Stopping my last mg

[[ns...]]

Hey I've only got 1mg left of my Lorazapam which I split into 4 doses. 2 days now. As from the beginning when I began my taper due to a possible paradoxical reaction I still get the same response when even taking this little bit 4x per day. When I take it, as tiny as it is I get a panic attack, severe anxiety, numbness, and of course all the withdrawal symptoms but I start to relax and feel better right before I take the next little dose. Then the cycle starts all over again once I take it. 

Question,  does this happen to anyone else? How would you handle this, should I stop taking it? It sounds crazy but when I'm late taking the little dose as has been from the beginning withdrawal symptoms start, not as intense as when I take it though but I haven't let myself wait over 30 minutes to find out how I'll do. I know none of us can really know what will happen if I stop, we can imagine which is why I'm writing this now. 

Has anyone stopped at 1/4 mg 4x per day and how did you do? It may not apply to me as I mentioned I actually get horrible symptoms when I take it but it must be almost out of my system by now. 

I guess I'm a little scares to find out, hoping someone has done it, it's not cold turkey but it is still 1 mg split into 4 doses, sooo, if you have any experience with stopping your dose at this tiny amount, please let me know how it affected u. I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have.

Thanks so much

[[Tx...]]

When I was coming off lorazepam I had gotten down to .5 milligram pills and would split those in quarters by the end and take half of a quarter so 1/8th which would be approximately .0625 if I am doing the math correctly. I was taking different doses out of the day. It’s been a couple of years but I followed the Ashton manual pretty closely and if I had severe symptoms I would wait until they passed and then go down a little further. Better to go slow and low than rush it if at all possible. You want to avoid having to go back up again if at all possible but if it happens do not beat yourself up about that either. EIt takes time and it does get better. Much better

[[Ka...]]

16 hours ago, [[n...] said:

Hey I've only got 1mg left of my Lorazapam which I split into 4 doses. 2 days now. As from the beginning when I began my taper due to a possible paradoxical reaction I still get the same response when even taking this little bit 4x per day. When I take it, as tiny as it is I get a panic attack, severe anxiety, numbness, and of course all the withdrawal symptoms but I start to relax and feel better right before I take the next little dose. Then the cycle starts all over again once I take it. 

Question,  does this happen to anyone else? How would you handle this, should I stop taking it? It sounds crazy but when I'm late taking the little dose as has been from the beginning withdrawal symptoms start, not as intense as when I take it though but I haven't let myself wait over 30 minutes to find out how I'll do. I know none of us can really know what will happen if I stop, we can imagine which is why I'm writing this now. 

Has anyone stopped at 1/4 mg 4x per day and how did you do? It may not apply to me as I mentioned I actually get horrible symptoms when I take it but it must be almost out of my system by now. 

I guess I'm a little scares to find out, hoping someone has done it, it's not cold turkey but it is still 1 mg split into 4 doses, sooo, if you have any experience with stopping your dose at this tiny amount, please let me know how it affected u. I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have.

Thanks so much

I took lorazepam several years ago at varied doses. Looking back I think what I experienced was inter dose issues. I also believe there was a paradoxical effect. I was told to straight swop to longer acting diazepam. 
I think I am very sensitive to benzos & we all react differently. 
I don’t have any specific answer & wish you a steady reduction to slowly adjust to the smaller amounts. 

[[ns...]]

Katrina, only problem is  i cant seem to take any benzo, tried valuim, clonazepam. It seems like an allergy or something.  I'm nervous to try the valuim again as it was rough and the taper off 1st 1mg and them the next one scared me pretty bad. Since then I've encountered histamine intolerance and trying to control my weight. I'm very thin and need all the fat I can get. I don't want to get hooked on another benzo, I want my body and brain clean but today I'm just thinking about going to er, I can't control my neck and body movements,  they're getting bad. But it usually calms down after dinner. I have hyponatremia,  a sodium issue, I pee all night long losing fluid and sodium, then I'm drinking salt water and eating high sodium diet, it's so hard to gage what your getting.  Problem there, of I go to er in this condition they will probably want to keep me and put me in rehab, which I couldn't handle. Not sure what to do, going to have to pray about it.

Thank u for your response. I appreciate it so much

 

[[ns...]]

11 hours ago, [[K...] said:

I took lorazepam several years ago at varied doses. Looking back I think what I experienced was inter dose issues. I also believe there was a paradoxical effect. I was told to straight swop to longer acting diazepam. 
I think I am very sensitive to benzos & we all react differently. 
I don’t have any specific answer & wish you a steady reduction to slowly adjust to the smaller amounts. 

