Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[ri...]]

Yah Ive done the same with my diet. I've cut out all stimulants except for one big one that I just cant cut out right now....smoking. It destroys me yet I cant stop. This is really my first real battle with all day anxiety in a while, I thought I was past this but it came out of nowhere and kicked me in the teeth. My first 3 cuts were no problem, such minor symptoms that I wasnt worried about it. This cut has really taught me a lesson and I need to get back to all my distraction techniques and yoga and whatever it takes to keep my mind occupied. We have a similar case where we want to keep our ativan at night so we can get some sleep because of our damn T but if this continues for a long time(the all day anxiety) then I might consider splitting. We both kinda want to stick to the devil we know and stay on  dry cutting ativan and taking our dose once a day even though its recommended to cross over to Valium(no thanks), split dose(maybe) or switch to liquid titration(possibly). Are we making things harder then they need to be? or do u think others have actually tapered off of ativan this way?

[[bo...]]

Hey Ringing.. doesn't the anxiety just suck.. especially when it goes on and on.. like it does . My bad days seem to come in threes and then I have a break for a while .. gradually getting there .. I'm with you about the switch to Valium . I tried twice and didn't work at all ..I did dry cutting Ativan for as long as possible , until it just wasn't accurate enough and then switched to a simple liquid taper. It works for me..  I make up my dose and then each morning top up the container to full with water and sip at it all day so don't have set dose times at all .. it's whatever method works for the individual ..

I read of someone else on here who did it this way ( where .i got the idea)  ..

For me a lot of it is psychological as well as physical and this way of 'seeing' the container with still a lot of liquid in it helps calm me ... all the best BB

[Guest [...]]

Ringing oh yes...This dang Tinnitus gets worse the more the anxiety builds up in me. Gosh, have been searching for the right answer and fear just beats me up. I really don't want to crossover to valium. I fear it. My husband is off a day this weekend and will be home. Thought I might split a dose then. I cut last Thursday and was hopeful that I would have a great week so I could make a cut tomorrow again, but...I may have to hold out another few days. I fear I am making it hard on myself too. I am so at a crossroads. I am not even sure about liquid titration either...I don't see alot of Ativan success stories. They either crossover or fail it feels like. If I just saw a few I think. Could power through.

[[ri...]]

Hey Ringing.. doesn't the anxiety just suck.. especially when it goes on and on.. like it does . My bad days seem to come in threes and then I have a break for a while .. gradually getting there .. I'm with you about the switch to Valium . I tried twice and didn't work at all ..I did dry cutting Ativan for as long as possible , until it just wasn't accurate enough and then switched to a simple liquid taper. It works for me..  I make up my dose and then each morning top up the container to full with water and sip at it all day so don't have set dose times at all .. it's whatever method works for the individual ..

I read of someone else on here who did it this way ( where .i got the idea)  ..

For me a lot of it is psychological as well as physical and this way of 'seeing' the container with still a lot of liquid in it helps calm me ... all the best BB

 

Bertie, I came on this site and started reading about tapering and freaked myself out. I was petrified of tapering until I started it and I realized that it was easier then I thought....yah until now. I'm gonna hold until I stabilize, I am not in a rush to get off the meds like I was before. I mean I'm 25% of the way through my taper and even with that I've only been taking ativan for 3 months. I think this site has its benefits but you have to realize that plenty of people have come off these drugs with no issues and have no reason for being I here. I'm sure they had the same withdrawal symptoms but were able to handle them better then some of us.

I think it is totally possible to taper off of ativan we just have to find the best way for us to do it. I will come and go from this site but the only thread I ever check is the ativan taper support group and sadly I only see a few people here posting . I may have to ask you for advice on how to liquid taper in the near future if this gets too tough. Thanks for the reply and I'll check in here more often

[[ri...]]

Ringing oh yes...This dang Tinnitus gets worse the more the anxiety builds up in me. Gosh, have been searching for the right answer and fear just beats me up. I really don't want to crossover to valium. I fear it. My husband is off a day this weekend and will be home. Thought I might split a dose then. I cut last Thursday and was hopeful that I would have a great week so I could make a cut tomorrow again, but...I may have to hold out another few days. I fear I am making it hard on myself too. I am so at a crossroads. I am not even sure about liquid titration either...I don't see alot of Ativan success stories. They either crossover or fail it feels like. If I just saw a few I think. Could power through.

