• BASIC DRUG
    DISCUSSION
    Welcome to Bluelight!
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Benzo Chart Opioids Chart
    Drug Terms Need Help??
    Drugs 101 Brain & Addiction
    Tired of your habit? Struggling to cope?
    Want to regain control or get sober?
    Visit our Recovery Support Forums
  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards

Alprazolam withdrawal issue- in PAIN !!!

W

wsb123

Greenlighter
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Messages
8
Dear Friends,

I am new in here :)

I have bee taking Alprazolam-AKA XANAX (0.5mg X 2=1mg daily) for 4 months due to a bruxism case triggered by Escitalopram 10mg. While it did help ease my tension headaches it didn’t do much for bruxism.
So I have decided to taper off the tablet by cutting a bit off and now I have come down to ¾ but I feel so down, jaw and teeth pains, and a side of my body hurts specially when coughing and heavy breathing .Not to mention my mood, it down I tend of think of the past and lost loved ones-just feel sad and weak and feel depersonalized. Motivation has taken a down turn.
Can some help me over come these withdrawal symptoms? - is there another drug that can be used to counter the withdrawal effects?- what’s the best way to taper off given that I have taken it for 4 months daily. (also cutting tablels is no fun)

Thank you,
WSB
 
Best way to come off xanax is to switch to a lnger acting benzo first, like klonopin or valium, (klonopin is best) . Since the half life on klonopin is so much longer than with xanax, you wont feel such a drastic "crash" . If you are able to switch over, take an equivalent dose and slowly taper off the klonopin . It is MUCH easier that way .
 
I have been thru horrid benzo withdrawal, and I'm going thru it right now since it's too early to get a refill on my clonazepam. Luckily your dose is rather low and you haven't been on them for yours. That said, it still won't be painless. Really the only effective and safe way to get off of benzodiazepines is to taper. Preferably with a longer acting benzo such as valium (diazepam) or klonopin(clonazepam) would work too.

Using xanax to taper is hard to do, due to its short half life, there are too many peaks and troughs to your plasma concentrations of the drugs. If you use a longer acting benzo, you can keep your levels stable and slowly decrease it and a steady level. If you are taking them from a rpescription, from your doctor, your best bet is to talk to him, tell him you want to get off them by switching to valium and slowly tapering.

Alternatively, look up the "Ashton Manual", which is basically the 'go-to' guide when it comes to benzos and tapering and withdrawals.

Stay strong, good luck!
 
nsauce said:
Best way to come off xanax is to switch to a lnger acting benzo first, like klonopin or valium, (klonopin is best) . Since the half life on klonopin is so much longer than with xanax, you wont feel such a drastic "crash" . If you are able to switch over, take an equivalent dose and slowly taper off the klonopin . It is MUCH easier that way .
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot but can you please explain the logic behind me swapping to colonazapam? - you reckon the swap wont give you any withdrwal issues?

and also the half life part, can you explain as to how i could benifit...thanks a lot
 
can one fo you friends tell me whats the equalant of 1MG (bd) alprazolam to clonazapam since it was suggested that i should swap before tapering starts.....thanks heaps
 
You can find links to conversion charts in my signature below. They are equipotent though.
(1mg clonazepam = 1mg alprazolam.)
 
GABAergics like pregabalin and gabapentin can help with some of the more unpleasant effects of benzo withdrawal according to anecdotal evidence.

I personally never had access to them in my time of need, so I can't vouch on their efficacy, but it makes enough to sense to conclude they would indeed help quite a bit. (especially pregabalin IMO, but gabapentin would get the job done.)

I wouldn't expect them to perform miracles per se, but it will certainly take the edge off so to speak.

More reading:

Gabapentin Megathread & FAQ (relevant terms highlighted)
 
I don't have experience with Lyrica (pregabalin), though I have been scripted gabapentin at 1200mg/day for many years now. When I run out of klonopin early it certainly helps take the edge off and prevent seizures. I raise my dose up a bit, though, but its efficacy is superb.
 
Go to the store & first consult your Doctor about Valerian root. This is what benzo's are made from but is much less potent. Ive been on anywhere from 16mg of xanax 16 mg of ativan, 16mg klonapin, 90mg temazepam as well as a lot of valium when i was younger. At any given time i'd be mixing two to four of the mentioned, like i said i was dumb & young. Years later im on .25mg 3x a day of xanax & klonapin .5s x2 a day, baby doses & marinol. Anyway, you will experience pain during this transition, it is 100% worth it to not be a slave to pills tho. It may be best when your quittin to take say one's daily dose, put it in water & takke one drop out the first day & drinnk. Second day 2, third three, fourth four, etc. for 30days as a transitional phase too. Most people have to deal with the withdrawal for a month or less, given your not on 2mgs or anything it should be fairly easy.
 
