Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[mo...]]

I completely understand your predicament, Lavendar. I was put on the benzos to help with sleep problems and ramp up on a new antidepressant back in November. I was first put on Xanax but disliked the effects and asked them to switch me to Ativan after about one month because I had used it sporadically in the past and liked the effects better. I started with 1 mg lorazepam in December 2011 but quickly dropped to .5 mg within a relatively short span of time by early January 2012. It wasn't until early February that I started realizing I might be dependent due to strange side effects and physical symptoms so I quickly began the process of tapering, dry tapering with a pill splitter and box cutter because I couldn't wrap my head around going into titration and liquid suspensions and all this stuff for a relatively low dose (one .5 mg dose per night for sleep) and over such a short span of time! It just seemed like overkill!

 

So I have been dry cutting, a very inaccurate methodology I must say, but it has been pretty OK for the most part. I just cut to the final "chunk" of .125 mg four days ago and I am definitely feeling the funk, tingly all over, eye pain, muscle pain, insomnia, mood changes...the works. I know many people switch over to Valium at this point, as the cuts get lower and more difficult, but I just can't justify it to myself so I am riding this wave out to see if I stabilize in due time. If not, MAYBE i will consider it but i really hope not. It seems adding another drug into the system that the body must acclimate to and THEN resuming a taper is adding too many steps for a short-term, lower dose usage that has a higher probability of tapering smoothly....but it all depends on how the last leg of the taper goes...I hear the end is the worse, but everyone is unique and I feel it is best to give our own bodies a chance, to listen to our own bodies, before making decisions based on others' experiences. It is definitely great to have this resource at your finger tips, to know what has been done and what has worked, but thhis is a very personal and often times, lonely journey, and no one can do it for you but you, your way. So listen to your body's wisdom and you'll get all the answers you need. That is what I have learned on this journey so far, and I am not on the other side yet! Best wishes :-)

[[La...]]

Thanks motherlove99. I appreciate you taking the time to detail your situation - it's so close to mine & you're ahead of me. I've been very frustrated & now have hope again! 

I finally convinced my Dr I really was miserable trying to get off this stuff & she's giving me a small prescription of the .25 mg tabs so that's what I'll have to work with. Like you I'm not going the titration route. I'm sure it's much better & I admire the people who can do it but I don't have the mind or the patience for it atm either & I'm lab trained...lol. 

My husband just reminded me how far I've come in a few weeks & that I AM getting better- though very slowly with lots of ups & downs. A few weeks ago I wouldn't have been able to handle reading or posting in this forum, I had no concentration at all & was basically bedridden. So weaning myself off the Ativan is definitely the right choice, despite the nasty withdrawl symptoms. Not sure if I'll have any residual damage from the Lexapro reaction but as you said- everyone is unique & we'll see how it goes.

I'm looking forward to being me again & getting back to life & work.

Good luck on your recovery & to everyone else that's going thru the same thing.

[[La...]]

Ugh! Dropped to .125 mg Ativan in the PM 4/23  & am really feeling it today. Intense itching, anxiety, dizziness, dry burning mouth & night panics.

Can't say I didn't expect it after reading thru the forum but when can I hope to stabilize?  :'(

 

[[be...]]

It it impossible to say for sure when exactly you will feel better. But the answer is that you most definitely WILL. And that it will probably be soon. But almost assuredly NOT as soon as you would prefer.

I can tell you that my last reduction of .125 has been an ass kicker. I was was worst for 6 days. It lifted on the 7th but was still there subtly and has been since, with intermittent widows of awesome and windows of fear.

It's a bumpy road here at the end is it not? Just slow it down. Hold. Get to a tolerable place. Stay there for a day or 5 and come on down again.

 

I just moved to liquid Ativan. The pharmacy compounded it into liquid and prefilled 42 siringes with my daily diminishing doses. Im coming down in tiny doses from here on out. I'm hoping this will make the let down smoother. I'm not 100 percent but I can go about my day and I believe that might be the best I can hope for right now.

I do sense that this will ultimately make me stronger. I read the quote " life is a piece of cake after benzo withdrawal. "

And I believe it.

 

 

A

[[La...]]

I'm looking forward to stabilizing again. Your comment about "intermittent windows of awesome and windows of fear" is exactly what I've been going thru. Seems like I'm either feeling euphorically good or pretty awful, not much in between. My mind is definitely clearing though, was able to game with my friends most of Sat eve before the w/d symptoms shut me down. 

 

Early mornings are bad with nausea, headache, mild vertigo & tinnitus. Late eve just before my dose much the same thing with some muscle pain added. Days are pretty good. Waking up once a night with same symptoms & some anxiety but once a night I can deal with.

Weirdly enough I usually feel suddenly worse up to an hour right after my dose & then it subsides. I don't understand what's going on there physiologically, will have to do some more research. 

 

I haven't been able to locate a "benzo wise" Dr. in this area who takes my insurance & my Dr doesn't get it so

depending on how things go from here I might decide to just jump in a week & deal with the results. Can't really dry cut any lower with any accuracy.

 

I wonder how motherlove99 & others in this thread are doing?

 

 

 

[[sa...]]

