3 docs yesterday.....still no guidance. Advice please

[[He...]]

I've been to 3 p docs. One said to taper .5 mg every week....one told me to go to rehab and one said to stay on the benzos and up the dose.....or I would FAIL.  Sooooo I went to my neurologist, my family doc and my therapist yesterday.  They all said to get the ( blank) off.  I don't feel like I have any guidance.  Do I need it?  Can I do this by myself?  I've made one cut....I'm in tolerance and have huge anxiety and chronic pain issues.  Because yesterday was so stressful..... both are off the charts. Do I just take a calendar and start.  Family is frustrated and I feel terrible about myself getting into this mess.  I've been on this for most of my life.  Will it be harder for me....I'm sorry to be so wimpy but they all say I need a psychiatrist to guide me.... but how many do I try.  It's hurting me emotionally.  I use to be a whirling dervish....I don't recognize myself.  Any thoughts.  Having a tough time

[[ti...]]

Starting was the hardest for me. Can you stabalize on another med, perhaps your pdoc can prescribe something for anxiety. Gabapentin for pain?

His advice sounded best

[[be...]]

Starting is always difficult and families are often frustrated. Try not to let that bother you. I see no reason you can't taper on your own provided you have a doctor to make sure you have enough Med's. I at first needed to listen to my doctor but now I've devised my own plan so I'm in control of this. A plan that you feel you can handle is your first big step. You can alter it as you go along. And I had pretty bad pain in around month 2. The gabapentin worked very well. I wasn't thrilled about another Med but it hasn't caused me problems. I now only take it as needed. Likewise I also took Remeron 15 mg for sleep and to gain weight. Taking adjunct Med's to me was ok if the benefit outweighed the risk. So my priority was simply get off benzos! If I needed something to help with that I took it. No regrets. You're in a quandary it seems as to what to do. You have the choice of staying on them or not. Many don't have this option. Personally I'd definitely get off these drugs. It's time. But the big question is DO YOU want off them? If so, commit to it and do it. The more you take and the longer you take them yes it gets ugly. And you'll probably need more and more. Why not start now? Eventually you might not have an option. So IMHO quit while you're ahead. You can do it. B

[[He...]]

I want to get off of them for sure....I worry that it'll make my illness ( pain) and function worse and that will take the rest of my life.  How do you get groceries etc....will I be able to function.  I'm not functioning very well now .  I'm worried about every little thing in the future and how upset my family is with me that I'm in this mess.  Do you just get out a calendar and start?  I know this sounds silly but I'm really scared and I have too many cooks in my kitchen.  If you are having a really lousy day do you start. Or is every day lousy so I might as well.  I need reassurance that I can handle this and I don't own a crystal ball.  I take gabapentin for my pain condition but it no longer works.  I can't go up I know that for certain....the feel terrible in tolerance but the first cut I made was really hard.??? Thoughts.  I know I'll feel better on the other side ....it's going through it that is terrifying

[[sn...]]

I've been on Ativan forever as well.  A number of years back I went from 4 mg to 2 mg.  Now I am trying to go from 2 mg to 1 mg.  I have had the same frustrations with docs like you.  Some say get off...some say no you need it...but still not even a hint of guidance.

 

You say 4 mg but you don't say how you spread your doses...don't know if you take more at night for the insomnia.  Mine are 4 equal doses.  I started reducing the dose I felt I needed the least.  I didn't set any timetable but do make sure after a cut to take plenty of time to stabilize.

 

Maybe first set a goal to get from 4 to 3 and then if you make that go from 3 to 2...meaning gradually not all in one cut.

[[He...]]

How much did you cut each time?  I take 2/3 of it during the night to sleep

[[sn...]]

when i was at 4mg....I cut just .5 mg or .25...so that was 1/2 of my 1mg tab or just 1/4 of it.

 

now at 2 mg...i am going to cut either .25 or just .125 which is based on my .5 mg tab

 

If you check through here they recommend to cut no more than 5 to 10 percent at a time...so at 4mg  that would be like .4mg....so as your dose drops you should cut less at a time.

 

All the cutting and splitting and all that can cause a nightmare in itself...what effect does the Valium have on you?

[[be...]]

