Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted October 28, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted October 28, 2012 20mg Lexapro is a very high dose, equivalent to 60mg Celexa or Paxil. What are the symptoms you think are due to the Xanax? How's your blood pressure? My blood pressure is generally low. I see a GP ...woman.. once / yr for an annual checkup. She suggested to me 2 years ago she would be more comfortable to switch to klonipen (sp) or some other longer acting benzo... I ran that by my psyc. .. he nixed it. He has managed my "drugs" all these years... not my GP although she is aware of my drug history. I've always been honest about it. I see my gp in a couple of weeks for my annual.... any questions you think I should ask her? I have blood work done every year. .. cholesterol it is always borderline but , electrolytes good etc etc so is everything else. I rarely get sick. I attribute that to an adoring husband who puts up with his generally lazy wife and who is an amazing cook of healthy content. Of course he likes to EAT! I would probably eat out of a can ( and have) if left alone. I upped my dose of lexapro without any doctor approval last sept ( 9/11) . I had been cutting 20 mg tablets in half since 2003... saved money. Things really got tough at work a year ago thus my own diagnosis and up in dose ( regalgfretizenacvebtla!!!). I saw my GP two months later and I don't recall the nurse noticing a change in BP from a year earlier when I was on 10 mg. So I'll check the trend of my blood pressure when I see my GP in a couple of weeks for my annual. The symptoms from xanax? Lethargy. Plain and simple. An interesting note however. As I described before somewhere on this forum... this past summer was unusual and it was also the first summer since my up in lex. . This past summer was the first summer in which I never fully "recovered" from school year suckage to enjoy walking,having energy to do enjoy doing household stuff I'd put off etc etc. I blamed that on the situation of having been moved to another building but in the back of my mind I questioned that logic. In reality I was relieved to have gotten out of the situation I was in and besides, I was (am) going to retire... so what the heck was my PROBLEM?? Why did I feel like such CRAP? It was very, very frustrating for me and for my family. That's when I began to I suspect that the drugs were no longer working and were hurting me. It wasn't until the beginning of August that I began to feel a bit better but the new school year was right around he corner by then. Then the near melt down end of August when I anticipated the "new" job. I hadn't changed any medication dosage but man, my emotions were right on top. I cried vey easily ( VERY unusual for me. My emotions were NUMBED for many years) I THINK I was experiencing xanax WD ( interdose) but that is just a guess. That lex uptick was in the mix too. I was in a serious mess. In deep trouble emotionally. I was very, very close to having to go out on LTD but managed to hold it together. I still am going out on health leave in dec.which technically is diff. than LTD> Don't anybody ask me about those details. I will not respond. I need to get this all under control.... for my own sake not for the f@cking job. Screw it. I' One of the reasons I am currently antsy about increasing the taper is because I AM working and so have a great distraction in terms of tolerating and not perseverating on WD symptoms. A good example is when I dropped from 25 mg lex to 24 mg ( by weight) I had symptoms but I barely had time to think about them and in a week they were gone. Same with going to dosing the xanax 4 xs per day. I had mid morning trouble but worked through it without feeling sorry for myself. I mean the whole "Oh me oh my" attitude can get a grip on me if I am at home ( like starting mid- december !!) and I hate it. If I could get to "Oh me oh..." I'm just that much further ahead in feeling empowered to get better. Do you understand that? Do you get it? Ask away.... I'm ready for help.. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted October 31, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted October 31, 2012 Not the best day with the 6 hr. dosage. Tough morning from 9:30 - 11:00 am ( second daily dosage of xanax.) but I forgot my lunch yesterday and so only had a a yogurt between my morning bowl of cereal and a huge supper last night.... so am wondering if the amt. of food in my stomach somehow messed with the 5pm dose last nigt, then 11 pm dose then 5:30 am ( was a little late ... should have been 5 am ) doses. I can't think of any other reason I would have been particularly shaky this morning. Wasn't extra stressful either. A little frustrating results. I'm going to wait a few days more with the strict 6 hr. dosing and if I don't get more consistent results with no WD symptoms I may go to every 4 hrs. Thinking 6 hours may be too long. I'm just not leveling out the way I need to be. STILL feel better than the way I WAS dosing though! Wait and see I guess, Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted October 31, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted October 31, 2012 Better day. No midmorning problems. A little shakier just before my 5 pm dose though. First time that happened. I'm not sure if my brain cells/ receptors/ whatever are complaining/ adjusting to the leveling out of the blood serum levels of xanax or what. It doesn't really matter. Even though I am tired ( just from the constant planning/ multi tasking at work) Im not experiencing debilitating exhaustion thus have more stamina.... I really think a more consistent , spread out dose is helping with my overall attitude & functionality. Will still wait until I feel more confident about the 4X dosing before changing anything. ps. I CANNOT BELIEVE my doc never asked about my dosing schedule!!!! Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus tezza Posted November 1, 2012 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 1, 2012 Hi areyouthere, I wanted to stop by your thread. I read some of it while I was on vacation. Sounds like you have a very understanding husband also. That means a lot while on this journey of tapering. I was on 3 mg of Xanax and my doctor never inquired about my dosing schedule either. I'm down to one at bedtime now and probably won't work on that until after I get off Risperdal and remeron. I do occasionally, but rarely take a half during the day. When you first joined us, I could hardly believe someone was put on 4mg! I thought I was on a very high dose. Thank you for your kind words on my thread. Love, Tezza http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1644-tezza-risperdal-withdrawal/ Seroquel and Mirtazipine Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted November 2, 2012 Administrator Share Posted November 2, 2012 areyouthere, good to hear you're getting evened out. It's possible the increased Lexapro is adding to your anxiety and lethargy. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted November 2, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 2, 2012 areyouthere, good to hear you're getting evened out. It's possible the increased Lexapro is adding to your anxiety and lethargy. Alto... good to hear from you. I have absolutely no doubt about that. I have decided to focus on getting to 3 mg xanax QID then hitting the lex to see how that goes. I welcome alternative advice. But as of now and because of the power of lex that is my plan. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted November 23, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 23, 2012 Copied and pasted from the Benzo forum: I My progress: Between the first tme I posted and this morning quite a bit has happened. First and foremost I would like to note that patience is a virtue in this tapering endeavor. By that I mean that at least for me I have had to stay the course and not panic when I began to feel what I now know was inter ( or is that "intra" ) dose withdrawal when I began to try to spread out my doses to every 6 hours and then to every 4 hours.,..... eventually settling on every 4 hours with an 8 hour nightly break for sleep. This is one of the reasons I'm posting. I want to know your thoughts on my curent dosing schedule and it's implications for future tapering..... The first weeK: Going to every 6 hours was a challenge starting immediately but those challenges ended quickly but were scary especially after having dosed irregularly for 20 some years. It was within a day ( I started on a Friday evening) that I experienced my first real, all- body or half a body twitch or jerk. It really only happened once but it was pretty startling. There were other initial symptoms including hand tremors but thy settled during that first week. A couple of times I had to "cheat " with just a hint of xanax powder to get me to the next dose ( between 5 am and 11 am ) and by the end of that week didn't need it. Going to this dosing schedule meant being woken up at 11 pm. to take a dose. It went pretty well, my husband woke me up and I always was able to fall back asleep. I felt better than I had in a long, long, long time and so continued the every 6 hrs to nail it down into the second week: During this second week the scheduling settled in but I still felt a bit of interdose WD , again between the am doses and since I am working did not like that feeling. In addition, I felt as if my body was asking for even blood levels.... I felt so good! So. I thought I would give every 4 hrs. a try. Since my husband was going to be gone ( deer hunting) and so I couldn't depend on him to wake me, I bought a second alarm clock and also in preparation had to make up a solution of .66 mg xanax/ ml liquid. I used Ora Plus. It was not difficult. I mixed up enough last weekend to get me through last week. This transition was more difficult than the every 6 hours. Not because of daily intra dose WD ( that actually was resolved starting with a tiny bit of ID wd progressing within DAYS to almost forgetting to dose at 5 am then 9 am then 1 pm dose rather than 5 am & 11 am) but because of insomnia at night. I had two nights with only 5 hours sleep total... very, very unusual for me and I was concerned about how I would cope during the day but it actually was fine. But I know from past experience that being "fine" with little sleep at night and working in the day was temporary so I had to re think my dosing. I tried several things last week ... taking .66 mg at 5pm, .33 at 7pm and .33 at 9 and setting the alarm for 1 am. Didn't work. I woke up at 11 pm wide awake... ( I think during this transition I experineced some of that cortisol surges I've read about). I found myself a little panicky at this change in the middle of the night but I breathed trough it , calmed the demons and managed to fall asleep until THE ALARM hours later. I had an idea.... Since interdose wd was NOT a problem after a 5 pm dose and since FALLING asleep has never been a problem.... and since with every 4 hrs , when my husband got home he would have to deal with a 1 am wake- up alarm MAYBE I could manage to sleep all night. Remember... I had 4 mg to diddle with and I was well aware that I DID NOT want to exceed this. I tried .66, .66, .66, .66 ( 5pm) and then .33 + 1 mg around 9pm. Didn't work. I woke up a couple of times to fight the sleepless demons and got 6 hrs sleep. Next night ( day ) .66 5am, .66 9am, .66 1 pm, .66 5 pm 1 mg 8:30 pm. Slept until 3 am, took a .33 mg dose fell asleep but felt groggy when I woke up and THEN had to take another .66 at 5 am. Next night( th. DAYt) ... .66 ( groggy) 5am .66 9am ( felt fine) .66 1 pm .66 5pm... 1 mg at 8:30 but DID NOT wake up until 4:15 am but that was ok. I got up anyway. Friday night ( husband home) Daytime same ( .66, .66, .66, .66, 1 mg 8:30 pm ) slept ALL NIGHT!!! Last night exactly the same.... and if I can maintain this schedule & if you do the math.... this is a 9% drop in my xanax dosing. WOOT!!! I'll reporat back at the end of next week with another update. One of the symptoms that has been persistent during this last 3 week transition is vivid dreams. They intensified with every single initial dosing change enough to be frightening but I have experienced very frightening dreams before , just not so consistently for such a long period ( 3 weeks). These dreams are very intense, make no sense and are so wacky that I don't even try to interpret them because I seriously think that they have no basis in reality. They are just my brain's electrical outlet I think. Even in my dreams I find my logical brain thinking "hmmm. totally f@cked up dream. I wonder who is going to show up and what is going to happen next? If I look at it like night time entertainment it does not frighten me ( too much!).! Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted November 23, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 23, 2012 Copied and pasted benzo forum 2: Same dosing schedule but .627 mg every four hours and 1 mg at night. Has gone very smoothly...little inter dose WD and some insomnia/intermittent sleep but improving. Advised to hold for a month. And will. If all goes well this will be a drop from 4 mg to 3.5 mg. I feel very good about that. And more importantly I overall feel so much better with the even dosing. I would recommend that ora plus to anyone having to make a liquid. Yes it's around $22.00 a bottle ( 16oz on Amazon) but it will keep it's suspension qualities diluted up to 50 % with water & it is easy to work with. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted November 23, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 23, 2012 Copied pated benzo forum 3: Same dosing schedule but .627 mg every four hours and 1 mg at night. Has gone very smoothly...little inter dose WD and some insomnia/intermittent sleep but improving. Advised to hold for a month. And will. If all goes well this will be a drop from 4 mg to 3.5 mg. I feel very good about that. And more importantly I overall feel so much better with the even dosing. I would recommend that ora plus to anyone having to make a liquid. Yes it's around $22.00 a bottle ( 16oz on Amazon) but it will keep it's suspension qualities diluted up to 50 % with water & it is easy to work with. Glad to hear you've found an even dosing schedule that's working for you. Getting those blood levels evened out should help--as you've already noticed it's nice to be free of those intermittent panic spells that come from the interdose withdrawal, and just feel smoother. I started a new work schedule in mid October which has made it more difficult for me to get onto the boards. Hence my absence. Hopefully I'll get it worked out and at least be able to check in every other week or so. At this point I would encourage you to remember the lessons you've been learning about patience, and to hold off beginning your Xanax taper for a bit longer. Although you're feeling pretty good now, the effects of changes in benzo doses have a lag time and can be felt for many weeks after. So you're not actually in stable homeostasis yet. I'd recommend giving it another four weeks or more, possibly tweaking as necessary, before considering a cut in total dosage. Are you also tapering Lexapro? I also think that 4 mg to 3.5 mg is a rather ambitious cut. Personally I recommend going with UNDER-ambition rather than OVER-ambition with psych med tapers. It's taken me a couple of years to get to that conclusion, but what I observe is that it's much easier to start small and then, while you're still stable and doing well, very gradually increase your taper rate until you reach the point where withdrawal symptoms become problematic, and then try to stay just under that point. OVER-ambition, what tends to happen is people cut too much too fast, hit the wall, get sick, become unable to think very clearly, make poor decisions about their dosing, get sicker, things spiral quickly out of control, and it can take months to get back to the place they started from, stable and ready to taper. With benzos, once the taper spirals out of control, it can sometimes be very difficult or impossible to restabilize without an extremely long hold. Sometimes even an extremely long hold doesn't work. You really don't want to end up there. So I'd recommend that you summon up as much patience as you can, wait a while before cutting (give your nervous system time to really fully adapt to your current regimen)--then start with cutting no more than 0.25 the first time around, holding for at least four weeks. I highly recommend keeping a daily journal of your doses, times taken, and ranking your withdrawal symptoms on a numerical scale. These drugs, and the withdrawal from them, screw up our ability to observe and also seem to mess with our subjective memory. It helps a lot to have a record to look back on. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted November 23, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 23, 2012 Last week's dosing: 5 am .627mh 9 am .627mg ( took a 1 hr " good" nap ( Thanksgiving Day) waking refreshed) 1 pm .627 mg 5 pm .627....... NO interdose WD during the day AT work and while at home ( weekend/ Thanksgiving vaca. ) NO inerdose WD in the evenings either ( ever). fell asleep around 9 pm without a 1 mg dose woke up sometime ? Took the 1 mg dose slept all night until 5:30 am. Last night was the second in a row of a full night's sleep since making the cut from .66 mg to .627 mg every 4 hours/ 1 mg at night. note 1: Overall feelings since cut to .627 mg? Level mood with some exceptions.... haven't documented when nor contemplated why..... just accept it for now. note 2: becoming aware of what "sleep maintenance " means. Strategy #1.... no computer in bed in the evenings for the last two nights. A correlation to the same two nights with a full night's sleep? inconclusive but will TRY to stick with no c. in bed. sigh.... Will heed advice...... no change in total mg dosing until AFTER CHRISTMAS OR LONGER. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Skyler Posted November 23, 2012 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 23, 2012 Last week's dosing: 5 am .627mh 9 am .627mg ( took a 1 hr " good" nap ( Thanksgiving Day) waking refreshed) 1 pm .627 mg 5 pm .627....... NO interdose WD during the day AT work and while at home ( weekend/ Thanksgiving vaca. ) note 2: becoming aware of what "sleep maintenance " means. Strategy #1.... no computer in bed in the evenings for the last two nights. A correlation to the same two nights with a full night's sleep? inconclusive but will TRY to stick with no c. in bed. sigh.... Hello AU, I have trouble following your dosing... what is your total for the day. 4 x .627 is 2.5 mgs. down to 4 mgs Xanax would be a very aggressive reduction even when over the course of several weeks. Are you taking .627 QID, not q4h, though you do mention q4h... it really helps to have the total daily dose at the end of your breakdown. For sleep... you should be using good 'sleep hygiene' every night. How about doing a Google to search this term and identify more factors that may be disrupting your schedule? As always, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! A proud supporter of the 10% (or slower) rule. Requip - 3/16 ZERO Total time on 25 years. Lyrica: 8/15 ZERO Total time on 7 or 8 yrs.BENZO FREE 10/13 (started tapering 7/10) Total time on 25 years. Read my intro thread here, and check the about me section. "No matter how cynical you get, it's almost impossible to keep up." Lily Tomlin Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted November 23, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 23, 2012 Last week's dosing: 5 am .627mh 9 am .627mg ( took a 1 hr " good" nap ( Thanksgiving Day) waking refreshed) 1 pm .627 mg 5 pm .627....... NO interdose WD during the day AT work and while at home ( weekend/ Thanksgiving vaca. ) 1 mg bedtime note 2: becoming aware of what "sleep maintenance " means. Strategy #1.... no computer in bed in the evenings for the last two nights. A correlation to the same two nights with a full night's sleep? inconclusive but will TRY to stick with no c. in bed. sigh.... Hello AU, I have trouble following your dosing... what is your total for the day. 4 x .627 is 2.5 mgs. down to 4 mgs Xanax would be a very aggressive reduction even when over the course of several weeks. Are you taking .627 QID, not q4h, though you do mention q4h... it really helps to have the total daily dose at the end of your breakdown. For sleep... you should be using good 'sleep hygiene' every night. How about doing a Google to search this term and identify more factors that may be disrupting your schedule? I forgot the 1 mg at bed time. so .627 mg x 4 = 2.508 + 1 mg = 3.508 mg per day. Schyler this is the same dosage I pm'ed you last week. This is the dose I will maintain until at least Christmas...likely later. Yes, I've been looking at sleep hygiene on line and have learned quite a bit. I have many tools at my disposal ( light box, epsom salts, amber glasses etc) just need to become educated on the matter. Thanks for asking for clarification and lending a helpful hand! Much appreciated! Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted November 29, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted November 29, 2012 I am close to beginning the 4th week of the same dosage of xanax from my last 5 % cut and have good news to report.: I am sleeping through the night . The vivid dreams are gone. These have been the most bothersome WD symptoms. It took quite some time for everything to settle down but the wait and patience is definitely worth it. I'm back to normal on a still high dose of CRAP but I know I ( and my brain-pal) can do it. It will just have to be a crawl and I m ok with that. I'll just buy knee pads!!!!! Hold now for at least a month on this same dose.... RU Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 8, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 8, 2012 Hi.... just copying and pasting.. Ten things off the top of my head, this is going to be difficult. (1) I use a lot of acronyms to help engage positive thought ---F.A.C. feelings are challenges etc (2)Try and spend some time meditating though I do find it difficult. (3) Looking to an open ended attitude re God, afterlives, reincarnation etc. (4) Collect quotes and try to benefit from them. (4) Attend a gym/spa, ease back, and chat with other participants. (5)Do some writing, including a book, letters to editor etc. (6) Look outdoors for 'smiling clouds' and at natural beauty (free too!) (7) Challenging movies and books (attention to) (8)Work on being more tolerant of people. ..."Hell is other people" Jean Paul Sartre (9) Need to get back into U3A, VOL/work....see 8> problem with mood swings & commitment. (10) Work on the challenges of anxiety and depression turning it into a game of sorts. Also look at linkhere. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 8, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 8, 2012 Well... I told my principal yesterday that I "anticipated going out on health leave after Christmas" and proceeded to break down and bawl. Funny thing...I had put on some face cream yesterday morning that had a small % of acid in it by volume but it had dried out so was rather strong burning my face ;especially around my eyes. So when cried my eyes started to swell up!!! THEN literally minutes later... maybe 30 minutes.... I proceeded to get pretty worked up in a vertical science team meeting and spoke what everyone else has been thinking & saying about class dynamics, expectations including a newly mandated directive from our state to base teacher evaluations partially on student test scores etc etc.... the assistant principal had to stop me. He said "this isn't a bashing session" then proceeded to undo everything I got across by saying "you all knew what you were getting in to when you became teachers". REALLY???? Should have seen the looks between teachers across from one another. Poor f@ckers. I tried. Uh. Yeah. Neuro emotions? Maybe? Think so? Maybe not. Anyway.... so when these two different men got together and relayed to one another this and that about their employee ( me) do you think the district will question my diagnosis and won't grant me subsequent health leave?????? I don't THINK so!!! oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. More. To. Come. RU funny thing..... I am having the most fun with students this year and they are learning and it is because I've known I was getting out since August.. Imagine how much better teachers could teach if they cold operate as if all they had no expectations than that. To simply use their craft to enrich the minds and lives of the students they encounter. I understand that accountability is important but in my career I have run into "bad teachers" few times and we mange to get rid of them. None of us like mediocrity. Which, BTW, is he reason I gave my principal was going out. I told him "I will not be a mediocre teacher and I can no longer perform at the level I know I can and should" cry cry puke puke. It is such a tug of war. I work with amazing people. They are hurting and they are tired. It will be hard to know I leave them in a world of muck. In a way I feel like I'm bailing on both them and myself but at some point I have to take care of myself and that time is now. Sorry about the ramble. Raw emotions today. Good thing I am in a hold and plan to stay there for awhle. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 10, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 10, 2012 More cut & paste: Alex, I posted a "one year of tapering" update on my Intro thread yesterday. Please drop by, I don't get many visitors! I'm holding the taper to get through the holidays. My choice of words for the present thread title was poor. By "when to jump" I simply meant "at what dosage level can one cease tapering and stop taking the drug." 0.01 mg per day? 0.001 mg? Etc. After much deliberation, I've decided that getting off my one remaining psych drug (Lexapro) is going to have to wait. I am unwilling to risk destabilizing this close to the end of my benzo taper by decreasing the Lexapro by any amount. Had I found this site earlier, however, I would have done a staggered (and of course much slower) taper of both the Lex and the clon at the same time. Sparrow Sparrow, I think I understand the question, and it's one that everyone has to ask eventually (if they're successful with tapering, and by the way, congrats for that!) Unfortunately, as you know, there are no rules, everyone is different. I would say from what I've seen with other folks that stopping no higher than 0.5 Valium equivalents works best, and it seems like 0.25 or even 0.1 is even better if you're okay with it. But it depends on how big of cuts you've been making. I think that the size of cut that seems to work for you during your taper is a good indicator of what you can handle as a step-off level. I would say towards the end of a taper make cuts half the size of the ones you've been making regularly, and step off at no higher than the size of the cuts you've been making toward the end. Does that help? Also, do expect and be prepared for an extended period of adjustment after the last dose. It won't be like just another cut. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 16, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 16, 2012 Saw my doc. dat before yesterday after having made the decision to go out and got the note necessary for health leave. He said to me... "you even look younger today" I told him yes, the decision has been a relief. I didn't tell him that I am spreading out my doses of xanax no thanks to him.. but whatev. During our talk he mentioned stories about several teaches he sees from mine and other districts and that he knew just what kind of note I needed. I know many teachers on these drugs. Psychiatric medication/ treatment of teachers is going to be very costly one day. It is not far from around the corner. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted December 16, 2012 Administrator Share Posted December 16, 2012 RUthere, I have great respect for how you're taking care of yourself. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 18, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 18, 2012 Thanks Alto. Note to self: yesterday I was crabby about 2 pm, told my kids so and then noticed it was half an hour past time to ake my xanax dose. I again am feeling very tired. I slept a good part of the weekend. Other than teaching nothing has changed to cause more exhaustion. Also... there is less and less anticipation of taking another dose of the xanax.. not feeling a need to "calm" because I am already "calm" ie tired. What I am beginning to wonder is if this might be my bodie's way of indicating that I have reached homeostasis and it is time to reduce again . I will not reduce , even though I am tempted because I feel I am back where I was a few months ago... TIRED , but will stay the course, wait until after the Holidays. Then, I will slowly move my doses ( stay at 3.5 mg total) to how my husband's and my schedule dictates. Then see where my body is and what it is saying. Right now my husband's and my schedules are not in naural sync. He works late, would like to sleep in until 7 am or so. I go to sleep early, and have to get up around 5am. I will movemy schedule to more mirror his as it is more natural for me anyway .... at least it is during the summer... sunshine is the unknown variable there. Lots of wait and sees in the coming months and we are not in a hurry but the bottom line is that I suspect that once the smoke clears I will be more than ready for another cut in xanax. I do not think that my body wants it anymore... or I should say that it is ok with xanax but eventually my body will respond to it as the drug was designed to illicit and that is.... drowsiness. It is I who no longer welcomes it. Onward ho........... Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 22, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 22, 2012 Quick note.... last day of a 30 plus 1 year career was quite interesting. Seems that facebook, twitter was lit up all day Thursday and Thursday night about kids bringing guns, the end of the world, going out with a bang etc enough so to warrant the police to order a "containment" starting the school day yesterday. It was lifted at noon. I felt perfectly safe... many parents had heard of what was going on Th night and chose to keep their kids home ( I would have been one of those parents) ... I'd say 30 % absent. The most scary part of my day was when I tipped over my second dose of xanax... @uc@ I thought.... it would have to be a day that things were just a tad stressful ... but I managed to salvage most of it but I wonder what someone would have thought had they walked in and I was licking my desk?!! Probably taken me out in hand cuffs..... Well that's it. I'm on leave pending board approval in January. But that is a formality. HR and I ( with my union rep beside me ) have everything in order. There is a part of me, a tiny part, that feels bad that I put them in this position to have to find a long call sub for a position that will be hard to fill , but considering my feelings were on the low end of the totem pole when they moved me from the MS to the HS that feeling is very, very minuscule. I've avoided feeling destructive anger to my psyche regarding the move through talk therapy and surprisingly enough, the move has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I;ll write about that another time. RU ready to start to focus on ME for once! Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Skyler Posted December 22, 2012 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 22, 2012 I managed to salvage most of it but I wonder what someone would have thought had they walked in and I was licking my desk?!! RU ready to start to focus on ME for once! If the person was tapering they would have understood. Been there, done something similar. Sigh....... You are doing GREATTT I'm just waiting to hear how you feel when you are in that place in your world that lets you focus on you... YES! Right on. Merry Christmas RU.. As always, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! A proud supporter of the 10% (or slower) rule. Requip - 3/16 ZERO Total time on 25 years. Lyrica: 8/15 ZERO Total time on 7 or 8 yrs.BENZO FREE 10/13 (started tapering 7/10) Total time on 25 years. Read my intro thread here, and check the about me section. "No matter how cynical you get, it's almost impossible to keep up." Lily Tomlin Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 22, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 22, 2012 You are doing GREATTT I'm just waiting to hear how you feel when you are in that place in your world that lets you focus on you... YES! Right on. Merry Christmas RU.. A sincere "thank you" to you Skyler and all others here, for helping me get to this point. I am fortunate indeed!!! I may have to look up this site with cute icons now! I'll have the time. I'm so relieved. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 23, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 23, 2012 sleep Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 28, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 28, 2012 Well, I made it through the Holidays and noticed a distinct improvement in being able to handle lots of activity , noise and even managed to cook a big breakfast one morning. Physically the only difference from years past is a drop from 4 mg to 3.5 mg xanax and dosing it every 4 hours during my waking hours. Mentally the difference is more significant... I don't have to look forward to revving up again in my profession. I found myself contemplating that part of my self isolation from vacation activity was a selfish desire to keep any free hours I had to myself. I have always known that I need alone time. But the more demanding my job got the more I resented any other scheduled event. There has been just to much to my working life to draw any conclusions though. All of this is very complex. Even though I am a bottom line kind of person who likes to simplify things , I realize that my relationship to these drugs and getting off of them may not be simple. I'm in flux with what direction to go next with my taper with one exception; I know that my first line of business has to be getting the 3.5 mg dosing schedule manipulated so that I stay up later and wake up later. Today I delayed my dosing by one half and hour... or I could say it another way; I waited half an hour to take my first dose upon waking. And then every 4 hours thereafter. I noticed absolutely no interdose withdrawal with the change. I think I will keep pushing ahead by half an hour , slowing down and holding the second I experience interdose WD. My goal being sleeping a solid 8 hours ( I've always needed more sleep than average) and waking naturally around 6:30 m or later. Personally, I think that is a tall order considering I have been falling asleep anywhere between 7-9pm and my sleep has been unpredictable for about a month. Sometimes I sleep all night, but more often than not I'll wake between 1- 3 am, fall back asleep and then wake for the day anywhere between 4:00- 5:40 am. I was on a sleep all night schedule for most of November after the initial month long adjustment period from the drop of .5 mg . But starting in December that started to change. Nothing else changed with the exception of being pretty stressed/ uneasy about the details of taking a leave, whether I should or not, a change in students for the worse I would have to say... more challenging kids , who to notify , how to notify, a doctor's note etc etc. I am HOPING that I can get myself rearranged and stable again on the same dose of everything since October so that I can start to taper SOMETHING!!! I know it depends, but I REALLY want to start to taper the lexapro. But I relize this is a wait and see proposition so that is exactly what I will do.... adjust the dosing scheduling to stability and wait and see. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted December 30, 2012 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 30, 2012 Trying a 4% cut in the Lexapro today. This is only the second cut in Lexapro, the first being 4% in Sept. Wish me luck!!! Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted January 3, 2013 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 3, 2013 Trying a 4% cut in the Lexapro today. This is only the second cut in Lexapro, the first being 4% in Sept. Wish me luck!!! Nausea seems to be the biggest problem. Started yesterday. Yesterday didn't feel great in the morning, today it was the afternoon and evening. None of the other symptoms ( oh .. except headaches that ibuprofen barely touches) but feeling "yucky" is yucky. Yesterday ginger tea seemed to help... today not so much. Maybe I'll get lucky and this will be my only symptom and it won't last much longer... Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted January 4, 2013 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 4, 2013 I would have to say that I am confident that the 4% cut in lexapro is ( will be) successful. My most troublesome symptom has been feeling nauseated. But that is slowly getting better. And headaches, but those were most intense at first and nearly gone already. The best way I can explain the nausea is it feels like morning sickness and treating it similarly like eating saltine crackers, staying away from spicy food, eating small meals, drinking lemon, mint, or ginger tea has helped although none of these made it go away at first. But the headaches & the nausea are getting better and it hasn't even been a week... hope I don't jinx myself! Aside from the med stuff and more related to not going to battle every day in a HS public school: I have been able to take what I can only call "therapeutic" naps the last two days. They feel very healing in nature & when I wake up I don't hurt or ache all over as I did when I was exhausted from work & collapsed & napped. This has been absolutely delightful. So I hope my update serves as some sort of inspiration or learning experience for someone out there.... including myself I guess. 