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Taper from highs dose of Ativan + klonopin - concerns


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Newcomer! Hi, I was put on Xanax in feb during a crisis and klonopin as well (1 mg) later because I couldn’t sleep. Good news  is the crisis is ending both actually and the stressful component and I have a psychopharm specialist ready help with a taper plan. Bad news is that while my klonopin dose stayed stabile around 1.5 mg a day, my tolerance for Xanax skyrocketed (I tried to keep the dose the same week over week but the crisis was a roller coaster and seems maybe genetically I prone quickly tolerate benzos.) Just recently switched to Ativan bc of side effects of Xanax. I’m not too concerned about the Klonopin taper because of lowered it before to 0.5 mg this summer when I was concerned about side effects. It’s more the Ativan. I take around 8 - 10 mg per day (note I also weigh around 235 lbs so some factor of dose is accounting for my weight). Should I do an even taper? how long out would that put me? I’m concerned that coming from a high dose with a long taper that i develop more benzo dependencies as I go. I don’t think I can cross taper to diazepam at these dose and function. Any other considerations? Thanks!!
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Hi Soulsurfer,

 

Sorry to hear about your crisis, but good to know things have calmed down and you want to start tapering.  I also was on a high dose of Ativan, 6mgs. for five months.  I took it other times too over the last few years, not sure if that contributed to making it more difficult to taper this time. .  I don't know if body weight is a factor, but I weigh around 135 lbs.  You can see from my signature I was able to go relatively quickly at the beginning and have needed to slow down considerably since then.

 

I had the same concern about developing more benzo dependency, but it seems those who taper too quickly often suffer worse when they stop.  It has been a process of accepting how long this is going to take.  At my current rate it seems it will take me a total of more than two years.

 

In terms of tapering both Ativan and Klonopin, I hope some others with experience will respond to help you decide. 

 

The general consensus on BenzoBuddies is to do an individualized, symptom-based-taper where you try to progress while keeping symptoms tolerable.  A general recommendation is to start at between 5% to 10% every 10 to 14 days.  It's a process of discovering your best pace, slowing down as needed or speeding up if your taper is going well with minimal symptoms.  I started with the direct tapering method ("cut and hold") but my symptoms started to catch up with me at around 3.25mg.  I then held and switched to Daily Liquid Micro Tapering (DLMT) which you can learn about on Titration Taper Plans.  Look for posts by a buddie named Builder.

 

If I had to do it over again, I think I would start with DLMT from the beginning because it's easier to make small adjustments.  It has been smoother in that I haven't suffered from cutting a fraction of my dose all at once, rather reducing by micro doses daily.  I've gotten better control of my symptoms since switching to DLMT, they are more tolerable, but I'm not 100% symptom-free.  The disadvantage of DLMT is it is more tedious in needing to measure out the liquid every day.

 

Maybe you can reduce mg. amounts more quickly at the the beginning, because going by percentages, as the dose gets lower so does the reduction quantity if symptoms become difficult.

 

Many of us tapering from Ativan need to divide our doses between 3 to 4x daily to prevent interdose withdrawals.  Again, that's very individualized.  I know someone who only doses once daily for sleep.

 

We have an Ativan Support Thread under Support Groups.  It's a very small group but good for connecting more personally.  The Planning Your Taper section is probably better for general tapering information and feedback from a larger audience. I think you can learn a lot from reading through the posts, but don't assume you are going to have the difficulty of others on this site.  I feel a lot of empathy for people, but have to limit what I read.  I try to stay positive and. take one day at a time.

 

Wishing you success!!! Blessings and all the best to you,

 

Luey

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Thanks so much. This is super helpful. And yes, hoping since this is the first go around that it will be easier, but I do have to work off Klonopin too and the amount of Ativan is on the higher side.

 

 

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Also, when you said your wd symptoms caught up to you, is it generally the same symptoms but worse or new symptoms you start noticing? I’m new to all of this and trying to figure what will be manageable with a job. Thanks!
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Hi Soulsurfer,

 

My main symptom throughout my taper has been a lack of energy.  Some days are worse than others. I seem to have a few more energetic days and then a couple of days with very low energy, i.e. hard to get off the couch.  Even on good days, my energy is not what I would consider normal for me so my activities have been significantly reduced.  I need to rest a lot more.  I have always been very physically active, but now suffer from exercise fatigue if I push too hard. I do, however, continue doing a moderate level of exercise because I think it contributes to my healing and overall well-being.

 

The difficult symptom that caught up with me at around 3.25mg was intolerable nausea.  At first I thought I had the stomach flu but got suspicious when it didn't go away.  Since I have slowed down, the nausea is considerably less intense and less often.

 

Psychologically the hardest part is coping with the physical symptoms for such a long time with still a long way to go. I have gone through my moments of despair and frustration.  For me this is a challenging journey of practicing patience, acceptance, surrender and perseverance.

 

Everyone on BenzoBuddies seems to have such different symptoms.  I hope any symptoms you might experience will be very minimal!  I believe if you listen to your body you have a good chance of an easy taper.  I think that work can be a good distraction too.

 

Sending you positive thoughts of ease and peace,

 

Luey

 

 

 

 

 

 

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