Posted by Cam W. on August 13, 2001, at 14:31:06
In reply to Redirected from social : stopping xanax » super, posted by Willow on August 13, 2001, at 14:10:22
Super - You have to wean from long term benzodiazepine use slowly. Don't be in any hurry to come off of it. You might ask your doctor to gradually replace the Xanax™ (alprazolam) with Valium™ (diazepam) or Serax™ (oxazepam). The reason being that Xanax has a short half-life and leaves your body very quickly, resulting in withdrawl effects. The long half-lives of Valium and Serax cause the drug to leave your body much more slowly, thus avoiding the quick appearance of withdrawl symptoms.
Xanax dose of 0.5mg is approximately equal to 5mg of Valium or 15mg of Serax. As you add the Valium or Serax, decrease the Xanax by an approriate amount. Do this over a couple of weeks, under the supervision of you doctor. Once the switchover has been done, you can begin to decrease the dose of Valium by 2.5mg (1/2 tablet) a week, or of Serax by 7.5mg per week.
If you feel that you cannot lower the dose at any stage, stay at that level for a while. Let your doc know when this happens. It can take several months to withdraw from benzodiazepines, so don't be in a hurry.
I hope that this is of some help. - Cam
poster:Cam W.
thread:74941
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010809/msgs/74947.html