XANAX Support Blog: If you're tapering Xanax/alprazolam, join in the discussion!

On day 4 now. Other than nightmares the first night, I haven't felt drastically different. I even had two nights of solid 7.5 hour sleep that past few nights. Hopefully things  stay smooth, maybe .0625 cuts are small enough to work for me.

On day 4 now. Other than nightmares the first night, I haven't felt drastically different. I even had two nights of solid 7.5 hour sleep that past few nights. Hopefully things  stay smooth, maybe .0625 cuts are small enough to work for me.

 

That sounds great, Grape! Wishing you continued smooth sailing.

On day 4 now. Other than nightmares the first night, I haven't felt drastically different. I even had two nights of solid 7.5 hour sleep that past few nights. Hopefully things  stay smooth, maybe .0625 cuts are small enough to work for me.

 

Really good to read you are doing so well, Grapejuice

I just have to vent.  I'm at 5.5mg/day, cutting .5mg every two weeks, and my pdoc has not called in my prescription or responded to fax requests from the pharmacy.  This woman will just simply NOT communicate with me, and I've been under her care for 7 years!  So this morning I have to go to urgent care because I have absolutely NO xanax left, I just took my last one and a half tablets, which is the correct dose.  The prescription is DUE for a refill, so I don't know what the problem is.  I just can't believe how irresponsible she is being with not refilling my prescription, and having to go to Urgent Care - and HOPING that they will help me - is scary!  I'm tired of these panic attacks, I'm tired of the nightmares, I'm tired of the headache that never goes away and the pain my body is feeling, AND the weird head sensations, AND the "I cannot even think straight!!" feeling, and now I have to deal with this.    If Urgent Care won't help me I guess I have to go to the hospital Emergency Room, and that is so expensive, even though I have insurance.  Did I really need this stress on top of everything else right now??    /rant

Buddyperson,

 

I am so sorry you have the added stress of your doctor not being responsive in refilling your script on top of

everything else you are experiencing! 

Are you taking your med once/day?     

I am hoping if urgent care does not help that ER will.  If not, hopefully you can phone your doctor's office in the morning and speak

to her ?

 

Please let us know if you are able to get some help! 

 

Hugs

Ins

 

ps

 

you are doing amazingly well with your progress.

Hey buddies, not quite sure where im suposed to post now. I have battled this xanax fight tapering dry cutting from my initial dose of about 8mg a day for over 15 years. After about 9 months of a semi quick tapering schedule I lost all hope was sick and tired, and nonstop ringing in my head  I needed a break. was down to .25 but I knew since I had cronic pain opiates were just a dr visit away. I started back taking morphine. Im not proud but all the benzo hell just faided into the background (STUPID). Yes i was living again. long story short, I got off opiates again and Bam day ten my heart pounding out my chest, unable to hardly get up the same steps I remember from the first time I dropped benzos. Dam if i can give any advice GO SLOW AS HELL. I would have avoided alot of hell. SO yea im back on .5 and 10mg valium together, my doc just hands whatever out. SOOO my question is do i up the valium 5mg and drop the .5 xanax? because I feel like kindling is taking place. Im flat on my back again here on BB.

SMH, if we only knew before taking that first benzo.   

 

So im back, and again terrified I will need benzos just to go to work and hardly function.

Any advice about dropping the .5 in place of the valium would be appreciated. why does he have me on both still, I was suposed to crossover... 

 

New friends are starting to notice my benzo brain, and was told i look terrified and asked if I was ok by 4 people yesterday. Here we go again.

 

-Synap

Having done a partial crossover of Xanax to Valium myself, I don't advise dropping the whole .5mg Xanax at once, it takes a while for the Valium to build up in your system, I think .5mg drop would be too drastic. Drop .25X and add Valium, then hold for two weeks for your body to adjust to the initial increase in sedation/fatigue from the Valium. Then drop the other .25mg Xanax and add Valium, hold for two weeks. Then work on tapering the valium once you feel stable.

 

As for the amount of Valium to add with each .25mg Xanax cut, you could add anywhere from 2.5-5mg Valium. Ashton says 5mg Valium is roughly equivalent to .25mg Xanax, but other equivalency charts have a 2.5V : .25X ratio. I think it varies by individual. In my case I added 2.5V with my .25X cuts and I think that felt ok. I had some sleep disturbances that improved over the two week hold, but no big withdrawal stuff.

 

I'm guessing the symptoms you are having now are for the opiate withdrawals, correct? I know there's a support thread for polydrugging, you may want to check that out.

