Benzos Trying to quit a large Xanax habit without seizures

[J_mal91]

Klonopin is longer acting than Xanax (every benzo is). So as a start that's probably better. I haven't been prescribed Xanax in maybe 20 years and don't know if docs can even do it here anymore.




Excuse me while I go and explode with anger over these assholes. You had seizures in the past ffs.. I never have from benzos or alcohol, so I'm probably not at risk. You try to do the right thing by getting Valium and the smug c***** tell you "good luck".

You can explain your situation a million different ways to an anti-benzo doc and it won't matter. There are sympathetic ones but they're few and far between nowadays.

That’s exactly how I feel. Like I just paid $300 dollars to see you without insurance because you specialize in seizures, and I give you complete honesty about my situation, tell you how I’m trying to taper, and how terrified I am of having another seizure in a more dangerous place - and instead of even giving me a non benzo GABA type medication to assist with the taper, you just tell me best of luck? He even had the audacity to say I typically deal with people who did not cause there own seizures, such as epileptic people… such an a**hole

 

[AbbeyLee]

That’s exactly how I feel. Like I just paid $300 dollars to see you without insurance because you specialize in seizures, and I give you complete honesty about my situation, tell you how I’m trying to taper, and how terrified I am of having another seizure in a more dangerous place - and instead of even giving me a non benzo GABA type medication to assist with the taper, you just tell me best of luck? He even had the audacity to say I typically deal with people who did not cause there own seizures, such as epileptic people… such an a**hole

Just wow. I thought you meant a regular GP.

 

[J_mal91]

That’s exactly how I feel. Like I just paid $300 dollars to see you without insurance because you specialize in seizures, and I give you complete honesty about my situation, tell you how I’m trying to taper, and how terrified I am of having another seizure in a more dangerous place - and instead of even giving me a non benzo GABA type medication to assist with the taper, you just tell me best of luck? He even had the audacity to say I typically deal with people who did not cause there own seizures, such as epileptic people… such an a**hole

How do people end up with a 10 mg / day Xanax habit?

I mean, doctors usually start you with 0,25 mg x 3 or 0,5 mg x 3 -- so how do you up with taking five Xanax bars a day?

"Okay, doc, this helps a bit but not enough, can I get more?"

"The drug worked, but it seems to have lost it's efficacy." (due to tolerance)

No that isn’t how it happened. You’re doctor prescribes you an appropriate dose and the user likes what the medication did for them, and when the doctor stops prescribing it, as they should, young naive kids start experiencing withdrawal, and since they were not made aware of its actual dangers, they assume it’s the same type of withdrawal from opiates. Bad, but not deadly. So they find it from somewhere else and continue use. Time goes by and tolerance occurs. Being dumb at a young age is how you get to that dose daily. You don’t decide one day to pop five bars, and I wouldn’t at once even with a tolerance. You end up having to take multiple bars throughout the day to maintain normalcy. It’s a pretty horrible thing, that can easily be avoided. More education would help a lot of people I think.

 

[negrogesic]

That’s exactly how I feel. Like I just paid $300 dollars to see you without insurance because you specialize in seizures, and I give you complete honesty about my situation, tell you how I’m trying to taper, and how terrified I am of having another seizure in a more dangerous place - and instead of even giving me a non benzo GABA type medication to assist with the taper, you just tell me best of luck? He even had the audacity to say I typically deal with people who did not cause there own seizures, such as epileptic people… such an a**hole

They are in Australia I think, where people don't have to pay for doctors generally (there are exceptions). Even as an American, when i spent an elongated period of time in Australia (as a sort of extended stay visitor, via multiple stays) I saw a doctor there on a regular basis and they charged me very little. Was even able to convince her to write me a script of 10mg methylphenidate, 2 tablets QID (ie 80mg/day, though it based on my evidence of an existing prescription from the US of 40mg/day of focalin). In Australia, at least in Adelaide 15 years ago, the GP served more roles than a GP in the USA. Few GP's in the US would prescribe large amounts of stimulants.

Of course that is irrelevant to this discussion.

Why are you forced to quit so quickly.

