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Tapering my 90 year old mother off Alprazolam (Xanax), after she's probably been on it around 30 years
Taper QuestionAt 90 I don’t know why even do that. Because at her age and how long she’s been on that dose it’s gonna take forever too balance out and rebound anxiety alone is not good for her health
I know someone aged 85 who screamed for 6 hours solid because of benzos withdrawals...she's still on them because she's been on for 40 years. ..
Why would someone do that. After 40 years
they have no knowledge of benzos....people who've been through it know more.
I’m 71 and tapered off. Can’t imagine in my wildest dreams doing it at age 90.
Assuming her memory isn’t gone, I’d just leave her be. Easier to take away the bottle than to get her off a 30 year Xanax habit. Just my opinion.
100%. Doctor got their degree from a corn flakes packet
Kellogg or General Mills? Asking for a friend.
I think you would be better off to control / dispense the alcohol and Xanax than to wean her off the Xanax. Her doctor is cruel. I took 7 months to wean off of Xanax and the taper and the following year were HELL. She will die because of it. Her MD is reducing the amount of patients they prescribe benzos to to meet the regulations of his hospital group. Discontinuing either alcohol or benzos will be deadly at her age.
I wept when I read this story. This doctor should be charged with manslaughter if she dies
Depends how much she drinks. I doubt she’s a hard core alcoholic at 90. Im just assuming a few glasses of sherry and that doesn’t mix well with her xans.
We used to water down my aunts wine cuz of the medications she was taking. She realized that was the only way to get a glass of wine and accepted it.
Fuck spending your final days getting off xans. Old people fall over. It’s what they do.
Yeah, and often when they do their hips break and they never walk again. It's not ideal..
If she also drinks ensure you monitor her heart rate and blood pressure if you even worry she may be nearing a seizure take her to the hospital and take her if her heart rate or blood pressure are too high. She should seriously be detoxing in a hospital room. Not at home... This plan is concerning. Be careful with her and take care of yourself as well.
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There is far too little information to determine that one buddy. Saying it's fine for 90 year olds to fall, or pardoning it as the human condition and nothing to worry about is pretty inconsiderate though.
In the United States, falls amongst adults over the age of 65 is a leading cause of death. In 2023 roughly 36,000 individuals in this group died from falling.
That's what the elderly do? I'm pretty sure OP wants their mother to LIVE for now. How horribly inconsiderate of you to make such a statement..
Suoer compassionate there. I bet that made OP feel great. Good job.
Im not a doc but she being 90 i think she shouldn’t get off benzos. Maybe swap to klonopin (? But the hell of going through tappering and getting clean she should not feel at that age, maybe it could kill her (? Im trying to quit my 1 year 20 mg alprazolam and 15 mg lorazepam addiction and im on 3/4 mg klonopin per day and going through hell. In my opinion just not worth the struggle if she is 90
I 100% agree. I’d sue the dr to Kingdom come if it were me, so risky.
Yeah like she allready been on it for a life time. Why the fuck would you make her last years a struggle with benzos addiction?
are you really on 35 mg benzo a day?
Nono i was for a whole year, now im on 4 mg of klonopin. I was auto prescribing myself that ammount of alprazolam and lorazepam plus weed and cocaine, working driving… yeah i end up in rehab cuz coming down i had 8 seizures
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10d
Hey sorry didn’t ment it that way. Is hard i know but im going through benzos withdrawal and it is really hard and take a lot of health out of you in the process. I send that msg as a prevention for her well being. Sorry bro or sis for real im saying this with love its REALLY HARD to get off benzos and more if you did them for a long period of time
You do know that could kill her? I am 28 and I have been through a full year of utter hell. If a 90 year old had what I had, they wouldn’t even have survived that shit… You seem clueless..
