Trying to lower Xanax dosage

[matrix123]

Hello,
I've started anti-anxiety meds in June when I was in a pretty bad state. I've been taking 20mg Escitalopram and 1mg Xanax a day. Xanax was supposed to be taken while Escitalopram kicked in...In early August I tried to lower Xanax usage to 0.75 and then 0.5 but my anxiety returned pretty bad and I got back to 1mg Xanax. The last few weeks have been better, so I'm trying again to lower Xanax usage to 0.5mg, but after only two days things are getting worse, sleep is not very good, mood is bad, stomach issues, symptoms that I have are worse...

Any advice is appreciated

Thanx

[fred_h]

I assume you're still on escitalopram, right ?
It's normal you experience some slight anxiety when withdrawing from xanax, however it shouldn't be unbearable since your AD are probably effective by now. Benzos should be kept for 'crisis', not used as a mid or long-term treatment for anxiety in general (reason is it becomes inefficient if the same dose is taken continuously).
Did you tell your doc about your anxiety getting bad again, maybe escitalopram needs to be increased a bit ?

[matrix123]

Yes I'm still on escitalopram. I started with 10mg for 10 days and then increased to 20mg. I think that's the maximum.

I'll try ant continue for some time with only 0.5 mg and hopefully it will get really bad...