When is it safe to conclude Xanax taper

[Zali]

I have been on Xanax for 5 months, at three .25 mg. tablets daily, for a total daily dose of .75 mg. I was (incorrectly, I think) prescribed this for early morning anxiety episodes that wake me up.  I am elderly.  I have been given a taper schedule:  Reduce ty 1/2 a tablet (.125 mg.) a week.  First two weeks were uneventful, but the third week, when taking 1-1/2 tablets (.375) I was not comfortable.  Doctor said it would be OK to  reduce to .3125 mg. (1-1/4 tablets) a day. I am to continue this for another six weeks. I think doctor has sentenced me to going through prolonged withdrawal because I've been experiencing physical symptoms (feeling hot, tingling sensations).  I believe that to continue the agony would be a mistake.  Would it be reasonable to go one week at two half tablets (each .125 mg.) a day and one week at one-half tablet a day and then quit?  Would I experience rebound anxiety?

[Zali]

I think the doctor who specializes in anxiety is on to something when he reports that discomfort doesn't go away when people are on low doses at the end of taper.  In my experience this is true.  I was fine tapering until going down to .375 mg. and then .3125 mg.  At low dosages, it is extremely uncomfortable.  Perhaps this isn't widely known because most tapering schedules start at higher doses.  

[Zali]

Thanks for your prompt reply regarding tapering of Xanax.  Yes, I understand that a slow taper is the way to go.  There are two reasons I wanted to consider going faster. The first is that I've scheduled surgery for January.  The second is that I read an article by an M.D. who specializes in anxiety.  He claimed that at doses of 0.5 mg. or less a day patients remain very uncomfortable.  The author said it was originally thought that lowering the dose further or stopping would result in intolerable discomfort, but he found this not to be the case.  At the lower dosages it is not necessary to wait to become uncomfortable before stopping the dose.  Only after stopping completely does the discomfort go away. I do not know if this is true or not.  What do you think?

[cj29]

It looks like your doctor is putting you on a fairly slow taper, which is good in my opinion.  You will feel a little rebound anxiety; it is a normal occurence when coming off it, in my opinion.  The slower you go, the better in my opinion....why would you go faster than what your doctor suggests?