10% cuts are not going to work for me right now because I experience much more intense & uncomfortable symptoms.... so why push it? I'll wait until ALL symptoms ( nausea, headaches & anything else that may pop up) subside and are non existent, will hold for an additional month from that point and then see where I am at..... I LOVE being home so far. I actually baked a banana cake today!!! RU wishing health and healing to all!!!! Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus dalsaan Posted January 4, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 4, 2013 Hi areyouthere Great update. Glad to hear things are going ok for you. I used to get nausea when I dropped too much. For me it was like motion sickness. I took natural motion sickness tablets which are basically ginger but probably more potent than the tea. They worked for me All the best Dalsaan Please note - I am not a medical practitioner and I do not give medical advice. I offer an opinion based on my own experiences, reading and discussion with others.On Effexor for 2 months at the start of 2005. Had extreme insomnia as an adverse reaction. Changed to mirtazapine. Have been trying to get off since mid 2008 with numerous failures including CTs and slow (but not slow enough tapers)Have slow tapered at 10 per cent or less for years. I have liquid mirtazapine made at a compounding chemist. Was on 1.6 ml as at 19 March 2014. Dropped to 1.5 ml 7 June 2014. Dropped to 1.4 in about September. Dropped to 1.3 on 20 December 2014. Dropped to 1.2 in mid Jan 2015. Dropped to 1 ml in late Feb 2015. I think my old medication had run out of puff so I tried 1ml when I got the new stuff and it seems to be going ok. Sleep has been good over the last week (as of 13/3/15). Dropped to 1/2 ml 14/11/15 Fatigue still there as are memory and cognition problems. Sleep is patchy but liveable compared to what it has been in the past. DRUG FREE - as at 1st May 2017 >My intro post is here - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2250-dalsaan Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted January 6, 2013 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 6, 2013 Hi areyouthere Great update. Glad to hear things are going ok for you. I used to get nausea when I dropped too much. For me it was like motion sickness. I took natural motion sickness tablets which are basically ginger but probably more potent than the tea. They worked for me All the best Dalsaan Thanks Dalsaan! Nausea is fine now.... but I think motion sickness tablets are a good thing for my tool box. Note to self: Interesting discussion Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted January 14, 2013 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 14, 2013 Today marks the 2nd week with no nausea from the lex cut three weeks ago today. IOW I had one week of nausea that progressively got better through out that week followed by two weeks of no nausea. I've been tracking my days... what I did, how I felt, etc. and have noticed something. Not necessarily a pattern but something. I have really very little stamina. For example I can maintain a good solid 2 hours of accomplishing a task whether it be cleaning a closet, cooking, doing dishes or any combination of house hold chores , or going uptown whatever. Well that's not only about all she wrote for that day, but sometimes the following day I get very little done. I was aware of this because on the second day for example, I just give myself permission not to accomplish a feat or task of some sort and count it as good without beating myself up. But as I look back at my notes it is pretty obvious that maintaining any sort of physical activity is limited at the moment. I'm HAPPY with what I get done, but am not satisfied with my stamina. I'd like to improve it. Any suggestions? I'm doing Just Dance 4 a wii game , a little pilates every day and that feels good. My hunch is that this is normal , drugs or no drugs, WD or no withdrawal, I'm just in really bad physical condition. So I'll just accept it, continue with being pleased with all accomplishments , including those that involve slight increase in maintaining activity ( or lack thereof) and at least now I have ecome aware of the stamina problem. I think that this affirms the idea of journalling. I really just noticed it from my notes . So as far as tapering, I will stay at this dosage for two more weeks and then I'm going to taper ( the lex. .... xanax the same) again. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Nikki Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 I just remembered that I did have nausea with tapering Lexapro and for a very long time since then there were certain foods I couldn't eat. Till today I can't tolerate the smell of Chinese Food. Nikki Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1902-nikki-hi-my-rundown-with-ads/ Paxil 1997-2004 Crossed over to Lexapro Paxil not available at Pharmacies GSK halted deliveries Lexapro 40mgs Lexapro taper (2years) Imipramine Imipramine and Celexa Now Nefazadone/Imipramine 50mgs. each 45mgs. Serzone 50mgs. Imipramine Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted January 18, 2013 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 18, 2013 Hey.... here's a web based tool to set & keep track of daily goals to improve your life. I signed up and also I love this guy's blog. Goal setting/ journal thingy here. RU Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted January 28, 2013 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 28, 2013 FYI for myself regarding benzo taper at the end: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/3620-benzo-ct-symptoms-or-not/ and increased anxiety ( elevated cortisol ) and remedies / suggested helpful strategies : http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1852-how-to-reduce-cortisol-both-rx-and-natural/page__st__60 Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted January 31, 2013 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 31, 2013 FYI for myself regarding benzo taper at the end: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/3620-benzo-ct-symptoms-or-not/ and increased anxiety ( elevated cortisol ) and remedies / suggested helpful strategies : http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1852-how-to-reduce-cortisol-both-rx-and-natural/page__st__60 PS. RU......You're 56, ache sometimes but you are perfectly