I'd cut starting with a bit of your highest dose. Will you function? I honestly don't know but I went from 8 mg to 4 mg Ativan and felt fantastic. Is there a good day to start. In my opinion not really. I wasn't well in the slightest (understatement) when I started but I'm glad I did. I'm positive it will be one of the best days of my life in hindsight. You're doctor confused right now but you need to be careful here too. You'll be wanting support for sure but will get many suggestions. You have to glean from those suggestions what you think might be best for you. I don't use a calendar because I keep a journal. But whatever works. Try to apply your situation to those who are or have been on Ativan etc. Every Benzo has differences. And try to understand your family's frustration and you need to understand that then can't understand you (if that makes sense). Don't compare it to other drugs. This is different so treat it that way and remain hopeful that the taper is clearly your best move. Again it's ultimately up to you. B

[[be...]]

Hi

 

This is what I did to get off my klonopin. I cut 5% every 14 days. I felt fine with no symptoms. Then I hit the wall at .525 mg so I did a dry MT, cutting .001 grams 10 days out of 14 days. I previously did a partial C/O to 70 mg of Valium. The lower I got the better I felt. Now I about halfway through my Valium taper. If it were me, I would just listen to your body and either stay with your plan, increase the taper rate or decrease your taper rate. IMHO I would not updose or stay at your dose. I would think giving your current condition if it were me I would cut 5% every 10-14 days. Hope this helps.

 

Betsy

[[He...]]

Someone asked what effect the Valium has on me.  They gave it to me a year ago because I was waking up in the middle of the night in panic.....guess I was in tolerance then....who knew?  It helps me sleep but I wake up ( if I sleep) drugged .  This may sound ridiculous but I'm extremely sensitive to meds, vitamins, foods ...I can't take SSRIs and I'm afraid I'll get really sick if I can't sleep.  Remeron is out.  Afraid of trazadone.  All of this causing huge amounts of anxiety.  I miss my life even though I was always in pain.  I'm sorry I'm complaining.....

So I just figured .5 mg cut is more than 10 %.... and .25 is under.  My doc said just keep taking .5 off every two weeks.???

[[sn...]]

I asked about Valium because some people do the crossover to Valium.  Obviously, that is not an option if what you take now makes you feel drugged.

 

I am also very sensitive to medicines and other things as well such as light, odor, etc...so I can understand that.  My doctor once made a sarcastic comment that I was too sensitive to medication.

 

I have tried the antidepressants/SSRIs and they always made me feel dizzy and drugged so they were not an option to help me.  My head felt in a fog.

 

It looks like from what you have said that a slow taper directly from Ativan might be your best option.  You have to listen to your own body and hopefully get a doctor that works with you at a rate you can feel comfortable to reduce.  Remember, most doctors do not get this process at all so use these boards to find things that might work for you and try what you are most comfortable with doing.

[[db...]]

Hi Healing Seeker,

Since you have been on ativan so long could you change to a longer acting benzo to taper? I have nearly that long on klonopin and just take a cut and just hold there until I feel bearable to try another cut. The idea is that your receptors start healing as the dosage goes down, but don't hurry it. The is a long cut and hold area under support groups that explains this theory. Most Drs want to just rush things and this is a very complex situation to get off after 30 years, but you can do it. All the best to you.

[[be...]]

Someone asked what effect the Valium has on me.  They gave it to me a year ago because I was waking up in the middle of the night in panic.....guess I was in tolerance then....who knew?  It helps me sleep but I wake up ( if I sleep) drugged .  This may sound ridiculous but I'm extremely sensitive to meds, vitamins, foods ...I can't take SSRIs and I'm afraid I'll get really sick if I can't sleep.  Remeron is out.  Afraid of trazadone.  All of this causing huge amounts of anxiety.  I miss my life even though I was always in pain.  I'm sorry I'm complaining.....

So I just figured .5 mg cut is more than 10 %.... and .25 is under.  My doc said just keep taking .5 off every two weeks.???

 

Some ppl who are very sensitive to meds/vitamins in general have problems with psych drugs. I am not sensitive but those SSRis were very bad news to me. I take Trazodone and do very well on it, as it's different than an SSRis......But yes, proceed  with caution.