Followed as Prescribed; Ended Up With Worst Withdrawal of My Life

[[My...]]

Hi, I decided to join BenzoBuddies because I walked into a psychiatrist's office for anxiety.  I experienced three deaths in my family in a month, which caused my anxiety in the first place.  I followed the Ativan prescription for ten days and wound up with the worst withdrawal from anything I've ever taken in my life less than two days after I ran out of pills.

  I went to a different psychiatrist to get more pills and to start a tapering program.  So far, the taper is going well.  I find it messed up that I went through withdrawal after ten days at 1 milligram per day.  I went to 3/4 of a milligram the first week and to 1/2 milligram after two weeks on the tapering program.  I'm not sure where it'll go from there, but I want to be free of these things after just six weeks on them, which includes the taper.  In hindsight, I wish I'd done more research before I took that first pill. These things are pure poison.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks for your time.

[[me...]]

Welcome to the forum, we're glad you found us!  Congratulations on deciding to get off benzos.  As you near the end of your taper, you may experience some withdrawal symptoms again, but rest assured they are temporary and will get better as you heal. Here are a few links you may find useful:

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper).

 

The Ashton Manual is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field.  She describes and explains withdrawal symptoms, and there is also a section with withdrawal/taper schedules.

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

 

Again, welcome!

 

 

[[De...]]

Hello Mythbustertwin,

 

Welcome to the forum from me too 

 

I'm so sorry to hear about the family bereavements, I'm sre that must have been a very distressing experience.

 

Sadly dependence on benzos can develop quite quickly. We've had quite a few members who've had problems even after very short term use but hopefully the withdrawal effects will remain manageable now that you are tapering. Hopefully as a short term user you'll heal quite quickly once benzo free, you may still have some symptoms but they should peter out fairly quickly, we certainly wouldn't expect you to have a long drawn out recovery period.

 

I'm glad you found us and I wish you success with the taper.

 

Debbie

[[...]]

Good luck! I am new to this too so don't have much advice, justso sorry it happened to you

[[Po...]]

Hello, yes it is messed up, but as you say these drugs are pure poison indeed. I only used them for nine days and had a hellish withdrawal. I'm one year off and doing much better now though still not 100% I am getting closer. So hang in there whatever happens and remember it does get better even if you don't always believe it will. I hope you heal quickly and wish you the best.

[[My...]]

Hi everyone.  Thanks for the support and kind words.  I went through some pretty serious withdrawal at my current .5 mg per day dose over the weekend.  Who knew that a ten day prescription would throw you into such a horrible mess? I probably hit the tolerance point.  It's better now, though.  I also feel like more of my old self after some withdrawal and at the lower dose.  Those feelings keep me motivated.  I go to therapy every couple of weeks, do daily deep-breathing exercises, and started a weekly meditation program as well. Between all that, my awesome girlfriend and my companionable dog, I feel much better.  This site provides more of the support I'll need.  Thank you!

 

I stopped taking the 10 mgs of Buspar my doctor put me on when I began tapering the Ativan.  The headaches were keeping me from being able to work.  I hope she'll continue to help me taper even after I stopped the Buspar (which didn't do anything after three weeks except cause headaches and memory loss).

 

I think liquid titration with Ativan over a few months will get me off these awful pills.  I've seen my mother on Valium and I don't think a switch will work for me.  I tried using Lexapro for long term (BIG mistake); I had a severe allergic reaction to that one.  Water titration looks good (thanks for the Ashton manual) for my needs.  Thank you all and I look forward to talking with you more as we continue this process together.

[[De...]]

Hi again Mythbustertwin and thank you for the update.

 

That's good news that you are feeling better, the therapy and meditation will help enormously not only when you are tapering but also once you are benzo free to control further anxiety attacks.

 

It isn't essential to crossover to Diazepam for tapering purposes, many members here taper successfully directly from the Ativan.

 

Good luck with the taper 

 

Debbie

[[My...]]

Hey Debbie/everyone,

 

I had some pretty serious withdrawal early this morning and I know why; I didn't spread out the dose (.25 mgs two time a day). I should've split it up into four smaller doses.  I'm still learning.

