I'm discontinuing Xanax XR. I've been on 1 mg/day for about 18 months. I dropped to .5 mg about a week ago and have been supplementing with .125 mg of immediate release (1/2 of .25 mg tablets) as needed (which hasn't been very often, if at all).

I'm not noticing too much discomfort except that I seem to be getting "mini" migraines everyday. I say "mini" because the pain isn't as severe as my regular migraines and go away without the usual heavy dose of a triptan. They are otherwise identical to the migraine headaches I get (unilateral, sensitivity to light and sound, stiffness in neck and shoulders, nasal congestion, etc.).

I used to get two severe migraines per month - one within a day or two of starting my period, the other mid-cycle. The mid-cycle one went away mysteriously about six months ago when I started taking the Xanax in the morning instead of at night. I thought it was just a coincidence. I'm mid-cycle right now. Could it not be a coincidence? Has anyone heard of Xanax being effective to any degree as a prophylactic for migraines?

I'm going to keep moving forward with the discontinuation... I was just curious to see if anyone had any thoughts or similar experiences.

~Sunshine

oh...hell..yes... I couldn't stand it. The discontinuation seemed to take forever. Thank God I'm on klonopin now.


lilie

It hasn't been bad so far except for the headaches. I feel better now that I've had dinner.

Its a very common symptom. I got classic migraines when I withdrew from xanax. Scary stuff.

Well fortunately they only lasted a few days. I had one earlier this week, but it resolved with one dose of Maxalt. In a couple of weeks I'm stepping down to .25 mg (extended release - I'm currently at .5 mg)... hopefully there won't be a repeat experience.

I was never on more than 1 mg XR daily (with an occasional single supplemental .25 dose of immediate release), but I've been on it for about 18-20 months. Is withdrawal harder/easier depending on the dose you've been on or does it just take longer if you're on a higher dose? Do you have the same withdrawal symptoms each time you step down a dose?