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Yeah she has experienced a fall which is very dangerous for an older person. Hip fractures can be deadly, so getting off of the benzodiazepine is imo a good idea to help with balance and preventing another fall
Whilst this is a good point, I believe the doctor is being negative on his/her duties of care here. Switch her to a long lasting, less hard hitting type like Valium, Clonazepam, bromazepam even. Taking her off with a 4 week taper from 30 years of use - aged 90? Seriously? That’s what you decide to do? Such BS and irresponsible of the DR. I’m sorry for OP and their mother to deal with that. Sadly the DR might not even understand how dangerous it is, and they could feel totally justified.
Additionally, seems the issue is mixing alcohol with benzos, given she’s 90 I assume she can’t drive? I’d move the alcohol away or keep tabs on her if I were OP and the Dr.
There were so many other options than just tapering, that poor women. The medical system is in shambles and this is part of its highlight reel
Just to note, balance issues IS ALSO a withdrawal symptom. After my mum was cold turkeyed off diazepam, even when reinstated after a month, she struggled with many many symptoms for many months, and had severe balance issues that improved gradually over the months and only resolved 2-3 years later. She had 3 minor falls during that time.
Good catch, definitely is. The only times I’ve ever had a fall / broken a bone / dislocation… was on benzos! Haha. Not the most orientating of substances
Dude no
Let her keep it. Honestly my gram is also on benzos for 30 years. All the doctors and nurses have firmly said its definitely not worth going off.
Edit:
I understand that she's been mixing it an/or taking more than she should be.
The very logical conclusion here is to hide them and only give her the failure dose she's supposed to take and absolutely hide and get rid of and refuse to provide any more fucking alcohol. I can't believe the doctor would be seriously saying she should stop xanax when the issue is mixing and drinking in the first place...as well as taking more than the dosage.
As others have said switch to longer lasting benzo ideally go for valium, and stick to it. Absolutely no booze.
Let her keep her Xanax wtf?
Sorry but this is malpractice. 30 years on and then pull them at six weeks? Usually, people take a year or longer, sometimes two years, in a situation like this. I feel sad for her. You need to find a benzo taper doctor because this is not going to be okay for your mom. At her age, she should prob stay on the med or go to a different benzo. The withdrawals will likely end her life if this isn't handled properly.
I wish your mom well, but, I don't think this is okay or appropriate.
Probably better to take the alcohol away or minimize it than the Xanax. Why put her through the possibility of discomfort at that age?
But then again, if she is handling these reductions well, then keep going 😂.
Why am I getting downvoted 😂? She said that they are in week 4 of the taper already. You people need to read the entire post. If she’s already 4 weeks into a taper and handling those drops well, why not keep pushing forward or at least getting down to a lower dose where she’s not so disoriented and falling?
29.5 years and only .25 (many years to reduce this far) here and heck no on the reduction schedule. Please find a geriatric physician that can assess your mom better or 2nd, 3rd opinion. This is a long time and it’s incredibly difficult to reduce.
I came off of 20+ years of daily clonazapam almost 2 years ago. I’m in my early 40s and this has nearly killed me. The amount of stress withdrawal put on my body is immeasurable. I am now riddled with health issues I never had before. This has fully consumed 2 years of my life…. And counting. I know it’s not the same for everyone but please look out for your mom and what this process could potentially do to her. I am not coming from a place of trying to scare anyone just want to prevent unneeded suffering 🩷
How much were you taking everyday? How many mg ?
3-4 mgs everyday
Bro she’s 90, getting off Xanax will absolutely be worse for her then just controlling her drinking
Sending prayers for both of you that you can get through it together. She is a brave soul. 🩷
We took my 78 year old grandma off of Ativan after she had been on it for 40 years, cold turkey. We had no idea of the dangers of benzos, we did it because she developed dementia and whenever she took her nightly Ativan dosage she wouldn't sleep, she would walk around the house all night, not letting us sleep and would get a little violent if we tried to make her to to bed. It was clearly the Ativan but she had been taking it since she was 30, we were not informed and my mother thought it was the best thing to do. I think it was a miracle because nothing happened, she was still very active for someone with dementia, her main issue was remembering things and people, she never forgot my mom and I though. She had no complaints and from what I know now there were no visible withdrawal symptoms. I wish we had been informed but even today, people aren't informed about the risks of taking benzos and now I have a problem with benzos myself, just like my grandma did.
