1mg/day Lorazepam (Ativan), 30 mg/day Temazepam (Restoril) and 0-0.5mg/day clonazepam (Klonopin)

[[Gi...]]

Hello to anyone who is reading my post on benzo buddies!

 

Background:

I just finished my PhD in Biomedical Engineering and while the benzos helped me tremendously though the process of staying up days on end with astronomical amounts of work to do and then using the benzos to crash for a few hours 2-5 times a week (I seriously would not have survived otherwise). I have started to realize that I am suffering from many of the side effects of the medications and having finished my degree, I no longer need to take the benzos. Furthermore, at the moment I do not have a job (seeking), so this is probably the ideal time to wean myself off, as opposed to continuing to build the dependence and then go through the process of withdrawal while starting my career. Another stressor is that I am breaking up with my girlfriend of 2.5 years, who is currently living with me and  will not move out until her apartment is ready in mid-January.

 

The Benzos + drugs:

Lorazepam (Ativan) - I am prescribed 0.5-1mg/day, twice a day (not as needed!). So, for a period of a year and a half I took 1mg ativan in the evening before passing out, or some combination with Klonopin. I found that I would not preform to my maximum when taking 0.5-1mg, as it would make me sluggish. Accordingly, I very rarely took this more than once a day.

Restoril (Temazepam) - I am prescribed 30mg/night as needed. I probably took this medication about 3-4 times per week, but usually I would try an avoid taking this if I had taken more than 0.5mg lorazepam that day.

Clonazepam (Klonopin) - I was not prescribed this, but I thought that I could reduce dependence by taking 1mg before bedtime instead of lorazepam. Eventually, I peaked at 1mg lorazepam + 0.5 Klonopin in the evening (no restoril at this level) for a period of 4-6 months and never took more than 1.5 mg of lorazepam/Klonopin combination daily.

Prazosin - This is a blood pressure medication that is not a benzo (not addictive), but can reduce anxiety and induce sleep. I found this ineffective when I was doing my PhD, and relied on the restoril for inducing sleep on tough nights. Recently, I have found that this medication is great for inducing sleep and helps my anxiety when I take it during the day. I am planning to use this to mitigate withdrawal symptoms, as it is an alpha receptor antagonist (lowers adrenaline, tension and anxiety).

Cannabis - I consume this in the evening time to induce sleep. Typically indica dominant varieties and CBD-rich strains (medicinal)

 

 

Unexplicable CT with no W/D, then Hitting the wall this November:

 

After graduation in August, I took time off and did a one-month roadtrip across the nation. I had so much fun and no worries that I stopped taking my medications, except for temazepam in the evenings. At this time, I did not notice any withdrawal symptoms. Perhaps the 30mg of temazepam a few times a week was enough to keep things at bay, considering I was having such a blast and riding the graduation high. Perhaps this means I can recover quicker than most, with the right mindset.

 

Next, I took a one month trip around Europe, where the benzo dependence first reared its head. In the Netherlands, my ATM card expired and I panicked because my girlfriend and I could not use our credit cards. I remember throwing myself on the ground, proclaiming that we should just give up and pan-handle on the street to get money for food. My girlfriend thought I was ridiculous and eventually arranged to have some of our money wired to us that lasted the remainder of the trip.

Next, when I was in Italy I remember having periods of extreme anxiety towards the evening (before taking my daily 1mg Ativan) and being completely clueless as to why I was so uncomfortable during vacation.

Last, once I returned home at the end of October the 'crap' really hit the fan for me. After a few days of being back home without the endless work of the PhD that I had identified with, the uncertainty of the job search (I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do) and the pressure from my girlfriend who wants to move away once I get a job (but I don't) I became so overwhelmed I could not get out of bed in the morning to confront the day. I also began to experience the "depersonalization" effect, which I wrongly concluded at the time was an "identity crisis" stemming from my lack of PhD stimulation and directionless/hopeless job search. Next, I began to realize that my anxiety would peak coincidentally at the same time that my girlfriend would come home from work in the evening. I would drag her into my depression and anxiety, without knowing this was largely a product of the benzo W/D and not how I was actually feeling. She would always be there for me, even when I would say things like I wanted her to leave me b/c I had no value as an unemployed 30 year old who wasn't even going to the gym anymore (At this point I had wasted away to 147lbs at 5'10" @ 8% bodyfat, when I have found that I perform/look best athletically at 155-160lbs @ 10-12 % bodyfat). She would always say that she loved me, and wouldn't want that.