 

There is a few success stories in our tinnitus facebook group about ativan tapering and they all dry cut. I read one of your posts about how the anxiety is worse in the afternoon...I have the same problem. Morning I'm okay, afternoons a disaster and nights I'm okay. If it were inter dose withdrawal wouldnt I have the anxiety at night too. This is my first cut so far where I've experienced anxiety but my anxiety is different then before. I dont have that adrenaline rush or panic attacks, I just feel sad and I feel like someone is pushing on my chest, my vision gets blurry and I feel light headed and I cant shake the negative thoughts. Ive had anxiety and panic disorder before and they were completely different then what I feel now.

[[bo...]]

Indeed. i have been on Ativan for 30 plus years so I think that makes a difference in the taper .i have a few other health issues at the moment so not too worried about rushing to the end.

Happy to help with the liquid taper . PM me any time cheersBB

[Guest [...]]

Ringing..I know you say.  The interface withdrawal has me okay until early afternoon, then for about 5-6 hours of gets a lot worse. Symptoms ramp up. By a couple hours of dose time they level off for the most part until dose time. Unless I make a cut, then they ramp up for a few days. I wonder if the evening level off isn't due to our bodies expecting the med soon, or we anticipate taking it, so maybe it's psychologically based?

[Guest [...]]

*on a wonderfully silly side note...

Last night discouraged there aren't many success stories about those tapering off Ativan,  I experimented. I took one of my. 5 pills and cut it in half. Took one of the.25 halves to see how far I could split it. I got it into five pieces. Five pretty similar pieces.  They look like they might range in size some. But if they were more equal that would be about. 05 each. That's pretty darn low. I saved each piece.  Might try this as a rescue dose if ever needed again.

[Guest [...]]

Trying to think positive today. If I were to cut every 7 days today would be the day.  I mean I slept 6ish hours last night. Been dreaming at night too. Maybe thinking about dividing doses. Since I am at 1mg maybe .25 in the afternoon when symptoms are hard, and .75 before bed.

I don't know...Decisions decisions.

Cut today? Cut Saturday? Split dose?

Grrrr...Woke up with anxiety. Think my cortisol is out of wack. See a new doctor next month. Holding out until then. Hopefully will be close to .5 then. Had a revelation that I'm have been trying to avoid too many situations where anxiety might be the highest. It's causing a lot of pain in my extended family. My little brother's step grandchild who was two years old was murdered in Kansas on Feb 7. The "alleged" person that did it was just arrested the day before yesterday. In the past two months I have  avoiding talking about it much to others, even only would check in on everyone through texts or messaging through Facebook. When people were around me, I tuned it out by thinking about other things or leaving the room. I know this hurt my brother and sister in law. Before anxiety and benzos I would have been right by their side day and night.  I know I can't avoid situations forever, just like here in the US I can't avoid medicine commercials or medical news stories,. O matter how scary they are. I have to go on, and live and repair relationships.

[[Ho...]]

Ringing oh yes...This dang Tinnitus gets worse the more the anxiety builds up in me. Gosh, have been searching for the right answer and fear just beats me up. I really don't want to crossover to valium. I fear it. My husband is off a day this weekend and will be home. Thought I might split a dose then. I cut last Thursday and was hopeful that I would have a great week so I could make a cut tomorrow again, but...I may have to hold out another few days. I fear I am making it hard on myself too. I am so at a crossroads. I am not even sure about liquid titration either...I don't see alot of Ativan success stories. They either crossover or fail it feels like. If I just saw a few I think. Could power through.

 

I successfully tapered off of Ativan. It can be done! I dry cut for awhile and then switched to liquid titration. It wasn't easy but I got through it and you can too! Since being off it I've had two setbacks- one after taking an antibiotic and one right now after getting a bad cold but in between these I got a full time job I love and I lived my life. I've felt more like me than I have in years and even though I'm struggling now again I know I'll bounce back. To everyone tapering Ativan, don't give up!

[Guest [...]]

Ringing oh yes...This dang Tinnitus gets worse the more the anxiety builds up in me. Gosh, have been searching for the right answer and fear just beats me up. I really don't want to crossover to valium. I fear it. My husband is off a day this weekend and will be home. Thought I might split a dose then. I cut last Thursday and was hopeful that I would have a great week so I could make a cut tomorrow again, but...I may have to hold out another few days. I fear I am making it hard on myself too. I am so at a crossroads. I am not even sure about liquid titration either...I don't see alot of Ativan success stories. They either crossover or fail it feels like. If I just saw a few I think. Could power through.

