Who Knew???

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I have been prescribed 1 mg. alprazolam for twenty years... My new Dr. suggested I should stop taking this medication. Last Friday I realized I was out and couldn't be in contact with my Dr. until Monday. This seemed like the time to stop...You'll be fine they said, take a benydryl they said, It's such a small dose nothing is going to happen to you!!! It was the most terrifying awake four days of my life! Anxiety, heart palpitations, insomnia, loud noises in my head, electricity in my head leading to hallucinations and finally Monday morning a trip to the ER. DR. gave me 1 mg. Ativan and my Dr. then prescribed 1 mg. Ativan twice daily until I can get to Psychiatrist to start taper. I'm exhausted, shocked and horrified!! I have a feeling I'm going to need a lot of support and really have no idea what is in store for me going forward!? 

[[pi...]]

Hello umbrella20,

 

Welcome to Benzo Buddies! I am so very sorry you had to endure what is called a cold turkey. I know from first hand experience how awful this can be.  Doctors are becoming more hesitant, in some cases, to continue prescribing benzos long term. That is good progress. However, there is still overall a big disconnect within the medical community as to the correct way to help people stop taking these types of drugs.  I hope you can see a doctor soon and begin a sensible taper.

 

A slow taper can help to minimize withdrawal symptoms.  Generally a reduction of no more than 5-10% every 10-14 days is suggested. I'm going to give you a link to the General Taper Plans for additional information.

 

I'll also give you a link to the Ashton Manual. It is an excellent resource about these types of drugs and how to withdraw. It was written by Dr. Heather Ashton, an expert in the field. I actually copied pertinent pages from the manual and took them to my doctor.  He was receptive to the plan and we formulated my taper based on this information provided. 

 

You're going to be OK but since you have taken Ativan for a long time, a slow taper would be the way I would approach this process.  We can support you through your withdrawal and recovery, we understand what you are going through.  I totally understand how horrified you are with the results of stopping Ativan suddenly and frankly, 1mg is not such a small dose.

 

Please feel free to ask questions, we're here to help.  In my opinion, being benzo free is well worth the effort to get there.

 

General Taper Plans 

 

The Ashton Manual

 

pianogirl 

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Thanks for your help...I have taken .5 mg Xanax at night for sleep and up to 1 mg on those occasions when you just need help with anxiety and panic for 20 years..I have heard the diagnosis PTSD from my therapist, life has not been easy..

That's the shock! Thinking it was a small dose, 20 years is a long time..I'm confused about the change to 2 mg. Ativan per day until I can get to the appointment with psychiatrist to begin tapering??

[[yy...]]

I wonder why they did not just give you what you had been on and you start your taper from that.  Seems like you are now on more.  Not an expert here... just wondering.  Try the Taper Support Group....

[[Ge...]]

Thanks for your help...I have taken .5 mg Xanax at night for sleep and up to 1 mg on those occasions when you just need help with anxiety and panic for 20 years..I have heard the diagnosis PTSD from my therapist, life has not been easy..

That's the shock! Thinking it was a small dose, 20 years is a long time..I'm confused about the change to 2 mg. Ativan per day until I can get to the appointment with psychiatrist to begin tapering??

 

It's my personal experience that doctors have suddenly developed an aversion to Rxing Xanax.... but I don't know what changed. 

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Thanks for the information, looks like I have found the correct place to be doing my research. The ER doctor was adamant about never prescribing Xanax ever!! He gave me Ativan then my Dr. followed his recommendation.. I thought it strange as well, shouldn't I be preparing to taper from the drug I have been taking all these years? We have now introduced another drug at 2x the mgs. daily?? I was out of my mind as I had been awake for four days and having hallucinations. I do remember him saying it is a wicked drug .. I am just so blown away by my ignorance pertaining to these meds. That's what I thought of them, as medications that my doctor prescribed for my benefit. Never, not one time did I ever hear anything negative!?!? I trusted my care to them...I'm going to need a lot of grace and support going forward on this journey I had no idea I would be taking...

[[yy...]]