Katrina, 

Thanks for sharing your experience, you said you thought u were I  inner dose or paradoxical, did your symptoms worsen when u took the dose? Did you have sensitivity issues with foods, meds, vit supplements etc? Did u lose weight? any histamine intolerance issues or estrogen issues. I have the same reaction to all 3 benzos. Im Asking because I have all of this. Have you had any surgeries ie., gallbladder, dental, Ortho where any metals were used. I had a gallbladder surgery where he used titanium clips, prior to that a complete hysterectomy with clips. Since then i couldn't eat bananas, oranges, then caffeine, then sugar. I had so many symptoms of illiness. My doctor kept trying new meds, tests after test to see what the heck my problem was, i went on benzos, but by then end of my time with that doc i was on so many meds. Then lorazapam. I tapered off of everything except for those and then a new PA took me off real fast,  i had no idea what i was in for, woe, protracted withdrawal! Went back on 8 months ago, only helped some for a short time then they reversed on me, as with all meds now. Some say inner dose, allergy or paradoxical reaction. I think it's paradoxical. Can't wait til these things are gone! I need to heal. Afraid to jump off at 1 mg per day split 4x a day. Now I get symptoms when not taking them, but then I take it and it's worse, at least as far as I know. It's like real bad withdrawal for a few hours then everything calms down but still miserable. I just have to wonder if these reactions are due to titanium allergy. 

Benzos are all coated with Titanium. I'm getting tested next month for metals sensitivity and allergy. Melisa.org is where a doc can request the tests if this applies to u. 

Anyone whose had any of these types of surgeries should ask yourselves if your having strange symptoms, am I allergic to these? I've seen a few people here who have histamine intolerance, this Causes me to pause. So many meds have metals in them or are coated with it. I'm not usually concerned about the foods we eat etc that have metals in them, broccoli,  chocolate, so many things but now I question is this why I can't eat anything? 

Anyway, just some info for anyone who might want it.

But I am interested in your reaction to  benzos if they affect u the way they do me and what did u do? Afraid to switch to valuim, wasn't very pleasant 4 months ago. How much did u swap for the lorazapam,  did you stay on Lorazapam while swapping or just stop and go to the valuim. At what dose did u swap? In case i decide to do this at my last 1mg so i get off. just looking for ideas as to how with someone whose experienced what I'm going thru.

I appreciate anything you can tell me to help me make a decision, just want off!

Thanks so much 

 

[[ns...]]

13 minutes ago, [[n...] said:

Katrina, 

Thanks for sharing your experience, you said you thought u were I  inner dose or paradoxical, did your symptoms worsen when u took the dose? Did you have sensitivity issues with foods, meds, vit supplements etc? Did u lose weight? any histamine intolerance issues or estrogen issues. I have the same reaction to all 3 benzos. Im Asking because I have all of this. Have you had any surgeries ie., gallbladder, dental, Ortho where any metals were used. I had a gallbladder surgery where he used titanium clips, prior to that a complete hysterectomy with clips. Since then i couldn't eat bananas, oranges, then caffeine, then sugar. I had so many symptoms of illiness. My doctor kept trying new meds, tests after test to see what the heck my problem was, i went on benzos, but by then end of my time with that doc i was on so many meds. Then lorazapam. I tapered off of everything except for those and then a new PA took me off real fast,  i had no idea what i was in for, woe, protracted withdrawal! Went back on 8 months ago, only helped some for a short time then they reversed on me, as with all meds now. Some say inner dose, allergy or paradoxical reaction. I think it's paradoxical. Can't wait til these things are gone! I need to heal. Afraid to jump off at 1 mg per day split 4x a day. Now I get symptoms when not taking them, but then I take it and it's worse, at least as far as I know. It's like real bad withdrawal for a few hours then everything calms down but still miserable. I just have to wonder if these reactions are due to titanium allergy. 

Benzos are all coated with Titanium. I'm getting tested next month for metals sensitivity and allergy. Melisa.org is where a doc can request the tests if this applies to u. 

Anyone whose had any of these types of surgeries should ask yourselves if your having strange symptoms, am I allergic to these? I've seen a few people here who have histamine intolerance, this Causes me to pause. So many meds have metals in them or are coated with it. I'm not usually concerned about the foods we eat etc that have metals in them, broccoli,  chocolate, so many things but now I question is this why I can't eat anything? 

Anyway, just some info for anyone who might want it.

But I am interested in your reaction to  benzos if they affect u the way they do me and what did u do? Afraid to switch to valuim, wasn't very pleasant 4 months ago. How much did u swap for the lorazapam,  did you stay on Lorazapam while swapping or just stop and go to the valuim. At what dose did u swap? In case i decide to do this at my last 1mg so i get off. just looking for ideas as to how with someone whose experienced what I'm going thru.

I appreciate anything you can tell me to help me make a decision, just want off!

Thanks so much 

I guess I'm asking, if you were at 1mg, 1/4 4x per day whichbis where im at now, how much valuim would you swap for? I reread your reply, you did a straight swap so just wondering how much valuim to swap for the lorazapam at such a small dose of lorazapam? 

