Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Co...]]

Look at everyone getting along and being helpful! This makes me happy.

 

I know I'm going to make myself look kinda dumb for asking this, but can someone explain the meaning of the term "jumping/jumped" and "window"? I see these used all over the forum but I have no clue as to what they mean.

 

Jump is the date you take your last dose.

Window is the opposite of wave. Windows are moments that you feel normal and minor symptom or symptom less

[[Om...]]

Look at everyone getting along and being helpful! This makes me happy.

 

I know I'm going to make myself look kinda dumb for asking this, but can someone explain the meaning of the term "jumping/jumped" and "window"? I see these used all over the forum but I have no clue as to what they mean.

 

Jump is the date you take your last dose.

Window is the opposite of wave. Windows are moments that you feel normal and minor symptom or symptom less

 

 

Thank you Cosmic. I shall take this tidbit of knowledge that you have given me and add it to other important tidbits of knowledge, such as "don't poke electric fences" and "don't eat the yellow snow" 

[[Gr...]]

To the new folks asking about liquid titration. As I've stated in previous threads lately my experience has been very good. Since I made the switch I've had very few if any sxs. And when I get any sxs they are minor and don't last very long. I'd say 90% of the time I'm symptom free. I'm going slow (.002mg daily cuts) but that's fine by me. It's working so I'm not going to f*#k with it.

 

For the people making their liquid is there not a compound pharmacy near you? My liquid is amazing!!! A true solution and not a suspension. And I just switched from peppermint flavour to marshmallow. Might as well enjoy the poison

 

GIT

[[Om...]]

To the new folks asking about liquid titration. As I've stated in previous threads lately my experience has been very good. Since I made the switch I've had very few if any sxs. And when I get any sxs they are minor and don't last very long. I'd say 90% of the time I'm symptom free. I'm going slow (.002mg daily cuts) but that's fine by me. It's working so I'm not going to f*#k with it.

 

For the people making their liquid is there not a compound pharmacy near you? My liquid is amazing!!! A true solution and not a suspension. And I just switched from peppermint flavour to marshmallow. Might as well enjoy the poison

 

GIT

 

 

I had a pharmacist willing to make a solution out of my monthly script, but I had no idea what solution strength to ask for, and I was kind of scared to hand over a whole months worth of pills in case he messed up, or I spilled the solution, or that the liquid version simply wouldn't cut it for me. So many IFs

[[Ki...]]

Omni - don't forget "never play leapfrog with a unicorn" lol 

I have fear about the liquid compound too, but many people credit their success to it. If I could get past all the "what ifs" I'd do it too. 

 

Cosmic - a half day window??? I'm so happy I could burst. That's what your life is going to feel like when this is over. Until then, dig deep my friend 

 

Green - thanks for sharing your taper experience again! I'm really happy for you BF 

 

Hope everyone has a terrific night 

[[Co...]]

Omni - don't forget "never play leapfrog with a unicorn" lol 

I have fear about the liquid compound too, but many people credit their success to it. If I could get past all the "what ifs" I'd do it too. 

 

Cosmic - a half day window??? I'm so happy I could burst. That's what your life is going to feel like when this is over. Until then, dig deep my friend 

 

Green - thanks for sharing your taper experience again! I'm really happy for you BF 

 

Hope everyone has a terrific night 

 

Hahahahaha I'm still in it. Entirely in the present. Most of my windows come when listening to music. I deserve it. The last month wasn't a wave, it was a tsunami.

Kiddo are you getting my PMs?

[[Ki...]]

Cosmic - No?!?!? I'm not getting any.....can you resend 

[[Sa...]]

Omni - don't forget "never play leapfrog with a unicorn" lol 

I have fear about the liquid compound too, but many people credit their success to it. If I could get past all the "what ifs" I'd do it too. 

 

Cosmic - a half day window??? I'm so happy I could burst. That's what your life is going to feel like when this is over. Until then, dig deep my friend 

 

Green - thanks for sharing your taper experience again! I'm really happy for you BF 

 

Hope everyone has a terrific night 

 

Hahahahaha I'm still in it. Entirely in the present. Most of my windows come when listening to music. I deserve it. The last month wasn't a wave, it was a tsunami.

Kiddo are you getting my PMs?

Cosmic! You had a window!!!! I'm so happy for you! After the last month, you definelty deserve a window!

Hope it stays awhile 

[[...]]

Hi!

I am fairly new to this site. i am really having a hard time with insomnia, GI issues, depression, tinnitus, etc. since i started the cut. The last 5 days i slept well and suddenly last night i couldn't sleep and today i feel so down and exhausted. And it is our wedding anniversary today and my loving husband has taken off to spend time with me. And all i can do is walk around like a zombie and crash on the sofa. But he is very understanding. Can anyone tell me how long to hold on to this dose. Please see my signature.