My suggestion is to just let her be, at 90 I wouldn't risk it, I'm 34, had multiple seizures because of benzo withdrawal and they fucked me over completely. I don't think a 90 year old would survive that.
This is abhorrent - I am 50, very fit, eat healthy, exercise, supplement, etc. Took .25 x 2 per day Xanax for about 5 years. Tapered slowly for 12 weeks then off…three years later I am still struggling and want to go back on them daily. I can’t comprehend what this will do to her.
DON'T do this. You're just gonna make the last few years of her life absolute torture.
It’s amazing you can be there for her to help her during this often difficult process!
First thing first, the Ashton method typically has people reduce their dose at 10% titrations every 1-2 weeks / or as tolerated. Additionally, it is recommended to use a longer acting diazipine like Valium for example, shorter half life medications like Xanax can often be quite a violent throw back once it wears off- all too quickly, In general you’d like it longer than shorter.
That being said, how has she tolerated the reductions so far?
Whilst the reductions are quicker than most would prefer, how she is doing during it will be a ‘decent’ sign on how she may be once she’s off.
The longer / slower she can taper, the better- that doesn’t sound like it may be an option right now though, so I think in terms of damage control you are doing the right thing in terms of coming to ask!
For seizures, sadly there isn’t much you can do besides typical seizure medication on standby, clonazepam ironically is a good one for some types of seizures, some people also recommend gabapentin - although this is really a long shot in most cases- and is more so just something slightly convenient you may have hanging around. Basically things that can promote gaba / cns depressant are used here.
Besides medical treatment, keep her hydrated! Like really hydrated! This will help greatly. Make sure her sugars and everything are good, basically ensuring her brain and body are functioning with peak input for performance.
If something bad happens, sue the doctor for being a negligible POS and handling the situation like this.
Honestly she’s at the age where most would just let her stay on it for life. Sounds like she’s human and, geeze 90 years old! She’s had a fair go at life. I don’t think anyone could blame her for mixing alcohol and benzos, fair play to her! Hahaha. (Go mum!) but tapering her off somewhat quickly- well I hope she’s taking the taper well because If she doesn’t adjust to it well, the doctor could basically be making the last remaining years of her life pretty shit in terms of going through PAWS (post acute withdrawal syndrome) and hopefully not but very possible - protracted withdrawal - (longer- instead of 1-3 / 3-18 months PAWS, it’s like 12-38 months +)
Again, well done and good for you on being there for your mum. I could only dream my children would do the same for me. She’s very lucky to have you!
Fuck her doctor
Please keep us updated! I hope she is doing well!!
Her withdrawal has been rough so far. Insomnia, shakes, anxiety through the roof, forgetfulness, disorientation, lack of appetite, depression. Not good. I expected it to be not good, but I mean, I have no frame of reference for how bad it could be.
I've looked up the Ashton method, and none of it seems applicable to this situation. Ashton is all about replacing one drug with another. We are not doing that. We are stopping Xanax. If she still needs something later, we will worry about it then.
I'm starting to think I may postpone the jump from 2 to 1 pill for a week. I have a lot more xanax than I need to finish the taper, so I can adjust things. It would be without the doctor's approval, but I'd rather have a living mother than a strong legal case against a doctor, for a dead mother.
All those symptoms are the tip of the iceberg for how it feels from the inside, and you’re like “it’s fine, though, definitely getting off xanax.” This issue is she was taking *too much Xanax and mixing with alcohol.” This feels almost like someone wants to punish her for that, not just make sure she’s safe. Y’all are putting her through hell, unnecessarily.
