on suboxone and xanax

[RyGuy101]

ive been on suboxone 8 mgs 2 years 3 times daily and been on xanax for a while and i know my tolerence is sky high ....my xanax which i take 1 mg 4 times daily isnt workin have to take 5,6, then i run out a week before my refill and suffer.. its like a ritual ....i know its a high dose for a long period of time but ....i think the next step is gettin off them.....im new here thanx for listening...or reading rather...write back please ...

[1234betterlife]

as with most topics there are going to be different opinions. if you do not know the side effects and drug interractions of the medications you are on and discuss them with your physician it can be dangerous. some physicians will not allow sub/xanax as it lowers the seizure threshold. with that said many physicians feel certain patients can safely take xanax and sub together. especially if there xanax use has been long term for a diagnosis of panic/anxiety. they should be followed by their psychiatrist for that and the sub physician and psychiatrist can manage your dosages.
xanax, like Ga Guy says, has a short half life and on top of that metabolizes faster and faster. the sub dose is critical as well. if it is too high or too low, anxiety can occur. my suggestion would be to discuss this with your physicians and have them taper you down on your xanax temporarily. this will give your body a chance to redevelop the ability to utilize the xanax appropriately. this should be done periodically while on sub, especially if you are changing doses of sub for any reason. even 0.5mg decrease of sub can make a difference.

[SophieShine]

Hi and welcome to the forum!
You are really playing with fire, xanax is a benzo and cannot be stopped CT, too many risks of seizure. You should go to the dr that Rx them to you and talk about it, establish a tapering plan. You're on a pretty high dosage, the usual method would be to switch you on a long acting benzo like Valium and taper from there.
Here's the link to a site you can get tons of info from: http://www.benzo.org.uk/
and here's an example of tapering plan for Xanax: http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm#s1.
Feel free to contact me if you have more questions.
Best of luck to you. sophie.

[GA Guy]

As you've found out, Xanax is really not a drug made for constant dosing. Its short half life makes it poop out fairly quickly, necessitating numerous daily doses. Your best bet is to talk to your doctor about switching to a longer half-life Benzo such as Valium or Klonopin. Then, after you've established a once daily dose of these, you can begin a slow taper off of them.