If you are forced to quit you'll need to a) find a sympathetic physician who is willing to prescribe diazepam to help you taper off, b) illicitly procure diazepam or more likely a long lasting gray market benzodiazepine like diclazepam or perhaps flubromazepam, or c) seek inpatient treatment.

These are your only alternatives in that situation unfortunately. At 10mg/day of alprazolam your only option is continuing on benzodiazepines and tapering off.

 

[Frazzled1990]

Hi, I am completely new to posting here, so forgive me if I am doing this wrong. I really just would like some help / advice. I’ve been taking around 8mg - 10mg of Xanax daily for 3 years. Last two times I tried to stop, I had grand mal seizures at work (thank god I wasn’t driving). I am terrified about quitting, but I do want off. I have tried tapering and was to scared to actually stop, which ended up with me getting back to my normal dose. I see people talking a lot about Valium and lorazepam for the taper since they are long acting. If done the right way with the right meds, could I possibly avoid the seizures? My next question is, I want to do this legitimately and I do not know how to obtain Valium or any other benzo through a doctor. The last one just told me good luck and sent me out the door with nothing and recommended an inpatient facility. Problem is I am the only income in my household and couldn’t take off work for that long. Is there any way I could explain my situation to a doctor and do an outpatient taper, because even on the black market I cannot obtain any Valium or any benzo for that matter, other than Xanax and klonopin. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Avoiding further seizures is absolutely possible with careful planning and consideration. First and foremost it's imperative that you don't attempt to go cold turkey.

Diazepam is generally recommended for tapering. However, you shouldn't just switch directly from Alprazolam to Diazepam. Instead, this should be done in gradual stages. As Diazepam takes time to build up inside the blood stream.

The equivalency dose for 1mg of Alprazolam to Diazepam is generally considered to be approximately 20mgs. I would recommend reducing your Alprazolam dosage by 1mg and substituting it with 20mgs of Diazepam each week. After 8 weeks, you'll have fully switched over from 8mgs of Alprazolam to 160mgs of Diazepam.

In terms of reducing your dosage of 160mgs of Diazepam, let me refer you to the Ashton Manual - https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/index.htm

This manual has helped thousands upon thousands of people in your situation to get off benzodiazepine's safely while minimising the symptoms of withdrawal.

Dividing this up into 3 or 4 separate doses each day is recommended. So 4 doses of 40mgs spread across your waking day as opposed to taking it all in a single dose.

After the first week you can attempt a 10mg reduction. You can either do this by reducing one of your daily doses to 30mgs or spreading that division out over the 4 doses if you find that easier to tolerate. Which would be 37.5mgs taken 4 times per day.

If you tolerate this well for a week, you can then attempt yet another 10mg reduction. Again, you can either choose to remove 10mgs from one of your 4 doses or make the cut over all 4 doses, reducing each dose to 35mgs taken 4 times per day.

Continue to do this until you are all the way down to just 50mgs per day (4 x 12.5mgs).

Week 1 - 160mgs (4 x 40mgs)
Week 2 - 150mgs (4 x 37.5mgs)
Week 3 - 140mgs (4 x 35mgs)
Week 4 - 130mgs (4 x 32.5mgs)
Week 5 - 120mgs (4 x 30mgs)
Week 6 - 110mgs (4 x 27.5mgs)
Week 7 - 100mgs (4 x 25mgs)
Week 8 - 90mgs (4 x 22.5mgs)
Week 9 - 80mgs (4 x 20mgs)
Week 10 - 70mgs (4 x 17.5mgs)
Week 11 - 60mgs (4 x 15mgs)
Week 12 - 50mgs (4 x 12.5mgs)

Don't worry if you need to hold longer than a week at certain points during this reduction from 160mg to 50mg. Take 2 or 3 weeks if you need to until you feel that you've adequately stabilised before progressing with the next 10mg cut.

Once you reach the 50mg per day mile stone (and you're absolutely going to). Start to reduce the dosage by 5mgs each week instead of 10.

Week 13 - 45mgs (4 x 11.25mgs)
Week 14 - 40mgs (4 x 10mgs)
Week 15 - 35mgs (4 x 8.75mgs)
Week 16 - 30mgs (4 x 7.5mgs)
Week 17 - 25mgs (4 x 6.25mgs)
Week 18 - 20mgs (4 x 5mgs)

Again, don't worry if you find this to be too quick and unbearable. Simply hold for 2 or 3 weeks if you feel the need to before making the next 5mg reduction.