Hey, dear friends, just letting you know that I'm still ok and don't regret the direct taper off ativan.

Hugs! Satasha

[[Ma...]]

I know my dose is so high, but I have dropped from 8 to 7 in the last month or so.  Just dropped two days ago.  I feel a little weird on this thread as most of you are at very low doses.

[[be...]]

Dont sweat it Mairin. There is at least one guy on here that was up to 24mg. You will get past this

 

Satasha!!! Im so glad you checked in and that you are still doing well. It gives me so much hope. We have similar timelines so i have my fingers crossed. Not sure if you remember, but i was dry cutting ativan.

I got down to .375 and it got too hard. I am now on liquid at .33

Ugh. Nothing so intense that i cant manage to do most of what i want, but i just feel like crap. And a few days after i cut i have pretty bad anxiety spells.

Part of me wants to hold for a while and see if i totally stabilize but part of me wants to be DONE TAKING THIS CRAP!!!

Did your withdrawals get worse toward the end or better?

[[Ma...]]

who was the guy on 24 mgs?

 

[[be...]]

I couldnt remember his screen name on here but i originally found him on a youtube video.

If you google pasquale, ativan, withdrawal and look under videos youll find one of him telling his story. Its pretty intense. But he is basically healed now.

So, inspiring too.

 

[[La...]]

Mairin33, no reason to feel weird. I think it's really brave of you. I feel weird being at the other end of the spectrum.

 

satashasatasha -  I appreciate hearing from all those who've made it directly off the ativan. Gives me hope.

 

I couldn't take it any more & jumped.  Third day out I'm intensely itchy, tinnitus, headachey & somewhat nauseous but hanging in here. Started a progress log to distract myself...lol

[[sh...]]

i was just advised by folks at Point of Return to possibly switch to clorazepam.  been on ativan now at .825ish for about 4 days.  jumped down from 1mg probably too fast. even though i've been on it for only a month (highest ever was 1.5mg....mostly bc of sleep deprivation and complications with flu and too much stress).  any thoughts on clorazepam also folks at Point of Return (nonprofit to help wean off these kinds of meds)?

[[Ma...]]

I don't know anything about clorazepam, do you mean clonazepam?  They are suggesting that because of ativan's short half life, I suppose.

[[sh...]]

yes i meant clonazepam

 

[[Va...]]

Hi everyone

  I am taking 75% of a 1mg of lorazapam(Ativan).

I have been on it for almost 2 months. I have tried talking to my dr. And he says to just slowly come off it. I am experiencing horrible withdrawal symptoms. I have no clue how to taper. Should I cut my pill in 3rds and take it 3 times a day? Or should I take it only once like I have and deal with the horrible withdrawals? I feel like I'm going insane

[[La...]]

Yes, the withdrawl off the Ativan is nasty but I'm off 11 days & it was definitely worth it & can be done directly.  I'm still in disbelief that I could've gotten physiologicaly addicted to it so fast & at the same time it was making me sicker.

The general opinion here is to taper as slowly as you can - depending on your situation & tolerance. Read thru the taper posts & you'll get a general idea of what's worked for people. I was already off work & on short term disability because of a drug reaction so I decided just to tough it out & stop it as soon as I thought I could. No regrets either.

Other people seem to do better with longer tapers & smaller cuts.

 

I started a Progress Log - http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=54998.0

 

Keep in mind everyone's experience is different. I'm glad I was only on the drug for a short period of time. Some brave souls here are tapering off after decades of use or from multiple medications.

[[be...]]

Hi Vannie. We all know exactly where you are right now and how it feels. Hang in there. This is all totally doable and you will feel better. To answer your question about splitting up your dose, i can say from my personal experience that i became much more stable when i did that. The spreading out of the dose also seems to be one of the tequniques that most if not all of the people onthis board agree on. Especially with ativan. The only problem is that it gets tough to cut slowly after that because of the dosage size of the pills.

 

Your history is short so i would recommend a short taper. Youll be fine (even when you dont feel like it.) keep us posted.

[[ce...]]

I just saw this thread and decided I'd share my Ativan taper experience.  I had been on and off benzo's over 13 years and came to tolerance withdrawal.  My doctor for whatever reason thought I should use Ativan to taper. If I'd known how hard this was going be I'd have opted for a longer acting benzo like Valium.  But if others are in the same boat and decide to taper Ativan, here are some suggestions. 

 

1. If you can take doses 4 times a day (rather than 2 or 3) it's better, as to avoid interdose withdrawals.

 

2. I suggest taking your largest dose at bedtime for sleep.

 

3. A Compounding Pharmacy can be your best friend.  Every city has a compounding pharmacy, so just ask your doctor about where the nearest one is, or google your city name and compounding pharmacy.

 

4. Spread your doses out evenly.  For instance 7 a.m.  12 p.m.  5 p.m. and 10 p.m.  (OR)  7 a.m. 1 p.m.  6 p.m. and 11 p.m.  This is important so as to avoid interdose withdrawals.

 

Note: if you choose to taper Ativan you'll have to watch the clock closely everyday to make sure you take your dose on time.

