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Having trouble tapering off xanax

Been tapering off xanax for last two weeks from .25mg 4 times a day.  Now at .125 at 4 times a day and tried yesterday to follow schedule to decrease to .125 3 times day spread 8 hrs apart.  Had lots of headaches and dizzy and leg twitches.  I wonder if I should do a .125 then .06 and then .06 and then.125 for bed.  Please any suggestions.  Dr. wants it at .125 3 times daily but its harder than all the other cuts of 4 times daily.  Can't see med dr. till Tues. (out sick).  I want off this but need some help with someone with experience.  Thanks!
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370181 tn?1595629445
I understand your desire to be off this horrid medication, but the key word and the only way you're going to do this successfully is SLOWLY AND PATIENTLY. I might also add that you absolutely MUST do this taper AT YOUR SPEED. You must be in total control of when you make the cuts. If you do not feel "ready," then you need to stay at your current dosage until you are ready. And if that takes two weeks or two months, then THAT is what it's going to take. There is no "one size fits all" taper program and any doctor who reads in his PDR that you "should" be able to get off this med in "X" amount of time, and then imposes that sechedule on you, is a moron and does not understand benzos. I would recommend finding a Psychiatric Medication Manager who DOES understand these meds, does understand that it must go at your pace and will never pressure you or make you feel bad for having to stay at a certain level for as long as you need.
Xanax is perhaps one, if not THE, most difficult drugs to get off and you must be patient with yourself. You must take pride and encouragement from even the smallest cut! We are all different and it takes all of us different amounts of time to adjust to these cuts. Our brains (and their receptors) must adapt to the lower dosage.........these receptors have, in a manner of speaking, been "asleep" for as long as you've been taking the Xanax. It is going to take time for them to wake up and start doing their job again. That time frame is different for all of us. But it will happen.
Like anything else, there is no magic bullet to get off Xanax. The smoker who tries to quit goes through hell, the alcoholic goes through hell and those of us of drugs like Xanax go through hell. We have to pay a price. You ARE going to go through uncomfortable stages while tapering. These may last a few days, a few weeks or just a few hours. They may also come and go, like waves. Again, we all experience it differently. But the bottom line remains the same............there is no free lunch and there is no getting around some discomfort while tapering. It's how you look at and deal with that discomfort that will make or break your taper. If you are going slow enough, the discomfort is minimized, if you are using a "rescue" med, such as diazepam to get you over the really rough patches, that's OK! Use it. Just do not go backwards! Do not cave into the thinking that by taking a Xanax, all the "pain" and anxiety will go away and you'll be fine. That thinking will defeat you every time. Nothing worth having comes cheap or easy and being free of this drug WILL cost you, but in the end, that cost will have been well worth it. Keep your eyes on the finish line, know that it's not going to be easy, take pride in each tiny cut and just keep on moving closer to the day you will be totally free.
I'm doing it and so can you.
Peace
Greenlydia
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Arlington, VA
370181 tn?1595629445
Arlington, WA
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