THX, This is all the benzos again. Im off everything else for almost 30 days. I made a benzo cut and about 9 or 10 days after I was slammed with all that taper feeling. One positive thing now that my body has the v lasting longer than x I only dose once a day, and so far the tinnitus has not been bad. kinda blame that on the xanax. I will most likely cut.25 like you mentioned. Then liquid tritate the v.

HORRIBLE night. After 1.5 hours of sleep I had a nightmare and woke up with the emergency broadcast system blaring in my left ear. It went down a little after 30min, but took two hours to get back to its normal volume. (I have chronic tinnitus). I then slept four hours until my alarm went off and I had to log into work for a meeting. I'm still shook up from it. It has been nine days since my cut. I was planning to make another .0625 cut two days from now. Now I'm questioning if I should hold longer or stick to the schedule and push through any symptoms. I was having a pretty smooth cut until the past two days. My plan was to taper off this last .25mg Xanax with .0625 cuts every 10 days, then I'll only be on Valium. I thought people feel Xanax cuts after just a few days since it has a short half life. I seem to be the exception to the rule.

Grapejuice I'm facing a decision myself. I'm dry cutting by 0.0625. After the last one- 4 days ago I feel pretty good. It's a tough decision: should I cut after 7 days if I feel ok or should I wait a bit longer...? As I say: no rules in benzo game!

 

I admire how strong You are: with so little sleep and all the symptoms you're able to attend work meetings!

Well, it helps that I work from home and my meeting "attendance" consists of calling into the conference call while sitting in my pajamas.

Oh so we have similar office and work clothes

Oh so we have similar office and work clothes

 

I'm jealous!! 

Xanax warriors,

Anyone else experiencing severe body burning, tingling and pain despite tiny, tiny cuts?

Last three days have been exceptionally painful making sleep and taking care of my children near impossible.

Anyone?  If so, anything that helps?

 

In the trenches,

Marija.

Xanax warriors,

Anyone else experiencing severe body burning, tingling and pain despite tiny, tiny cuts?

Last three days have been exceptionally painful making sleep and taking care of my children near impossible.

Anyone?  If so, anything that helps?

 

In the trenches,

Marija.

 

 

Marija....browsing and saw this. Yes, I had this miserable combination of symptoms while tapering both xanax and valium. I am sorry this is part of your recovery.

 

I tried many things. My ND suggested I practice activities to use the sensory neurons in a good way....baths, massage, heating pads, ice, stroking, stretching, yoga, soft music...anything that could induce the slightest bit of comfort. Often I would sit in the bath with Epsom salt while listening to guided meditations on pain management. My lovely therapist made some custom ones for me. While all of this did not take away the pain the practices would often shift me into a more comfortable state.

 

So much of this is about managing what comes...as you very well know. You are doing such a good job Marija. All of this pain is leading you to wellness. You are getting there.

 

I am much better with the burning, tingling and pain at this point in recovery.  I seem to suffer from what I call " net neural load". I am ok up to a certain amount of input then shift into deep waves. Keeping stimulation low has been helpful. I know that is hard with an active household.

 

Sending you much love dear Marija. You are closer to wellness every day.

 

With compassion,

Carita

 

 

 

Thank you, Carita, for sharing your wisdom. 💗

I know how intense your journey has been. You are exceptionally courageous and resilient.

Question?  Did your physical symptoms soften at all once off the X or did it remain carly constant through both X & V?

Managing the moments are critical. My "bag of tricks", many you have listed, are simply not able to influence a positive shift in the severity of the physicallity of this. 

 

It always seems to fall back to time and managing the moments.

 

Hugs,

Marija💗

 

 

 

 

Marija dear,

  Yes, managing it from moment to moment is sometimes all we can do. Even the most complete bag of tricks can not always shift the experience. I am sorry this is so hard.

 

    You ask if my symptoms remained constant throughout both tapers. Yes. I have had varying degrees of pain, burning, squeezing, tingling, numbness since tolerance began in late 2011. At times it was debilitating and others a heavy nuisance. It got better when I was in the lower doses of valium. I still have periods where it is very challenging but it has markedly improved. I am grateful.

 

    I will give you an example. I have had extreme sensitivity in my hands making anything tactile difficult. This week I held a hot mug of tea and it felt warm and comfortable. Memories of holding hundreds of cups flooded back...ah, this is what it feels like to have normal hand sensation! I had forgotten. My feet still are not better but I am hopeful.

 

    Does that answer your question? Please feel free to ask anything. My head is clearer now and if my experience can help I am pleased to share. Sending hope.

