Ativan Taper aftee shortterm use for insomnia

[[fe...]]

Since a hospital stay 10 years ago, I've been on 1 mg Ativan a day.

For the last 10 days, I have unfortunately started taking an additional 1mg Ativan at night. I shouldn't have, but I wasn't sleeping at all and the sleepless nights were severely impacting health issues. 

I have skipped the nightly Ativan last night and have since then gotten debilitating withdrawals.

My Doctors think I can just stop, but I honestly don't think my body can take it. My plan is to take 3/4 of a 1mg pill at night tonight. Then stay on this for 2 days and then take half a pill for 2 days, followes by a quarter pills and then stop. 

Does this taper plan make sense? Ahould I stay on the lower dosis for more days? Any support is appreciated.

[[Pa...]]

Hello @[fe...], welcome to BenzoBuddies,

Your plan seems a little too aggressive considering you’re already very unstable from discontinuing the second mg of Ativan, my suggestion would be to hold at 1 mg a little while longer.  Hopefully things will settle just a bit and you can begin your taper.  

We typically suggest reducing your dose by about 5-10% every couple of weeks or whatever your symptoms will allow, this will hopefully keep you functional.  Doing this too quickly can have devastating effects on our ability to carry out our daily tasks and make recovery that much harder because after the drug has been eliminated, there is recovery and that can take as long or longer than the taper. 

Please ask questions, we’re here to help.

Pamster

[[fe...]]

Thank you for your advice Pamster !  I'm wondering if it's true that I should hold at 1mg a bit longer before starting my taper considering I have been on the nighly Ativan only 10 days. I'm so worried about dragging on the symptoms. 

How many days do you recommend staying on a dose, and is it advisable to cut by only 10% even for a relatively short duration of use? I would have to eyeball the cut amount. Your insights are much appreciated. 

[[Pa...]]

Hi again @[fe...], I misunderstood your intention, I thought you were planning to discontinue the nightly Ativan completely then start on your 1 mg daily dose.  I feel your plan to taper the extra 1 mg is sound but I believe since your body is tolerant to the 1 mg you’ve taken for 10 years, you’ll need to either increase your dose or taper off of it completely.

If you feel the same way, then a fairly rapid taper from the extra 1 mg at night would be sound but a very slow taper from the 1 mg daily is advisable.  

How many times a day are you dosing, do you split up the dose to prevent inter-dose withdrawal? 

[[fe...]]

I see, thank you. I want to stay on the midday Ativan for now (the one I have been on for 10 years). It is prescribed and the only thing that helps my neuro symptoms.

So I take 1mg as usual at midday. Then instead of the 1mg at night (which I have been taking the past 10days), I was planning to take 0.75mg tonight.

Depending on how I feel tomowrrow, I would stay on the same dose tomorrow night or reduce it to 0.5 mg. I hope to get rid of the night time Arivan in 2 weeks maximum. Does this sound like a reasonable idea? Thank you for your advice. 

Edited December 6, 2023 by [fe...]

[[Pa...]]

It sounds fine @[fe...], but please pay attention to your symptoms and if they’re too intense, you can hold a bit longer.

I’d like to discuss the neuro symptoms you mentioned, is it possible they could be a result of the Ativan? Quite often when we become dependent on and tolerant to our dose, the medication begins to cause the issues we went on them to treat, can you describe yours?

My concern is your body is dependent and the insomnia you’re dealing with is a result of the drug and the only way to treat this is to either increase your dose or taper from it. 

[[fe...]]

Thanks Pamster. By the way, I have triednto find a taper for short term Ativan use online that I might be able to print out. Do you know where I could find it?

The neuro issues were there many years before I was put on Ativan. I have tried to lower the midday Ativan many times, but failed because I have poor health and no other medications to help with my symptoms outside Ativan. It's not an ideal situation.

The insomnia was caused by Covid, or at least it appeared at the same time. I might try melatonin again (had a bad reaction to it last time, but am desperate to try anything to sleep)

Thank you for your help. Glad to have found this place. 

[[Pa...]]

Thanks for explaining your situation in more detail, I hope you can get back to your 1 mg a day and be free from your current issues, I’m glad to know the Ativan has helped with your pre-existing condition.

As for taper plans @[fe...], we’re so individual, it’s difficult to apply a one size fits all plan so using your symptoms to guide you is probably your best option.  You might want to record your reductions and your reactions to them so you can use that to determine your next steps. 

[[fe...]]

 

Hey all,

Anyone else withdrawing, who feel a buzzing or vibrating sensation in their chest/heart area for a few minutes? Not painful, just curious if it's normal.

 

[[Pa...]]

I felt like I was hooked up to a car battery all the time, I had constant inner trembling which makes it impossible to relax. 

Have you looked at the The Ashton Manual, chapter 3 lists our symptoms and possible reasons why we feel them, it really helped me be less scared of them. 

[[fe...]]

Thank you @[Pa...] I am familiar with the Ashton Manual (and the tremors and vibrations you described so well), but has never exeperienced them just in the chest. For a moment I thought it was a heart issue. I've been tapering off and a recent reduction in dose is becoming unbearable. Would you recommend returning to the previous dose to alleviate symptoms, or should I tough it out on the current lower dose? Thanks in advance.

[[Pa...]]

I know we talked about doing a rapid taper off of that extra 1 mg at bedtime, it may be that you can’t do this quickly, you may need to slow down but I’d rather see you hold than increase but it depends on how much you can tolerate.