I would appreciate any help u can give me, the ashton manual is complicated to me tight now.

Thanks

[[Ka...]]

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

Katrina, 

Thanks for sharing your experience, you said you thought u were I  inner dose or paradoxical, did your symptoms worsen when u took the dose? Did you have sensitivity issues with foods, meds, vit supplements etc? Did u lose weight? any histamine intolerance issues or estrogen issues. I have the same reaction to all 3 benzos. Im Asking because I have all of this. Have you had any surgeries ie., gallbladder, dental, Ortho where any metals were used. I had a gallbladder surgery where he used titanium clips, prior to that a complete hysterectomy with clips. Since then i couldn't eat bananas, oranges, then caffeine, then sugar. I had so many symptoms of illiness. My doctor kept trying new meds, tests after test to see what the heck my problem was, i went on benzos, but by then end of my time with that doc i was on so many meds. Then lorazapam. I tapered off of everything except for those and then a new PA took me off real fast,  i had no idea what i was in for, woe, protracted withdrawal! Went back on 8 months ago, only helped some for a short time then they reversed on me, as with all meds now. Some say inner dose, allergy or paradoxical reaction. I think it's paradoxical. Can't wait til these things are gone! I need to heal. Afraid to jump off at 1 mg per day split 4x a day. Now I get symptoms when not taking them, but then I take it and it's worse, at least as far as I know. It's like real bad withdrawal for a few hours then everything calms down but still miserable. I just have to wonder if these reactions are due to titanium allergy. 

Benzos are all coated with Titanium. I'm getting tested next month for metals sensitivity and allergy. Melisa.org is where a doc can request the tests if this applies to u. 

Anyone whose had any of these types of surgeries should ask yourselves if your having strange symptoms, am I allergic to these? I've seen a few people here who have histamine intolerance, this Causes me to pause. So many meds have metals in them or are coated with it. I'm not usually concerned about the foods we eat etc that have metals in them, broccoli,  chocolate, so many things but now I question is this why I can't eat anything? 

Anyway, just some info for anyone who might want it.

But I am interested in your reaction to  benzos if they affect u the way they do me and what did u do? Afraid to switch to valuim, wasn't very pleasant 4 months ago. How much did u swap for the lorazapam,  did you stay on Lorazapam while swapping or just stop and go to the valuim. At what dose did u swap? In case i decide to do this at my last 1mg so i get off. just looking for ideas as to how with someone whose experienced what I'm going thru.

I appreciate anything you can tell me to help me make a decision, just want off!

Thanks so much 

@[ns...] sorry for delay. I am in UK.  I am going to reply to both messages individually as carefully as I can. 

Overall, I would say I have experienced both inter-dose & paradoxical effects. I would worsen if dose was increased (panic/agitation) & noticed I was craving the next dose.

Re sensitivity that is a very good question. No food allergies as such/no weight loss/no histamine issue. I do have a copper sensitivity (kinesiology  identified this before I began on any benzo) & now I think back I did have 2 root canal fillings - one so badly done it had to be re-done! 
I didn’t know that benzos are coated in titanium. It’s good you are getting tested. 
 

I was on lorazepam for 9 months & no better. In fact, I was getting worse. Conversations with my doctor were around timings of lorazepam & we even tried 1mg broken in half up to x6 halves per day. I was referred to a specialist in UK a Psychiatrist who was adamant I should not be on a benzo long term. First off he said reduce. So I did. He said switch to long lasting diazepam to come off. I was reluctant to do so held off with this instruction initially since I had been on diazepam for one week prior to lorazepam & I didn’t think it had suited me at all. 
I will reply about the switch separately. 

Edited January 8 by [Ka...]

[[Ka...]]

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

I guess I'm asking, if you were at 1mg, 1/4 4x per day whichbis where im at now, how much valuim would you swap for? I reread your reply, you did a straight swap so just wondering how much valuim to swap for the lorazapam at such a small dose of lorazapam? 

I would appreciate any help u can give me, the ashton manual is complicated to me tight now.

Thanks

@[ns...] I did a straight switch. I knew nothing of Ashton guidance and no one referred to it or the gradual way to convert across/ switch which I am sure is better.
I believe 1mg lorazepam is equivalent to 10mg diazepam/valium but best double check Ashton table. I don’t want to misguide you. 

The Psychiatrist advised to go to diazepam/valium 5mg x 3 times per day and the aim was to eventually come off. Due to my previous experience with this benzo my doctor considered this would be too high/sedating & instead gave me 2mg x 3 times per day.  
Initially, I think it suited me. I did feel somewhat improved but it was not sustained. I think paradoxical effects kicked in. 
Fast forward to the present,  I took diazepam/valium from summer 2019 per my history/bio & reduced in 2021 then got stuck/held. I don’t think any benzo is of benefit for me. I had conflicting advice. Ultimately, my inner personal feeling is to try without so I have further reduced and stopped diazepam/valium a few days ago. Some withdrawal symptoms noticeable.