Also how do you do these micro cuts. I am in Germany and pharmacies don't compound anything for you. i got now from my doctor .5 mg Lorazepam pills, which are tiny and i am trying to break these into quarters for the .125 mg. dose.

I was given Lorazepam in April for acute insomnia and anxiety. I got Remeron in May, but i can take it only with Lorazepam to help me with sleep. The Remeron has also increased my depression.

Thank you for any advice.

[[Co...]]

Hi!

I am fairly new to this site. i am really having a hard time with insomnia, GI issues, depression, tinnitus, etc. since i started the cut. The last 5 days i slept well and suddenly last night i couldn't sleep and today i feel so down and exhausted. And it is our wedding anniversary today and my loving husband has taken off to spend time with me. And all i can do is walk around like a zombie and crash on the sofa. But he is very understanding. Can anyone tell me how long to hold on to this dose. Please see my signature.

Also how do you do these micro cuts. I am in Germany and pharmacies don't compound anything for you. i got now from my doctor .5 mg Lorazepam pills, which are tiny and i am trying to break these into quarters for the .125 mg. dose.

I was given Lorazepam in April for acute insomnia and anxiety. I got Remeron in May, but i can take it only with Lorazepam to help me with sleep. The Remeron has also increased my depression.

Thank you for any advice.

 

How long have you been taking 1.5 a day?  Can we get a more detailed history of your use? Have you cut from 1.5 to 0.5? When Tapering you should "never"  use on alternate days.

 

 

One thing to note, if you have already hit tolerance for ativan you will begin to experience some degree of withdrawal once the drug has left your system, with Ativan, this could be anywhere from 4 to 6 hours Avg. The key is to split your doses 3 to 5 times a day,  to avoid Interdose withdrawal

[[Sa...]]

Hi!

I am fairly new to this site. i am really having a hard time with insomnia, GI issues, depression, tinnitus, etc. since i started the cut. The last 5 days i slept well and suddenly last night i couldn't sleep and today i feel so down and exhausted. And it is our wedding anniversary today and my loving husband has taken off to spend time with me. And all i can do is walk around like a zombie and crash on the sofa. But he is very understanding. Can anyone tell me how long to hold on to this dose. Please see my signature.

Also how do you do these micro cuts. I am in Germany and pharmacies don't compound anything for you. i got now from my doctor .5 mg Lorazepam pills, which are tiny and i am trying to break these into quarters for the .125 mg. dose.

I was given Lorazepam in April for acute insomnia and anxiety. I got Remeron in May, but i can take it only with Lorazepam to help me with sleep. The Remeron has also increased my depression.

Thank you for any advice.

 

Hi HOpe,

 

Welcome to the thread! I'm sorry you're finding it difficult to taper the Ativan. All of the sxs you're describing are perfectly normal during w/d. They can't hurt you, although they can  make you feel miserable I'm sure this isn't how you hoped to spend your anniversary...

 

The first thing I'd suggest would be to split your doses into 4 x a day. You have the .5 mg tablets to make this easier. I used a Gemini pro Milligram scale from Amazon to weigh the pills in order to make more precise doses. Ideally, your doses should be spread evenly throughout the day to avoid interdose sxs.

 

Ativan is a very short- acting benzo, meaning the effects wear off within approximately 6 hours. I dosed at 7:00 12:15 5:15 and 10:30.

 

Alternate fail dosing is actually the opposite of how to taper. The idea of spreading the doses evenly should be an enormous help.

 

As far as holding your dose, it looks like you were doing 2 week increments, although your dose dropping seems very fast. My advice would be to simply start by dividing your doses more evenly first, allowing your body to adjust to this change, and wait until you feel more stable with this change before reducing again.

 

Please keep asking questions. We will help any way

 

Saga

[[Si...]]

...And it is our wedding anniversary today and my loving husband has taken off to spend time with me...

 

You too huh!? My poor wife, I c/t'd on our 5th wedding anniversary. Wasn't planned, but it ended up happening that way. Hope you get better soon!

[[Sa...]]

...And it is our wedding anniversary today and my loving husband has taken off to spend time with me...

 

You too huh!? My poor wife, I c/t'd on our 5th wedding anniversary. Wasn't planned, but it ended up happening that way. Hope you get better soon!

 

Hi Siggy, that DOES sound like an eventful anniversary, not in a good way...how are you feeling?

[[Ki...]]

Hi H0pe - I'm glad you found your way over to this thread. Welcome 

 

Your dosing has been pretty erratic and is likely why your aren't feeling well right now. A further complication is that you've added Remron into the mix so you can't be sure what symptoms are coming from which drug.