As already stated, switching to Clonazepam or Diazepam will be your best option for saving yourself some grief. It is VERY hard to taper properly using short acting benzos like Alprazolam or Lorazepam. You are on 1mg Xanax? So switch over to 1mg Clonazepam or 15mg Diazepam (technically 20mg is usually quoted as the equivalent, but I feel for tapering purposes and the fact that Diazepam really builds up in your system, that 15mg to start with is probably better, maybe 20mg the very first day but then 15mg after that). After 5-7 days of adjusting to the new benzo you can start to slowly reduce your dose. When I was on Clonazepam for 3 months it took me 1 month to taper off (I was on 1mg, like you are). You can take the first few decreases quicker, and slow down as you're getting closer to cold turkey. Say drop to .75mg the first week, .5mg the second week, .375mg, .25mg, .125mg, cold turkey. You can safely decrease this to 5 day intervals, or even 2 or 3 depending on how quickly you want to be off, or how many withdrawal symptoms you are willing to endure. You will find that after each decrease, you start to feel some anxiety in the few hours before your next dose, but the next dose will kill it entirely for several hours and then it starts to build up again. Best to split your dose to morning and evening and always take it around the same time. After 2-3 days you should adjust to the new dose and then the rest of the week/interval shall be fairly comfortable until the next decrease. This is based on my experience of tapering benzos.
 
if i change over to clonazapam 1mg will there be any side effects?- or would it be normal and smooth?- thanks a lot guys.....
 
You are going from 0.5mg Xanax 2x daily, right? The only thing I would suggest to be certain you have no side-effects is when you make your switch over to Clonazepam, take your last dose of Xanax as 0.5mg in the morning and then take 0.75mg Clonazepam or maybe even a full 1mg Clonazepam in the evening. Then the next morning start on 0.5mg Clonazepam 2x daily. The extra will just give you a bit of a buffer in case your body needs some time to adjust to Clonazepam, for example it is less sedating/hypnotic than Alprazolam, so if you only take 0.5mg Clonazepam that evening you may find it difficult to sleep, but the nice thing about Clonazepam is with its long half-life you should find you sleep longer and when you wake up in the morning you should be feeling much nicer than the past few months (personally if I was dependent on Xanax I would find by the 12 hour mark I am QUITE ready for my next dose, if not feeling a bit nasty already, Xanax is best taken 3x a day IMO, once shortly after waking up, once mid-day and once in the evening close to bed time). All in all though the side-effects of switching benzos should be minimal so long as you are taking fairly close to approximate doses, which you will be doing.
 
vortex30 said:
You are going from 0.5mg Xanax 2x daily, right? The only thing I would suggest to be certain you have no side-effects is when you make your switch over to Clonazepam, take your last dose of Xanax as 0.5mg in the morning and then take 0.75mg Clonazepam or maybe even a full 1mg Clonazepam in the evening. Then the next morning start on 0.5mg Clonazepam 2x daily. The extra will just give you a bit of a buffer in case your body needs some time to adjust to Clonazepam, for example it is less sedating/hypnotic than Alprazolam, so if you only take 0.5mg Clonazepam that evening you may find it difficult to sleep, but the nice thing about Clonazepam is with its long half-life you should find you sleep longer and when you wake up in the morning you should be feeling much nicer than the past few months (personally if I was dependent on Xanax I would find by the 12 hour mark I am QUITE ready for my next dose, if not feeling a bit nasty already, Xanax is best taken 3x a day IMO, once shortly after waking up, once mid-day and once in the evening close to bed time). All in all though the side-effects of switching benzos should be minimal so long as you are taking fairly close to approximate doses, which you will be doing.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the info. By any change, did you feel really down (ie sad ahd shitty) ajd jave jaw/teeth pain during the taper period?
 
It's quite common to feel depressed/shitty/down during the taper. Your body is constantly adjusting to a lower and lower dose, so it can be a little taxing on the emotions and such. Luckily, it isn't nearly as bad as what comes with full-blown withdrawal. It gets a little easier and a little better gradually as time moves on.
 
vortex30 said:
You are going from 0.5mg Xanax 2x daily, right? The only thing I would suggest to be certain you have no side-effects is when you make your switch over to Clonazepam, take your last dose of Xanax as 0.5mg in the morning and then take 0.75mg Clonazepam or maybe even a full 1mg Clonazepam in the evening. Then the next morning start on 0.5mg Clonazepam 2x daily. The extra will just give you a bit of a buffer in case your body needs some time to adjust to Clonazepam, for example it is less sedating/hypnotic than Alprazolam, so if you only take 0.5mg Clonazepam that evening you may find it difficult to sleep, but the nice thing about Clonazepam is with its long half-life you should find you sleep longer and when you wake up in the morning you should be feeling much nicer than the past few months (personally if I was dependent on Xanax I would find by the 12 hour mark I am QUITE ready for my next dose, if not feeling a bit nasty already, Xanax is best taken 3x a day IMO, once shortly after waking up, once mid-day and once in the evening close to bed time). All in all though the side-effects of switching benzos should be minimal so long as you are taking fairly close to approximate doses, which you will be doing.
Click to expand...

Clonazepam is IME much more sedative/hypnotic than alprazolam. I've been addicted to alprazolam, and it was the least sedative benzo I've used. Clonazepam is also a much stronger anticonvulsant than alprazolam. The problem with alprazolam was you had to take it 3-4 times a day. The WD symptoms kick in very fast, due to the short half-life.

wsb123 said:
if i change over to clonazapam 1mg will there be any side effects?- or would it be normal and smooth?- thanks a lot guys.....
Click to expand...

Clonazepam will take you into its arms and you won't notice much difference other than that you might feel more relaxed. Clonazepam has much stronger muscle relaxant and anticonvulsant properties than alprazolam. It's even used as an anti-epileptic medicine because of its anticonvulsive properties. While being a benzo addict is no fun, I prefer clonazepam over all others. It's long half-life means you don't get withdrawal symptoms a few hours after missing a dose like on alprazolam. Sometimes I miss a dose and when I go to sleep I just realize, "oh, I didnt' take my afternoon dose" (and then I just go to sleep, missing a dose on clonazepam is not a disaster).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top