 

Next, we went to a couples councilor to try and figure out what was going on. Initially, we determined that I had made an emotional wall between myself and my girlfriend to avoid repeating traumatic situations in my past. For example, within a period of a couple months I had a girlfriend cheat on me leading to a breakup, a gun pulled on me during a drug-deal gone bad (I lived!), I went to jail for 2 days for drugs and culminated in a suicide attempt after learning I missed my drug test during probation. Luckily, I was interrupted by the center of my HS basketball team who lived in my neighborhood and had decided to see how I was doing randomly.

Anyways, we also discovered that my romantic attraction level to my girlfriend is not high enough to sustain a long term relationship, as the councilor predicted that I would have an affair after marriage, since I would eventually seek this out. I had a hard time accepting this, as I know my girlfriend is a great person who is understanding and always there for me. I however, realized the truth as I have already cheated on her three times with random sex (not an affair!).

In the end, my girlfriend decided she would move out, since I was not willing to move away with her once I get a job elsewhere.

 

The realization:

 

Eventually, I realized that I had a problem after "resolving" my girlfriend issue yet still having a debilitating level of stress at a time I should be relaxing. This was confirmed once I noticed that I felt fine one evening that I took my normal 1 mg lorazepam plus 30 mg temazepam to induce sleep. The following day, I awoke feeling great, but felt progressively worse as the day went on. I read online about benzo W/D and realized what was going on.

 

Information gathering and the taper:

Next, I found the Aston Manual, this wonderful support forum and began to taper very aggressively (mistake) in late November. I determined that I was stable at 1 mg Ativan in the evening after taking this for 10 days (no Klonopin or restoril). Next, I dropped it to .75 mg Ativan and didn't notice much of a difference. After 2 days, I dropped my dose again to 0.5 mg/day and the "crap" hit the fan. The W/D was so bad I could not perform daily activities and was miserable. Even going to the gym, I could not shake off the W/D. Accordingly, I upped my dose back to 0.5 mg Ativan + 0.25 Klonopin in the evening two days ago. Yesterday, I had some W/D before taking my evening dose, but nothing I can't handle. I'm feeling a lot better today at the same dosage, so my plan is to stick at this dose until the W/D is barely noticeable and then taper via:

0.5 mg Ativan + 0.125 Klonopin

then 0.25 mg Ativan + 0.25 Klonopin

then 0.25 mg Ativan + 0.125 Klonopin

0.25 mg Ativan

0.125 Klonopin then Jump!

 

Each cut I was planning on waiting 10-21 days. Also, my ativan is 1mg/pill and Klonopin 0.5mg/pill so that is why I am using a combination to still achieve 1/8 mg reduction each time.

 

1) Since I am used to taking the drug once a day for sleep, and I just started to have inter-dose withdrawal, can I keep it at one dose per day (not spreading the doses over the course of the day). I already tried this and it seems that taking .25 mg lorazepam during the day doesn't touuch my W/D symptoms and 0.5 mg makes me tired/sluggish plus is a high dose.

2) What is the minimum amount of time I should wait in between each cut? I am already tempted to do another cut after only 2 days at my current dose.

3) What sort of timeframe is realistic for my last dose (jump!) and how long should it be before I regain functionality?

4) I am an experienced cannabis user, and plan to kick this habit after the benzos. I feel it helps a lot with the process, so I want to have this until I rid my system of the benzos (im caffeine free ATM). I have overcome cannabis W/D many times before, so I am confident in overcoming this with little or no support.

5) Prazosin - Helps greatly with sleep and I want to try taking this during the day to mitigate benzo W/D. I cannot find much info on this, but mechanistically it makes sense since it will reduce heart palpitations, anxiety via decreased adrenaline. Comments?

 

 

[[Ch...]]

Hi Ginguskhan and welcome.

 

I'm glad you're looking for information to taper safely off these drugs.  Ativan, Klonopin and Temazepam are all in the benzodiazepine class of drugs, so none of these should be used to help taper off the others...it will not actually help taper off, because they are all benzos.

 

This is a rather complicated situation with three benzodiazepines.  You may want to start posting to the wider membership in General Taper Plans for some support with a taper. 

 

Most people believe in tapering one medication at a time, though several can be tapered, it's usually thought to be best to do one at a time in case you need to correct a cut.

 

Please include your benzodiazepine information in your posts.  To make that easier by adding it to each post automatically, you can go up to Profile, choose Forum Profile, write the information in the text box and click Change Profile.

 

Take care,

Challis 

[[be...]]

Hello to anyone who is reading my post on benzo buddies!

