Ativan

[[Bp...]]

Ativan users how long did you take the drug and how long have you been off? What withdraw symptoms have been your worst? I’m am coming i in a year and head are and have been my worst symptoms this whole process. Just curious.

[[4a...]]

Hi,

I took ativan every day for 10 years and spent 10 months tapering.  Doc laughed when I asked for help with taper and said, 'the stuff about needing a taper is a hoax and perpetuated by mass hysteria'.  Still, when I told him I was fearful he agreed to give me one more script with refills and I used what I had to make a taper schedule.  My grown son has a colorful teenage drug history and he said he tried most things but knew to stay away from benzos.  I mainly relied on him for info and support.  He was the one who insisted I not allow the doc to send me away without a script to use for tapering.  I already have a heart condition so we were both worried about the effect of benzo withdrawal for me.

 

*Officially, I consider myself off for 3 years at the end of this month but I did take some doses when I was hospitalized last year for afib.  I do not know what, if any, effect those doses had on me.  I feel like my timeline of symptoms more closely align with people who have been off for 3 years so I use that as a guide.

 

In hindsight, I wish I had kept a journal but at the time I just tried to get through each day on its own. 

 

My first and most prominent symptom was shaking, vibrating, tremors (whatever word works) and feeling like I had flu.  All over skin hurting even to have clothes touch my skin.  My hair hurt.  My eyeballs felt burning.  I still get those but to a much lesser degree and frequency, but the vibrations are still frequent and bothersome.  Rare tinnitus but I always hear my heartbeat and always hear the vibration although now it is becoming more muted so I think it will someday resolve.  I still get a few rare episodes of bad itching spells but cool/cold showers seem helpful.  Burning palms and soles are still bothersome at times but less frequent and less intense.  I had frequent, terrible and painful afib attacks that were probably worse due to my underly heart condition.  I had an unsuccessful ablation 12 months ago and was told to prepare for another in May but I declined.  For an unsuccessful ablation to be improving after a year seems to me to more likely related to a protracted withdrawal recovery timeline.

 

Intense fear, excessive anxiety and extreme emotions are still visitors but less so at this time.  I think 18 to 22/24 months stands out as significantly more difficult with increases in all symptoms.  Also, it is exactly when my afib attacks started.  Currently, I think I had an uptick in symptoms around 32/33 months and as I near my 3 year mark I just seem to be better as a whole.  I do not know what is around the corner and how much the aging process affects me but I just feel a little better now. 

 

Good luck and blessings to all of us.

 

 

[[un...]]

Ativan users how long did you take the drug and how long have you been off? What withdraw symptoms have been your worst? I’m am coming i in a year and head are and have been my worst symptoms this whole process. Just curious.

 

I was mis-prescribed Ativan for anxiety attacks I was having due to one of the side effects of Glipizide (for Type 2 Diabetes). I was on it for only 5 days and then tapered for 2.5 months. It's been about 16 months now since I finished tapering. The worst symptoms have been an ongoing sense of unease punctuated by anxiety waves that last hours at a time, coupled with fatigue, derealization, cog fog and muscular pain. It's been only in the last 3-4 months that the emotional symptoms have lifted a bit. For the short amount of time I was on Ativan, you would think that I would be close to being fully recovered by now, but I'm definitely in the protracted group.

 

Wishing you wellness.

[[Pt...]]

Used Ativan for 1.5 months, off for 6 months, mental symptoms and insomnia have been the worst. Still uncontrollable monophobia, cog fog, insomnia, cognitive issues, derealiazation with no relief at all.