 

I successfully tapered off of Ativan. It can be done! I dry cut for awhile and then switched to liquid titration. It wasn't easy but I got through it and you can too! Since being off it I've had two setbacks- one after taking an antibiotic and one right now after getting a bad cold but in between these I got a full time job I love and I lived my life. I've felt more like me than I have in years and even though I'm struggling now again I know I'll bounce back. To everyone tapering Ativan, don't give up!

Hope...

Thank you. I needed to hear from someone today that has made it through.  I am so incredibly tired of this fight. Tired.

[Guest [Le...]]

Ringing oh yes...This dang Tinnitus gets worse the more the anxiety builds up in me. Gosh, have been searching for the right answer and fear just beats me up. I really don't want to crossover to valium. I fear it. My husband is off a day this weekend and will be home. Thought I might split a dose then. I cut last Thursday and was hopeful that I would have a great week so I could make a cut tomorrow again, but...I may have to hold out another few days. I fear I am making it hard on myself too. I am so at a crossroads. I am not even sure about liquid titration either...I don't see alot of Ativan success stories. They either crossover or fail it feels like. If I just saw a few I think. Could power through.

 

I successfully tapered off of Ativan. It can be done! I dry cut for awhile and then switched to liquid titration. It wasn't easy but I got through it and you can too! Since being off it I've had two setbacks- one after taking an antibiotic and one right now after getting a bad cold but in between these I got a full time job I love and I lived my life. I've felt more like me than I have in years and even though I'm struggling now again I know I'll bounce back. To everyone tapering Ativan, don't give up!

Hope...

Thank you. I needed to hear from someone today that has made it through.  I am so incredibly tired of this fight. Tired.

 

After hitting tolerance (up to 4 mg of Ativan) and becoming literally housebound and unable to sleep, I tapered from Ativan for a while, failed at a Valium taper, tapered again from Ativan, and then jumped from a relatively high place: 0.5 mg of Ativan.

 

I'm happy to say that despite an utterly hellish experience, at nine months off I'm only left with a few symptoms, including a tiny bit of leftover tinnitus, which has reached the point of nearly disappearing, and I sleep 7-8 hours now, with no drugs at all.

 

You really can get off of Ativan and heal, even if it seems to take way too long. 

[[bo...]]

@leslieash ..can I ask what made you decide to jump from .5 ? And we're you symptomatic for some time after the jump.. there are parts of me ( after two year plus of tapering) that just wants to bite the bullet and stop ... but need that to be the right decision for me.. sometimes I waver with this thinking that I am so psychologically dependant and no amount of tapering is going to solve that ...I want off but there is this still the fear that I'm kicking away my crutch ... interesting .. hope you're doing well now BB x

[Guest [Le...]]

@leslieash ..can I ask what made you decide to jump from .5 ? And we're you symptomatic for some time after the jump.. there are parts of me ( after two year plus of tapering) that just wants to bite the bullet and stop ... but need that to be the right decision for me.. sometimes I waver with this thinking that I am so psychologically dependant and no amount of tapering is going to solve that ...I want off but there is this still the fear that I'm kicking away my crutch ... interesting .. hope you're doing well now BB x

 

Hi BB - my hand was kind of forced on jumping when I did because I began to have such bad reactions to the Ativan itself. When I took it I began to get revved up, with a pounding heartbeat and a general feeling of being even sicker than I already was.

 

I tried delaying and then skipping doses and noticed that I would feel less sick. One day I just skipped taking it at all, and then decided to keep skipping it until it got unbearable - but it never became as bad as taking the last doses had been, so I stayed off.

 

It wasn't easy, but Ativan literally made me much sicker, and symptoms have very slowly dropped away over these past nine months. What's left is minor tinnitus, which used to be ferocious, dizziness that has really improved in the past three weeks, stiff feet and lower limbs, plus a few other minor things - and I can finally sleep again, whew. The year-and-a-half of absolute incapacitation is over!

 

It's so hard to say how it will work because we're all affected so differently. If you wanted to try stretching the time between doses, that might be a way to test the waters, but I hesitate to make recommendations on my less-than-optimal experience.

 

You're really in the last stretch either way, and that's just great! 

 

[[ri...]]

