Tapering off 1mg Xanax XR twice a day.

I have been on Xanax XR for about 8 months now.  Before that I tried different antidepressants and the regular Xanax.  I feel better and I was giving the go ahead from my p-doc to start to taper.  I have burning mouth syndrome and I want to try to get because I am not sure if the xanax is not making this worse due to it could be causing dry mouth.  My memory is also bad and I constantly seem to have stuffed up sinuses.  Three days ago I only took .5mg Xanax XR at the nighttime dosage.  So far it hasn't been too bad.  This morning I felt a little shaky.  My head has been stuffed up all day and headaches on and off.  Just wondering if anybody could offer some suggestions on what they did to taper.  I am in no hurry to get off because I want to try to prevent bad withdrawals.  My p-doc said the XR version is usually easier to get off that than the regular xanax.  Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Hi,

Can you tell us what your daily dosage of xanax is?  Also do you know you are dependent?  Some people become dependent quickly others take quite a while.

Hey, I was taking 1mg Xanax XR twice a day.  When I first started this dose I was also taking .5mg regular xanax around lunch time for break through anxiety.  I had just tried Prozac and it made my anxiety go through the roof.  After a year of trying different antidepressants and taking regular xanax off and on I switched p-docs and he put me on the Xanax XR.  I haven't taken the regular xanax in months.  I feel much better and want to wean off.  My p-doc is very cautious and doesn't want me to do it too fast because he said if it is done before I am ready or too fast the anxiety will return.  I also have been seeing a therapist and have other coping skills in place.  This all started for me about 2 years ago.  I now take 1mg XanaxXR in the morning and .5mg Xanax XR before bed.  I also take 10mg Pamelor to help with the burning mouth syndrome at night.  I would think I am dependent on the xanax since I have taken it for at least 8 months straight.  I dropped to .5mgXanax XR  nights ago.  Yesterday I felt a little funny in the morning but today seemed not to be as bad.  Do you have any experience with the XR version SG57?  I am having trouble finding people that have weaned off of it.

Very good that your pdoc is cautious and has concern about going slow, as many don't realize how much time can be needed and that can cause the patient problems.

 

So your current daily dose is 1.5mg per day?

 

I would think Xanax XR is still xanax but in a slow release form.  A reason you might feel better on it is the slow release spreads the drug out across the day and this avoids interdose symptoms.  Many here create the same effect by dosing more often.  So that makes sense to me that that might be what is happening.

 

Have you tried reducing 5 or 10% to see how you feel?  I have a sister who was on K for 18 months and had no problem just stopping.  Not saying this is your case, but just saying it can happen and it would be great if you could reduce more quickly.  Some choose to taper directly from xanax.  It is short acting and that can make it more difficult and so some choose to switch to another benzo, often valium.

Yes my current dosage is 1.5mg.  The smallest amount it comes in is .5mg so that is why I had to cut so much.  My p-doc said when I get down to .5mg only than he will switch me to small dosages of regular Xanax spread throughout the day and finish with cutting those.  How much K did your sister take?  That was great she was able to just stop it.  I have read that taken different mineral and vitamins help with tapering.  Did you take any supplements to help?

I took vit D and omega 3, but I would say they, combined with a good diet, supply the raw materials for my body to heal.  There certainly was no direct benefit.  This whole experience has made me very suspicious of any man-made substance.  I believe our bodies know how to heal, they simply need to be supported with good nutrition, exercise, and sleep.

Monigue......how long have you had the BMS and do you have it 24/7?  I have just started exp sx amd im on my 3rd week....nothing is helping me and i am growing more anxious, not able to eat and losing sleep.  Do you have any suggesitons?  I have ready everything that can be found on the internet and nothing sounds good.....what am i to do now?

 

I am soooo very stressed and scared.....could use your support.

 

Peace,

 

BB.

Monigue......how long have you had the BMS and do you have it 24/7?  I have just started exp sx amd im on my 3rd week....nothing is helping me and i am growing more anxious, not able to eat and losing sleep.  Do you have any suggesitons?  I have ready everything that can be found on the internet and nothing sounds good.....what am i to do now?

 

I am soooo very stressed and scared.....could use your support.

 

Peace,

 

BB.

 

 

Hey benzobetty, Are you still having problems with the BMS?  If so, what have your tried to help?

Hi Monique....yes I am and have now been to three diff drs.....sched with a specialist this week but sure there will be no answers....the pain has lessened but the bitter taste is 24/7 causing nausea and the lack of interest in eating.

 

Not sure if the pain improved because i am back on klonopin or of that was the natural course to take in its own.....this is just so frustrating....once again i am spending the day in bed....now depressed.

 

BB.

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-.

