TL;DR - Will a psychiatrist/addiction counselor be willing to prescribe xanax(an ensuingly valium) to someone who has been self medicating on xanax, thus taking them w/o a prescription? Also factoring in that I am currently being treated for opioid addiction with Suboxone, could that be a cog in the chance of that, I;ve considered just no mentioning the Subs in case it derails any chance a Dr would help Rx a taper plan for me.
I am currently on Suboxone and also addicted to a pretty large amount of Xanax(alprazolam). The Sub is Rx'd and the Dr there knows I use the benzo, but I play it off like I take it only on rare occasions(did that because scared she would deny me the Subs, now just sticking with that lie). In fact I am taking around 6-8 mg/day, sometimes more. I had been steadily in the 2-3 mg/range for around 3 years - up til now - taking 1 mg 3x a day. Pretty much what happened was, while I was stabilizing on Subs, I was having a rough go of life for other reasons, on top of starting the Subs. I just kept taking heavy doses of the xanax because I couldn't deal with it, like 1 or 2 bars at a time (which I need to get noticeable relief from the it). I ended up doing that for too long and now it's been about 3 months that I've been on Subs (which is good) but also turned a bad xanax addiction into a monster.
I just don't know what to do about getting off, or at least dropping the dose significantly and switching to a less volatile benzo, if I must be on one (clonazepam, valium or even ativan would all seem to be easier and more practical benzos to use if I am in a position where I need one). Here is what I see as the major issue & maybe someone can help with experience or knowledge of what to do:
The xanax is not only off label, but they're counterfeit, which means there is no doubt more or less alprazolam per pill than a real xanax. So I don't even know what I am taking in terms of dose, I just assume it's at least 6 and probably more like 8mg a day. I want to see an addiction counselor/psych-doc that would help prescribe me a legitimate xanax script and help me taper over the course of at least 6 months, or even a year considering the dose I am at. But will any addiction docs in the US even do that for me(especially considering I am on Sub treatment)? I know the Ashton Manual taper guide is the gold standard for getting off benzos, especially xanax. I just can't do it with counterfeit pills that I don't have a definitive dose and also I have no means to get a better tapering drug like valium or clonazepam to slowly incorporate into the taper like the Ashton taper suggests.
I am currently on Suboxone and also addicted to a pretty large amount of Xanax(alprazolam). The Sub is Rx'd and the Dr there knows I use the benzo, but I play it off like I take it only on rare occasions(did that because scared she would deny me the Subs, now just sticking with that lie). In fact I am taking around 6-8 mg/day, sometimes more. I had been steadily in the 2-3 mg/range for around 3 years - up til now - taking 1 mg 3x a day. Pretty much what happened was, while I was stabilizing on Subs, I was having a rough go of life for other reasons, on top of starting the Subs. I just kept taking heavy doses of the xanax because I couldn't deal with it, like 1 or 2 bars at a time (which I need to get noticeable relief from the it). I ended up doing that for too long and now it's been about 3 months that I've been on Subs (which is good) but also turned a bad xanax addiction into a monster.
I just don't know what to do about getting off, or at least dropping the dose significantly and switching to a less volatile benzo, if I must be on one (clonazepam, valium or even ativan would all seem to be easier and more practical benzos to use if I am in a position where I need one). Here is what I see as the major issue & maybe someone can help with experience or knowledge of what to do:
The xanax is not only off label, but they're counterfeit, which means there is no doubt more or less alprazolam per pill than a real xanax. So I don't even know what I am taking in terms of dose, I just assume it's at least 6 and probably more like 8mg a day. I want to see an addiction counselor/psych-doc that would help prescribe me a legitimate xanax script and help me taper over the course of at least 6 months, or even a year considering the dose I am at. But will any addiction docs in the US even do that for me(especially considering I am on Sub treatment)? I know the Ashton Manual taper guide is the gold standard for getting off benzos, especially xanax. I just can't do it with counterfeit pills that I don't have a definitive dose and also I have no means to get a better tapering drug like valium or clonazepam to slowly incorporate into the taper like the Ashton taper suggests.