Once you reach the 20mgs per day mile stone (you better believe you're going to do it). Start to reduce the dosage by 2mgs each week instead of 5.

Week 19 - 18mgs (4 x 4.5mgs)
Week 20 - 16mgs (4 x 4mgs)
Week 21 - 14mgs (4 x 3.5mgs)
Week 22 - 12mgs (4 x 3mgs)
Week 23 - 10mgs (4 x 2.5mgs)

Once you reach the 10mgs per day mile stone, reduce by 1mg each week.

Week 24 - 9mgs (4 x 2.25mgs)
Week 25 - 8mgs (4 x 2mgs)
Week 26 - 7mgs (4 x 1.75mgs)
Week 27 - 6mgs (4 x 1.5mgs)
Week 28 - 5mgs (4 x 1.25mgs)

Then at 5mgs, reduce by 0.5mgs each week.

Week 29 - 4.5mgs (4 x 1.125mgs)
Week 30 - 4mgs (4 x 1mg)
Week 31 - 3.5mgs (4 x 0.875mg)
Week 32 - 3mgs (4 x 0.75mg)
Week 33 - 2.5mgs (4 x 0.625mg)
Week 34 - 2mgs (4 x 0.5mg)
Week 35 - 1.5mgs (3 x 0.5mg)
Week 36 - 1mg (2 x 0.5mg)
Week 37 - 0.5mg (1 x 0.5mg)
Week 38 - You've done it! Enjoy being benzo free!

Don't worry if you can't do it within 38 weeks. Not every cut has to be made every week. Allow yourself to stabilise if you don't feel ready for the next cut, but try to push for it no later than 3 weeks. The taper could take you anywhere between 38 weeks and 2 years. But you will reach your goal and you will be benzo and seizure free.

The taper may seem to drag on quite a bit with those last 5mgs or so. But sometimes it's those lower doses that pose the biggest challenge, so don't be tempted to rush your taper when you make it to the lower doses. Stick to the same plan used at the higher doses.

 

[FractalMe]

Frazzled has a great taper plan but definitely tell your doctor. It can be scary but it will pay off in the end. If something goes wrong or you hit a wall you got your primary care provider in the loop and a potential taper script. Doctors respect honesty and it might just get you a script for a bit while you step down.

 

[Xorkoth]

Hi,

Lyrica are identical ingredients to gabepetin just a lot stronger. Typically, gabepetin is much easier to get from a Dr.

Actually Lyrica is pregabalin, not gabapentin. They're similar drugs, but not the same, just in the same class (they're both gabapentinoids). Lyrica is stronger, more euphoric, and more effective, but also can produce weird muscle spasms at higher dosages. It is also more addictive than gabapentin.

 

[Amber888]

Actually Lyrica is pregabalin, not gabapentin. They're similar drugs, but not the same, just in the same class (they're both gabapentinoids). Lyrica is stronger, more euphoric, and more effective, but also can produce weird muscle spasms at higher dosages. It is also more addictive than gabapentin.

 

[Amber888]

Hi,

Sorry if I misunderstood. I have not read the ingredients and when a Dr told me they were identical (Lyrica stronger) perhaps he was speaking with fluidity. If you are certain of this it makes me more inclined to get Lyrica if I ever have to taper. Do you think it would be easier than with gabepetin?

 

[Xorkoth]

I'm 100% certain. The doctor probably meant "they work the same way" because they both affect the same receptors. But they're different drugs. Indeed, Lyrica is stronger than gabapentin. A lot of the time, doctors talk to people like they're idiots because most people don't know anything about drugs. It is probably easier for most people to say "they're identical but one is stronger" than it is to say "they're different drugs that both are blockers of voltage-gated calcium ion channels, so the effects are similar, but Lyrica is more potent and produces stronger acute effects". Also, occasionally doctors are idiots who don't know very much about drugs.

Yes, gabapentin is easier to taper. The addiction is less severe and it is easier to slowly drop your dose and then come off than Lyrica is.

 

[Amber888]

Thank you so much for the new intel.