I hope this is useful. We are all different & react in a unique way & the allergies/diet/sensitivities you raised are so relevant. I am quite new here so I am glad to exchange stories and keen to see how others deal with the complexity of these benzos. 

I wish you & others going thru this ordeal well. 
 

 

Edited January 8 by [Ka...]

[[ns...]]

Thank u Katrina, I think we have very similar issues with benzos over all, if u had paradoxical to valuim also,  I'm sure it would eventually get me too. I tried valuim when 1st tapering, I was at 4mg per day Lorazapam, I cross tapered with valuim and it was a nightmare. I was hoping that with such a small dose I'm on now that swapping to valuim might work, but I think if we have had the reactions we've had already it's best to just stick with lorazapam and taper as quickly as I can without being too rapid. I'm already at 1/4 of a mg 4x per day of lorazapam. It's tough, really tough taking something that causes so much misery, the odd thing is, is that the past 2 days, when I'm getting close to my dose time I start having withdrawals, then I take it, it gives me some relief for about 30 minutes and then the old symptoms return, high anxiety. Panic attacks etc. What is this stuff doing to me if it does that! 

I appreciate your sharing your experience as I don't find many who've experienced paradoxical reaction so your input in invaluable to me. It's tempting to try valuim again but I think I'd better just work on getting off asap.

I'm grateful, thank u.

Hopefully you won't have too long of a withdrawal from the diazepam. 

Hoping for the best, do let me know how it goes ok

Be well my friend

[[ns...]]

4 hours ago, [[K...] said:

I had no replies to original post. That’s OK!  A google search revealed burning syndrome is a thing & can be associated with benzos. 

Going to extend question to more general sensory mouth issue. I continue to have this burning syndrome - but now have a new numb lip sensation. 
I wonder if anyone had/has this please? 
thanks
 

 

4 hours ago, [[W...] said:

yes to burning mouth and mine is also the roof of the mouth, with pressure and pain as though being forced up into my head ( along with all the other head sensations but only on the right side). I am also alone, knowing that if I mentioned this to a GP they would just say it is anxiety. Well it is anxiety, who wouldn't be anxious with these kinds of symptoms ?! 

 

4 hours ago, [[K...] said:

Thank you @[WU...] I am sorry you have this. 
It is a horrible side effect or withdrawal symptom. I did ask the GP after wondering what this is, sent photos (!) & was given diagnosis. Also, advised could run blood test to check for B12 deficiency etc - google says this too. But he said “you’re anxious” - well of course I am! We all are.

I’ve got lamberts multivitamin rather than have blood test (fear) to see if that alleviates pain. 
Interestingly, often remedy is to prescribe benzo. Ridiculous idea 
 

 

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

Hi @[Ka...] I was just about to post that we get enough B12 from our food provided we eat meat, fish, dairy, eggs etc. and then I checked your history and saw you are vegetarian !  I was vegetarian for over 20 years from age 19 to 40 ish and all of a sudden I ate a steak one New Year's Eve and no more vegetarian for me !    I can see why you are considering vitamin supplements, fair enough, be discerning, go for the best you can find, not the cheap ones from supermarkets! 

Yes it is good to compare experiences, though we are all different, it does help to know what others are going through.

 

6 hours ago, [[K...] said:

@[ns...] sorry for delay. I am in UK.  I am going to reply to both messages individually as carefully as I can. 

Overall, I would say I have experienced both inter-dose & paradoxical effects. I would worsen if dose was increased (panic/agitation) & noticed I was craving the next dose.

Re sensitivity that is a very good question. No food allergies as such/no weight loss/no histamine issue. I do have a copper sensitivity (kinesiology  identified this before I began on any benzo) & now I think back I did have 2 root canal fillings - one so badly done it had to be re-done! 
I didn’t know that benzos are coated in titanium. It’s good you are getting tested. 
 

I was on lorazepam for 9 months & no better. In fact, I was getting worse. Conversations with my doctor were around timings of lorazepam & we even tried 1mg broken in half up to x6 halves per day. I was referred to a specialist in UK a Psychiatrist who was adamant I should not be on a benzo long term. First off he said reduce. So I did. He said switch to long lasting diazepam to come off. I was reluctant to do so held off with this instruction initially since I had been on diazepam for one week prior to lorazepam & I didn’t think it had suited me at all. 
I will reply about the switch separately. 

Katrina, please do get tested for heavy metals.  Go to Melisa.org,  have your doctor do the test. Take the website to him with directions on how to obtain the test. 

I know your in withdrawl, I hope u do this as soon as u can. This may explain why we have reactions to benzos.

Hope your doing well