Benzos Alprazolam taper: how fast is too fast

[rhsptib]

Roughly one year ago, I suffered extreme benzodiazapine withdrawal syndrome. I was hospitalized for ~7 days, had extreme hallucinations and mania, and remember very little. I was in restraints in the psychiatric ER for the majority of my hospital stint. Long story short, I had great doctors and recovered complete neurological function. I was lucky.

Unfortunately, I came across 60mg of alprazolam and ate 2 - 3mg per day for about two weeks. After this small binge, for the past 3 - 4 days, I attempted a poor-man's taper, taking .5mg - 1mg of alprazolam. At this point, I only have 1mg left at this point with no access to any other benzodiazapine.

1) Is two - three weeks of <=3mg of alprazolam enough to cause another spell of withdrawal?
2) Should I take .25mg for the next 4 days?
3) If not, what do you guys suggest?

I am looking for any information, thanks in advance.

 

[FlawedByDesign]

2-3mgs a day for two weeks shouldn't cause significant withdrawal but just in case I would take the .25 for the next four days with 400mgs of tagament taken an hour before each dose to increase the half life.

 

[rhsptib]

Thanks, I had forgotten that cimetidine could increase the potency as well as the half life. I will do that.

 

[DrugOmen]

i would honestyly try to save it or atleast save half of it incase you really really need it, but you should prob be fine.

 

[Gyrospeck]

You should be fine. I would save it for if you really need it. Taking more preemptively will likely just prolong the withdrawal.

That being said, if you start to feel a panic attack coming on, don't hesitate to take .5mg and start over the next day. If you can make it a little longer with each dose, it should get easier.

 

[RTrain]

Any thoughts of the option to get some diazepam from a Dr, like 10x or 15x-5 mg and just taper with those. Easing off with those would be easier I presume. I am in a somewhat similar situation, same drug, longer use(~50 days), but only .5-1.5 mg a day. Of course I am transitioning from H to subs right now so the alpraz has helped me sleep and make time pass, but after I am stopping the alpraz after I start feeling decent. Just wonder how bad the w/d from the alpraz will be. I stopped using clonazepam when I wasusing it for about thatlong, around .5-2 mg every 2-3 days. That wasn't bad, so hopefully this isn't too bad either.

 

[rhsptib]

Any thoughts of the option to get some diazepam from a Dr, like 10x or 15x-5 mg and just taper with those. Easing off with those would be easier I presume. I am in a somewhat similar situation, same drug, longer use(~50 days), but only .5-1.5 mg a day. Of course I am transitioning from H to subs right now so the alpraz has helped me sleep and make time pass, but after I am stopping the alpraz after I start feeling decent. Just wonder how bad the w/d from the alpraz will be. I stopped using clonazepam when I wasusing it for about thatlong, around .5-2 mg every 2-3 days. That wasn't bad, so hopefully this isn't too bad either.

It is difficult for someone with my history to convince a doctor to prescribe any benzo at all, but I will keep that in mind if I ever dance with the Devil again. Thank you for the advice; I totally agree, the half life of diazepam is much more effective for tapering.

 

[rhsptib]

Update: My taper went fine and I experienced minimal withdrawal, just the typical doom-and-gloom feelings and a bit of hypertension and insomnia. Still, no severe hallucinations or seizures. Thanks for the help and comforting words, everyone.