I don't want to be involved with "AA" anymore -Ambien and Ativan

[[li...]]

Hi All..

 

I am very new to this, but I thought I would seek out some help.  I am a 32 year old female have started having some moderate-severe health issues for the past year and a half. After some deductive reasoning I have come to find that my symptoms all come back to my Ambien and Ativan prescriptions.  I hoping to find others out there that are like me and want to get off these drugs!  Looking forward to meeting some new people that can help with advice.

 

Thank you all in advance!

[[BY...]]

Hello littlemissmagic,

 

Happy you found us.

 

We can help you come off of these drugs, but we will need more information. What is your current dosage?

 

You can also look over some of the taper plans here: http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?board=56.0

 

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies,

Mike

 

Edit: activate link so member can use it

[[li...]]

Thank you for your response.

 

I am prescribed 10 mg of Ambien a night and am prescribed 1 mg of Ativan 4 x daily.  I have been prescribed these medications due to insomnia originally brought on by stress and deaths in the family.  I have done all that I can to deal with the loss of loved ones and have cut back on stressors in my life.  All of my issues to seem to revolve around sleep.  I don't think of these medications during the day until it is time to go to bed.  I am having to take more and more of them in order to go to sleep. I can keep the Ambien down to just 10 mg a night, but my Ativan intake has been increasing.  I am not sure where to start, but I thought this group looked like a good place.

 

Thank you!  Please let me know what kind of information I should be sharing.  This is the first time I have reached out to anybody like this and not sure what to do.

 

KM

 

[[BY...]]

Thank you for your response.

 

I am prescribed 10 mg of Ambien a night and am prescribed 1 mg of Ativan 4 x daily.  I have been prescribed these medications due to insomnia originally brought on by stress and deaths in the family.  I have done all that I can to deal with the loss of loved ones and have cut back on stressors in my life.  All of my issues to seem to revolve around sleep.  I don't think of these medications during the day until it is time to go to bed.  I am having to take more and more of them in order to go to sleep. I can keep the Ambien down to just 10 mg a night, but my Ativan intake has been increasing.  I am not sure where to start, but I thought this group looked like a good place.

 

Thank you!  Please let me know what kind of information I should be sharing.  This is the first time I have reached out to anybody like this and not sure what to do.

 

KM

 

 

Don't worry about not knowing what to say. Just get comfortable and look around the forum and ask questions and share what you feel.

 

The increase in your Ativan is probably because our bodies become tolerant to the drugs, after taking them for awhile. So we take more to get the desired effect.

 

It's best to stop one drug at a time. Just a thought, but go with an Ambien reduction first and then start to taper the Ativan. When doing a taper it's recommended to do a 10% reduction.

 

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. I started on these drugs for almost the same reasons as you.

 

You can also read the Ashton manual here:  http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/index.htm  it will help you understand this process.

 

Mike

[Guest [Si...]]

littlemissmagic,

 

Welcoming you to BB.

 

S#

[[Mi...]]

Hi littlemissmagic and welcome to BenzoBuddies.

 

Do I understand correctly that your total daily dose for Ativan is 4 mgs?

 

As Mike said, we're glad you're here and we'll be happy to help you with a taper plan if you like

[[...]]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies, littlemissmagic.

 

MY use of Ambien and Ativan also led me to this wonderful site. The people here really do care and they really do understand.

 

Feel free to express yourself and

to ask questions . We are here to help you, not to judge you.

 

pj

[[Mi...]]

Littlemissmagic

 

Welcome to BB!  I too was on ativan (lorazepam) for a short time, but high dose due to pharmacy mistake.  I found this board after my taper began.  They are so helpful, I don't know what I would do without them!

 

Good luck on your taper, and you have come to the right place!

 

Midwest

[[ja...]]

Hello littlemissmagic...I am so glad you came here for help and support and information on benzo withdrawl..Just ask any questions you may have I am only sure you will get all the support you need..Welcome ... Jenny

[[ca...]]

Hello littlemissmagic and welcome to BB! I am glad you found us. I was also on ativan and took ambien for a little bit. I agree that it is best to taper one drug at a time and perhaps you should tackle the Ambien first.

[[li...]]