 

The good news is that my (very helpful for a refreshing change) doctor put me on 2.5 mgs of Valium today after I called her.  I don't think I'll react to it negatively and I'll be able to take less pills.  I think the Ashton Manual should be brought to the public's attention since it's so hard to get treated for these pills due to the lack of knowledge about how addictive and potent they are.  I picked up the Valium earlier this evening and I hope it'll keep the withdrawal at bay unlike the short acting Ativan.  And I'm already finding that Valium is helping me from a psychological point of view because it's less potent and was the first Benzo ever made (at least I think it was based on what I read).

 

Thanks for the continued encouragement and best of luck.  I don't use Facebook anymore, so I'll be visiting this site frequently.  You guys have been great.

 

 

[[ma...]]

Mythbuster,

 

I had the exact same experience with withdrawal after only 10 days usage using 1mg per day (.5 morning, .5 evening).  Worse, I wasn't even supposed to take it for 10 days straight.  It was supposed to only be "as needed", but a medical resident didn't explain the directions properly and I interpreted it as something I was to take until the bottle was empty. I think about this stupid mistake every day.

 

You're lucky since you figured out what was going on so quickly.  I didn't figure it out and went back on the drug.  This happened 2 more times until I finally figured out it was the drug causing the problems.  But, by that time, it was much worse....and here I am almost 2 years later and still having issues (mainly with sleep).

 

My advise to you is to not stretch out your taper for a long time.  Better to just get off the drug sooner rather than later.  Since you're a short time user, if you have any withdrawal after your taper is finished, it will likely be short-lived.  Try to finish your taper in the next 2 weeks as it's better to not risk further dependence by staying on the drug for a longer period of time.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

[[My...]]

Hey Mack,

 

I'm sorry you're still having trouble two years later.  I credit my mother with telling me about the Ativan.  My grandmother was strung out on mssive doses of that stuff for a few months in a nursing home.  When my mom found out, she was livid and sued the doctors.  I didn't know this until my own experience with Ativan, but I no doubt would've perpetuated the problem if she hadn't educated me.  The psych who prescribed the Ativan for me originally said to take it for ten days and not "as needed".  I can easily see how you took the whole bottle without the proper guidance from the medical resident.  I'd stop kicking myself if I was you.  I know it's hard, but I blame the doctors for not taking more than twenty minutes before they write a couple of prescriptions and change your life in a negative way for months or years.  And you're probably sensitive to drugs like I am.  I tried Lexapro and it put me in the hospital with breathing problems and blisters all over my hands.  Luckily, I was only on that crap for three days, so I didn't have any withdrawal issues.  And Buspar, which did absolutely nothing for anxiety, gave me headaches and I was falling asleep at 7:00 at night like I'm 90 years old.

 

Believe me, I want to make my withdrawal period as short as possible.  I'm on 5 mgs of Valium right now because of the longer lasting effects.  I hate how tired it makes me, but it's easier to deal with the lowered withdrawal symptoms.  I'm going to see the psychiatrist again on Friday and two weeks after that.  Her plan and mine is to have me off this med in less than three weeks.  I can't wait to throw the orange bottle in the trash for the last time.  After I get off the pill, I will never walk into a quack psychiatrist's office again.  What a mess.  Thanks for your advice.  I will heed it and make the taper as quick as possible and get on with my life.  I'll keep you posted.

[[My...]]

Hey everyone,

 

I stopped using Ativan a few weeks back and I'm fine now. I'm completely "myself" again, but with improved coping skills. I hate what Ativan did to me and I'm grateful to be off of it.  I'm taking Trazodone to sleep for a month, but I can live with that.  It's better than rebound insomnia. I'm glad I didn't micro taper for months to get off it.  I just wanted that poison out of my body.

 

I hope you're all getting better. I appreciate all the kind words and support.

 

-Mythbustertwin

[[Br...]]

Hey everyone,

 

I stopped using Ativan a few weeks back and I'm fine now. I'm completely "myself" again, but with improved coping skills. I hate what Ativan did to me and I'm grateful to be off of it.  I'm taking Trazodone to sleep for a month, but I can live with that.  It's better than rebound insomnia. I'm glad I didn't micro taper for months to get off it.  I just wanted that poison out of my body.

 

I hope you're all getting better. I appreciate all the kind words and support.

 

Well done, Mythbustertwin.  It's good to know you escaped the deadly embrace of benzos in the nick of time and saved yourself a lengthy taper.