Yes. The Ashton Manuel replaces what your presently on, Xanax with a short half-life that causes horrific withdrawal syndromes that I wouldn't wish on you but you're getting angry at us telling you that you're hurting your grandmother because that is what is occurring whether you want to hear that or not. I'm sorry. I work with old people, they fall all the fucking time, it's fucking scary and sad but that's what they do. And then sometimes, they fall and then they die from complications of that fall. That is the reality of old people. Now that that is out of the way, when you start tapering someone on Xanax, you're going to fucking hurt them because Xanax is not a good medication to come off of. You need to flip them to diazepam which is Valium because that ensures that the half-life of the medication doesn't leave the system within 3 hours which is what Xanax does, Valium leaves your system within like 24 hours. That is so you do not have horrific withdrawals. It is cruel, I am telling you cruel, to take a 90-year-old woman off of benzodiazepines. I went through withdrawal two years ago and it was the worst hell I've ever been in and I was not right afterward and I'm still not right because I have neurological dysfunction.
You need to do some soul searching real fucking quick right now and read this thread and I need you to look at the people here telling you that we are telling you that that is fucking cruel to do to a 90-year-old woman. You haven't gone through this, so you have no concept of what we are talking about, we are trying to tell you that what is occurring is dangerous and we fear for your grandmother and that doctor is a fucking piece of shit. She's 90. You don't taper a 90-year-old off benzos because they can easily fucking die.
I wish you the very very best but fuck that doctor and you need to stop being a jackass to everybody here trying to offer their opinion which you came on and solicited.
Ashton is about replacing one drug with another drug that is then EASIER to get off completely than the previous drug.
Xanax leaves the body very quickly = bad withdrawal symptoms
Valium / Klonopin leaves the body more slowly = less bad withdrawal symptoms between doses
I would take the advice of people in this thread that have done this before, it is absolute HELL to get off benzos, even if you've only been using 1 year, let alone 5, 10, 30. And the faster you go, the worse it is. Certainly recommend taking it much slower, longer time between smaller jumps.
And at the end of the day, Xanax is one of the roughest to get off. That's why doctors will switch to an equivalent dosage of a much smoother one.
She’s going to be in that state for the next 2 years at least, more given her age. people younger than her have been taken off benzos way too fast and suffered for months or years. Given her age it might be more merciful letting her be calm and at peace while taking more precautions at home against fall risks. Constant fear and state of terror/horror is no way to live the rest of her remaining life.
(Source: My mum got taken off diazepam cold turkey at 64. Reinstated and doing a very slow taper for the last 5 years. She’s been demented since then, but i dont know if it’ll ever have her back. Only attempting this taper because she’s still below 70 and in relatively good physical health. I believe the cold turkey/rapid taper the doctors put her through in 2019 caused irreversible brain damage resulting in dementia. She was fine cognitive wise before, and in a matter of weeks was gone. Id advice you to read more about withdrawal and think if this is something youd want to put your mum through at her age. The last 5 years has been tough. But ive seen my mum gain some back ability to communicate and take care of herself - very basic stuff like going to the washroom etc. at this point no idea if she’ll ever stop behaving like a child. Feels like dementia but trajectory is not the same. She lives in fear and for a long time was agoraphobic. Only after 5 years ive been slowly able to bring her out. Cant imagine getting my mum off benzo if she was 90. Benefit / risk just dont make sense anymore.)
I tapered from 2-3mg alprazolam a day to 0.75mg in a month. It was unbearable due to the short half life. The lower you go, the harder it gets.
I had to switch to diazepam and I'm glad I did even though I was hesitant at first. The longer half life makes tapering so much easier. Diazepam is a milder benzo than Xanax and it wouldn't make the situation worse, even though I understand your concern. Diazepam is easier to quit than Xanax.
If you cannot get her a prescription for Valium or get them from another source, I would at least slow down the taper. Klonopin could also be used to taper, but it is much harder to quit than Valium.