Thank you all so much for help!  Yes I am prescribed Ativan 4mg a day, but I only take them at night only to sleep with Ambien 10 mg.  I have been battling insomnia for about five years now.  I can't sleep on my own.  If I stay up all night, I still can't sleep the next day.  I can't take naps or anything... I have come to the conclusion that it has to be related to the medication.  I am usually up until 5am or 6 am trying to do everything to make myself pass out. Yoga, warm milk, taking baths, music, excessive work outs during the day.. Nothing makes me sleep on my own.  I feel wired and tired at the same time. (Does this make sense?)

 

Here is my cycle lately.. I get a new prescription of Ativan and Ambien at the same time.  Since I so eager to sleep, I will end up taking 5-6mg of Ativan at night with my Ambien.  Sometimes on really bad nights of insomnia, I will wake up and take more Ativan just to sleep.  Well come the end of the month I have to cut my Ativan intake down 2mg-3mg (sometimes 1 mg) a night because I have used too much at the beginning of the month.  Then the sleep really becomes a struggle.  I mange to barely make it to the end of the month.. Then next month starts and the vicious cycle continues. 

 

Most of my insomnia issues all started innocently enough from overseas travels about 5 years ago, but then compounded with deaths of multiple loved ones, moving, job changes, divorce/separation and other stress factors it has become worse.  My GP bumped me up to more Ambien and other medications.  I have cut all other medications out completely and am just down to Ambien and Ativan for sleep.  For a while I was scared to sleep because I always thought I needed to be on guard.  I am now working through my sleep issues with a trusted therapist,  but she doesn't know much about "benzos" so we can only discuss what triggered my insomnia.

 

So basically I just need some help with getting at least some of this medication cut back because I am starting to feel "unreal" at times and in a brain fog.  I hope this makes sense??

 

Any tips would be very appreciated.

 

Thanks a million!

 

KM  

[[BY...]]

Thank you all so much for help!  Yes I am prescribed Ativan 4mg a day, but I only take them at night only to sleep with Ambien 10 mg.  I have been battling insomnia for about five years now.  I can't sleep on my own.  If I stay up all night, I still can't sleep the next day.  I can't take naps or anything... I have come to the conclusion that it has to be related to the medication.  I am usually up until 5am or 6 am trying to do everything to make myself pass out. Yoga, warm milk, taking baths, music, excessive work outs during the day.. Nothing makes me sleep on my own.  I feel wired and tired at the same time. (Does this make sense?)

 

The insomnia that comes with this is unreal, to say the least. I felt the same way as you when it came to sleep. Rummy and tired and when I did finally sleep, it was only a few hours and not restful at all.

 

 

Here is my cycle lately.. I get a new prescription of Ativan and Ambien at the same time.  Since I so eager to sleep, I will end up taking 5-6mg of Ativan at night with my Ambien.  Sometimes on really bad nights of insomnia, I will wake up and take more Ativan just to sleep.  Well come the end of the month I have to cut my Ativan intake down 2mg-3mg (sometimes 1 mg) a night because I have used too much at the beginning of the month.  Then the sleep really becomes a struggle.  I mange to barely make it to the end of the month.. Then next month starts and the vicious cycle continues.  

 

The first thing, probably would be to go with a consistant dose everyday and get stable before tapering. I've read from others here, dosing up and down like that, makes the symptoms worse. Do you have a Doctor that can help you? There are some Doc's out there that can really be helpful.

 

 

Most of my insomnia issues all started innocently enough from overseas travels about 5 years ago, but then compounded with deaths of multiple loved ones, moving, job changes, divorce/separation and other stress factors it has become worse.  My GP bumped me up to more Ambien and other medications.  I have cut all other medications out completely and am just down to Ambien and Ativan for sleep.  For a while I was scared to sleep because I always thought I needed to be on guard.  I am now working through my sleep issues with a trusted therapist,  but she doesn't know much about "benzos" so we can only discuss what triggered my insomnia.

 

I really understand this, as it's the some of the same reasons I started taking these drugs. When you DO heal from this, it will be easier to handle. The hurt doesn't go away, but you will be able to deal with it better. Hope that made some sense.

 

So basically I just need some help with getting at least some of this medication cut back because I am starting to feel "unreal" at times and in a brain fog.  I hope this makes sense??

 

Yes it makes sense. Like I said before, it may be best to stabilize and then start your taper. You may have other opinions on this, but reducing the Ambien to start off with, is probably best.

This decision is yours though and we will help you, whatever you decide.

Mike