Ringing oh yes...This dang Tinnitus gets worse the more the anxiety builds up in me. Gosh, have been searching for the right answer and fear just beats me up. I really don't want to crossover to valium. I fear it. My husband is off a day this weekend and will be home. Thought I might split a dose then. I cut last Thursday and was hopeful that I would have a great week so I could make a cut tomorrow again, but...I may have to hold out another few days. I fear I am making it hard on myself too. I am so at a crossroads. I am not even sure about liquid titration either...I don't see alot of Ativan success stories. They either crossover or fail it feels like. If I just saw a few I think. Could power through.

 

I successfully tapered off of Ativan. It can be done! I dry cut for awhile and then switched to liquid titration. It wasn't easy but I got through it and you can too! Since being off it I've had two setbacks- one after taking an antibiotic and one right now after getting a bad cold but in between these I got a full time job I love and I lived my life. I've felt more like me than I have in years and even though I'm struggling now again I know I'll bounce back. To everyone tapering Ativan, don't give up!

Hope...

Thank you. I needed to hear from someone today that has made it through.  I am so incredibly tired of this fight. Tired.

 

After hitting tolerance (up to 4 mg of Ativan) and becoming literally housebound and unable to sleep, I tapered from Ativan for a while, failed at a Valium taper, tapered again from Ativan, and then jumped from a relatively high place: 0.5 mg of Ativan.

 

I'm happy to say that despite an utterly hellish experience, at nine months off I'm only left with a few symptoms, including a tiny bit of leftover tinnitus, which has reached the point of nearly disappearing, and I sleep 7-8 hours now, with no drugs at all.

 

You really can get off of Ativan and heal, even if it seems to take way too long. 

 

wow 4 mg's of ativan, that mustve been a long and sslow taper. Bless you for this post. I believe I can do it. I dont see any reason why it isnt possible to taper off of ativan

[Guest [...]]

I feel a little more positive today, thanks for the sharing of experiences. Try reading more positive poets, but lately there seems to be a rash of "these are my bad experiences" replies to them instead like of "good job"  I made another cut last night, but I always wait 2-3 days before I make it official and record it in case I have to go back up a day or two. Looking back when I cut from 1.5 to 1.375 in a couple days I felt really good. The longer holds then cutting seem to make me feel the worst. So am going to do some gentle experimenting.

[[ri...]]

Sorry guys, I known there is only a few of us in this thread and the last thing u want to read is negative posts. This isnt necessarily a negative post but I'm having major sxs the past few days. All day anxiety, feelings of depression, massive nausea, blurry vision and GI issues. I know they are all normal in the tapering process but what do u guys do to cope? I'm really considering changing my tapering method. I think splitting my dose to 3 times a day rather then once at night is the first thing I'm going to try and then  if that doesnt help I might switch over to liquid titration. Before I started my taper I was taking all kinds of supps glutamine, multi vit, vit c, omega 3, probiotic and they were all helping. I still take the glutamine and the probiotic which seem to help the GI issues  and the multi because I am B & D deficient. I am starting to exercise every day and it does help as does relaxation yoga. I'm really looking for things to add to the arsenal to get through this. What do u ativan taperer's use to help u get through this?

[Guest [...]]

ringing....

I would say you are on the right track. Dividing doses may help, especially with interposed withdrawal. I really know I should do this, but have been putting it off. Stubborn I am!  I am not sure about supplements,  as I have never taken any. Maybe some can chime in.

 

On a side note last night I cut down to. 875 (though not official yet)  and today have a raging headache and loud ears. I fear headaches. It was originally the headaches that sent me into a health anxiety spiral when I cold turkey ed and reinstated. Even Tylenol isn't touching it. Hoping it clears up so I can stick with this cut.

[[ri...]]

ringing....

I would say you are on the right track. Dividing doses may help, especially with interposed withdrawal. I really know I should do this, but have been putting it off. Stubborn I am!  I am not sure about supplements,  as I have never taken any. Maybe some can chime in.

 

On a side note last night I cut down to. 875 (though not official yet)  and today have a raging headache and loud ears. I fear headaches. It was originally the headaches that sent me into a health anxiety spiral when I cold turkey ed and reinstated. Even Tylenol isn't touching it. Hoping it clears up so I can stick with this cut.

