The Xanax Club, Let Us Know How You Are Feeling Today

Very cool. Thanks for sharing dove

Yes, everything you’ve said dove makes a lot of sense and is very helpful. I really appreciate it!

Untethered:

 

I just saw your q-

 

Thank you so much for this. I just had 1 more question for you. It’s in regards to adding a 3rd or 4th dose. If I’m currently on 0.25 twice daily (0.5 total), does that work out to this:

 

0.166 per dose  if dosing 3

0.125 per dose if dosing 4

 

 

The answer is yes

Hey, I'm currently trimming Xanax. From today I take 0.0625 mg twice a day, it didn't go because I felt bad in the morning. I had to throw in 0.125 mg. Taper Xanax is difficult, I have no weight. I cut out the tablet with a razor blade. Every day I try to function normally, play sports, I feel better than after leaving Valium. I just have a tachycardia problem. Hopefully my body gets used to the new dosing of Xanax 

Good to hear from you. Whatever your taper, if it works, that is all that matters. You don't want your CNS overwhelmed with too much of a cut, and go into acute, you want to feel like you don't quite have enough medication per dose, but you can still function in some capacity.

 

It is really hard, tapering is extremely difficult. Your so low in dose however,  would like to see more end stage peeps chime in. I know the very low dosing can be difficult in a way that the higher doses are not. Not a guarantee at all, but it is different.

 

This is temporary

You will heal

You got this

-Dove

Glad everyone is hanging in there.  Today was not too bad, Im holding at .25 X at 5 pm., 30 mg Tem at 9 pm and .125 X when and if I wake usually between 1 am and 3 am.  Im pondering whether to make a cut to the 5 pm or 3 am dose. 

 

The worst symptom is the tinnitus and feeling unmotivated to challenge the heat outside to do yard stuff that is being left undone.

 

Peace all.

Glad everyone is hanging in there.  Today was not too bad, Im holding at .25 X at 5 pm., 30 mg Tem at 9 pm and .125 X when and if I wake usually between 1 am and 3 am.  Im pondering whether to make a cut to the 5 pm or 3 am dose. 

 

The worst symptom is the tinnitus and feeling unmotivated to challenge the heat outside to do yard stuff that is being left undone.

 

Peace all.

 

Hi Alycat.  If it were me, I’d slowly reduce the 5 pm dose until I got that one down to match the other one at .125.  After that, I’d slowly reduce the 3am dose to 0.  Good luck!

Hey Gitfiddle,

 

Thats my plan at this point.  Ill check in an let ya know how it goes.  Tomorrow is my target day.

 

Alycat, I looked at your signature and am concerned you’re moving too fast.  Going from .375 to .25 just a week ago is a big decrease.  You might think about holding that  for a couple weeks and if your doing good cutting maybe a quarter or less off the .25. I always held my cuts for 10-14 days.  If things got too rocky  I held longer.  Just a thought.  Wouldn’t want to see you feeling awful.

Hey GItfiddle,  I guess Im just eager to get off this sh!te!  I want to get to the point that my tinnitus isn't screaming.  I dont mind my sleep being shortened to 4 to 5 hours .....  Ill give your suggestion some serious thought. I looked at your taper hx and you were very methodical.  May I ask if it went smoothly?  I still have to taper Tema when Im done with X.

 

Thank you for responding

 

Peace all!

Alycat,  my taper went fairly smoothly- not without some uncomfortable  WD symptoms, but not the nightmare others have experienced.  People who go too fast often run into trouble. I know how badly we just want to be done with it, but trust me, patience will pay off in the long run.

 

I developed non-stop tinnitus several years after starting Xanax.  I still have it and don’t know if it will ever go away. I’ve had it every day for more than 15 years.  Sometimes it’s louder than others and sometimes I get several different tones going - a regular rock concert in my head! 😆  But I have a lot of other health problems that aren’t due to Xanax so it’s impossible to say whether my tinnitus was caused by Xanax. 