 

I think the key for you right now is to stabilize. I think you should hold all medications for a week or two without any adjustments to dose amounts for either drug. After that you can start tapering the Ativan. You have to be consistent with your dosing. Skipping days is actually worse then taking it everyday as you are confusing your CNS. It's important to keep the drug level in your bloodstream and avoid peaks and valleys by skipping days.

 

I see you are dosing 2x a day. My recommendation would be to dose 4x a day with an even amount at each dose. I'm not sure what dose you are currently on, is it .375mg? You have made a fairly drastic reduction in dose in 4 months which could also be what's causing the problems. That may have been too fast for your system to handle, especially with the introduction of Remron. I think you simply need to give you body time to catch up to all the cuts you made and get used to the new medication before you make anymore changes.

[[Si...]]

...And it is our wedding anniversary today and my loving husband has taken off to spend time with me...

 

You too huh!? My poor wife, I c/t'd on our 5th wedding anniversary. Wasn't planned, but it ended up happening that way. Hope you get better soon!

 

Hi Siggy, that DOES sound like an eventful anniversary, not in a good way...how are you feeling?

 

Much better thanks! I'm at day 70 now. So roughly 2-1/2 months. Luckily my wife was really understanding of the whole situation. I have some minor lingering s/x, but for the most part I'm nearly back in order. 

[[wa...]]

Thanks to all that have written to me. Kiddo I had no idea prednisone causes flairs. My doctors nurse said he knew it but my p.doctor never told me.  Is it better to dose 5 times a day? Can you start now or is that to be done when you first start . What times do you dose if it is 4 times a day every 6 hours?  I will cut my night dose by .125 from 1mg .Starting tonight. Kiddo I do like the idea of keeping the dose levels the same for all 4 times. but now I'll have to work on getting morning and night down to match lunch and supper. I 've  took .50 for lunch and supper. Never any higher.  I would like to find a support group to go to. Great job Kiddo for  starting one ! I can't find a thing where I live. What about N.A. meetings? I never abused the amount I was given but was told they teach coping skills and how to deal withdrawals. What does everyone think about that kind of meeting to help . I'm looking anywhere I can if anyone has ideas please let me know. One thing for sure we never know how we are going to feel when we wake up.  Just be in the moment is all we can do.

Peace to all of you !

[[Tr...]]

Is it possible to go through acute withdrawal before you've started a taper?

 

Try

[[Co...]]

Is it possible to go through acute withdrawal before you've started a taper?

 

Try

 

If you've stopped taking for a couple of days after hitting tolerance, sure.

[[Sa...]]

...And it is our wedding anniversary today and my loving husband has taken off to spend time with me...

 

You too huh!? My poor wife, I c/t'd on our 5th wedding anniversary. Wasn't planned, but it ended up happening that way. Hope you get better soon!

 

Hi Siggy, that DOES sound like an eventful anniversary, not in a good way...how are you feeling?

 

Much better thanks! I'm at day 70 now. So roughly 2-1/2 months. Luckily my wife was really understanding of the whole situation. I have some minor lingering s/x, but for the most part I'm nearly back in order. 

 

Wow, Siggy, that's fantastic news,way to go! I believe in being positive,great to hear a good story 

[[Sa...]]

Thanks to all that have written to me. Kiddo I had no idea prednisone causes flairs. My doctors nurse said he knew it but my p.doctor never told me.  Is it better to dose 5 times a day? Can you start now or is that to be done when you first start . What times do you dose if it is 4 times a day every 6 hours?  I will cut my night dose by .125 from 1mg .Starting tonight. Kiddo I do like the idea of keeping the dose levels the same for all 4 times. but now I'll have to work on getting morning and night down to match lunch and supper. I 've  took .50 for lunch and supper. Never any higher.  I would like to find a support group to go to. Great job Kiddo for  starting one ! I can't find a thing where I live. What about N.A. meetings? I never abused the amount I was given but was told they teach coping skills and how to deal withdrawals. What does everyone think about that kind of meeting to help . I'm looking anywhere I can if anyone has ideas please let me know. One thing for sure we never know how we are going to feel when we wake up.  Just be in the moment is all we can do.

Peace to all of you !

Warrior, I'm going to let Kiddo answer the dosing question b/ c I think she broke the numbers down for you yesterday.

My opinion would be to start dosing 4x a day to start, if you have problems with interdose you can always go to 5 x.

I think it's great you'd like to find support in your area, but honestly I consider us accidental addicts. I know I never abused my med-our bodies/ brains became dependent.

I've heard other people discuss meetings, benzo w/d is not exactly the same situation as other addictive meds.

Being in the moment is a great way to look at this

[[Ki...]]