 

With love,

 

Carita

 

   

Ok another poll. After you make a cut to your Xanax, how long do you feel the effects until you stabilize?

I made my last cut 11 days ago. Looking back,  I think I started to feel it on day 4 with some increased tinnitus in the evening, but I didn't associate it with withdrawals since otherwise I didn't have any dramatic changes. Then the past three days have been much worse tinnitus and nightmares, waking up during the night. So I think I've been feeling the cut for a week now, with worsening symptoms the past three days. Just wondering when it will start to lift so I can make my next cut.

Ok another poll. After you make a cut to your Xanax, how long do you feel the effects until you stabilize?

I made my last cut 11 days ago. Looking back,  I think I started to feel it on day 4 with some increased tinnitus in the evening, but I didn't associate it with withdrawals since otherwise I didn't have any dramatic changes. Then the past three days have been much worse tinnitus and nightmares, waking up during the night. So I think I've been feeling the cut for a week now, with worsening symptoms the past three days. Just wondering when it will start to lift so I can make my next cut.

 

Grapejuice,

    I would not feel my cut until the third day, then it took 2-3 more days to stabilize. I am microtapering now and I have learned to do miniscule cuts and wait until my body feels stabilized (I still feel the cuts, and am not cutting every day). It is often said, " listen to your body". I would rather go slower with less misery than faster with almost unbearable misery. You may want to hold until you feel better again. And if it keeps happening to the degree of discomfort you have described, you may want to change the amount you cut and the speed at which you are making the cuts. It seems that when we get to less than 1mg Xanax, our CNS becomes hypersensitive to the littlest change. Hang in there, Rose

Thanks Rose! My symptoms seem to flare up during PMS time so I'm rescheduling my final cuts around that. Cut .0625 at the beginning of the month, then by the time PMS hits my body will have had at least two weeks to adjust to the cut. Then cut another .0625 at the beginning of the next month. I had originally planned to cut .0625 every ten days, but now I'm slowing that to approximately once every four weeks. So hopefully I'll be off it completely by the start of November. It's day 4 since my new cut, not feeling it yet...

Thanks Rose! My symptoms seem to flare up during PMS time so I'm rescheduling my final cuts around that. Cut .0625 at the beginning of the month, then by the time PMS hits my body will have had at least two weeks to adjust to the cut. Then cut another .0625 at the beginning of the next month. I had originally planned to cut .0625 every ten days, but now I'm slowing that to approximately once every four weeks. So hopefully I'll be off it completely by the start of November. It's day 4 since my new cut, not feeling it yet...

 

Grapejuice,

    I would think PMS would definitely increase your symptoms. Have you checked out the microtaper thread? it's very helpful and upbeat. I did cut and hold for awhile and the days it took to adjust were awful. I decided to check out the MT thread and it made so much more sense to do microcuts every couple days because the shock to the nervous system was so much smaller, hence the side effects of the cuts were much more tolerable. I bought a quart of propylene glycol (food grade) from Amazon real cheap. I put 1mg Xanax into 2ml of PG. then I add 398 mls of water giving me 400mls. Right now I draw up 52mls three times a day (equals .39mg Xanax in 3 doses) Every 2-3 days I lower one of the doses by 1 ml, wait to stabilize and continue on. It is such a gentle way compared to C+H. Anyway, good luck to you and should C+H get too rough think about considering a different method. Rose

These experiences are helpful to me.  I started tapering a couple weeks ago and yesterday was bad!  But then today is okay, so maybe it was just a stressful week!  Thanks for sharing 

Hi all,

 

I am new here. I am currently prescribed 2.5 mg Xanax as needed for sleep. Realized I was abusing when I was still having to fill 1 week early. I have been on it for about 4 years, Klonopin for 2 years before that. When I cut my dose down I get an awful indescribable headache, intense anxiety, and shaky hand tremors. Currently I am at 1.5mg for the past 2 days. The headache has subsided and I've made a plan to cut down .25 mg every 2 weeks. I see some people cut down much slower though. Any advice greatly appreciated. I am going to meet with my psychiatrist within the month and explain my plan to go off. Also scared that I won't be the calm person I was with Xanax. Just a lot of mixed feelings. Thanks for the support.

Has anyone ever switched back from diazepam to Xanax?  I just found out that my liver enzymes are elevated and I'm on a high dose of diazepam - want to go back to Xanax and taper - because I never had a liver issue with Xanax.  How does one do that ?  I am really worried because if I stay on diazepam I'm looking at a really long taper....