 

Try ginger tea. Just boil the raw ginger in water. It works wonders for my headaches. Yah this interdose anxiety that I'm having now is all new to me. I was told this would happen but I wanted to save all my ativan for night. I think I'm going to crack today and take .125 now and .625 at bed time. if that works I'll start taking .125 am, .125 mid day and .5 at night but hold on my tapering until I stabilize. I like you hate change and am petrified. I'm gonna exercise now and see if it makes a difference. I wish there was more people who tapered off of ativan who could chime in but they either didnt have problems tapering and dont need to be here or they switched over to valium.

[[ri...]]

Screw it, I couldnt take the interdose withdrawal anymore. I semi split my dose and took .125 just now and will take the rest(.625) at bed time. I will try this for a bit to see how it goes and then split to .125 in the am, .125 midday and .5 at night. If I stabilize doing this I am going to switch to micro tapering. I know I am giving up on my taper plan too fast but I knew ahead of time doing it my way of dry cutting and taking my dose once a day was going to be tough. Plans change and  I think this change is for the better, I know I might ruin my taper or make things difficult for a while but I think there's a reason why there is only a few of us in this group. Ativan is probably the toughest benzo to taper off of and everyone who has tapered takes their dose more then once a day. Pumpkin I will let u know how it goes. I know everyone is different but if it works for me it may be the reassurance that you need to do it too.

[Guest [...]]

Screw it, I couldnt take the interdose withdrawal anymore. I semi split my dose and took .125 just now and will take the rest(.625) at bed time. I will try this for a bit to see how it goes and then split to .125 in the am, .125 midday and .5 at night. If I stabilize doing this I am going to switch to micro tapering. I know I am giving up on my taper plan too fast but I knew ahead of time doing it my way of dry cutting and taking my dose once a day was going to be tough. Plans change and  I think this change is for the better, I know I might ruin my taper or make things difficult for a while but I think there's a reason why there is only a few of us in this group. Ativan is probably the toughest benzo to taper off of and everyone who has tapered takes their dose more then once a day. Pumpkin I will let u know how it goes. I know everyone is different but if it works for me it may be the reassurance that you need to do it too.

Awesome that you are finding your way! I am open to titration as well if needed, just stubborn holding out as I might be under the pressure if a new law passes in my state. I am saving every little piece I can!  Please keep us posted on how the divided dose goes, I am hopeful for you as try it! Right now mornings aren't as bad as afternoons,  so if I can split to an afternoon dose and a bed time, we'll that may be a plus. I do have the hydroxyzine which isn't habit forming but can build up tolerance quick so I might fall back on that if needed.

[[ri...]]

Screw it, I couldnt take the interdose withdrawal anymore. I semi split my dose and took .125 just now and will take the rest(.625) at bed time. I will try this for a bit to see how it goes and then split to .125 in the am, .125 midday and .5 at night. If I stabilize doing this I am going to switch to micro tapering. I know I am giving up on my taper plan too fast but I knew ahead of time doing it my way of dry cutting and taking my dose once a day was going to be tough. Plans change and  I think this change is for the better, I know I might ruin my taper or make things difficult for a while but I think there's a reason why there is only a few of us in this group. Ativan is probably the toughest benzo to taper off of and everyone who has tapered takes their dose more then once a day. Pumpkin I will let u know how it goes. I know everyone is different but if it works for me it may be the reassurance that you need to do it too.

Awesome that you are finding your way! I am open to titration as well if needed, just stubborn holding out as I might be under the pressure if a new law passes in my state. I am saving every little piece I can!  Please keep us posted on how the divided dose goes, I am hopeful for you as try it! Right now mornings aren't as bad as afternoons,  so if I can split to an afternoon dose and a bed time, we'll that may be a plus. I do have the hydroxyzine which isn't habit forming but can build up tolerance quick so I might fall back on that if needed.

 

This is the 2nd time I'm hearing about Hydroxyzine. How often do u take it and if this actually helps with anxiety then splitting the dose will be much easier

[[NW...]]

inging,

 

I think you're on the right track, too.

 

I have recent experience going from dosing 1x day of Ativan and slowly moving to 4x/day over a period of 6-8 weeks.  I didn't updose to do it, but I did experience withdrawals as part of the process.  I was on .875 mg of Ativan at night only, and I started by moving to .75 mg at night and .125 mg around 3:00 in the afternoon.

 

I then moved to .625 at night and .125 at 10:00 AM and .125 at 4:00 PM.  Finally, I switched to liquid and moved to .5 mg at night and .125 mg at 9:00 AM, 1:30 PM and 6:00 PM.  Since then I've moved to .35 at night and .145 at 9:00, 1:30 and 6:00 - just under .8 mg total. 

