I successfully tapered off by opening the XR capsules, counting beads, and making a schedule to cut the number I took. I haven't responded to any of these recent posts because some folks on this forum are totally opposed to doing that and I didn't want the hassle. But it worked for me. It took several months and some online research about the number of beads in an XR dosage -- you can google to get that information -- and I took supplements, too, but it worked. Good luck!