Xanax 20% - 25% dose reduction mistake

July 10, 2026

On June 23rd, I lowered my nightly xanax dose from 3/4 of a 0.25mg tablet to a half tablet, bringing my total daily dose to 0.25mg (half a tab in the morning, half at night). It was a mistake to make such a big cut all at once. Right after, I got terrible back pain and could barely change position while lying. I'm still not 100% sure if the pain was from the xanax, but 17 days later, I'm still feeling dizziness on and off. Benzo withdrawal is real. Please take your time to research and learn about tapering before doing it.

guava378’s taper progress

Dose (mg)

Mood (/10)

- Aripiprazole / Abilify:
17-May-2026 (15mg -> 10mg)
11-July-2026 (10mg-> 7.5mg
17-Aug-2026 (7.5mg -> 5mg)
28-Sep-2026 (5mg -> 3.6mg)
10 months - actively tapering
- Procyclidine 5mg - 10 months - actively tapering
- Propranolol - 20mg - 13 months - holding
- Xanax - 0.25mg - 8 months - holding

4 Replies

⭐

CatinaJul 10

Community AnchorEffexor

Hey @guava378, I'm really sorry to hear this. Yes, that was a very large reduction. I'm sure things will improve in time, so hang in there. One thing I've learned is that slower is sometimes faster when it comes to tapering.

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.28 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Synthroid - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

guava378Jul 10

Community AnchorAbilify · active

The chronic weakness from abilify has become too severe, and the procyclidine isn't helping anymore. Instead of waiting for my xanax mild withdrawal symptoms to completely go away, I need to prioritize tapering off abilify starting tomorrow. Interestingly, I noticed that after taking augmentin 375mg for a dental infection, my weakness actually improved slightly. My body was likely completely exhausted from dealing with both the EPS and fighting off the infection at the same time. Regardless, the side effects from abilify are unmanageable so I must start my taper now.

⭐

CatinaJul 10

Community AnchorEffexor

"the side effects from abilify are unmanageable so I must start my taper now." — @guava378

Hope all goes well, but proceed cautiously especially if you're still having withdrawal symptoms from the benzo reduction.

southswellJul 12

WelcomerValium · holding

HI Guava, it was nice to hear someone else on this site going thru benzo withdrawal. It is horrible and i am sorry you made such a big cut. I hope you havent given up and are still around. Hope you check in.

Valium — 12.5 mg — 8 yrs — holding |

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