Need your thoughts 💭

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Hi, I am trying to taper straight from ativan. I have been on ativan for like 7 yrs. I was at 1.5 mg daily, and have cut to .75 in the morning and .5 in the afternoon. I am Having withdrawal symptoms. The worst symptoms seem to happen in the afternoon. They are not unbearable, but hard. The hardest symptom is that for a few days I have had a couple of panick attacks in the afternoon while driving.

 

My question is does anyonene have advice on how my taper should go moving forward?

 

Any thoughts on my situation would be greatly appreciated:)

Thanks

[Guest [ba...]]

My question is does anyonene have advice on how my taper should go moving forward?

 

Slowly.

 

1.5 -> 1.25 ends up being a fairly substantial cut (~17%).  Most people around here cut by no more than 5-10% and many cut much less than that.  If you can make it doing cuts like that, then go for it, but big cuts like that can be pretty harsh.  Be sure to give yourself plenty of time between cuts to 'recover' a bit.

 

Don't push thru your cuts so hard that you end up having to reinstate to 1.5mg.  A fair number of people start this process very boldly, but later learn that they should have listened to their bodies a little more.

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Thanks for responding. Yeah, it doesn't seem like it would be a big cut. I  have learned how crazy my body has taken this cut size though. I will go slower moving forward.  Do you think I should move up a little, or hold here since my symptoms are tough?

Thanks again

[Guest [ba...]]

It's up to you.  You could go up to 1.375 which would be a more reasonable first cut (8-ish percent).  Or you can hold and ride out this cut.  It just depends on what you think you're up to.  You do want to push yourself a bit, but you don't want to suffer needlessly or lose your job or end up laying in your bed all day.  You are the ultimate judge regarding the speed of your taper.

[[mi...]]

Thanks for the help