I’m sorry to hear it’s been rough. Sadly all par for the course unfortunately…
Regarding Ashton method, I am referring to the titrations / reduction amount - certainly getting of Xanax! Just getting off of it in a more appropriate way for the body - which Dr Ashton seems to have found some good research in. Again, if it were possible for your doctor to follow the method and do 10% reductions weekly/bi weekly, that’d be more than ideal. But I totally understand if this is not an option, I’m sure everything will work out though!
With the last paragraph: YES! Fantastically said. I’m so so glad to hear you have more! There’s some great replies here in this thread and essentially you’d like to do dose reductions every 1-2 weeks, ideally* at 10% reductions. Now, the studies that support this method are typically with longer acting Diazepines like Valium, however I can personally vouch for doing it with Xanax too.
It depends how much you have left I guess, but I think you’d be patting yourself on the back in the future if you can sit down and work out what’s the longest you can taper her for with respects to the above. If you can do that? You’ve done all that you can for the best outcome possible, and that’s great.
Timeline wise, I’m afraid I can’t give glowing reports. I’m quite well educated in this field and from the studies and reports I’ve read, she definitely comes into the category of a ‘long term user’. Again, long term users usually stay on these for life due to the troubles and medical issues that tapering and getting off of benzos results in- nonetheless here we are.
Typically, most short / medium term users will notice being at 0-15% back to normal for the first 1-6 months- with a sudden jump to 65% normal around months 6-7. Typically, most long term users might notice the same, with some however being 0-15% for the first 1-16 months, and a sudden jump to around 65% during months 6-24.
Most short term / medium term users feel ‘mostly back to normal’ around 1-2 year mark, with long term users being 1-6 years. Those with Protracted withdrawal syndrome (which is rare, so please don’t assume it’s 100%, it’s very rare) could see their full recovery rate to the end of those 6 years, with some reports even up to 8-10 years. These are at the great extremes however, which it doesn’t sound like your mother was using at. Time is one thing, but the dose is also another.
Given it can typically take a year or two to get back on the saddle, often presenting those unwanted physical symptoms of PAWS especially during the first 3-6 months, mentally too of course- but these all occur in what we call ‘waves and windows’.
Waves and windows of PAWS is essentially waves of the bad symptoms, and windows of relief (less symptoms). At the moment, the waves might last a hour/day/week/month, and the windows might last an hour/day/week/month. The longer she is off of the benzos, the waves will become shorter, from months to weeks, from weeks to days, days to eventually just hours… and the windows will get longer!
I mention this all to give you a decent compass on her recovery and some things you can look out for and to, perhaps not expect- but at least give consideration to. Everyone is different, I have spoken to people who have felt back to normal within the first 6 months! So it’s ideal to understand there is always Lee way here.
It might help to recognise these waves and windows and, once she is off the benzos of course, see if you can do some diary entry / note taking each day / each week, and document her troubles and if there were windows she noticed, and waves.
These are great to look back on not only in the future, but now also as you go along, so you two can at least get some reassurance that things are definitely getting better.
The only other advice I can give here is typically- daily exercise, meditation / mindfulness, positive daily affirmations, stay plenty hydrated, magnesium Glycinate (has to be this one, it is very good for the muscles / spasms / etc.) good diet and sleep hygiene.
Given your mother’s age, I understand some of these things might be a bit unrealistic like exercise for example, it is typically great for levelling out the unideal levels of cortisol, testosterone, and other hormones. The rest are great for reasons you probably already know of. In general, ensuring your mother’s brain and body is well fuelled and well rested is key- so that means eating appropriate not only amounts of food- but type of food too. Veges, fruit, carbs, protein, dairy, the pyramid is key!
Everything you can do here to get her Inline with the above- will give her the best chance of optimal recovery. That all being said, there isn’t quite a lot of information on people her age going through a taper, so it really could go either way. She might recovery 100% in the first month, she might take longer. We just don’t know sadly, the best we have is essentially what I’ve listed earlier, but I just know that she has an amazing child who is doing everything they can to ensure she can recover as smoothly as possible! Truly, you should be proud of yourself. Good job.