 

Background:

I just finished my PhD in Biomedical Engineering and while the benzos helped me tremendously though the process of staying up days on end with astronomical amounts of work to do and then using the benzos to crash for a few hours 2-5 times a week (I seriously would not have survived otherwise). I have started to realize that I am suffering from many of the side effects of the medications and having finished my degree, I no longer need to take the benzos. Furthermore, at the moment I do not have a job (seeking), so this is probably the ideal time to wean myself off, as opposed to continuing to build the dependence and then go through the process of withdrawal while starting my career. Another stressor is that I am breaking up with my girlfriend of 2.5 years, who is currently living with me and  will not move out until her apartment is ready in mid-January.

 

The Benzos + drugs:

Lorazepam (Ativan) - I am prescribed 0.5-1mg/day, twice a day (not as needed!). So, for a period of a year and a half I took 1mg ativan in the evening before passing out, or some combination with Klonopin. I found that I would not preform to my maximum when taking 0.5-1mg, as it would make me sluggish. Accordingly, I very rarely took this more than once a day.

Restoril (Temazepam) - I am prescribed 30mg/night as needed. I probably took this medication about 3-4 times per week, but usually I would try an avoid taking this if I had taken more than 0.5mg lorazepam that day.

Clonazepam (Klonopin) - I was not prescribed this, but I thought that I could reduce dependence by taking 1mg before bedtime instead of lorazepam. Eventually, I peaked at 1mg lorazepam + 0.5 Klonopin in the evening (no restoril at this level) for a period of 4-6 months and never took more than 1.5 mg of lorazepam/Klonopin combination daily.

Prazosin - This is a blood pressure medication that is not a benzo (not addictive), but can reduce anxiety and induce sleep. I found this ineffective when I was doing my PhD, and relied on the restoril for inducing sleep on tough nights. Recently, I have found that this medication is great for inducing sleep and helps my anxiety when I take it during the day. I am planning to use this to mitigate withdrawal symptoms, as it is an alpha receptor antagonist (lowers adrenaline, tension and anxiety).

Cannabis - I consume this in the evening time to induce sleep. Typically indica dominant varieties and CBD-rich strains (medicinal)

 

 

Unexplicable CT with no W/D, then Hitting the wall this November:

 

After graduation in August, I took time off and did a one-month roadtrip across the nation. I had so much fun and no worries that I stopped taking my medications, except for temazepam in the evenings. At this time, I did not notice any withdrawal symptoms. Perhaps the 30mg of temazepam a few times a week was enough to keep things at bay, considering I was having such a blast and riding the graduation high. Perhaps this means I can recover quicker than most, with the right mindset.

 

Next, I took a one month trip around Europe, where the benzo dependence first reared its head. In the Netherlands, my ATM card expired and I panicked because my girlfriend and I could not use our credit cards. I remember throwing myself on the ground, proclaiming that we should just give up and pan-handle on the street to get money for food. My girlfriend thought I was ridiculous and eventually arranged to have some of our money wired to us that lasted the remainder of the trip.

Next, when I was in Italy I remember having periods of extreme anxiety towards the evening (before taking my daily 1mg Ativan) and being completely clueless as to why I was so uncomfortable during vacation.

Last, once I returned home at the end of October the 'crap' really hit the fan for me. After a few days of being back home without the endless work of the PhD that I had identified with, the uncertainty of the job search (I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do) and the pressure from my girlfriend who wants to move away once I get a job (but I don't) I became so overwhelmed I could not get out of bed in the morning to confront the day. I also began to experience the "depersonalization" effect, which I wrongly concluded at the time was an "identity crisis" stemming from my lack of PhD stimulation and directionless/hopeless job search. Next, I began to realize that my anxiety would peak coincidentally at the same time that my girlfriend would come home from work in the evening. I would drag her into my depression and anxiety, without knowing this was largely a product of the benzo W/D and not how I was actually feeling. She would always be there for me, even when I would say things like I wanted her to leave me b/c I had no value as an unemployed 30 year old who wasn't even going to the gym anymore (At this point I had wasted away to 147lbs at 5'10" @ 8% bodyfat, when I have found that I perform/look best athletically at 155-160lbs @ 10-12 % bodyfat). She would always say that she loved me, and wouldn't want that.

 

Next, we went to a couples councilor to try and figure out what was going on. Initially, we determined that I had made an emotional wall between myself and my girlfriend to avoid repeating traumatic situations in my past. For example, within a period of a couple months I had a girlfriend cheat on me leading to a breakup, a gun pulled on me during a drug-deal gone bad (I lived!), I went to jail for 2 days for drugs and culminated in a suicide attempt after learning I missed my drug test during probation. Luckily, I was interrupted by the center of my HS basketball team who lived in my neighborhood and had decided to see how I was doing randomly.