 

 

 

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)

 

 

 

Thanks Juliea, I appreciate the advice on the taper.  I am staying put until after the holidays and then giving my p-doc a call to cut some more.  I will ask about this plan since I want to do this the best way and in no hurry.  How did your taper go?  Did you have issues with withdrawals?  It's a scary thing trying to get off since sometimes I feel anxious however I have ways to deal with it now.  It is also confusing because how do you know it is withdrawals and not truly anxiety?  Any advice appreciated, thanks again for your recommendations. 

 

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-.

Hi Monique....yes I am and have now been to three diff drs.....sched with a specialist this week but sure there will be no answers....the pain has lessened but the bitter taste is 24/7 causing nausea and the lack of interest in eating.

 

Not sure if the pain improved because i am back on klonopin or of that was the natural course to take in its own.....this is just so frustrating....once again i am spending the day in bed....now depressed.

 

BB.

 

Hey BB, Sorry to hear you are still having problems.  Not sure what doctors you have seen however most of them have never heard of burning mouth.  First thing is to get tested for the different things that can cause it.  A good source would be Mayo Clinic.  There are different health issues which can cause this so ruling those things out is a place to start.  My GP or dentist did not know anything about it so I asked for all the blood work to rule things out.  Sometimes different medicines can also cause this.  I now see a oral-facial pain specialist who has done studies on burning mouth and he has helped me a lot. Klonapin is one of the treatments of choice so that may be helping you.  It may also be something as simple as being low in a certain vitamin.  Anxiety makes it worse so try to keep that under control and that will also help.  Good luck with your doctors appointment.  Take Care.

 

Thanks Juliea, I appreciate the advice on the taper.  I am staying put until after the holidays and then giving my p-doc a call to cut some more.  I will ask about this plan since I want to do this the best way and in no hurry.  How did your taper go?  Did you have issues with withdrawals?  It's a scary thing trying to get off since sometimes I feel anxious however I have ways to deal with it now.  It is also confusing because how do you know it is withdrawals and not truly anxiety?  Any advice appreciated, thanks again for your recommendations.

Yes, I had issues with withdrawal even cutting this slowly and in such tiny, (.0625mg), dose reductions.  My main symptoms were pain related, aching muscles, migraines and joint pain.  I also had increased anxiety but the pain was the most difficult to endure.  However, my symptoms were still manageable.  I knew the symptoms were not to be feared and that they were temporary.  This helped me a great deal to endure the length of my taper and the sometimes extremely uncomfortable symptoms.

 

I believe that you are very wise to not start your taper prior to the end of the holidays.  Please keep in mind that your pdoc will probably think this taper example is ridiculously slow.  Be prepared for this to happen.  However, I could not have gone any faster.  I've known about 10 buddies who tapered this way and each of us felt withdrawal symptoms, (these usually hit on the 3rd through 5th day after we made a cut), but we each were still able to successfully stop taking the medicine.   

 

Thank you.....monique.....i have thought about mayo and boston....the oral path was a waste of time, barely looked in my mouth....dx me with bms even though this began with a burn caused by a nebulizer treatment and had no suugestions at all....she even told me to drink my coffee just add more sugar....tried that and suffered the entire day and night!!

 

Still struggling....hugs.

 

BB.

Thank you.....monique.....i have thought about mayo and boston....the oral path was a waste of time, barely looked in my mouth....dx me with bms even though this began with a burn caused by a nebulizer treatment and had no suugestions at all....she even told me to drink my coffee just add more sugar....tried that and suffered the entire day and night!!

 

Still struggling....hugs.

 

BB.

 

Sorry you are having such a hard time.  It is not a fun thing to deal with especially since you usually can't find a doctor that knows anything about it.  This sounds kind of funny but one thing that can help with the burning is swishing a few drops of tobasco sauce in a little bit of water and then spit out.  It burns bad for a few minutes and then no burning.  It has to be the tobasco brand sauce and don't swallow any because sometimes it will irritate the stomach.  BMS is caused by a lot of different things and it seems like yours started with neb treatment.  Have they tested you for thrush?  Sometimes it is something simple so try to rule all those things out first.  I had to stop drinking coffee because coffee is too acidity and it bothers me and sugar also make mine worse sometimes.  For more info there is a facebook site for burning mouth syndrome where you can get a lot of information.  Maybe going there will help.  Hope you start feeling better.  Monique

Monique...thx so much for all of good advice...my neb contained nothing that wud cause thrush but i did test and treated for it....my mouth was burned initially by wut i took in via neb....then that changed the taste in my mouth from sulfur the meds to a constant bitter and nausea....2mnths now.

 

I have just become a member of the group an alot of them dont believe i have a true case of BMS considering that my main sx are the bitter and nausea not real burning or shock like deep pain.  I am so scared i am doomed like this for the rest of my life as there is not any research out there or drs that focus on phantom bitter tastes....so scared.

 

BB.