Benzo tapering input, please

I am in a bit of a benzo mess.

I have been taking 0.5mg Xanax nightly for years, in an effort to prevent panic attacks. Silly in retrospect, since Xanax is the shortest acting benzo, but I didn't know any better. It was the equivalent of renting a hotel room for 4 hours when you meant to stay there all night.

I had a colossal panic attack in May after my grandmother's funeral. I took some Xanax and realized I had grown tolerant to it. The panic attack launched me into a major depressive episode, and I kept having mini panic attacks every time I tried to fall asleep. My psychiatrist prescribed a long-acting form of Xanax which worked for a few weeks and then I developed a tolerance to it. Luckily, the nightly panic attacks stopped.

My psychiatrist then recommended Klonopin (which I had been on previously for years and had developed a tolerance to, before Xanax) so I agreed to give it a shot since I hadn't taken it in years. I started taking it at night, but after a few weeks I realized I had no way of knowing if it was actually doing anything. I took it during the day when I was having some anxiety and found that I was (still) tolerant to it. D'oh.

I stopped taking the Klonopin and went back to the Xanax ER because after a 3-week break, it seemed to work a little bit again. However, I started to go through some nasty withdrawal from the Klonopin so I went back on it and stopped taking the Xanax ER. But then I went through withdrawal from that, too. So here I am, like a complete idiot, currently taking 0.5mg Xanax, 0.5mg Xanax ER, and 1mg Klonopin every day, and none of it is doing a darn thing.

I saw my psychiatrist last week and told him I was on all of the meds he prescribed. He was dumbfounded because he wanted me to sub each of them in for each other but not continue to take all of them. I told him I knew that, but that when I tried to stop one, I would go through withdrawal. He seemed a little embarrassed (I hope!) because he is the one who prescribed them. He then told me I need to get off all of the benzos. I couldn't agree more.

So, here is my dilemma. Do I try to wean myself off each one (one at a time) using the Ashton Manual, or do I switch to a long-acting benzo to cover the withdrawal, and then get off that one (also using the Ashton Manual)? My psychiatrist suggested I use Librium, but Dr. Ashton doesn't recommend it because the smallest pill you can get in the USA is 5mg. My psychiatrist also recommended I stop all of the benzos at once, rather than tapering them... so I don't really trust his judgement. Especially now that I am hooked on 3 benzos within 2 months' time! I am leaning toward doing my own taper because I don't want to get hooked on a fourth benzo. I'm also scared that because I am tolerant to the benzos I am on, I will develop a tolerance very quickly to any new one I try.

Has anyone used Librium for benzo tapering? Or has anyone tapered off benzos and have any advice?

Thanks!

-Cat

Yup, he said to quit all the benzos cold turkey and the withdrawal would be covered up by Librium, which I would then taper by itself. He said the doses aren't high enough to give me a seizure so I could just do it. I told him I would think about it, but that I would prefer doing a taper of all of the benzos on their own. He told me good luck and come back if I change my mind. lol

I went to another p-doc who refused to help me wean off benzos because she hates them.

I think I can do it myself, if I follow the instructions. But I'm interested to hear from the community on the subject.

My regular doctor is super nice and I love her, but she doesn't know anything about psychiatric medicine.

Isn't it amazing, the lack of knowledge by my p-doc on tapering benzos? I think he will supervise me in my venture if I give him the plan I want to use. I have monthly appointments with him so I think it will be okay. :)

Thanks, S.C. I have checked out that site, yes. I plan to use every source I can! :)

you really need to check out benzobuddies.org its the definative site for benzo withdrawls and tappering. you will get real help for this there. i havnt seen nor heard of a better site on this subject.

You can do it Blue! We are all rooting for you.