. I just didn't do well with Ashton's tapering protocol so I decided I wanted to CT to get things over with and move on with my life. For me, the phenobarb was only to ensure nothing really bad happened....

Hi

 

Your sig line says pheno free?

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yeah, i took it for a month when I came off Klon. Am I missing something or did I do the sig line incorrectly?

I am confused cos your first post says you are still on 45mg pheno.

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For some reason I never had a problem Tapper and cutting of with Phenobarbital

 

I used it many years ago for helping my asthma

 

 

I would just taper the pills over a couple  of weeks and just Quite

 

Hmmmmm Sometimes Ignorance is bliss

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I think that suggesting cutting pheno over a couple of weeks is dangerous.

 

I made an error, I did not realise that a totally different person made the first post on this thread.  :-[

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Thanks to all for the replies! I am having lots of dizziness,  brain zaps, and abdominal-shoulders jerking forward when cutting dose. I have

been reacting to stress badly. All of the symptoms become worse when i am stressed!!!!!!! I am fortunate to have a family member who has taken me in but they want me to go back to work ASAP! I would love to go to work but have been so sick that i am simply not able too. I am living in a pressure cooker $$$$$$$ problems! Sorry i am not able to be of help to others right now! On a bright note i am still very emotional right now but i feel i have passed through psychosis without getting stuck.

 

Clark, thanks for your reply. Did you have symptoms become worse during pheno taper?

 

Thanks again to all,

Chuck

 

           

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  • 3 weeks later...
[e6...]
reason i said that its not a good idea is from the potential of becoming cross addicted. It can put you in an even worse place if you decide to stay on, and on top of that you are already feeling horrific wd. seziure threshold is only 2 weeks after that chance of having a seziure os 0 to nil. 120 mg is a good dose to start on maybe for the first 3-5 days but then you are supposed to drop 15-30 mg every three days or so after. Thats what the detox docs told me..
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I hav been on a phenobarb taper since Feb 2012 Im down to 67mgs from  280.  It has been a rough road the last mg are the worst.  My addition Dr. Says to do it slow.  I went to rehab for 6 weeks and they did a 2 week phenobarb .  This is too fast.  To rapid a withdraw.  Tapering from benzos is the best , but for me phenob was what they put me on.
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Dear Chuck,

 

My first addiction doc crossed me to phenobarb.  I went thru the nastiest withdrawal!  I tell people to imagine the worst movie about a crack ho quivering in a corner.  In the throws of DT's I went on line and found the Ashton manual.  I reinstated Valium, tapered and jumped.

 

That said, you are off benzos for a while, and I would not reinstate if I were you.  I think phenobarb is way safer than benzos.  My brother took it for seizures a child for many years and tapered off safely.

 

In my opinion, what you are experiencing now is benzo withdrawal and nothing to do with phenobarb.  I would gently taper over a few weeks and never look back.  Benzo withdrawl will heal when it does, and you have a good start.

 

Be well and good luck,

 

Ramcon1

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