My deal With Ativan Withdrawl Need some Answers

[[Ma...]]

First off I started having Sleeping Issues all of a sudden since October 2014, So I got on Ativan 1mg and Seroquel, took it awhile the Seroquel made me sick so I got off it and stuck with the Ativan.....

 

Then I got on Olanzapine, took that and it worked for a time but then started giving me bad brain jolts while trying to sleep, got off that and kept taking ativan still....

 

At one time I stopped ativan for 3 days but then had sleeping Issues so I got back on it again.....

 

Then I got on Remeron, Took it for 4 days, I was sleeping better with the ativan but then As Usual Brain Japs started with that med too, so I quit that and Still stuck with the Ativan.....

 

Earlier this Year I had a Brain Scan done, Thyroid Tests and a Sleep Study, The Brain test came back normal, So did the Thyroid tests, The Sleep Study I only got 4 hours of sleep but they told me I was hitting all the stages of sleep but was only staying in the stages for less then 40% of the time which is bad, this was in June sometime.....

 

The first year the 1mg of ativan seemed to help, this past year it started getting worse, the sleep got more and more miserable and every day I felt very Fatigued yet because of my worry of staying up too long I ignored it and kept taking it......

 

October this year I am in my Second Year of this, I cut my Ativan in half to .5 mg for 2 weeks then I quit it, I been off ativan for about 2 weeks now, since then basically I take Ambien to try to sleep and Pamelor.....

 

My Questions that concern me are:

 

#1. I know they say Ativan even though 1mg is a lower dose still for 2 years can cause alot of problems, is that true? Could it possibly be the reason I was not staying in deep sleep and made staying in my sleep stages worse?

 

#2. Can 1mg cause problems if your on it for about 2 years? Because It started off first coupe days with ok sleep then got worse, 3 days ago I was up almost 40 hours, I slept about 8 after it, then 2 nights I slept kinda good, last night I AGAIN had issues sleeping and did not sleep so here we go again, I try to stay up till my designated sleeping time to try again, I also been having pinching in my head or headaches in places, my upper back kinda hurts and I have on and off Horrible Fatigue, like really bad to the point I think Ill pass out but dont, and sometimes the Fatigue would subside during the day then Hit HARD again....Are these symptoms of withdrawl?

 

#3. Also is it true the Longer You stay awake like I have been the harder it actually is to fall asleep?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[[be...]]

Ativan, like all benzodiazepines usually end up being a poor solution for what they were orginally prescribed for when taken long term. Yes, they can be very diffult to withdraw from when taken for several years. They were meant to be taken for several weeks or less for a variety of reasons.  One is that a dependency can develop in just a few weeks and another as you found out is that they can be very difficult to withdraw from be very difficult to get off of.  Ativan is 10 times stronger than Valium so your dose was not that low to simpy stop. Insomnia, and sleep problems are very common in withdrawal.  For me personally it was always much harder to fall asleep the longer I had been up. I had very little sleep during my acute period. The first part of withdrawal is by far the worst. This period (acute) lasts about a  month with some noticeable improvement typically feft after.

[[Ma...]]

Thans for the Reply, Right now in min hour 36 of no sleep, so yeah I don't get it but I guess reast will come sooner or later...Also I keep thinking i Have SFI, ever since this all started

[[Da...]]

Hi Mark m. I know the insomnia is very frustrating. To me that only lasted through the first 60 days of WD and then I started to sleep more and more. Some people recommend unisom I used Nyquil several times during that difficult time. Good luck man, stick with it and you will get some relief soon.