Lamenting Ativan

[[me...]]

Hello,

 

My name is Meredith. I was prescribed Ativan by my psychiatrist about a month ago while he was trying to find the right SSRI for me. I think he meant to prescribe .5 3x day as needed, but the bottle was 1mg 3x a day. I tried to only take one in the evening and 1 in the daytime only when I absolutely needed it. Twice, I tried 1.5 or 2 mg because the 1 mg did not seem to be helping with my anxiety. Most days I try to work through the daytime anxiety without any Ativan, but it is hard, I think I'm having intradose withdrawal, just taking 1 mg in the evenings.

 

I ended up going back on my old SSRI Fluvoxamine, but I still think the main thing helping me sleep at night is the Ativan. It wears off at about 5 or so in the morning and I cannot go back to sleep. I want to get stable and wean off of the Ativan because it is not working all that well for me anyway, AND i AM ALREADY DEPENDENT after 1 month! I think I am going to try to take .5 in the morning and 1mg in the evening before starting a taper schedule. I am going to be looking a LOT on this help forum for help with my taper schedule.

 

I was not able to switch to Valium. I reacted badly to it.

 

BTW, i have been on xanax in the past (but not for very long), and klonopin. The klonopin does not seem to work for me now, but I had much better success weaning off of it when I took it for a short time a few years ago. Perhaps some of what threw me into this mess a couple of months ago was PAWS. I don't know, but I do not want to be on benzos, and I am scared more than anything of insomnia (and perhaps the withdrawal symptoms I have not yet experiences).

 

Thank you for your stories and support.

 

Best,

Meredith

[Guest [Le...]]

Hello, Meredith - welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

I think you're making the right decision to get off Ativan before you get really stuck. I was on it for nearly six years, and tried crossing over to Valium in order to taper off too, but that didn't work out for me either, although it does for some.

 

Many BB members have jumped directly from Ativan, and I'm sure you'll have no problem with it. Insomnia is a common difficulty around here, but one thing most of us have learned is that it's possible to get deep natural sleep without any drugs at all - it just takes time to get our brains to understand how that works, but it's totally doable. 

 

I'm so glad you decided to join the forum - you'll find plenty of information and support here. Our members have gone through all aspects of benzodiazepine use and withdrawal, so you'll be able to connect with others who understand what you're going through.

 

Here are a couple of links that may be a good starting place for you to post your questions.

 

  General Taper Plans

  Withdrawal Support

 

When you have a chance, I recommend that you take a look at The Ashton Manual, a guide for withdrawal and recovery. It provides a great deal of information that can be very reassuring during any stage of this process, including a list of common symptoms with helpful explanations.

 

For those who are currently tapering, a starting guideline is that the dosage not be reduced faster than by 5-10% every 10-14 days - some taper even more slowly than that. One exception: very short-term users of a few weeks or less may be able to taper somewhat faster. 

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature. This will allow members to see where you are in the process, so that they can better support you.

 

Looking forward to seeing you on the forum!

Leslie