Introduction. Ativan - as needed - non stop inter dose withdrawal.

[[Ki...]]

Hello,

 

I am 33 yo. I have been prescribed 1 mg Ativan once a day "as needed" for insomnia two years ago. I started taking 1 mg before sleep every three days. During the past year my health has significantly declined while I increased my dose to 3 mg a day, still once every three days. Weird schedule but I thought it was a good idea not to take it every day so I don't get addicted... I was wrong of course. I did get addicted and on top of that as I understand now I put myself into a non-stop inter dose withdrawal. Early this year I developed hyperacusis and other multiple health issues. I have gone to a number of neurologists who claimed "I am ok" and "benzos don't cause any of that". I am crying every day, I have head twitches and muscle tension. My creativity/work is impaired, my social skills are impaired, I cannot travel or pretty much do anything I used to two years ago before I started Ativan. My memory is destroyed. I thought I was having an early dementia. One doctor suggested I had MS and encouraged me to continue benzos... But I knew deep in my heart that it's Ativan that caused all this. I am looking for the best way to quit/taper at this point. This is my story. I am happy I came across the forum and I believe I will find hope and answers here. Thank you.

[[je...]]

Hi Kira1314

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

I am very sorry you find yourself in this situation. Many of us here had to find out about the terrible side effects of these drugs the hard way. It sounds to me like most of your symptoms are benzo related. I don't know if you're still dosing once every three days, but we generally advise before starting your taper to take your pills daily at the same time. It's quite important to keep your blood serum levels steady in order to manage your symptoms. My advice would be to choose a starting dose that you then take regularly daily and then we see how you manage the interdose withdrawal. Many people on Ativan need to dose multiple times per day, but lets see how you do after taking it daily?

 

When it comes to tapering we generally recommend cuts of no more than 5-10% of each new daily dose every two weeks or so but it's best to let your symptoms guide your taper rate. This should allow you to remain functional. A symptoms based taper is usually the best way to proceed.

 

Here are some links to get you started:

 

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidance

 

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper)

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

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[[sp...]]

Hello,

 

I am 33 yo. I have been prescribed 1 mg Ativan once a day "as needed" for insomnia two years ago. I started taking 1 mg before sleep every three days. During the past year my health has significantly declined while I increased my dose to 3 mg a day, still once every three days. Weird schedule but I thought it was a good idea not to take it every day so I don't get addicted... I was wrong of course. I did get addicted and on top of that as I understand now I put myself into a non-stop inter dose withdrawal. Early this year I developed hyperacusis and other multiple health issues. I have gone to a number of neurologists who claimed "I am ok" and "benzos don't cause any of that". I am crying every day, I have head twitches and muscle tension. My creativity/work is impaired, my social skills are impaired, I cannot travel or pretty much do anything I used to two years ago before I started Ativan. My memory is destroyed. I thought I was having an early dementia. One doctor suggested I had MS and encouraged me to continue benzos... But I knew deep in my heart that it's Ativan that caused all this. I am looking for the best way to quit/taper at this point. This is my story. I am happy I came across the forum and I believe I will find hope and answers here. Thank you.

 

The only advice i have for this since i was in the same situation is stop taking more. I did this exact thing but was on xanax. In beginning Dr. prescribed .5 when needed for sleep. I thought id outsmart these benzos and only take it every 3rd day so i wouldnt get addicted. Well, same as you after a while my anxiety and insomnia just got worse inbetween the days so of course i started taking it every other day thinking well at least its not every day (and increasing my dose). Wrong thing to do, after a while of course i started taking it every night but was now on a higher dose of xanax than Dr. recommended. It just kept going even when i was taking it everyday where i would increase the dose on my own, before you knew it i was taking 3MG a day of xanax and STILL having panick attacks and anxiety ect. There is no outsmarting this crap. You can get away with taking it just for plane flights or once every couple of months or a few times a year something like that...but thats about it. Even then i wouldnt advise it, having this stuff around the house is just too easy to pop one if having a hard day or you cant fall asleep. With all that said, im not sure if you should start taking it everyday? Your Dr. would prob need to know cause hes prescribing it and your intake would go way up hed have to refill it, last thing you want is for him to cut you off.

[[Nu...]]

Sounds like you definitely need some stability. Have you mentioned any of this to your prescriber and say that you want to come off of it, but would like to do it according to the Ashton manual and the Colorado deprescribing guidelines?