Hello

[[Go...]]

Hi Good Morning,

I have been taking Ativan for about 17 years.  I have a prescription for .5 mg.  I have taken more as needed on occasion; however, I usually stick to 1/2 of that amount or .25 mg.  I cut the pill in half every day.  I suffer from severe anxiety, which has gotten worse with the recent passing of my Dad.  A new doctor took over my old doctors practice and he is starting to get resistant to giving me the Ativan.  He will only give 30 pills at a time and i practically have to beg him for a new prescription.  I currently have enough medication if i take the .25 dose to last until the 2nd week in December.  I think i may have no choice my to start a taper, based on what I am reading here.  I know this is a low dose, but understand this is a powerful drug.  I never take them to get high.  Last night I had an anxiety attack while reading horror stories of Benzo withdrawal.  I am 55 years old and don't want to have to go through it.  I don't think I will survive it after losing my Dad and some other members of my family. I really don't know what to do.  Any advice would be appreciated.

[Guest [ba...]]

Hello Goldy27!

 

Welcome to the forum - I'm glad you found us.

 

There are a lot of people here with similar stories.  A change in doctors and a subsequent change in meds.  These meds are best tapered very slowly to try to minimize any withdrawal symptoms that might pop up.  We usually recommend a reduction rate of no greater than 5-10% every 10-14 days.  You'll probably want to begin to deal with developing some coping strategies to deal with your anxiety since you'll lose the sedation (therapeutic) action of the drug.  fwiw - I was 58 when I jumped off 2 mg of Ativan, so this is something that you can safely do.

 

If you haven’t already done so, please take a thorough look at the Ashton Manual.  It is an authoritative guide to benzodiazepine tapering and includes sections on what to expect during withdrawal and recommended tapering rates.  The manual can be found at this link:  http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual

 

Here's a direct link to the Withdrawal Support area of the forum.  It's a good place to start reading and posting your questions.  Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

Please take some time to Create a Signature. This will help other members understand your history so they will be better able to support you.

Go to the top of the page and select Profile, then choose Forum Profile, insert drug history/timelines into the text box and click Change Profile.

 

Again, welcome!