Switched to Diazepam Taper

[[Th...]]

I have been trying to withdraw from a daily dose of 1mg to 1.5mg lorazepam (Ativan).  At first I tried to taper on my own by splitting the tablets in half and only taking 0.5mg a day.  However, I got horrible withdrawal symptoms (nausea, lightheadedness, and anxiety).  As a result, I called my psychiatrist and he agreed that maybe I tried to taper to fast by suddenly cutting my dose in half.  As a result, he switched me to 4mg of diazepam daily.  I'm supposed to go down on diazepam by 1mg a week.  Since I have only been taking Lorazepam for less than 4 months, I'm hoping that this taper will allow me to get off benzos in 4 weeks.  How does this compare with other taper plans?  Is dropping 1mg a week pretty standard to avoid major withdrawal symptoms?

[[Di...]]

That is a very fast taper, and I wouldn't recommend it. Four months of benzo use is a long time, and is plenty long enough to become dependent. I hate to say it, and I know it's not what you want to hear, but I think you may need to consider a much slower taper.

 

However, what dose of Ativan do you feel stable on, because your post says up to 1.5mg, but your signature says 0.5mg. Do you feel stable on 0.5mg? You said you got bad s/x when you cut to 0.5mg, so I'm just a bit concerned that you haven't crossed over to a high enough dose of valium. 1mg of Ativan is equivalent to 10mg of Valium, so 4mg of valium wouldn't be enough to cover 0.5mg of Ativan. So just make sure you are starting out on the right dose of valium before you start thinking about doing a taper. You will also need to stay of a stable dose of valium for at least a few weeks before starting a taper, because it takes a while for it to build up in your system.

[[Th...]]

Actually, I was taking more like 1mg of Ativan a day.  I listed 1.5mg because I occasionally took an extra half tablet once a week or so.  That was one thing that tipped me off that I was developing tolerance.

 

Anyway, I felt stable at 1mg of Ativan.  When I cut it in half and tried 0.5mg, I developed withdrawal symptoms.  Therefore my psychiatrist suggested that I start with 4mg because apparently 1mg of Ativan is equivalent to 5mg of diazepam.  That would mean that I would be taking the equivalent of slightly less than the 1mg of Ativan.

[Guest [Mo...]]

1 mgr of Ativan is 10 mgr of Valium.

So, you're not switched to the right equivalent.

 

Recommended is a 5-10 % reduction every two weeks or so. So I agree that cutting half your dose is way to quick.

4 months is not short term use.

I was on Ativan for 4 months as well and switched over to Valium, too.

 

Valium needs a couple of weeks to build up in your system and will probably not cover your Ativan withdrawal xs right away. Think 3-4 weeks.

And then 1 mgr a week? It's just too quick, really.

Maybe you could show your doctor the Ashton manual?

 

Please read up,on this. I would really hate to see you suffer due to your doc not knowing how to withdraw from benzo's.

[[Di...]]

Actually, I was taking more like 1mg of Ativan a day.  I listed 1.5mg because I occasionally took an extra half tablet once a week or so.  That was one thing that tipped me off that I was developing tolerance.

 

Anyway, I felt stable at 1mg of Ativan.  When I cut it in half and tried 0.5mg, I developed withdrawal symptoms.  Therefore my psychiatrist suggested that I start with 4mg because apparently 1mg of Ativan is equivalent to 5mg of diazepam.  That would mean that I would be taking the equivalent of slightly less than the 1mg of Ativan.

 

Sorry, your doctor is wrong. 1mg of Ativan is equivalent to 10mg of valium, so as I feared you really haven't crossed over to the right amount. This is the link to the recognised conversion schedule. Maybe you could take this along to your doctor so they are aware that you need to be on a higher dose of valium.

 

http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm