Xanax wean using Valium?

Has anyone tried a Xanax wean using Valium.. that seems to be the "way to go" according to one site.

Has anyone done a Xanax wean?

Has anyone gone cold turkey off Xanax?

OH, my !!! yes, I did cold turkey off Xanax! I loved Xanax, taking it at night to help relax and go to sleep, but also recognized that I was addicted to it. I decided to go off myself when my prescription ran out for the last time, and had a really hard time, just having to lie in bed and withstand the withdrawal!....tingling and pain in my extremities and severe anxiety.
I just got back from a stressful visit with my mother, and talked to my aunt who said I should have stopped by and gotten a Xanax from her! She has a free supply...how!!! I don't know! Thinking of asking her who her doc is who supplies this so freely! But then remembering how addicted I was, maybe not a good idea...Just bite the bullet!
Love
Patty

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freewill said:
Has anyone tried a Xanax wean using Valium.. that seems to be the "way to go" according to one site.

Has anyone done a Xanax wean?

Has anyone gone cold turkey off Xanax?

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Cold turkey is definitely not recommended! The reason for that is you could end up having seizures! Any withdrawal from a benzodiazepine should be done gradually especially if the drug has been taken for more than a few weeks and regularly in any significant amount.

Not only are you asking for possible seizures, C/T withdrawal can be extremely difficult with many many symptoms. Look up Heather Ashton and benzo withdrawal and you will find out all you need to know.......the method of replacing xanax with valium is the "Ashton" method, where you do a gradual crossover to valium and decrease dosage slowly from that. Since valium has a much longer half-life it is supposed to be smoother and easier to withdraw from.

Please don't go cold turkey; no doctor who knows anything about benzodiazepines recommends it.

Someone who did a very slow taper from Xanax to valium, then off of valium, and wrote a book about it is Jack Hobson-Dupont. The title is The Benzo Book and I found it on Amazon.com. It is full of information about what he went through, including hints on how to find a doctor to prescribe the quantity of valium needed. He used Professor C. Heather Ashton's method and gives sources to help in finding that.

For myself, I tapered off ativan without having to use valium, just kept cutting the tablets smaller and spending at least a week at each size. I don't know how this might work for Xanax. Every one could have a different reaction.

As said, never abruptly stop any of these meds. Xanax is less addictive than valium and so it could be used to wean off valium.
To get off any of the benzo types it's usually 10% reduction / week if you've been on high doses or for an extensive time, that still has to be tailored to you as an individual. It's better to wean off ONE slowly, at your own pace, rather than add another.

I have heard of Klonopin being used to wean off other benzos... because it is apparently less addictive. Did your doc suggest that? Going cold turkey seems kind of drastic and dangerous. I hope you find a safe way to wean off. Good luck.

Btw, I have been on Klonopin off and on for quite a few years and have never found it addictive... so, for me at least, the claims of low potential for addiction to it have been true.

All benzos are equally addictive. They will sometimes taper off a shorter acting benzo, like Ativan using a longer-acting tranquilizer like Librium.

Any benzo titration should be monitored by a physician who knows specifically about benzo withdrawal!!

Take care,
Okie

Thanks all... me thinks this is going a be a challenge... and my pdoc.. doesn't understand the w/d from Xanax or Paxil..

I want to try a different AD.. but so far.. not good...

I have a question...Why are you going off of it? Doctor recommending this to you? Do you have anxiety still?

Pdoc and T want me on it.. but I thought I should go off of it..

I don't know.. exactly what to do..

I think I know how you feel. I go off ativan every once in awhile just to prove that I can. It's not good to feel that I might be addicted. But, I taper off slowly, never cold turkey.