New here! Ativan taper belp

[[Br...]]

10 minutes ago, [[M...] said:

It’s not letting me post on anyone’s topics or any other posts but mine. Do you know why? 

I'm sorry that's happening @[Ma...].  I don't know why that would be.  I suggest you ask on the Feedback & Technical Support forum: https://benzobuddies.org/forum/27-feedback-technical-support/

[[Pa...]]

Hi @[Ma...], are you trying to respond to posts in the archived forum, those are read only.  Can you provide a link to one of the posts you’ve tried to respond to? 

I wanted to let you know that most of our members central nervous system is highly sensitive while going through this, most will react to the things you mentioned.  

[[Ma...]]

10 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Hi @[Ma...], are you trying to respond to posts in the archived forum, those are read only.  Can you provide a link to one of the posts you’ve tried to respond to? 

I wanted to let you know that most of our members central nervous system is highly sensitive while going through this, most will react to the things you mentioned.  

Okay I will next time I’m trying to post something. And thanks I hope things get better 

[[Ma...]]

I think I’m having reaction to  ativan

 

0600a-wake up to alarm feel calm take 0.237 mg ativan

within 10 minutes feel such strange sensations in my head, headache, dizziness, severe anxiety. Lay there in bed an hour and it progressively gets worse. 
 

some days I wake up at 2-4am feeling like I need it severely and I wait until 6 to take it. Other days I feel like it makes me worse. I think it’s cyclical. I don’t know what to do

[[Pa...]]

It sounds like you can’t quite pinpoint if you’re having paradoxical reactions because its not consistent, is this what you’re observing?

[[Ma...]]

My theory is-When I’m on my menses or in my luteal phase, my estrogen is low. Estrogen and serotonin are synchronous. You need serotonin to synthesize gaba. At these points, I feel I need the whole bottle of Ativan and it does work, yet still makes me feel sick.. days I don’t feel I need it, it makes me worse. Overall, 5 months ago when I started taking it, it just relaxed me. It deff doesn’t really do that anymore and always comes with side effects 

[[Ma...]]

Surviving antidepressant's who are coaching me regarding my ssri recommended I split the dose to .125 twice daily by moving .125 forward one hour each day to get to 12 hours apart then start tapering down. 
 

someome else recommended taking an extra .125 in the evening and dropping the next morning dose to .125 and continuing twice a day this way.. do you have any advice? 

[[Pa...]]

Most members I’ve seen on Ativan will dose 3 times a day so dosing twice would be a good idea.  If you don’t plan on taking equal amounts twice a day then I think what you dose needs to be tailored to what your body needs.  If sleep is the objective, then taking a heavier dose at night would work, but if you need the extra help in the morning to fight the cortisol rush then making that one heavier might be best. 

[[Ma...]]

2 hours ago, [[P...] said:

Most members I’ve seen on Ativan will dose 3 times a day so dosing twice would be a good idea.  If you don’t plan on taking equal amounts twice a day then I think what you dose needs to be tailored to what your body needs.  If sleep is the objective, then taking a heavier dose at night would work, but if you need the extra help in the morning to fight the cortisol rush then making that one heavier might be best. 

Yes and that’s what iv been taking it for is my awful awful cortisol rush and for akathisia. So In theory, if I split it to every 12 hours I’ll be getting 50% of the am dose to deal with these issues. If I don’t seem to be having interdose withdrawals, wouldn’t it make sense just to continue tapering that one morning dose? Or no 

[[Pa...]]

If you’re not dealing with interdose then I don’t see a reason to make a change, change is disruptive and if we can avoid it, its better. I’m glad you’re getting suggestions but since we’re all so different, we have to do what is right for our situation. 

[[Ma...]]

On 01/10/2023 at 17:52, [[P...] said:

If you’re not dealing with interdose then I don’t see a reason to make a change, change is disruptive and if we can avoid it, its better. I’m glad you’re getting suggestions but since we’re all so different, we have to do what is right for our situation. 

Yes, I just wanted to double check with you. Because I’m taking 0.25 ish mg. This is the half life that I found for the drug. If I split it into two, then every 12 hours my concentration will be where I’m at the 24 hour mark with the bigger dose.. this morning Iv been up since 2 am anxious and felt better after I took the Ativan at 6 am so I have no idea what’s going on.. I just don’t now want to have that concentration twice daily and go through that twice a day? 

[[Pa...]]

