Taoering Ativan/lorazepam

[[Ca...]]

I have been tapering Ativan/Lorazepam for 2 weeks. I have been on it for 10 years. I am old and having a hard time. I want my brain to feel like it used to and i am afraid of brain damage. I also have health anxiety.  I went to rehab for 4 days in end of Feb, and my brain was scrambled from taking me off of Lorazepam. I have not felt the same since. I am very scared and worried about permanent brain damage. I am 65 and i have many health conditions.  I want to know there is hope.  I am also having a very hard time tapering the small 1/4 dose i am.  i tried to go over to diazepam, it doesn't seem to agree with me. maybe i did not give it a long enough chance.  i don't know. what to do. i don't want to live like this the rest of my life.     thankyou for listening.

 

Edit: username removed from title

 

[[me...]]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!  We are glad you decided to join us.  You'll find a lot of support and information on this forum, which is the only one of its kind online.  I'm 69 now, and though quitting xanax for good was very hard for me, I'm really glad I did.  At my age, there are enough problems without having to worry about benzos. You can do this too.

 

For those starting a taper, we generally recommend starting out at a rate of 5 to 10% every 10-14 days, then adjusting the taper to suit your own needs.  Note: very short term users may be able to taper faster.

 

Withdrawal symptoms, which vary widely but commonly include anxiety and insomnia, often occur during a taper, but these are temporary and will get better in time.  In general, first tapers are easier, but cold turkeys or multiple withdrawals may be more severe and longer lasting.  Here are a few links to get you started:

 

The Ashton Manual, a concise reference for tapering and symptom issues.  Chapter III contains excellent descriptions of common symptoms such as muscle issues, anxiety, and hyper-awareness

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

Once again, welcome!

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Atavan is a powerful benzo and can be difficult to get off of....  1mg Atavn=10 mg of Valium... but many have done it either directly or by substituting a long acting benzo,  Daily Liquid titration is a good way to go.... particularly at low dosages. I switched to Valium and glad I did.  Not as quick acting, doesn't cover anxiety as well and can be depressing at higher dosages.  That being said, it does even out interdose withdrawals to where I only have to dose once  day.  Its that last 1mg that is the hardest.... I went too fast and had to go back up again a bit.

 

Yes, it does take a while to do the switch to Valium... I took about 10 days.  Once again, its a different animal than Atavan so don't be expecting the same kind of relief. Valium comes in 2 & 5 mg tablets which it easier to split. 

 

I too went to a rehab for 4 days an the same thing happened to me. They yanked me off my benzos and put me

on ADs and SSRIs.  Couldn't tolerate any of them. After I got out, I went back to Atavan and got my GP to switch

me to Valium as per Ashton and been tapering ever since. 

 

There are plenty of individualized support groups at the link below once you decide how you want

to proceed with your taper.... just use the search function to narrow you field of interest down.

You can get a a lot of good ideas by reading people's "signature" at the bottom of their posts. Be sure to post you own "profile" (condensed history of your usage... who, what, when,why, how much, etc).  Go to the to to of the main page and select "Profile/Forum Profile". This is where you can post your "med history" which gives others a better idea how to respond to your posts and you

don't have to keep repeating yourself.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?board=147.0

 

 

I'm 71 and don't want to be doing this for the rest of my life. Of everything I have read on this site, there is no

"magic solution"...  only time and lots of it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[Ca...]]

  i am so scared.  this is not working. i am having a very bad day today.  how on earth is anyone supposed to taper off ativan.  ??  i am sure my nurse will not give me a RX for diazepam again and let me try it again. we had a big fuss and squabble about it in the first place. PLUS she only gave me 5 mg of diazepam.  (she does not believe in Ashton manual, she poo poos it).  so, i don't know what to do. i am suffering horribly. and my body is shutting down. i am old and i cannot eat right due to esophogus problems, and i have bowel issues.  and i hope i am not getting a uti. because my body cannot tolerate antibiotics.    please, anyone help.  i will not survive this.  i am afraid of even going out of my apt.  i have health anxiety.  so  my mind plays tricks on me.  maybe my brain fog and cloud is from a UTI infection and kidney infection.  oh, i won't make this.  18 days.  and, what??  2 more years like this???  not gonna happen. 

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if i can't get any more diazepam from my practioner,  what am i going to do??  ativan is to powerful.  10 years on it.  and, i am having inter dose WD and also suffering from a small 1/4 cut.  so, i am doing 2.75 instead of 3.  please, anyone adivse? 

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Below is a link to Kaiser Permanente's  Benzodiazepine and Z-Drug Safety Guidelines. Its for the most part the

same recomendations/guidelines as Ashton. I tried tapering directly off of Atavan and couldn't stand the sxs so

that' when I switched to Valium. People do taper directly off of Atavan so it can be done....it take a very long time.  Permanete's guidelines are current .... Jan 2019 so may this might help sway your nurse.  Sounds like you

may be tapering too fast off of Atavan.  Switching to Valium from Atavan takes weeks, not days so (1) 5mg valium

pill was a worthless gesture. (Maybe its time to find a new doctor?) 

 

According to wikipedia, Kaiser Permanente is the largest managed care organization in the U.S. (1)

 

https://wa.kaiserpermanente.org/static/pdf/public/guidelines/benzo-zdrug.pdf

 

 

You can get a a lot of good ideas by reading people's "signature" at the bottom of their posts. Be sure to post you own "profile" (condensed history of your usage... who, what, when,why, how much, etc).  Go to the to to of the main page and select "Profile/Forum Profile". This is where you can post your "med history" which gives others a better idea how to respond to your posts and you

don't have to keep repeating yourself.