anxiety

i have been on alprazalam for 14 yrs .my dr. that i have had for 3-4 yrs now has decided he is now going to ween me off of this medicine . i have been taking 1mg 4x a day.he is taking away ,1mg at a time .i think this is to fast . i have had headaches ,throwing up,cant sleep ,very nerves,sick to my stomache,cant think straight. and also i,m suppose to have surgery on my side in a week ,but dont feel like i can do this at this time .he told me he was going to put me on a antidepressant medicine .is this the way to ween a person off of this medicine ? i feel like i cant do this like this . i feel like it should be a little slower ,like maybe 0.25 a week .i dont know i,m not a dr. please get back with a answer to my question.i,m misrable.i thought about going and getting a 2nd oppion,but i know if my dr. fould out that i did ,he would drop me as a patient. maybe i need to find another dr.if i have anxiety, have i been taking the wrong medicine all these years?

[greenlydia]

Your doctor is a bloody moron and you should not just seek a second opnion, you should seek a new doctor! This taper IS way too fast after 14 years........especially if you've been at the 4mg qd dose for that entire time. Xanax must be tapered extremely slowly and cutting out 1mg at a whack is irresponsible medicine in my book!
I suggest you look for a Psychiatric Medication Manager. Most psychiatric offices and clinics have one on staff and you do not have to be a patient there to make use of their services. It is their sole job to help people taper off medications like Xanax.And unlike most PCP, they understand the incredible difficulties of this process. He/she will work out a taper program WITH you........not FOR you. You will follow this program at YOUR pace, not making a cut in dose until YOU feel you're ready. They do not put a time limit on you. If you get down to a particular dose and feel you need to stay there for a month or two months or a year, then you can stay until you're ready.
Not many people are aware of this incredible resource and I think it's a real failing on the part of most doctors that they don't make their patients aware this kind of help is available.............especially since most of them are totally ignorant on how to taper people off these kinds of medications.
I strongly urge you to look into a PMM. And I wish you the best of luck. It's not an easy road you're about to go down. Know that we are here any time you need help.
Peace
Greenlydia

[flob]

if your doctor drops you as a patient for getting a second opinion, then its just further proof of what an idiot they are.

the manufacturer recommendation for barbiturate addiction is to start the person on an equivalent dose of phenobarbital and then reduce the daily dose by one half. this is all great and fine in print, but it just doesn't work in the real world. benzo's are the same...4 days to stop 4mg a day is dangerous, and at the very least...it's quite uncomfortable. there are other ways to go about this and i'd certainly start with a second opinion.

did your doctor mention why they were being so agressive in this?