Tappering down on Xanax and starting Lexapro

[DAN04]

How should a person who is taking .50mg of Xanax a day start to wean off of it when I start Lexapro, 10mg.  Should I start with 5mg of Lexapro for a week and go down to only .25mg of Xanax for a week? Then increase the Lexapro to the 10mg full dose prescribed to me and start taking the Xanax .25mg every other day for a week- then once every three days? then quit the Xanax. This would allow at least two to three weeks for the Lexapro to get into my system.


Thank you

[ddoodler]

Same here.  I am suppose to taper down and get on lexapro again but last time i took it it made by bp go up to 242 over 190 that was at hospital reading.  My pupil dilated also, i am scared they wont listen..  I have been on little over 1mg for 10 to 12 years .  I don;t know what to do.  They say everywhere i go it is bad drug and need to get off of it.  One dr. was going to give ativan and xanax for taper then all antivan and then get off antivan.  They other doctor said just as addictive ..  My brain is addictive to it i am alot older now and have Svt and moderate carotid artery disease and need operations for upper spine.  Just sick and scared also have insomnia and need to move out of place with grandson it has black mold

[pentacle]

I take .5 for anxiety in the morn...as needed but seem to need it most every day. I wake up with anxiety and nausea worrying about my upcoming day--so htat means no food-- and I have extreme stage fright before any event I have to speak at--like teaching a class on occasion. I havent ever needed to up the dosage. I am happy with it....been on it for several years.

Now a new doctor wants me off of it and maybe do another med--why in the hell cant I just stay on what I have? These other meds take weeks to get into your system--paxil for instance has awful write ups as to side effects. I dont want to experiment--and now I may change doctors to get what I want--is this the sign of being an addict?

Why if I only take .5 is this doctor on me to quit. I do not want another pill. I want to feel life--I want to cry--xanax gives me the anti anxiety relief from a stress filled day at work and living alone after a breakup--I am happy with .5--never gonna take more..

My crisis now-- is the fact I need to change doctors then--I have horded 30 extra tabs and she only gave me 7 pills in the last script at 2.5--not good--I could use these extra pills to wean myself off Xanax at my leisure--not the doctor's--she is mean---on this board there seem to be people taking alot more than me but now this new doctor wants me off them...I see a psychologist too..so if I am gonna HAVE to go off these--I am not starting to take ANYTHING else--I do not have terrible symptoms--dont want to be on an antidespressant at age 55.

can anyone comment on why I cant just find a doc and continue with the .5 pills--?? OR should I get off them and put up with angst.

[Hensley258]

I feel the same about Xanax. Nothing controls my anxiety better.

Unfortunatly Xanax is the best and worst medication for this.
It is the best because it really kicks anxiety in the butt, on the other hand I build up tolerance to it very fast, which means more and more to get the same effect.

When I first started taking it I could get relief with just 0.50 Mg. Now it takes 2.50Mgs to get the same relief.

The other thing I hate about Xanax is that it has shuch a short half life. In just 6 hours it is in and out of your system. Wish it lasted longer.

I could easily take 4 Mgs a day if I could get that many each refill. It simply the only thing that works for me to control the massive anxiety.

[nclady58]

I hope this worked out for you. I am just seeing this post.  Xanax is what I call a "Lovely Monster", because it does control my anxiety, but it feels like a ball and chain. If you can use Lexapro, I really hope that worked for you.  I cannot take any type of SSRI antidepressants or wellbutrin, which really limits anything that might help me other than Xanax, which has been my constant companion for 15 years!  I will probably never be able to get off of it, with the risk of seizures after so many years on this med. I wish doctors would be much more careful when prescribing Xanax.  I had no idea what I was getting into. I am not an addictive personality, and after FINALLY finding a good therapist, I no longer emotionally want or need Xanax, but my body is very physically addicted to it.  The only way off for me is hospitalization with anti-seizure meds, and other less addictive meds and a VERY slow taper.  Xanax may help initally - it was a life saver for me at the time, but if I had known that it would be with me for so long, I would have flushed them down the toilet and asked for ANYTHING else that was less addictive!   All the best wishes to you.

[jimgreg]

you can take both of these..im going to be starting lexapro  monday..i was on  it before..but was on klonopin at that time..good luck

[Hensley258]

Fortunatly your only taking a small dose (.50Mgs per day) Thus getting off Xanax should be very easy for you.

My suggestion would be to not stop the Xanax untill you have been taking the Lexapro for at least 6 weeks. Lexapro can also control anxiety (in a different way) than Xanax.

It will be about 6 weeks before the Lexapro is effective at controling your anxiety. Then you can start to break your 050Mg Xanax Tabs in half and slowly step down over a couple week period.

You may not even get any Withdrawl symptoms from stopping the Xanax.
In low doses, Xanax does not cause the same nasty antidepressant withdraws that are common with meds like Lexapro, Zoloft, Paxil and Effexor.

Xanax works far different thus the withdrawl (if any) is very different.