@[Ma...], I hate to say it but I wonder if its time to try an experiment?  I know we’re all different but the majority of our members find dosing more often helps keep them more stable.  I know this means putting yourself in a situation that may cause more discomfort but if it helps…

[[Ma...]]

On 03/10/2023 at 08:48, [[P...] said:

@[Ma...], I hate to say it but I wonder if its time to try an experiment?  I know we’re all different but the majority of our members find dosing more often helps keep them more stable.  I know this means putting yourself in a situation that may cause more discomfort but if it helps…

I dropped my dose to 0.22 mg 5 days ago, I feel fine I’m planning on dropping again. However, I notice after I take the dose my head feels so weird within 5 minutes and my heart starts racing like crazy and skips beats and this lasts like 10 min then it calms me down. What the hell is happening lol I’m afraid to taper any quicker 

[[Pa...]]

When do you typically feel symptoms after a reduction, does it usually happen before the 5 day mark?  

I have no idea wha’s causing that strange reaction but if it calms down within minutes, I wouldn’t worry about it.  

[[Ma...]]

24 minutes ago, [[P...] said:

When do you typically feel symptoms after a reduction, does it usually happen before the 5 day mark?  

I have no idea wha’s causing that strange reaction but if it calms down within minutes, I wouldn’t worry about it.  

honestly idk. It varies and deff varies on where I am in my cycle. I haven’t come down much. I was all over the place with my dosing and have steadily been at .25 mg a day for months. So I just started coming down .01 mg at a time a week and so far no new symptoms besides when I hit my period and akathisia and all my crazy symptoms came back but that’s been happening for months. 

[[Pa...]]

It sounds like you’re doing the right thing by reducing and your awareness surrounding your cycle can help you plan when you hold versus when you reduce.  

[[Ma...]]

10 minutes ago, [[P...] said:

It sounds like you’re doing the right thing by reducing and your awareness surrounding your cycle can help you plan when you hold versus when you reduce.  

Thanks. Since my periods seem to be getting worse, I’m assuming it’s because I’m on less Ativan than I used to be. But I can’t stay on it forever. Green tea seems to call me down. I am hyper sensitized to pretty much all supplements at this point. Do you think it is harmful to use green tea on my period to try and alleviate some of my symptoms or would that set me back because L-theanine works on Gaba?

[[Pa...]]

I wonder if the muscle relaxing qualities of the Ativan were helping with your periods, when you say worse, is pain what you mean?

The only thing I’d worry about in the green tea is the caffeine but I’m not well read on supplements, so you might want to ask about them in the Alternative Treatments group.  Just click join and start a thread. https://benzobuddies.org/forum/138-topics/

[[Ma...]]

57 minutes ago, [[P...] said:

I wonder if the muscle relaxing qualities of the Ativan were helping with your periods, when you say worse, is pain what you mean?

The only thing I’d worry about in the green tea is the caffeine but I’m not well read on supplements, so you might want to ask about them in the Alternative Treatments group.  Just click join and start a thread. https://benzobuddies.org/forum/138-topics/

No full on withdrawal symptoms on my period like I ct my meds

[[Ma...]]

 

I’m down to 0.21-0.22 mg Ativan from 0.25. Everytime I did a 0.01 mg drop I had akathisia, severe cortisol, gut stopped, starting 3 days after cut lasting 8-12 days. Now I am getting severe headaches, burning sinuses, neck feels like someone has their hands around my throat and just this general awful withdrawal feeling starting 6:30 pm which is 12 hours after the morning dose, but also it goes away when I take my viibryd at 8pm so not sure which med is causing it. 

 

I still haven’t split my dose twice a day as I’m so terrified to make any change to the schedule due to how sensitive I am and splitting this dose 50/50 scares me so much. Is there a gentle way to split it to 3x a day? For instance maybe move 25% 1 hour a day at first or something? Anyone have any advice? I need to get off this before I work on the viibryd 

 

[[Pa...]]

It looks to me like it’s time to split your dose, you’re miserable and this could help.  If you decide to do this, it would be a good idea to hold your taper and using an incremental approach is a good idea, I’ve seen other members do it. 

[[Ma...]]

1 hour ago, [[P...] said:

It looks to me like it’s time to split your dose, you’re miserable and this could help.  If you decide to do this, it would be a good idea to hold your taper and using an incremental approach is a good idea, I’ve seen other members do it. 

Any idea of the best way to do that 

[[Pa...]]

I’d start a thread asking for member input on how they’ve done it @[Ma...], I’m sure there are many who’ve had to do this so it might be good to get a variety of suggestions. 

[[Pa...]]

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