 

5. Get a calendar and map out your taper plan.  This was so helpful to me to know how much to take at what time of day. Otherwise it's too easy to forget what it was that you are doing.  There's enough pain and confusion with withdrawal anyhow.

 

Here's what a "possible" Ativan taper can look like.  You may choose to slow it down or speed it up depending on what your symptoms are.  Many people find that the lower you get on the doses the harder it is, so make it slower as you get to those low doses.  Try to make the cuts every 10-14 days for the best results:

 

Possible Ativan taper:

 

.50          .50        .50        .50                  Total:  2 mgs

.25          .50        .50        .50                  Total:  1.75

.25          .25          .50        .50                  Total:  1.50

.25          .25          .25        .50                  Total:  1.25

.25          .125        .25        .50                  Total:  1.125

.25          .125        .125      .50                  Total:  1

.25          .125        .125      .375                Total:  .875

.25          .125        .125      .25                  Total:  .75

.125        .125        .125      .25                  Total:  .625

.125        .125        .125      .125                Total:  .50

.125        .0625      .125      .125                Total:  .4375

.125        .0625      .0625    .125                Total:  .375

.0625      .0625      .0625    .125                Total:    .3125

.0625      .0625      .0625    .0625              Total:    .25

.0625      .0312      .0625    .0625              Total:    .2187

.0625      .0312      .0312    .0625              Total:    .1874

.0312      .0312      .0312    .0625              Total:    .1561

.0312      .0312      .0312    .0312              Total:    .1248

                .0312      .0312    .0312            Total:    .0936

                                .0312    .0312            Total:    .0625

                                            .0312            Total:    .0312

                                                                  Off!

 

Hope this helps someone out there!

 

Don't lose hope you can recover from this.  I have!

 

Cedar

[[be...]]

Hey cedartree. Im at .27 as of today so im toward the low end. Although as you know, this isnt the same thing as close to the end. Ive been following esentially the same plan as you did. How hard was it after you jumped? Did you have fear and depression for a long time? These have become my biggest symptoms which also happen to be my least favorite. I would honestly rather have a broken limb. Thanks for dropping in!

 

Andy

[[ce...]]

Hey cedartree. Im at .27 as of today so im toward the low end. Although as you know, this isnt the same thing as close to the end. Ive been following esentially the same plan as you did. How hard was it after you jumped? Did you have fear and depression for a long time? These have become my biggest symptoms which also happen to be my least favorite. I would honestly rather have a broken limb. Thanks for dropping in!

 

Andy

LOL, yeah, I would have rather had a broken limb too!   

 

Andy, I was deeply relieved to be done with my taper so I was kindof overjoyed.  Like this....   

Fear and depression went away pretty soon after I was off and while I was tapering the fear and depression was pretty debilitating among the other countless symptoms.  Basically life gets a lot better after benzo's.  Hope it gets better for you soon.

 

Cedar

[[be...]]

Just the answer i was looking for. 

 

I just made a big cut yesterday and Im waitig to feel the effects. It takes about 5 days. Then like clockwork: headache, anxiety, tinitus, and DREAD of a very specific nature.

 

But your last post on here is giving me a little confidence that i can handle this. Thanks!

 

 

[[La...]]

Just the answer i was looking for. 

 

I just made a big. Ut yesterday and im waitig to feel the effects. It takes about 5 days. Then like clockwork: headache, anxiety, tinitus, and DREAD of a very specific nature.

 

But your last post on hear is giving me a little confidence that i can handle this. Thanks!

 

Apparently we both react the same way. Hang in there, benzo down lately. 

 

Thanks for that post cedartree, I need all the encouragement I can get & I've been following your posts since you went thru the Ativan taper. I wish I'd known about all this before I started tapering. Of course I don't have Dr support & the nearest compounding pharmacy I could find is 90 minutes away & is more used to dealing with veterinary medicine. It's tough when you live out in the middle of nowhere...lol

[[ce...]]

Benzodown, I'm happy you're getting near the end. Life is so much better once the pills don't contol you anymore. 

 

Lavender, Sorry the compounding pharmacy is far away. Can they mail it to you?  That might be an option. Of course you'd have to talk to your doctor about it.  Or, they might be able to have it transfered to a closer pharmacy?  Just thoughts.  It's tough enough without those kinds of road blocks. Hope you have a healthy recovery just the same! 

[[Mi...]]

Hi all! What are your thoughts on titration or liquid Ativan? I'm at 1.75 and getting ready to cut again. I held for many reasons. One being the death of my father. I heard the liquid Ativan is more accurate than titrating with water? True?

[[Ho...]]

Hey Michelle.  Joining this thread since I just started titrating my Ativan w/ docs approval and guidance.  Been at 1.0 mg (.25 4 x a day) for about 5 weeks when they started me on this yucky stuff.

 

Don't know which one is more accurate, but I'm lucky enough to have a compounding pharmacy 5 minutes up the road for me.  And a pharmacist who fills my script for 30 days but said "when you are ready to cut again, just come in and I'll do all the math for you" (so I won't have to have another script filled). 

 

As of 5/22, took my first step down to .85 mg / day, divided equally among my 4 doses (since I've always taken equal doses during the day).