I’m sorry if some of this might sound a bit bleak or blunt, but I hope it can illuminate you in this sadly far to often dim lit space that is benzodiazepine recovery.
It’s worth adding, if there is any way she can be put on to a longer acting benzo like clonazepam, or Valium, or bromazepam- that’d be so much better than tapering and getting off completely. I understand if this is not possible though, just wanted to mention.
I will pray for her tonight, I truly wish her a speedy recovery and a long taper 💕
You are giving really thoughtful and thorough advice.
OP and his mother are in a real pickle here (undetstatement of the year!) and should consider a second opinion.
I understand trusting the medical professionals and following their instructions.
Unfortunately for many of us here, we learned that Dr's do not have all the facts and are not always acting in their patient's best interests, leading to an elevated distrust of the medical institution.
Also magnesium glycenate for muscles! Game changer for benzo recovery
Agreed!! Magnesium malate is also great I use it during the day and glycinate before bed
Just let her be wtf
To answer your questions about seizures:
There is no warning sign. This is something I asked my neurologist and PCP when I had my seizure from Xanax withdrawal. (Note: seizures can also be caused by severe lack of sleep, which is obviously a symptom of benzo withdrawal).
When I had my seizure, I was getting up to take a shower and it’s the last thing I remember. I woke up on my bedroom floor, my head/neck twisted completely to one side, and didn’t know where I was or what day/time it was. I couldn’t find my phone because I guess it flew out of my hands when I face-planted, such was the impact of the fall. I eventually found it’d been thrown under my bed (this would’ve required a decent amount of force from where I collapsed). I was out for 15-20 minutes - that entire time period is just black out. I’d also bitten my tongue pretty hard (very common occurrence with seizures) and I was completely confused. I had trouble with memory and processing for a few days (maybe weeks?). I was in a neck brace and the following day my entire body hurt like hell from the seizing. I would be extremely surprised if a 90 year old person could survive that, much less walk away relatively unscathed as I did at 32.
The most important thing to do with someone who’s had a seizure is to turn them on their side and make sure their airways are open. Then call 911 or get to an ER as soon as you can. There’s really no way to stop a seizure and honestly, unless you plan to stick to your mom like glue everywhere she goes, including the bathroom, there’s a good chance you may not be there when she has a seizure. So it’s a gamble on if you’d be able to catch her to prevent her from falling.
When you go to the ER after a seizure, they send you home with benzos. This is because whatever caused the seizure is causing excessive electrical activity in the brain and benzos work quickly to “calm” the brain. In other words, the cure for a potential withdrawal seizure is the medication (or similar) that you took away which caused the seizure in the first place 🤷♀️
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10d
I agree with this comment, it’s really hard to specify warning signs. I’ve been with my boyfriend during 3 of his seizures though and I did notice a few things, for two of them he had a big headache prior, and displayed extreme confusion for a few short seconds before seizing and going unconscious (that’s when I had to turn him to his side and protect his head from hitting anything to hard, also important to not hold a person who’s seizing down in anyway, just support them on their side, protect there head and wait till it’s over). For the other one, he was talking complete nonsense, clearly unaware of where he was or what he was doing. Also very confused, but never went fully unconscious during this one. Just my experience. Best of luck and if you do continue with the taper, take it slow.
Just let her be
My advice would be… don’t.. just keep her on it. It could literally kill her..
Getting off benzos in 6 weeks is absolutely is insane for anyone. It's just not safe and not realistic. Please share the Ashton manual timeline with the doctor.
Based on people's experiences here and medical literature, 6 months is a minimum. That's how long it took me and it was hell. Please, please, please make aure the docter revises their plan if they are to go through with this. Withdrawing that fast could kill your mom.