First it woul be very helpful for you and everyone to do your signature so people can look and see your history and you don't have to keep posting that.  Yours will be very short.  imo We need someone to help you figure out why other than the dr doesn't prscribe them and if the switch to a different drug will help or hurt since it is more. .  I think/hope the General Taper group can share ... not that it is the answer FOR YOU.  I and probably most of us were also very unaware of any of this benzo hell.  I am an accidental addict .. reason took.. for insomnia.  This is not what they are for.  They really are not for anxiety in light of all the harm they cause.  Take care of you

[[yy...]]

found this...

It is difficult to compare benzodiazapines because the are different in their anxiety decreasing abilites, panic decreasing abilites and sedative abilties. That being said, the rough equavalence for these two drugs is:

 

.5 mg xanax is equal to 1mg ativan.

 

So to more closely answer your question 1mg xanax is equal to 2mg ativan.

 

Keep in mind that xanax is generally quicker acting than ativan. Other medications can affect the absorption of these two medicines differently.

 

Hope this helps a bit

 

https://www.drugs.com/answers/what-is-the-difference-between-1mg-of-ativan-and-372432.html

[[yy...]]

I will say this from my experience of doing dry cuts.... Xanax (alprozalam) comes in .25 mg.  Why is this impt?  Because when you get down below .5 to .25.... you can cut further.... by 1/4 or .0625 ... I jumped after 10 days of .0625.... Difficult / impossible to cut a .5 down to that small amount.

[[yy...]]

also, just thought of this.... how are you doing today right now on new benzo and the dose?  the same?  of course you had a c/t which started the benzo hell.. which has compounded your sxs. know you probably need to settle on one... which one is the question.

[[pi...]]

Thanks for the information, looks like I have found the correct place to be doing my research. The ER doctor was adamant about never prescribing Xanax ever!! He gave me Ativan then my Dr. followed his recommendation.. I thought it strange as well, shouldn't I be preparing to taper from the drug I have been taking all these years? We have now introduced another drug at 2x the mgs. daily?? I was out of my mind as I had been awake for four days and having hallucinations. I do remember him saying it is a wicked drug .. I am just so blown away by my ignorance pertaining to these meds. That's what I thought of them, as medications that my doctor prescribed for my benefit. Never, not one time did I ever hear anything negative!?!? I trusted my care to them...I'm going to need a lot of grace and support going forward on this journey I had no idea I would be taking...

 

Hello again,

 

I also do not know what the doctor increased your dose so significantly to twice the amount you were actually taking. If it were me, I would try to stabilize on the lowest dose possible, more than likely the original dose. After that, I would start a slow and sensible taper. I really hope your doctor will agree to a slow taper, it is your body and your withdrawal.  You should be able to control the rate of reduction based on how you feel.

 

Honestly, so many of us have beat ourselves up for ever taking these types of medications. I didn't even know the word "benzo" the entire time I was taking Ativan and certainly had no idea it could cause dependence and was not given any information about the drug.  However, for my wellbeing, I just had to let go of that guilt and focus on my future health by getting off benzos.

 

pianogirl 

[[on...]]

So sorry you went through such a hell being abruptly taken off xanax after 20 years. Like you my doctor suddenly decided she could no longer prescribe xanax  to me for long term anxiety and panic attacks but at least she gave me the time to do a somewhat  gradual- 4 month taper- that was challenging enough- can't imagine the hell in going cold turkey like you did. Can't figure out why the switch to ativan for you  other than the fact that right now xanax has such a stigma attached to it- no doctor wants to be associated with it. For me it seemed simpler and more straight forward just to taper directly from the xanax that my body was already familiar  with. Best of luck to you!

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Thanks for your time and effort in helping me understand the details. It appears that I will continue on the Ativan 1 mg. 2x daily until I can see the psychiatrist to help me with my taper. My MD says she doesn't want me to take any more Xanax. Tomorrow it will be a week ago that I went to the ER and started taking the Ativan. I'm thankful to be as stable as I am at this point, much improved from last weekend.. However, I don't feel well, the noise in my head raises itself, I have been awake since 1:30 a.m. My eyes hurt, I'm sweating and I still feel exhausted...On the bright side, I'm going to be okay! It appears this will be a lengthy journey requiring all my time and focus to be well. I'm so glad to have found support, and lots of information as I have to gather all the information I possibly can...I'm still shocked that I could be so clueless!? again, thank you!