benzos and blues

[[mr...]]

greetings, i have been on ativan on and off for 8 or so years.  a quarter to a

miligram a day.  sometimes I hadnt takedn for weeks.  at this point, in a severe anxiety with worldly conditions.  Taking half a miligram just to mellow out and nap, eight hours or so later start panicking and take another.  Too tired and depressed to care to change.  I am a father, a community artist, and my roles as both are definitely suffereing.  Dont know how much a benzo tolerance could play a part, or if I am lazy/depressed more so.  thanks and good day to you

[[ga...]]

Hello, mrhyde. Welcome to Benzo Buddies. We're glad to have you here.

 

I'm sorry to read about your troubles with Ativan. It is a short-acting benzodiazepine that can cause strong withdrawal symptoms. Some people do become physically dependent on benzodiazepines very quickly and then can experience inter-dose withdrawal while still taking the drug. It happened to me after only 4 weeks of taking Xanax at bedtime.

 

Please read and ask questions on the forum. I think you will find others here who have gone through similar experiences from taking benzodiazepines. You may find these boards to be particularly helpful:

 

General Taper Plans

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

Success Stories 

 

You can locate our other boards with many more resources from our home page: BenzoBuddies Community Forum.

 

You will find stickies in bold pinned at the top of the boards. These threads contain information that our members have found to be particularly helpful. Feel free to start your own thread on the relevant board and ask any questions you may have about withdrawal and recovery. Just click on the board name and then click New Topic.

 

I'd also like to give you a link to the Ashton Manual. Dr. Ashton is an expert on withdrawal from benzodiazepines. Much of what we know about benzodiazepines and successful withdrawal comes from her work.

 

The Ashton Manual

 

Finally, I'd like to ask you to read the stickies on our Community Policies & Documents and to Add a signature . Doing these two things will help you to connect with our community.

 

Best wishes on your journey to health and healing,

 

gardener99