My Withdrawal Timeline

[[PG...]]

 

I quit Ativan/lorazepam 2 years ago,  I recently posted this in response to someone but thought I'd repost here:

Week 1-2: Unbearable, couldn't scrape myself off the floor, spent every day on this site looking for hope
Weeks 3-6: Bad. Better than those first two weeks, but I would have denied anything being "better" at that point. Went back to work, waves daily, still on BB almost daily
Months 3-6: Started going to therapy, started Lexapro (not sure it helped but maybe took the edge off). Day to day I didn't see any progress, but looking back at the whole span of 3 months, it was a decent change. Started getting a few hours of sleep, stopped waking up with my hands totally numb. Waves every 2-3 days.
Months 6-12: I didn't feel great but started having multiple good days in a row. Did a lot of work to address other stuff in my life, most of which were small things identified during therapy. Cut out alcohol (not that I was drinking a ton to begin with) started socializing more (nightmare at the beginning) started swimming at my local pool. Waves less common, maybe 1 per month, even less by month 12.
Month 13: went to my therapist and said "for the first time I feel.... kinda good?" and it was true, was having more good days than bad, and from there it has gotten better. Occasionally still have bad days, sometimes even have a whole bad month, but "bad" doesn't really feel like it's bc of withdrawal anymore. I have a life again.

Posting this here because I see a lot of people asking about timelines. When I was new to withdrawal I spent a lot of time on here looking for this kind of information. Everyone is different, but if you're in the middle of withdrawal and wondering "Will this ever end?", it might just take time. I did not want to hear people tell me just to wait back then, and the waiting was so painful but distraction helps. (I don't blame you if you rolled your eyes at me basically saying "just be patient")

I highly recommend using a calendar/journal to track your progress, you might not see it day-to-day or even week-to-week (I certainly didn't). But when you look back over the a longer term, you can start to see a different picture.

 

[[pi...]]

@[PG...],

Thanks so much for posting this, it will indeed be very helpful for our members. Your journal shows a progression from really awful to much better, I can relate to that. It shows also that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

pianogirl