No clue what is happening in America but it seems like they have declared war to benzodiazepines..and while they are very addictive and should not be taken daily I see this as a form of cruel and unusual punishment.There is absolutely no reason why a doctor would even consider tapering a 90 year old human being ..with xanax even ..not even crossing to Valium or using Ashton .
I would definitely insist on the negatives of coming off of the medication at this age .Is there a possibility of changing your provider?
Leave her be.
If this happened to me, put me in hospice. Let me go.
OP, get a second opinion. A psychiatrist with a specialty in addiction?
This doctor is insane. Please do not attempt a taper at all. Doctors have zero knowledge about tapering and this amount is dangerous for a 20 year old never mind 90yr old. If your mother was not in tolerance (not having any symptoms) then she should stay on to have what life she has left in a functional way. It is dangerous to mix alcohol with benzos. Seizures only occur if anyone goes cold turkey. Can you contact Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring . You can find him on u/tube and also Dr. Jennifer Leigh....these people are expert deprescribing psychiatrists. I know an 84 year old woman who reached tolerance and had no option to come off and she went though hell. 30 years is a lot but then many people do just fine too..we just don't know who will react. - You do need expert advice
The origin of “go take a chill pill”
Why would you come off at 90 Jesus
Please let us know what happens. Sending prayers to you both 🙏
Why not just keep her on it at this point. If I was 90 I wouldn’t want to needlessly go through hell in my remaining days. What’s the point?
I'm so sorry you're going thru this.
At 90, it probably isn't worth putting someone thru benzo tapering. I'd find a new doc.
Also, keep alcohol away from her. The smart ass in me says switch the alcohol for non alcoholic stuff.
I've heard Heather Ashton did taper elderly folks off this stuff. People in their 80's if I recall. I think if somebody's tapering that old, there's probably a pretty good reason to do it. There's some nasty stuff that can go along with taking benzos. In those cases, I bet the tapering far outweighed the risks of staying on for those individuals.
The schedule that your doctor has given her is much too fast for anybody that is dependent on benzos. After 30 years of use, the likelihood is higher that she is dependent. But of course there's no way to know until you start tapering down. There's been people who stopped taking them and were fine of course, but you definitely don't wanna find out by just stopping the meds or quickly tapering. Too much of a gamble.
Anyway, find a new doc. Preferably somebody benzo wise, but that can be hard to find. But they're out there!
Check out the Heather Ashton manual.
It can take somebody years to titrate down in a healthy manner. It took me a year and a half. I'm 42. If it looks like tapering would make the most sense for her, stretch it out as long as you need to. If it took someone 5 or more years, that'd be ok.
I have a friend who's going to be 98 this year. He's going strong. You really don't know how long one has. Let's say your mother's going to live another 10 or 12 years. It happens! If her life quality will be greatly improved by going off benzos go ahead. But if not, don't do it.
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What amazes me more reading your story is how she managed to stay on 2 mg of alprazolam everyday for more than 3 decades.my impulsiveness and addiction personality ate my entire 2 weeks of 1mg a day supply in 4 days the first time i got introduced to benzos after 6 month of trial and error with ssri and antipsychotics (fluvoxamine, sertraline, citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine, quetiapine, thorazine and olanzapine)
Glad she got off this super addicting shit.
I don't see any problem reducing her dose, esp if that's what she wants. But I'd go SLOW and if she starts showing signs of discomfort, go back up n hold for a bit.
Benzo wd is hell for young healthy ppl, I can't imagine doing it @ her age. Sending love to you both
Oh no I would not suggest that at all.
I was on a low dose for over 30 years, and I took well over a year - during the pandemic- to get completely off them. I feel like in this case, it was urgent to stop two things: OVERtaking the benzo, and mixing it with alcohol. Completely tapering, putting her through withdrawal? I don’t think so. Doing it in that time span? Absolutely insane.