Anyways, we also discovered that my romantic attraction level to my girlfriend is not high enough to sustain a long term relationship, as the councilor predicted that I would have an affair after marriage, since I would eventually seek this out. I had a hard time accepting this, as I know my girlfriend is a great person who is understanding and always there for me. I however, realized the truth as I have already cheated on her three times with random sex (not an affair!).

In the end, my girlfriend decided she would move out, since I was not willing to move away with her once I get a job elsewhere.

 

The realization:

 

Eventually, I realized that I had a problem after "resolving" my girlfriend issue yet still having a debilitating level of stress at a time I should be relaxing. This was confirmed once I noticed that I felt fine one evening that I took my normal 1 mg lorazepam plus 30 mg temazepam to induce sleep. The following day, I awoke feeling great, but felt progressively worse as the day went on. I read online about benzo W/D and realized what was going on.

 

Information gathering and the taper:

Next, I found the Aston Manual, this wonderful support forum and began to taper very aggressively (mistake) in late November. I determined that I was stable at 1 mg Ativan in the evening after taking this for 10 days (no Klonopin or restoril). Next, I dropped it to .75 mg Ativan and didn't notice much of a difference. After 2 days, I dropped my dose again to 0.5 mg/day and the "crap" hit the fan. The W/D was so bad I could not perform daily activities and was miserable. Even going to the gym, I could not shake off the W/D. Accordingly, I upped my dose back to 0.5 mg Ativan + 0.25 Klonopin in the evening two days ago. Yesterday, I had some W/D before taking my evening dose, but nothing I can't handle. I'm feeling a lot better today at the same dosage, so my plan is to stick at this dose until the W/D is barely noticeable and then taper via:

0.5 mg Ativan + 0.125 Klonopin

then 0.25 mg Ativan + 0.25 Klonopin

then 0.25 mg Ativan + 0.125 Klonopin

0.25 mg Ativan

0.125 Klonopin then Jump!

 

Each cut I was planning on waiting 10-21 days. Also, my ativan is 1mg/pill and Klonopin 0.5mg/pill so that is why I am using a combination to still achieve 1/8 mg reduction each time.

 

1) Since I am used to taking the drug once a day for sleep, and I just started to have inter-dose withdrawal, can I keep it at one dose per day (not spreading the doses over the course of the day). I already tried this and it seems that taking .25 mg lorazepam during the day doesn't touuch my W/D symptoms and 0.5 mg makes me tired/sluggish plus is a high dose.

2) What is the minimum amount of time I should wait in between each cut? I am already tempted to do another cut after only 2 days at my current dose.

3) What sort of timeframe is realistic for my last dose (jump!) and how long should it be before I regain functionality?

4) I am an experienced cannabis user, and plan to kick this habit after the benzos. I feel it helps a lot with the process, so I want to have this until I rid my system of the benzos (im caffeine free ATM). I have overcome cannabis W/D many times before, so I am confident in overcoming this with little or no support.

5) Prazosin - Helps greatly with sleep and I want to try taking this during the day to mitigate benzo W/D. I cannot find much info on this, but mechanistically it makes sense since it will reduce heart palpitations, anxiety via decreased adrenaline. Comments?

 

welcome  congratulations on your PHD, "Doctor".  You really exposed your feelings and experiences and I really appreciate that. It sounds like you are about to emark on many new things in life...all at once. Between your completion in school, your breakup with your girl friend and benzodiazepine withdrawal, you have a lot going on. Not everyone reads this introduction section. It really is meant as kind of a starting point for our new members. Chal sent you a link to our general taper plans board. I think you would get the best advice about your situation there. I would like to say that I think that you get off the benzodiazepines very carefully. In my opinion this can greatly reduce the chances of severe or prolonged symptoms. Again, welcome. It is always nice to have a new member.

[[wi...]]

I also began to experience the "depersonalization" effect, which I wrongly concluded at the time was an "identity crisis" stemming from my lack of PhD stimulation and directionless/hopeless job search.

 

This happened to me as well. Before I figured out that I was experiencing serious benzo withdrawal symptoms, I remember googling "mid-life crisis" and things of that nature because I couldn't figure out why I suddenly felt like I was falling apart mentally. The DP is very disturbing, and happens mostly when I'm under any kind of stress, however minimal. I went to my daughters' Christmas concert this evening and felt sadly detached from it all. Certainly never experienced this before benzos.