Request taper plan for Ativan 3mg

[[...]]

I'm currently on 0.5mg Ativan at 2.30pm and 2.5mg at 8.30pm.

Long term usage.

I could not crossover to Diazepam as it was too sedating.

My other threads on here got messy so I would like to use this current thread as my main tapering thread.

What should I do to begin my taper? (At the cost of having advise repeated, sorry)

I'm reliant on the Ativan for sleep.

What is the difference between cut and hold and micro tapering?

I'm already symptomatic so would like to slip into this gently.

How do I know what percentage to start reducing?

I have 2mg and 1mg pills at hand.

@[je...],  @[Li...] @[El...]

 

Edited June 3 by [...]

[[je...]]

Are you experiencing interdose withdrawal?

[[...]]

What is interdose withdrawal @[je...]?

[[je...]]

Ativan has a fairly short half-life. It means the drug works out quickly. You start experiencing withdrawal symptoms a couple of hours before the next dose is due and then when you take your dose, you'll feel the symptoms get better. And this cycle continues between doses. Some people experience this, others don't. 

[[...]]

I may or may not be feeling this. The 0.5mg dose split is recent, about 6 weeks old. 

Yes, I feel a bit soothed when I take it.

I'm symptomatic throughout the day as and when things decide to pop up. 

Night dose used to calm me and actually make me happier but now, it's sedating and I sleep for 7 to 8 hours.

[[je...]]

Why did you split your dose? Apologies for all the questions but before venturing into suggestions for a cut, it’s important to understand your history.

[[je...]]

Can I also ask you to please fill in your history stating how long you’ve been on the drug, previous benzo use, other medications, and taper history/changes.

Please fill in your medication history, taper details and any other pertinent information so others can provide the best feedback for your situation:

Profile => Edit profile (top-right of profile banner) => Add succinct use/taper/withdrawal history to 'History' text box => click 'Save' (bottom-right)

 

[[...]]

Couldn't figure out the profile section. Will try again later.

Woke up feeling body pains.

Split dose for taper purposes. Didn't go beyond 0.5mg yet at noon since I'm trying to retain sleep with night dose.

No previous benzo use. Ativan since 15 years, started at low dose. No other medication. This will be my first attempt to taper.

@[je...]

 

[[je...]]

[[...]]

@[je...], I split to prepare for taper. I haven't started taper yet.

 

[[je...]]

[[...]]

Because I was told ativan has a short span. Maybe I should ideally be at 3 equal doses through out the day.

I could not transition to diazepam as it was too sedating 

[[je...]]

[[...]]

Dr MH did. But he never asked me about interdose withdrawal.

He said two doses 1mg and 2mg. I'm afraid of losing sleep so I thought I would eventually move to 1mg as he mentioned.

But also, he wasn't super customizing the plan for me. And there wasn't enough time for me to ask him more details.

Also, I noticed several BB posts where ativan users dose multiple times a day.

And I can't say for sure that I do not have interdose withdrawals. My lightheadedness reduces somewhat with afternoon dose. My evening lightheadedness,  severe headache reduces with night dose.

(And I do want this thread to be quiet pls just regarding my taper and not celeb doctors   )

 

[[je...]]

Thank you @[...]. This helps me better understand. Just one more question. Why are you taking your dose at 2.30pm? It is quite close to your evening dose. Is there a specific reason for this?

[[...]]

I thought I might eventually need 3 doses.. about 8 hours apart. So chose the noon dose at 2.30pm.

My night dose was earlier at 9,30pm but I'm having some head sensations, face numbness and headaches late evenings, so started dosing an hour early to help those symptoms reduce.

[[je...]]

Do you notice a difference in symptoms before your afternoon and evening dose? Are your symptoms the worst before the afternoon dose or before the evening dose?

[[...]]

They are worse before the evening dose.

[[je...]]

That is interesting, because if you had interdose withdrawal then theoretically your symptoms should be at its worst before the afternoon dose, not the evening dose. The reason being, that there is such a long time between your evening dose and then the next day when you take the afternoon dose. 

Do you feel better on two doses than you did on one dose or does it not really make a difference? Once again I'm sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to work out which dose we should start tapering and whether the spacing of the doses work for you.

[[...]]

I will reply to this. I want to say that my benzo use was going fine until I had to take antibiotics including fluoroquinolones for a uti infection. 

Just wanted to put this out.

[[...]]

@[je...], I think my noon dose being just 0.5mg has little therapeutic value.

Today, i had new anxiety when i woke up that eventually subsided. And minutes after my noon dose, i experienced more anxiety and i never had something like this happen to me before. It was uncomfortable and took a good hour and half to pass.

I'm having symptoms happen regularly towards the evening and can't wait to take my night dose.

To reply to your other question, I don't know. Because the symptoms are ramping up in number and variety.

Sorry if I'm being vague. I'm scared and don't know what to do next.

 

[[je...]]

I’m not sure about your symptoms but it doesn’t seem as if your afternoon dose is as effective as your evening dose. I suggest you try a 5% cut of your afternoon dose and see how that goes. We can always add to your afternoon dose again if needed. 

You should also keep a daily journal where you rate your symptoms and track at which times it intensifies. This way it’s better to monitor and identify patterns.

[[Hu...]]

Hi nlav, good that you made this thread. 

What you are doing, I was doing also. small daytime dose, large nighttime dose.

Was diazepam really that bad? Have you given it at least a couple of weeks? 

[[...]]

@[Hu...], I gave diazepam about 2 weeks with 2 steps of crossover. I didn't last with 10mg, was too sedating. And 30mg is equivalent of my ativan dose. So I backtracked to ativan.

Restless today and had a 2 hour anxiety wave.

I would have been happier if I could move to D.

What is your taper process?

Edited June 9 by [...]

[[...]]

Microtaper or cut and hold? What is suitable?

I had many symptoms yesterday, quickly changing ones. 

I just woke up and am so afraid of what today holds for me.