Hi Warrior - I'm so glad you are finding some support here. Please stay and get to know everyone and ask as many questions as you need too. I didn't start this thread but was happy to have found it. The woman who started it is free of Ativan and off living life. Just like we are all going to do 

 

So, about your questions:

 

1. I would start with dosing 4x a day, that's all most people need, and it'll keep your dose amounts a little higher in each dose as well.

 

2. You can start as soon as you're ready. I would just do it in one fell swoop, not staggered over a few days. So for example, if you were to start tomorrow, then cut all your pills tonight to be even strength and start with your morning dose. You can pick whatever times you like....7am - 1pm - 530pm - 10pm for example. Please remember: you will likely feel symptomatic for a few days and this is perfectly normal. Your body will figure out quickly that it's still getting that same amount of benzo's just in a different way and then things will settle again.

 

3. Then hold for a week or 2 without making any adjustments.

 

4. In the meantime, I highly recommend ordering the scale. It's on Amazon.com and it's called the Gemini 20 pro Miliigram Scale. You'll have the scale in a few days and it'll make your cuts much more accurate.

 

5. Once you've stabilized on your new routine then you can start tapering at the % you are comfortable with. The general recommendation is 5-10% every 7-14 days. Some do much higher/faster, so go much lower/slower. Only you can decide this for yourself.

 

6. There are no support groups that I've been able to find that support of physical dependence we have. NA's model is keeping the impulse to "use" at bay. We don't have that problem. None of us want to be on this crap. Unfortunately, little is understood or believed about what we're all going through. I come here, to this forum, for support. However, it wouldn't hurt you to go to a meeting and try it on for size. It may be great. It may not.

 

If I missed any of your questions - just keep posting. We are all in this together 

[[wa...]]

Kiddo, I'm still having trouble with getting around the forum. Thank you for your help ! Everyone is so kind and caring . That means the world to me .  I'm really concerned about starting the cut on all four at 1 time, but 2 doses  would be raised. I have such bad reactions or should I say withdrawals. My liver does not process meds or some foods  well.  I will say when I cut down too much at one time I was crazy and felt like not living anymore. Boy ,. It did scare me . I'm glad that passed in a few days. I still feel alone and depressed at times. Maybe most of you have felt that way?  Yes, I'm not sure about the meeting. We are in a different place than they are. I stayed shut up in my house a lot last winter. I was very lonely. I realize now it was Lorazepam. I was toxic as I said before. Do you know people who become toxic on Lorazepam? I'm trying to figure out when I'm toxic  or when its a withdrawal or a flair for me. Any help with that?

Early mornings are my worse time I wake up at 4am. feeling anxious. Then I walk my dogs at 6am .  How do you deal with your anxiety and all the other withdrawal feelings? I was told this at a anxiety meeting. Fake It till you Make It  ! . Have a great evening !  My favorite-------  Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass........ It's about learning to dance in the rain..

How true !

 

[[Ki...]]

Hi Warrior - everything you are feeling is normal and yes many of us have felt the exact same thing. Saga and I have both had different forms of agoraphobia, I would bet that Ativan is the culprit for sure. There is a great post you may enjoy regarding benzo related loneliness. Here is the link:

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=71276.0

 

Just please remember, Warrior, everything you are feeling is normal for withdrawal. You are not alone. Depression, anxiety, panic attacks, heart palps, sweating, dizziness, early morning waking, suicide ideation....the list goes on and on. But we are here to support you and help you.

 

I'm not sure what to suggest because of the way you process medication. If you need to do it slowly that's fine, it's just that it will drag out the symptoms a little longer but you have to do what's safest for you.

 

I don't think you'll ever be able to figure out what symptoms are coming from where until you are at least safely off Ativan. It'll likely have to be a process of elimination unfortunately.

 

 

[[wa...]]

The Gemini Pro 20 Milligram scale  is it the portable one ? Does anyone have a model no. Or the price ? I looked on Amazon and found 2 kinds by  American Weight .  Kiddo1977 I just want to get the right one. Cutting  pills and have them crumble and not getting the right dose is a stressor. I don't know if the scale would measure .125 mg ?  Is it easy to work ? I'm like a newborn baby at this. I'm trying to be funny  , but it is so true !

I so appreciate all the understanding and patience with me. I'm a work in progress LOL, Aren't we all !

Be kind to yourself -Never let anyone steal your joy !

[[Ki...]]

Hi Warrior - I just checked my scale, I don't see a model number. The one you are talking about is correct...and it is portable. I think I paid between $20-$30 ? Gemini-20 Portable Milligram Scale.

 

I find it easy to use, just read the instructions and you'll be good. If you have questions, just come post and we'll try and walk you through it.

 

It will measure your .125mg for sure, well no, actually it won't give you the .005 so you'll likely just want to round up or down (.12 or .13). Still more accurate then eye balling 

 

I also answered your PM