healthy ( you know what I'm talking about) so continue to get off your butt here.. read this, make your lysosomes work harder and well.... continue to feel better : I have just read some interesting insights on the benefits of exercise. It was an article I read in either the Economist magazine or something else (I've tried searching but haven't been able to find it again). The author was discussing how well we know that there are benefits from exercise that cover a broad range of health problems and that it's become a maxim now that exercise is good for preventing just about any health problem you care to name. The author went on to suggest that a unifying feature in this beneficial cure all that exercise provides might be found in the process of catabolism, which is the process by which cells in our bodies are broken down and new ones created to take their place. It's a process that is happening constantly and the components of the cells that are broken down are then used as the raw materials for new cells. I'm no oncologist, but I do know that some cancers result from cells that refuse to be catabolized and go on to develop into tumours. I think this idea is directly relevant to withdrawing from anti-depressants because of the need for replacement and repair of the trans-membrane proteins on the surface of nerve cell synapses in our brains. It is commonly suggested that an over supply of serotonin and other brain hormones cause these trans-membrane proteins to down regulate - that is be reabsorbed by the nerve cell - and, once they are in fewer numbers on the surface of the nerve cell, withdrawals will occur if you lower the dose of the anti-depressant, which blocks up these trans-membrane proteins, which, ordinarily, are responsible for the reuptake of the serotonin and other brain hormones. The idea in withdrawing slowly is to give our systems time to regenerate the trans-membrane proteins to deal with the lower levels of serotonin. Although all of this is still, as much as I can tell for sure, quite speculative. But, I think, this is where exercise comes in. Exercise causes damage to the cells in the body. This could happen from extra blood flow, which pushes on the walls of our capillaries and tears them slightly, muscle tissue has to regenerate and nerve cells, which fire off signals at a far greater rate get used and have to be regenerated. In this way, I think, the cells of our bodies are catabolized quicker and replaced with newer materials through exercise. The whole process is much more complex than I have words for here, but, when we exercise a large amount of regeneration goes on throughout our bodies, and, most importantly for those of us withdrawing from anti-depressants, that process of regeneration must also focus on the trans-membrane proteins in the nerve cells of our brains. So, I try to think about this every time I exercise. That the pain is good because my body will respond by repairing itself and that repair process will include helping me off this horrible medication. Good luck everyone. Do as much exercise as you can. Steerpike. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus areyouthere Posted February 5, 2013 Author Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 5, 2013 I'm tapering lexapro. Well I'm not too sure what this means if anything yet. I made a 9.3 % cut in my lexapro dosage; the first day of the cut being Saturday morning. Other than waking up briefly a few times during the nights when I normally sleep through them, and other than some brief, low toned ( not freakishly frightening) vivid dreams , and other than feeling a little low yesterday afternoon and tearing up ( for no real reason ) I have not had any withdrawal symptoms. My previous cuts have been included all of the above but at a much more intense level and also included night sweats of which I have had none. I know it's quite soon after the cut, but last time I experienced almost immediate symptoms. Maybe I'll get lucky? Maybe the other shoe hasn't dropped yet this time? Maybe because I am in a much better place emotionally ( no stress) things are easier? What do you think this means? I 'm going to just wait ... it is early yet but can I expect that if in another week the symptoms don't ramp up I can assume the best , be able to hold for a month and continue with another taper? I'm wondering if with lexapro it's possible for the effects to kick in much later, even weeks later as with other longer acting Ads??? Have you heard of that? oh ps. And last time the most troublesome WD was some fairly intense nausea.. especially right at first. NO NAUSEA this time. Gosh... I sure hope I'm not jinxing myself. Fall 1995 xanax, zoloft. switched to Serzone 1996- spring 2003serzone/ xanax/ lightbox. b]Fall 2003- Fall 2004? Lexapro 10 mg. Light box /4 mg. xanax.[/b] 2004 - Fall of 2009 10 mg Lex, 150 mg Wellbutrin XL % 4 mg xanax November 2009- Sept. 2011 10 mg lex., 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax [/b Sept.2012- July 2012 20 mg Lex 300 Well. XL, 4 mg Xanax My mantra " go slow & with the flow " 3/2/13.. Began equal dosing 5 Xs /day xanax, while simultaneously incorporating a 2.5 % drop ( from 3.5 mg/day to 3.4 mg/day) 4/6/13 dropped from 300 mg. Wellbutrin XL to 150 mg. Difficult but DONE! Down to 3.3 mg xanax/ day / 6/10/13 3 mg xanax/day; 7/15/2013 2.88mg xanax/day. 10/ 1/2013...... 2.5 mg xanax… ( switched to tablets again) WOO HOO!!!!!! Holding here… cont. with Lexapro. 1/ 2/2014.. tapered to 18mg ( by weight) of a 26 mg ( by weight) pill of 20 mg tab. lexapro. goal is 13mg (by weight OR 10 mg by ingredient content) and STOPPED. Feeling very down with unbalanced, unpredictable WD symptoms. 1/2/2014- ??? Taking a brain-healing break from tapering anything after actively tapering something for 1.5 years. So… daily doses as of 2/2/2014: 18 mg by weight Lex, 150 mg Well. XL, 2.5 mg xanax, down from 26 mg by weight Lex., 300 mg well. XL, 4 mg xanax in August, 2012. I'll take it. 5/8/14 started equivalent dose liquid./ tabs. 5/13/14 1.5 % cut. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 5, 2013 Administrator Share Posted February 5, 2013 Yay, sounds like it's going well. You can figure on making a similar reduction in a month. Let's deal with withdrawal symptoms IF they show up. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment
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