Ativan Taper

[[Be...]]

I joined this community a week ago and this is my first post

 

A little background I was diagnosed bipolar in 2013 and have been on Lithium and Quetiapine since then. Occasionally my psychiatrist would prescribe Lorazepam(Ativan) for occasional anxiety attacks but I never took them daily until this February completely unaware that these medications were highly addictive and could cause bad withdrawals. For most of February I felt fine and slept well on 1 mg per night. Then upped to 2.5 mg 20 days ago after I ran out and went over 24 hours off of it with rebound anxiety. 10 days ago(March 14)  I met with my psychiatrist and he agrees I should get off of them so he suggested tapering by cutting the dose in half once a week. Since then I went back down to 2 mg and feel ok but from reading through these posts cutting it by half over 4 weeks seems rushed.

 

Two questions for anyone reading this

1. Have you attempted a 4-6 week taper and what were your withdrawals like?

2. Has anyone else here been diagnosed bipolar, schizophrenia, or any other mental illness before getting on benzos and successfully tapered off?

 

[Guest [Li...]]

Hi! I think it’s a good idea that you want to get off these benzo’s. Your taper seems rushed but I think you should listen to your body!

 

I have been on Ativan for 10 weeks now (including a 3 week taper). I was on 2 mg before bedtime in the first week but was able to go down to 1 mg. I started my taper in week 7.

 

I’m lowering my dose 0,1 mg every 3-5 days depending on how well my body is adjusting. It has been successful so far and I’m down to 0,4 mg. My pharmacist compounds the pills for me into capsules.

I think my taper will be around 5 weeks.

 

My WD symptoms are: tinnitus, head pressure on some days and slight insomnia. I had severe insomnia before my taper (my 1 mg wasn’t doing much anymore). However, I feel like I am sleeping pretty OK now.

Everyone’s withdrawal and tapering journey is unique. So don’t worry too much. I was extremely worried at the beginning of my taper but keep in mind that a positive mindset will help you out a lot. It’s easier said than done and I also still struggle with that. You’re doing well!

 

I was put on benzo’s for sudden sleep anxiety thanks to my OCD.

[[Be...]]

Coming back to update this post as it’s been a while since I logged in here. I decided to cut my dose by .25 every 10-14 days instead of .5 like my doctor recommended and the taper went well with my only symptom being mild anxiety. My last dose was .125 two weeks ago on Memorial Day and now there are no lasting withdrawal effects, so I guess this was a success story even though I was on it for a relatively short period of time compared to many users on here. As for the remaining lorazepam I have I’ll dispose of it somehow not touching that stuff again.

[Guest [...]]

Congratulations Benzobama!

 

I’m glad you got through it without incident!

 

Not all short term users come off it like you have… we will consider you one of the ‘lucky ones’.

[[Cl...]]

Lucky you.

As a short term user, I am not that lucky, I am still tapering and will have at least till end of September, and I am not even sure I am tapering the best way with this milk taper. At least I am functional while lowering the medication.

Congratulations, you are out of this benzo battle.