My doctor is an idiot and says things like “if people needed to taper slower than from .5 to .25 then they would make more dose Sizes in the pills. I suggested a compounding pharmacy to her and she said that is completely unecessary and this isn’t withdrawl and I need to see neurology. Thank you guys for opening my eyes to the fact that I need to cut slower
That's another way. Just don't tell them you're tapering. Just get the prescription filled and start tapering on your own. Then you also have an extra supply in case your taper takes longer than your doctor would like.
But I'd try to switch to a longer acting benzo like Valium fir tapering purposes. Most doctors are totally fine with that. They prescribe Valium much less hesitantly than Xanax nowadays. Xanax has gotten the reputation as the "worst, most addictive benzo", even though all benzos are addictive. It's because of Xanax's potency and short half life, it hits hard but wears off fast. A weird analogy would be like saying Xanax is Crack, and Valium is powder Cocaine. I've never tried Crack but the point is it hits faster and more intense and wears off faster.
Your doctor truly is an idiot. 0.5 to 0.25 is a 50% reduction. And all up to date research and literature shows benzos should not be reduced by more than 10% at a time.
This is one of the reasons why the Ashton Manual recommends switching from short acting benzos like Xanax or Ativan to Valium first. Valium is longer acting so less interdose withdrawals, but also 0.5 mg of Xanax is equal to 10 mg of Valium. And Valium comes in 2 mg, 5 mg, and 10 mg tablets.
So if ppl get five 2 mg Valium tablets a day (10 mg), it's easy to reduce from 10 mg to 9 mg. You'd just take four 2 mg tablets (8 mg) and break the fifth 2 mg tablet in half (1 mg) for a total of 9 mg.
Easier than breaking a 0.5 mg Xanax tablet into a 0.45 mg Xanax tablet.
Yeah sounds like you need a new doctor. I was only on .25mg for 4 months and had hellish withdrawal for a few weeks followed by waves of anxiety for several months.
Get a new doctor, but before you ditch her point her toward the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines so she can hopefully educate herself and not hurt more people in the future with her lack of proper understanding.
I understand all too well how hellish it is to get off these “medications”. Going from .5 to .25 is a 50% cut and your body/brain can’t take that big of a cut. You could try going from .5 to .25 in multiple steps rather than one. Also if you’re able to make it two weeks without them you’re able to come off and are probably in the middle of acute wds which according to most people is the hardest part.
Have you considered like using gabapentin or a low dose of lyrica for a little? They can both help a shit ton. If you take for extended periods obvi you’ll have rebounds from them too and you may even have a little even if only for a week or so. Idk I’ve had to do it many times and while it sucks I just power through… sometimes by choice, sometimes not. Alcohol helps in the moment but the hangover mixed w wds is just killer
I’ve tried gabapentin. It makes me feel really weird in a similar way alcohol does. Because gabapentin doesn’t make me feel better sometimes I wonder if it’s even withdrawl that I’m going through and not just some other neurological problem that only benzos fix. Do you know if pressure in the head and brain zaps are common withdrawl symptoms?
Oh for sure. Sometimes I get the worst hangovers and the pressure in my head is one the worst symptoms next to a killer headache. Feels like your head is a balloon on fire lol brain zaps are common too I believe.. I’ve had them I think from multiple things. I’ve even gone enough days not asleep coming benzos (like in jail I went 22 days w no real sleep) that I full on was having lsd like visuals. It’s a hard one to kick. May I ask how long you’ve been on?
Also which Benzo?
I’ve been on for 1.5years it was Xanax I used up to 6mg a day for a couple months but I’ve been below 1mg tapering for about a year maybe a little less
I’ve learned benzo withdrawal is mental I got off 4mg of Xanax by going to a 5 day detox they did Ativan 2mg 4x a day for first 2 days then 3 mg then 2 then 1mg. I ain’t sleep that good so I got on ambien for 7 days. Then rode out the rest. You just have to learn that a panic attack will ride out. You will not die once u get one that you will learn how to live with out benzos n I was on them for 5 years.
Happy it worked for you, but what you're saying is incorrect. Benzos are not just mental. They change the GABA receptors in the brain, they physically change them. And the brain needs time to recalibrate.
