Current Ativan user

[[Rs...]]

Hello all, my problem is a bit unique (possibly).

 

I have nervous system damage from a fluroquinolone anti biotic I took in 2017. I’ve avoided most pharmaceuticals since.

 

However, recently I went through a nasty breakup, and developed a 7 month drinking problem. I tried to quit cold turkey, but ended up in the psych hospital for a week where they basically fed me 3 1mg ativans a day. And they were all over the place. Some days it’d be 3, the next day it’d be 1, then back to 3, then 2, it was nuts how careless they were. They treated us like cattle and didn’t even bother to keep track.

 

My primary care doctor gave me a weeks supply on Wednesday to try to ween off, but it’s been very hard. And once the supply is gone, they told me not to bother calling them for anymore. I live in New York State where they’re really strict with benzos. So I don’t know what to do from here. I know it’s only been 9 days, and I wanna be done with these forever, but I tried not taking a dose or two and wound up with heavy shakes. What do I do? Any advice?

 

[[Pa...]]

Hello Rsetter70, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

 

If you've only taken the drug for 9 days, my advice is to stop taking the Ativan immediately, I don't believe you should even finish the supply your doctor gave you.  The longer you stay on the drug, the more dependent your body will become.  Benzodiazepines and alcohol work on the same GABA receptors so taking the Ativan is feeding your receptors just like the alcohol did.  Benzo's are often given to alcoholics in detox to stave off seizures, they're not meant to take the place of the alcohol which is what is happening to you right now.

 

My opinions are simply that, mine carry no more weight than our other members so I encourage you to start a thread on the Withdrawal  Support (during your taper) to ask other members for theirs.

 

Getting off of these drugs isn't easy, even if you taper it's unpleasant so my advice is to muscle through these symptoms and be done with the drug, I promise you, I've recovered from both and alcohol is easy compared to benzo's.

 

I'll provide more links as resources but please keep talking to us, we want to help.

 

Pamster

 

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidance

 

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper)

 

Ashton  Manual symptom list

[[Rs...]]

Please please please somebody help me. I’m trying to get on Valium to taper off, but no one in the medical community (New York state for ya) will help me or play ball. Not even the map clinic. My Ativan runs out Thursday morning and I have no safe plan in place to taper (already tried stopping, and the withdrawal effects were too intense already). It’s been less than two weeks and that’s why the doctors refuse to believe I can be addicted/facing withdrawal. But apparently my cns is very sensitive. I’m terrified. I’m seeing a therapist at a mental health clinic beginning tomorrow, but from what I hear, they won’t be able to help me until the third visit or so. I don’t want to become suicidal.

[[Rs...]]

Sorry pamster, my anxiety is so high I couldn’t even see your message at first.

[[Rs...]]

Please please please somebody help me. I’m trying to get on Valium to taper off, but no one in the medical community (New York state for ya) will help me or play ball. Not even the map clinic. My Ativan runs out Thursday morning and I have no safe plan in place to taper (already tried stopping, and the withdrawal effects were too intense already). It’s been less than two weeks and that’s why the doctors refuse to believe I can be addicted/facing withdrawal. But apparently my cns is very sensitive. I’m terrified. I’m seeing a therapist at a mental health clinic beginning tomorrow, but from what I hear, they won’t be able to help me until the third visit or so. I don’t want to become suicidal.

So first off, sorry for the multiple posts. This world is brand new to me and severely scary. My anxiety is sky high right now, so I apologize if it seems like I’m “spamming”. But can I just stop? Will I risk seizures and such? I don’t mind having anxiety, insomnia, and such for a while, but do I risk like, dying in my sleep if I just abruptly stop taking it on a whim? Is it not worth trying to taper? The alcohol withdrawal left me almost completely suicidal (for the first time in my entire life, was drinking 10 mini fireball shooters a day for 7 months everyday, which is why I went to the hospital in the first place) and I don’t want to be in that kind of predicament ever again.

[[Pa...]]

I'm not worried about seizures, they're rare unless you're prone to them and they typically happen at the higher doses.

 

Have you taken any Ativan in the last two days?

[[Rs...]]

I'm not worried about seizures, they're rare unless you're prone to them and they typically happen at the higher doses.

 

Have you taken any Ativan in the last two days?

Yes. I tried to quit Saturday, but had a ton of fear and panic. Partially because I was scared of what could possibly happen, and partially because my vision was blurry, my perception of time was off (20 minutes felt like an hour), and I was slurring my words and confused.

[[Pa...]]

All normal stuff for those of us who will suffer when quitting these nasty drugs.  I've responded to your other thread, lets talk more there.