My Dad's been on a low dose of ativan nightly for sleep for a few years now. I can tell he may be suffering from slight interdose wd's. I told him on bad days to take .5mg during the day. He's 78 and just went through a grueling 8 weeks of radiation for prostate cancer. The hormone lowering meds he's on for the cancer have him in a deep depression, ocd state. I'm on the same med for breast cancer and know how badly they can fuck with your mental state. At this point I would never suggest he get off his ativan. It would do so much more harm than good at this point. Yes these cases do exist. His dr will keep prescribing them as he doesn't abuse them, takes the lowest therapeutic dose, etc.
Stopping the alcohol (or at least limiting because alcohol withdrawal can be dangerous also) would be for the best, mixing the two is a problem. At this point though there’s no reason to put her through the insanely horrible withdrawal experience of stopping the Xanax. She doesn’t need to go through that at her age.
dangerous!! please advocate for your mum and listen to people here, even if you’re skeptical. Would really suggest looking into scientifically backed research papers/studies on benzo usage/withdrawals (especially longterm) and discuss them with your mum/her medical professionals
6 weeks for someone who's 90 is absolutely insane. I just don't believe a doctor would sign this off. It just sounds completely stupid. Even if she has to taper why 6 weeks?
Please don’t take her off as it will cause much more harm than staying on at her age. It’s really really strenuous on the body and mind. Please stabilise her and continue to ensure she has her medication
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10d
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Why!
Obviously she needs her meds or they wouldn’t be prescribed. You do that you will more than likely hurt her even worse!!!
Whoa that taper is WAY too fast for someone who has been on benzos for that long. Your mother will be seriously suffering. Please look up the Ashton Manual if you’re dead set on doing this. I’ve worked with many elderly people in the past, doing something like this has the potential to end their life.
I wouldn't do it. Getting off wrecks you...for years. It's very hard. I'm so sorry you're in this position.
Based on my wife’s taper, that’s too fast. Good luck!
OP, I’m glad your mom has you to advocate for her. 🙂 I’m 70.5 years old, and I weaned off of klonopin last year. I took the medicine for 10+ years. It took me about 4.5 months to taper off from 2 mg to 0. My last pill was in January and I’m happy to report that I feel good now. I sleep well, rarely have problems with anxiety. I do have ringing ears still, but that’s it. My balance, memory and all around thinking are very much better. I think your mom’s taper is going too fast. I’m not a doctor, it would be a good idea to check with her doc. But what worked for me was to pause when withdrawal symptoms got rough. For example, when she feels stable decrease from 2 pills to 1.5. Maybe stay at that for 2 weeks or so, and decrease her dose by small amounts every 10 - 14 days. I really think you should talk with her doctor about her withdrawal symptoms and get him/her on board with slowing down mom’s wean. I hope things go well for your Mom and you 🙏🏻🤗
I do not think it’s worth tapering her off of them at this point…I am 27 and the hell that I went through coming off of Xanax was horrific and I am still dealing with long term issues from it almost 2 years later. I had to be hospitalized because I wanted to end my life, and I can’t even imagine that I would’ve survived if I was 70+….at 90 just let her be on it. Her last years will be even more horrible even if you taper properly. You’re a kind soul for taking care of her the way you do, and it would be wise to be her advocate in not allowing her to go through this nightmare in her final years of life.
Your intuition is correct, the taper is rapid.
Inpatient detox would monitor her blood pressure and heart rate at least 3 times per day. Increased BP and/or HR are solid indicators of where she's at in the withdrawal process (of course would be affected by heart medicine, beta blockers etc).
I think you may need to consider the risk/benefit ratio here and whether it is worth taking her off the Xanax at all. Your mother is at the later stage of life and as most people here will attest to, recovery takes a long time - it's painful and your mother may never see the benefits due to her age. It's tragic for sure but I feel compelled to encourage you to get a second opinion for a more merciful approach.
I would ask about a palliative approach (continue taking the xanax) or a slow taper e.g. 5% reduction every 2 months. Focus on quality of life over achieving complete sobriety.
Best of luck!
That’s a ridiculously fast taper for a 90 year old. Could kill her.
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