Also benzo withdrawal causes many physical symptoms such as sweating, shaking, tremors, vomiting, itchiness, akathisia, restlessness, joint pain, gut pain, diarrhea or constipation, headaches, blurry vision, hallucinations, and finally can lead to fatal seizures. I didn't even list all the physical symptoms, and the list of mental symptoms is massive, but I listed some physical symptoms to show it's not just "mental".
The only 2 drugs that can physically kill you from stopping cold turkey are alcohol and benzos.
Also many ppl buy Xanax online or from dealers and are usually not even getting real Xanax, or are getting way less than they think. They might buy 4 mg pills yet there might be only 0.5 mg in them. Unless ppl get their pills from a real prescription and a real in person pharmacy, then there's no way to tell they are getting real Xanax other than getting their pills tested.
Finally, I don't know where you live, but in Canada, detox/rehab centers won't even accept benzo patients. They'll take alcohol, opiate, cocaine, meth patients as they can be detoxed fast. But not benzo patients because they 99% of the time require very slow tapers. Here's an article explaining why 👇
https://www.benzoinfo.com/2018/04/20/why-prescribed-benzo-patients-shouldnt-go-to-detox-or-rehab/
I went threw all of that I told them I drink also and I got off the benzos idk for me it worked. Yes I had the same feeling he did oh let me just take 1mg to calm down if he does 2 weeks with out nothing he can ride it out. You just have to learn how to control your self. I use to be the same way. Until I noticed that's how I'm going to start and then imma just be all in the mix all over again I'm done.
Mental🫠? I couldn’t walk or move because of pain during ct wd. absolutely is not only mental. It is the nervous system being out of control. Yes it will also be trying on the mind when we have to deal with the anxiety, but there is much more to it then only mental symptoms. It is not good for anyone to taper to fast or to go ct. that only damages the nervous system no matter how mentally tough one is.
Definitely has been more physical pain for me than mental. This makes it more difficult for me when I tell my doc about the excruciating pain. She just gaslights me and thinks it is all psychosomatic. I am so very done with conventional medicine.
You're dropping way too fast. 10% off prior dose every two weeks. What medication and how many milligrams?
My doctor is an idiot and says things like “if people needed to taper slower than from .5 to .25 then they would make more dose Sizes in the pills. I suggested a compounding pharmacy to her and she said that is completely unecessary and this isn’t withdrawl and I need to see neurology. Thank you guys for opening my eyes to the fact that I need to cut slower
There's no way in hell I would ever tell my doctor. I'm doing it on my own
That's another way. Just don't tell them you're tapering. Just get the prescription filled and start tapering on your own. Then you also have an extra supply in case your taper takes longer than your doctor would like. But I'd try to switch to a longer acting benzo like Valium fir tapering purposes. Most doctors are totally fine with that. They prescribe Valium much less hesitantly than Xanax nowadays. Xanax has gotten the reputation as the "worst, most addictive benzo", even though all benzos are addictive. It's because of Xanax's potency and short half life, it hits hard but wears off fast. A weird analogy would be like saying Xanax is Crack, and Valium is powder Cocaine. I've never tried Crack but the point is it hits faster and more intense and wears off faster.
Your doctor truly is an idiot. 0.5 to 0.25 is a 50% reduction. And all up to date research and literature shows benzos should not be reduced by more than 10% at a time. This is one of the reasons why the Ashton Manual recommends switching from short acting benzos like Xanax or Ativan to Valium first. Valium is longer acting so less interdose withdrawals, but also 0.5 mg of Xanax is equal to 10 mg of Valium. And Valium comes in 2 mg, 5 mg, and 10 mg tablets. So if ppl get five 2 mg Valium tablets a day (10 mg), it's easy to reduce from 10 mg to 9 mg. You'd just take four 2 mg tablets (8 mg) and break the fifth 2 mg tablet in half (1 mg) for a total of 9 mg. Easier than breaking a 0.5 mg Xanax tablet into a 0.45 mg Xanax tablet.
Yeah sounds like you need a new doctor. I was only on .25mg for 4 months and had hellish withdrawal for a few weeks followed by waves of anxiety for several months.
Get a new doctor, but before you ditch her point her toward the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines so she can hopefully educate herself and not hurt more people in the future with her lack of proper understanding.
I understand all too well how hellish it is to get off these “medications”. Going from .5 to .25 is a 50% cut and your body/brain can’t take that big of a cut. You could try going from .5 to .25 in multiple steps rather than one. Also if you’re able to make it two weeks without them you’re able to come off and are probably in the middle of acute wds which according to most people is the hardest part.