 

I've been delayed in my taper by taking antibiotics for a UTI and having issues related to Gabapentin, which I have been taking for sleep (not recommended).  That said, I'm very stable in my current dosing schedule and microtapering as I feel up to it.  I'm not currently considering switching to Valium, but expect to be tapering for a while.

 

I hope your dosing change helps.  Give it some time since moving doses around can cause some withdrawals.

 

 

[[ri...]]

inging,

 

I think you're on the right track, too.

 

I have recent experience going from dosing 1x day of Ativan and slowly moving to 4x/day over a period of 6-8 weeks.  I didn't updose to do it, but I did experience withdrawals as part of the process.  I was on .875 mg of Ativan at night only, and I started by moving to .75 mg at night and .125 mg around 3:00 in the afternoon.

 

I then moved to .625 at night and .125 at 10:00 AM and .125 at 4:00 PM.  Finally, I switched to liquid and moved to .5 mg at night and .125 mg at 9:00 AM, 1:30 PM and 6:00 PM.  Since then I've moved to .35 at night and .145 at 9:00, 1:30 and 6:00 - just under .8 mg total. 

 

I've been delayed in my taper by taking antibiotics for a UTI and having issues related to Gabapentin, which I have been taking for sleep (not recommended).  That said, I'm very stable in my current dosing schedule and microtapering as I feel up to it.  I'm not currently considering switching to Valium, but expect to be tapering for a while.

 

I hope your dosing change helps.  Give it some time since moving doses around can cause some withdrawals.

 

This is super helpful. I am already experiencing withdrawal symptoms anyway so I needed to change things up. I was thinking of up dosing to start my split but I decided not too without trying it out first. I was so hesitant about splitting but I just couldn't take it anymore and had to take some today. I will follow this schedule and see how it goes. Were your withdrawals all day long as u were splitting your dose or mostly at night?

[Guest [...]]

Screw it, I couldnt take the interdose withdrawal anymore. I semi split my dose and took .125 just now and will take the rest(.625) at bed time. I will try this for a bit to see how it goes and then split to .125 in the am, .125 midday and .5 at night. If I stabilize doing this I am going to switch to micro tapering. I know I am giving up on my taper plan too fast but I knew ahead of time doing it my way of dry cutting and taking my dose once a day was going to be tough. Plans change and  I think this change is for the better, I know I might ruin my taper or make things difficult for a while but I think there's a reason why there is only a few of us in this group. Ativan is probably the toughest benzo to taper off of and everyone who has tapered takes their dose more then once a day. Pumpkin I will let u know how it goes. I know everyone is different but if it works for me it may be the reassurance that you need to do it too.

Awesome that you are finding your way! I am open to titration as well if needed, just stubborn holding out as I might be under the pressure if a new law passes in my state. I am saving every little piece I can!  Please keep us posted on how the divided dose goes, I am hopeful for you as try it! Right now mornings aren't as bad as afternoons,  so if I can split to an afternoon dose and a bed time, we'll that may be a plus. I do have the hydroxyzine which isn't habit forming but can build up tolerance quick so I might fall back on that if needed.

 

This is the 2nd time I'm hearing about Hydroxyzine. How often do u take it and if this actually helps with anxiety then splitting the dose will be much easier

Hydroxyzine as someone put it to me is "like benadryl on steroids" an antihistamine that has some anti anxiety properties that is usually prescribed starting at 25 mgs. For some it sedated and relaxes.  It's benign in nature and isn't habit forming, so it's ideal for use. The downside, tolerance can build up quick and it's hit or miss...some it works wonderfully, others not so much. I have seen more positive than negative. Because of tolerance issues my doctor said only to use it rarely. If I do I can take 25mgs twice a day. I have my bottle waiting for me to take it, but I haven't yet, want to save it for if things get uncontrollable. 

Another one to possibly try is Buspar....an anti anxiety medication that is not supposed to have withdrawal symptoms either, but it is another hit or miss medication, that builds up tolerance quickly. Some say it does nothing for them, others says it works wonders. I have seen that it along with other things that I it might cause ringing, but it's a small amount. I am open to considering it as I have seen in the physicians desk reference that it is sometimes used in tapering a benzo.

Hydroxyzine if it works, is immediate.  Buspar takes a week or two to begin working, but no where near an antidepressant.