It can drive us crazy if we think about it.  YouTube has videos for coping techniques that might help you.

 

 

Thanks for responding.  My tinnitus is my worst wd sx right now plus intermittent insomnia, lack of motivation. but my tinnitus varies so I hope that's a sign that I can manage the spikes with diet and exercise.  Right now Im feeling like not doing the things I used to do for fun.  Lost interest in my hobbies and pretty much everything but just existing and hiding from the tinnitus by watching tv.  I use YouTube relaxation videos when I wake up at night.  My whole life has been poisoned by B's.  I know everyone on this thread can relate and some are having worse time of it  ....  but Im just starting and apprehensive how this is going to go.  When Im done with X I still have Tem to deal with.

 

Peace to all

On Alprazolam/Xanax SR (0.25 mg ) for 8 years. Hoping to start my Taper down as soon as possible.

I'm informed it's not advised to taper by dry cutting a Sustained Release( SR) tablet.

 

Has anybody done it or has any information on it please. I'm desperate.

I was on Alprazolam .25 2x day.  I dry cut from the begging of my taper until the end using a scale. I reduced 10% per month on the average.  With holds, it took 16 months to taper, but I basically walked off the stuff.

 

It will be a year next month that I have been off...could not be happier to see that in my rearview mirror. 

 

You can do this, best of luck!

Greetings, seasalt52.

 

First and foremost, congratulations on your upcoming Year One Benzo Free Anniversary!

 

What type of alprazolam/Xanax tablet did you use?  Was it regular release or modified release (e.g. Sustained Release, Extended Release)?

Thank you Libertas!  I was on a regular release tablet so can not speak to the (SR) tablet.  I'm sure there is a way to do it safely, I would reach out to Pamster and she may be able to direct you to the someone who has had a successful taper that was on a SR tablet.

 

Best of luck on this journey!

 

Seasalt

 

 

Hey Seasalt,

 

I was nearly where you are with X.  However, I also am taking 30 mg of Temaz.  I wonder if that is covering up some of the wd symptoms of X?  I am taking .125 X at 5 pm and .125 X when I wake up at around 3 AM to go back to sleep.  I have chosen to Taper X first, then the Tema. 

 

Im wondering if I should concentrate on eliminating one dose or the other altogether  or keep them in balance and taper both together?  Also I was wondering if you could recommend a jewelers scale?  Im horrible at math but if Im going to taper to microdose (advisable?). then I must learn.

 

Thanks in advance 

Hello Allycat!

 

Your Temaz could very well be masking the symptoms.  I was also taking my pills one in the morning and once at night.  When I started the taper I would cut the morning pill for a week and then alternate to the evening pill.  This worked well for me, but I went very slow to avoid severe symptoms.

 

I would encourage you to taper to the micro dose if possible.

 

Wishing you success!

Thank you Libertas!  I was on a regular release tablet so can not speak to the (SR) tablet.  I'm sure there is a way to do it safely, I would reach out to Pamster and she may be able to direct you to the someone who has had a successful taper that was on a SR tablet.

 

Best of luck on this journey!

 

Seasalt

 

seasalt52: Now it’s my turn to thank you for letting us know you used the regular release tablets.  I was actually asking on behalf of a new member rather than myself, but your suggestion and well wishes are much appreciated.

If I can give back in ANY way I am glad to do it, please feel free to reach out with additional questions. 

 

This is a rough road, I wish there were better resources.

 

Take care...

On Alprazolam/Xanax SR (0.25 mg ) for 8 years. Hoping to start my Taper down as soon as possible.

I'm informed it's not advised to taper by dry cutting a Sustained Release( SR) tablet.

 

Has anybody done it or has any information on it please. I'm desperate.

 

Hey pratspit,  I found this thread that might be helpful:  Here's the link to the thread and one of the posts:

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=91793.0

 

 

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Re: Tapering off 1mg Xanax XR twice a day.