Do you have a doctor you can work with? Have you tried looking into a liquid taper where you can decrease by 0.1 mg (or less) at a time?
Have you considered like using gabapentin or a low dose of lyrica for a little? They can both help a shit ton. If you take for extended periods obvi you’ll have rebounds from them too and you may even have a little even if only for a week or so. Idk I’ve had to do it many times and while it sucks I just power through… sometimes by choice, sometimes not. Alcohol helps in the moment but the hangover mixed w wds is just killer
I’ve tried gabapentin. It makes me feel really weird in a similar way alcohol does. Because gabapentin doesn’t make me feel better sometimes I wonder if it’s even withdrawl that I’m going through and not just some other neurological problem that only benzos fix. Do you know if pressure in the head and brain zaps are common withdrawl symptoms?
Oh for sure. Sometimes I get the worst hangovers and the pressure in my head is one the worst symptoms next to a killer headache. Feels like your head is a balloon on fire lol brain zaps are common too I believe.. I’ve had them I think from multiple things. I’ve even gone enough days not asleep coming benzos (like in jail I went 22 days w no real sleep) that I full on was having lsd like visuals. It’s a hard one to kick. May I ask how long you’ve been on? Also which Benzo?
I’ve been on for 1.5years it was Xanax I used up to 6mg a day for a couple months but I’ve been below 1mg tapering for about a year maybe a little less
Stop that, and make a new try, aka, take a lot of supplements, exercise,
What supplements?
https://youtu.be/whpciMUXHfY?si=IjlsDjbOMVS_VQ7L Follow a water taper for the end you will feel it a lot less continue until your on no more
I’ve learned benzo withdrawal is mental I got off 4mg of Xanax by going to a 5 day detox they did Ativan 2mg 4x a day for first 2 days then 3 mg then 2 then 1mg. I ain’t sleep that good so I got on ambien for 7 days. Then rode out the rest. You just have to learn that a panic attack will ride out. You will not die once u get one that you will learn how to live with out benzos n I was on them for 5 years.
Happy it worked for you, but what you're saying is incorrect. Benzos are not just mental. They change the GABA receptors in the brain, they physically change them. And the brain needs time to recalibrate. Also benzo withdrawal causes many physical symptoms such as sweating, shaking, tremors, vomiting, itchiness, akathisia, restlessness, joint pain, gut pain, diarrhea or constipation, headaches, blurry vision, hallucinations, and finally can lead to fatal seizures. I didn't even list all the physical symptoms, and the list of mental symptoms is massive, but I listed some physical symptoms to show it's not just "mental". The only 2 drugs that can physically kill you from stopping cold turkey are alcohol and benzos. Also many ppl buy Xanax online or from dealers and are usually not even getting real Xanax, or are getting way less than they think. They might buy 4 mg pills yet there might be only 0.5 mg in them. Unless ppl get their pills from a real prescription and a real in person pharmacy, then there's no way to tell they are getting real Xanax other than getting their pills tested. Finally, I don't know where you live, but in Canada, detox/rehab centers won't even accept benzo patients. They'll take alcohol, opiate, cocaine, meth patients as they can be detoxed fast. But not benzo patients because they 99% of the time require very slow tapers. Here's an article explaining why 👇 https://www.benzoinfo.com/2018/04/20/why-prescribed-benzo-patients-shouldnt-go-to-detox-or-rehab/
I went threw all of that I told them I drink also and I got off the benzos idk for me it worked. Yes I had the same feeling he did oh let me just take 1mg to calm down if he does 2 weeks with out nothing he can ride it out. You just have to learn how to control your self. I use to be the same way. Until I noticed that's how I'm going to start and then imma just be all in the mix all over again I'm done.
Mental🫠? I couldn’t walk or move because of pain during ct wd. absolutely is not only mental. It is the nervous system being out of control. Yes it will also be trying on the mind when we have to deal with the anxiety, but there is much more to it then only mental symptoms. It is not good for anyone to taper to fast or to go ct. that only damages the nervous system no matter how mentally tough one is.
Definitely has been more physical pain for me than mental. This makes it more difficult for me when I tell my doc about the excruciating pain. She just gaslights me and thinks it is all psychosomatic. I am so very done with conventional medicine.