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Getting off Xanax/Valium/Aclohol

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raving_rook

Greenlighter
Joined
May 21, 2015
Messages
6
Hello,
Been through a stressful part of my life and Xanax has helped me a lot but as of now my life if looking better and want to set up a tapering schedule to get off the drugs.

I was on Xanax before and tapered off (3mg a day) successfully.

Then I started mixing alcohol and xanax and have been doing so for about 9 months. I probably take about 8 double shots of 35% Vodka and 2-4 mg Xanax/day.

It's mainly at night to help sleep and knock me out.

So mainly my question is first,

Should I start by tapering off the benzo first and then the alcohol or vice versa? Or both at the same time. I also have medical marijuana to help sleep.

Usually around I wake up and take 1mg xanax and around 6 PM I take 2-3 double shots with my GF and some more xanax maybe 1mg. Before bedtime 1mg xanax and 2-3 shots.

I understand you are trying to help and am not going to take your word for medical advice. Just curious to how you would go about this taper.

I am self-employed so I can also take a more aggressive approach, if needed.

Any advise is greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

Also, worthy of note; physical addiction is my main concern am pretty strong with my mind.
 
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Hi rook,

Welcome to BL.

Can you give us a bit more info on how long you've been using the Xanax this time around? Also, in the title you mention Valium; is that a concern here as well?

-infected
 
infectedmushroom said:
Hi rook,

Welcome to BL.

Can you give us a bit more info on how long you've been using the Xanax this time around? Also, in the title you mention Valium; is that a concern here as well?

-infected
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I do have valium available but currently only take it whenever. It doesn't do much to me but heard it can be good on a taper.

Well for the past year my xanax use went from maybe 1mg-2mg and 3-4 shots until 6 months ago.
At that point I was down to 0.5mg xanax a day and 4 shots that was about 6 months ago like I said.

Recently it has escalated so I am currently maybe on 4mg/day and have been on that dose for maybe 2-3 months and about 6-8 shots of vodka.

I want to get off the benzos and have valium to help me. I have a lot of drugs to help me get off. I just was wondering what a good tapering schedule should be. I have a white board so I can record my progress and am pretty good at sticking to a plan. I heard don't decrease more than 0.5mg every 3 days but I am a huge wussy with physical withdrawals lol.

Worthy to note I am very educated on receptor behavior and drug interactions.

Thanks beforehand;
 
Can you see a doctor to put you on a tapering plan? Each person reacts quite differently to tapers. If you can, start by going down by a small amount first, say reduce your regular dose by 0.25mg. Stay on that for a week.

Benzos are complicated and dangerous drugs to taper off and that's why I'd highly suggest you see a doctor you trust who can write you up a taper plan and help you through it, as well as meetings/counselling of some sort - it seems like you're self-medicating, and maybe those things will help you get to the bottom of certain anxiety issues which will definitely resurface once you get clean.

No need to be afraid, with the right taper and support, you can return to sober life (relatively) smoothly if you have the will, dedication, and support.

All the best.
 
Gotta see a doctor.

Trust me man, I know all too well the dangers of mixing benzos+booze. You don't want to seize, I have and it almost killed me.

As for your "mind being strong", I am sure it is, but that is often not enough without support. How are you going to deal with cravings, lack of sleep, inability to cope with stress (due to previous self medication). I could go on and on. If you keep this thread alive I will try to comment on here more (I am very busy). But realize that you (and at one point I) are playing with possibly the most dangerous combination of drugs possible.

I have been totally clean for a year and 1 year and 19 days and my life has never been better!
 
If you have the means and the time, go for the medical detox. As far as being strong minded, it's something I wouldn't test where addiction and related issues are concerned. Alcohol and benzodiazepines are a dangerously cocktail
 
Hello,
Thank you guys so much for your help. I do not want to see a doctor for this or be in a detox program. Isn't the detox program like a tapering program anyway or do they like knock you out with drugs while your body goes through the physical withdrawals?

I am planning on the dose of tapering down with about 0.25mg Xanax 1-2 shots of alcohol/week or every 3 days.

My main problem is sleep, so if I am on 4mgish Xanax a day should I use meds right before I go to sleep so I can fall asleep right away or does that create a spike in with the stimulus versus starting to use the drugs steadily throughout the day and lower my dose that way?

So for week one I would take 1mg during the day and then 2mg xanax right before I fall asleep?
Or is it better for me to spread the doses out throughout the day so about 0.5mg every 2 hours or something like that?

Yes, I understand it is not going to be a walk in the park but like you guys said, with help and support I can do it. I just would like to hear from your experience what timing of the doses should I do? Spread 'em out more or have the majority of the drugs being taken before bed as I have been doing previously.
 
Also.
Is the general consensus that I should taper both the alcohol and xanax at the same time?

Or should I start with the alcohol and then focus on the xanax?

I am not in a rush and am a pretty wimpy in regards to withdrawals.

If doing both at the same time is the best that is fine I can make the increments smaller each week. I understand it is going to be a long process.
 
I know you want to do this alone but benzo and alcohol detox can be life threatening. You might be driving a car or operating heavy machinery and black out, seize up and hurt yourself or others. That's why anyone here with your best interests in mind will say the same thing over and over again. See a professional.

Sorry but I can't in good conscience give anymore opinions on detox - unless you want to talk about the psychological/emotional side of things.

All the best. <3
 
Was trying to taper off the alcohol didn't work well lol.
To update:
I didn't go to a doc.
Stopped the alcohol cold turkey and substituted with poppy seed tea. It's been 5 days now and no adverse side effects. Upped my Xanax dose a little and getting off the poppy seeds within the next days and after that I only have the Xanax I will slowly taper.
 
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Just don't rush it all. I really think that rapid benzo tapers and CT can do a lot of long term damage. It seems since I CTd off of a hefty xanax habit I get horrible withdrawals from just about everything now. A good taper will help with PAWs too I think. You really need to be careful. I think benzo buddies has some good info on tapering there. You should at least check out the info they have even if you don't sign up. Be careful, you can die from benzo wd.
 
infectedmushroom said:
I know you want to do this alone but benzo and alcohol detox can be life threatening. You might be driving a car or operating heavy machinery and black out, seize up and hurt yourself or others. That's why anyone here with your best interests in mind will say the same thing over and over again. See a professional.

Sorry but I can't in good conscience give anymore opinions on detox - unless you want to talk about the psychological/emotional side of things.

All the best. <3
Click to expand...
This. You need medical care and supervision for at least a week to do this detox safely. Otherwise you are literally risking your life.
 
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