« Reply #9 on: December 09, 2013, 05:38:16 pm »

 

    Quote

 

Most of the people I know who have tapered off of the XR have used a combination of the XR and regular fast acting Xanax for their tapers.  Since the XR pills only come in .50mg, this is way too much of a dose to drop in any given taper period for most people who post here, (because we were definitely dependent upon the medicine), unless the person is on 3-4mg of the XR's.

 

So an example of the first two tapers, (dose reductions), cutting .0625mg per taper, could look something like this for a person who is dependent upon Xanax:

 

Starting dose at 1.5mg Xanax XR

 

Taper 1:  1mg of XR + .25mg Regular Xanax + .125mg Regular Xanax + .0625mg Regular Xanax = 1.4375mg per day  (This dose would be held for 10 to 14 days)

 

Taper 2:  1mg of XR + .25mg Regular Xanax + .125mg Regular Xanax = 1.365mg per day  (This dose would be held for 10 to 14 days)

 

The taper would be continued dropping only .0625mg every 10 to 14 days until the medicine would be finally stopped only after reaching .0625mg.

 

As the last .50mg of Xanax is tapered off, no Xanax XR would be used, only the regular fast acting Xanax.

 

In order to get the small doses above, regular Xanax would be cut using a pill cutter.  Here is how to get the small cuts.

 

.125mg = 1/2 of a .25mg regular fast acting Xanax [This cut can be achieved by snapping the Xanax at the score line with one's fingers]

.0625mg = 1/4 of a .25mg regular fast acting Xanax [The Xanax is quartered using the pill cutter]

 

Me and many other people who post on the Xanax Support Blog have successfully used this type of schedule to taper off of Xanax.  A link to my detailed taper schedule is in my signature, if you'd like to take a look to see how I went down from 1.50mg to -0-.

 

seasalt52 and Gitfiddle-51:  Tip of the hat to you both for your willingness to lend a helping hand to a new member! 

I recently reduced my X to .125 at 5pm and .125 when I wake up.  (Still taking the Temazepam at 9).  Im hardly sleeping and use YouTube relaxation videos to try to maintain sleep.  It surely wears ya down.  The Temazepam must not be working because Im getting less and less sleep.  I guess I just have to ride this out.  Recently my husband has had some health issues and Im having difficulty picking up the slack.  Psych prescribed Gabapentin 100 mg and I didnt want to use it but I did on Friday and got some sleep but last nite I took one and it didnt seem to help.  No more cuts for a while.

 

Enough venting, it is what it is ....  just glad I have a place to talk.

 

Peace

It has been at least 6 months since I have posted.  I do hope all are doing well.  I am still continuing on my Xanax tapering journey and I am finally down to 2.75 mg.  Not bad for being on Xanax for over almost 40 years.  Yes, I am getting some not so fun side effects such as painful muscle spasms and ringing in my right ear along with nightmares and much anxiety with this last taper.  I usually start feeling better by day 11 and I am on day 7 of this taper.  Still trying my best to have an upbeat attitude and I am continuing to work out at the gym, work in my garden and continue to live life as best I can.  I am still using the D.A.R.E. program and refuse to sit home.  Gotta look at the glass half full and I am so looking forward to being completely off this nasty drug.  I am also getting hot flashes and waking up at least 3 to 4 times a night but I am ever so thankful for the sleep I am getting.  I just know we all have to have an upbeat attitude and a never quit attitude to get through all this.  In any event, best to all and prayers all your tapers are going well!!  We got this.  What God leads us to, he will lead us through!!!! 

 

        Hi Torris,

                      I'm glad there is a place to go where we can share. I've been a member since 2016 and I haven't been around for a couple of years.

I explain that in my recent post from yesterday. 40 years on Xanax, holy cow! I've been on since 2015, 1 1/2 mg daily at bedtime.

  When you make 25% cuts, are the withdrawal symptoms uncomfortable? That's what I was thinking of doing.

Continued success in your taper journey and everyone else here.