When to Jump/Taper Confusion

[[Li...]]

Hello!

I am tapering off Ativan, prescribed in December 2021. Was briefly on 1mg ativan, .25 xanax. Went down to .75 ativan (no xanax) in February. I have been slowly tapering using a jewelry scale since February.  I am currently at .010 mg dry weight ativan and have been there for 2 days. I am a little confused as to how low most people go before they jump. I am trying to make this as simple as possible,  but want to be careful not to jump way too soon. Thanks for any help!

[[Pa...]]

How have you been feeling the last couple of reductions?

[[Li...]]

I have felt ok. Not good, but ok. I am finding that avoiding msg in all it's forms seems to help some with my main symptom of irrational fear. I am having sleep problems but it is difficult to know if that is from the benzo or not because I got on the benzo in December for sudden insomnia specifically. Thanks for replying 

[[Pa...]]

What I've found is that when members are contemplating jumping off the drug they fall into two categories, excited and hesitant.  For those who are feeling a bit anxious about jumping, going even lower helps them know they've done everything they can to prepare. 

 

I would expect what you've been feeling the last few reductions will be the way you feel when you jump, I think a lot of what people fear is the unknown but for most, it's just more of the same until the acute phase is over.  Have you seen this?  Four Phases of Withdrawal-Where Are You?

 

I had a lot of fear too and it's wonderful when it goes away, but your sleep issues are likely to persist for awhile unfortunately. 

[[Li...]]

Thanks, Pamster. I think I will hold off jumping and go a bit lower. We are actually moving in a few weeks so I think it may be a really big mistake for me to try to get completely off right now. Maybe I will try to do one or 2 more cuts before then, so I can feel more confident about the jump. Thanks!

[[Li...]]

ok so turns out I was wrong about my dose. I was on .010 gram or .10mg. I am taking it down .001 g or .01mg every couple of days. My scale reads in grams, so I was getting confused. I am now down to .007g or .07mg.

[[Pa...]]

I'm glad you caught this, its good you're tapering further, might as well make your landing as gentle as possible. 

 

Are you all ready for the big move?

[[Li...]]

Thanks! Well, we still have quite a bit of packing to do. Thankfully,  we are hiring movers because I definitely don't feel up to doing a ton of heavy lifting, ha!

[[Pa...]]

Smart hiring movers, I'm glad you're respecting your current limitations. 

[[Li...]]

ok so turns out I was wrong about my dose. I was on .010 gram or .10mg. I am taking it down .001 g or .01mg every couple of days. My scale reads in grams, so I was getting confused. I am now down to .007g or .07mg.

 

Just checking ….

 

(1) Are you referring to pill weight (not the amount of drug in the pill) in the above numbers?

 

(2) A gram is 1000mg.  So 0.007g in pill-weight equals 7mg.

[[Li...]]

Yes, the weight of the pill. I'm sorry I'm being confusing-I actually don't understand the math too much.  But I am using a jewelry scale and whittling down the weight of a 1mg Ativan pill. So, I am now down to a really small amount.

[[Li...]]

No apology needed. Livingwell22. Many of our members find math challenging.  Do you remember how much your 1mg pill weighed before you started ‘whittling down’? If you’re interested, we can use this to calculate your current dose in milligrams of drug.

[[Li...]]

Thanks for the help. Yes, one 1mg strength ativan (actually it is lorazepam) weighs .124 on my little scale.

[[Li...]]

You are welcome.  Your current dose is approximately 0.056mg of lorazepam/Ativan (7/124 * 1).  The Ashton-based quit dose for lorazepam is 0.05mg.  However, I agree with Pamster’s observation upthread:

 

What I've found is that when members are contemplating jumping off the drug they fall into two categories, excited and hesitant.  For those who are feeling a bit anxious about jumping, going even lower helps them know they've done everything they can to prepare.

[[Li...]]

Awesome,  thank you! That is really helpful. It's truly amazing how our bodies can still detect such a small dose.