Feeling Better The Lower You Go?

[[De...]]

Hi,

I'm tapering off from a low dose.   I used 0.5mg per day of ativan for 15 months before starting to taper.

I'm dropping roughly 4% every two weeks.  Now down to 0.26mg per day.

I get a little bit of side effects when I cut.  Sometimes none.

What I'm noticing though is that once I level out I seem to feel better and better at each progressively lower dose.  By better I mean less anxiety and less rumination/depression.

Did/does anyone else have a similar experience.

I'm wondering if the ativan isn't causing some anxiety and depression at this point given that the less I take the better I am.

Interestingly I take my does at 6am and I feel worse in the morning and always great after 4pm when I have almost no ativan in my system.  So I'm definitely not getting any interdose withdrawals.

Thanks for any input!

[[Pa...]]

Wow, you sound great, I love that you're feeling better the lower you go, this isn't typical but its certainly welcome!

I wonder if you're dealing with the effects of high cortisol in the morning, most members report feeling better towards the evening but how great is it that you're not suffering from interdose!!

I really love your update, I predict a smooth jump and a relatively painless recovery.  

[[Cr...]]

32 minutes ago, [[D...] said:

What I'm noticing though is that once I level out I seem to feel better and better at each progressively lower dose.  By better I mean less anxiety and less rumination/depression.

This could be happening because some of your depression may be a lingering side effect of the medication itself. Some interdose anxiety might decrease as well after you have adjusted to a cut since now the body is craving a smaller amount than before.

Some people are just lucky when it comes to tapering off of their benzos and feel more benefits as they go lower. I hope this trend continues for you until you are off and beyond. This could be a possible sign that you may have a relatively quick recovery. However, it is important to not count yours chickens just quite yet as there is so much uncertainty involved in this process. Just continue marching forwards to benzo freedom. You got this.

[[Sc...]]

This happened to me as well. The less Valium I took, the better I felt. Once I realized this I just stopped taking it at 1.5mg,and each day that went by I felt better and better. Memory came back very fast, and my real self came back fairly quickly. 

I've been off it for a month now, and while I have physical sxs, nearly all the other side effects seem gone. Seems like it was doing a ton of damage to me and changed my whole personality for the worst. I hope this helps and glad you are feeling better! 

[[De...]]

Thank you all for your comments and kind words.

Empathy is definitely a lesson that all of us who have suffered through this have learned the hard way.......and won't ever forget!