Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[wa...]]

Kiddo not sure how to put those faces on my post. They are very cute. There is a new version of that scale out . I'm confused.

Read your PM.

[[Ki...]]

Hi Warrior - I just responded to your PM  . when you are typing a message look up above the text box and you will see those little smiley face guys (emoticons) and just pick whatever you like 

[[Ki...]]

Hi Warrior - I just responded to your PM  . when you are typing a message look up above the text box and you will see those little smiley face guys (emoticons) and just pick whatever you like 

[[No...]]

Hello guys! Do any of you take One single dose of Ativan a day before sleep when tapering ?

Like 0.5mg/day in one dose? And if so do you think it can help the withdrawal process, by being during the day basically interpose withdrawing ?

 

[[Sa...]]

 

Hi Nolan,

 

Sorry I have to go, I quickly read a few posts, you're asking if you can take it to sleep after your taper, right?

 

My answer would be NO WAY!!!  Those are considered rescue doses, and it totally defeats the purpose of tapering.

 

You're risking creating a dependent very quickly, and setting yourself up for something called kindling, where toeing through each successive w/d is far more difficult than the first.

 

I'd find something else for sleep..like an OTC antihistamine.

 

Saga

[[Om...]]

 

Hi Nolan,

 

Sorry I have to go, I quickly read a few posts, you're asking if you can take it to sleep after your taper, right?

 

My answer would be NO WAY!!!  Those are considered rescue doses, and it totally defeats the purpose of tapering.

 

You're risking creating a dependent very quickly, and setting yourself up for something called kindling, where toeing through each successive w/d is far more difficult than the first.

 

 

 

I'd find something else for sleep..like an OTC antihistamine.

 

Saga

 

 

Hey Saga, could you explain the "kindling effect"? This is my third go around with benzos (no w/d the first 2 times) and Ive tried getting off the Ativan twice but with no success. Does that mean this taper will be exceptionally hard? Or am I not understanding what kindling means. Sorry for being such a negative nancy. I start with my daily cuts tomorrow and I'm quite nervous about it.

 

God Bless

[[No...]]

Sorry, I may have not express myself well (I'm french, english is not my mother tongue). What I meant is that I take 0.5mg / day of Ativan right now. In only one single dose.

 

I asked if other guys here do or did the same when tapering (and if so, did they struggle more on average than others?) Because a lot a people tapering Ativan seems to split in multiple doses their Ativan intake.

For instance, i read that usually Someone Taking 0.5mg of Ativan / day will split his dose like this :

0.15mg in the morning, 0.15mg in the afternoon, and 0,2mg at night. (Because lorazepam half life is really short)

 

I do 0.5mg one single dose / night and will reduce from it every day. (By liquid titration. from a 100ml water solution. -1ml/day )

 

 

[[Ki...]]

Nolan - don't do it!!! You are setting yourself up for failure. You can do this without taking an Ativan for sleep. Try everything/anything else you can.

 

Omni - Kindling is when you repeatedly go on and off an addictive substance. Each w/d becomes worse then the last. At least that's how I understand it. Kindling is most often referred too in alcohol withdrawal and I'm not sure it's been proven in benzo w/d. I think at this point it's just a theory. Regardless, I understand your fear, I have the same ones. Please know that worrying about it won't change it from happening. Your w/d is going to go fine because you have educated yourself and are going to take it slow. And if you get into a sticky spot we will be here for you.

 

 

[[Om...]]

Thanks Kiddo I just know how bad w/d can be and Im really not wanting to go through that again. Hopefully Im going slow enough this time. Thanks for the support. Im a worrier and let small things get to me sometimes. I guess its not best to obsess about what could be and take it one day at a time.

[[Ki...]]

Hi Omni - I'm 100% with you....I worry constantly about everything no matter how small. I've been like this all my life. It's a hard mindset to change. I'm working on it everyday. This benzo battle is challenging every part of me. But I know from experience that worrying about the things I CAN'T change are detrimental to me. 

[[Sa...]]

Sorry, I may have not express myself well (I'm french, english is not my mother tongue). What I meant is that I take 0.5mg / day of Ativan right now. In only one single dose.

 

I asked if other guys here do or did the same when tapering (and if so, did they struggle more on average than others?) Because a lot a people tapering Ativan seems to split in multiple doses their Ativan intake.

For instance, i read that usually Someone Taking 0.5mg of Ativan / day will split his dose like this :

0.15mg in the morning, 0.15mg in the afternoon, and 0,2mg at night. (Because lorazepam half life is really short)

 

I do 0.5mg one single dose / night and will reduce from it every day. (By liquid titration. from a 100ml water solution. -1ml/day )

 

 

 

Hi Nolan,

 

I'm very sorry I misunderstood your question. You have reinstated, but you're asking about tapering with one nightly dose versus dividing the doses during the day. So sorry...

 

If you've only taken it as nighttime dose, it's very possible you could taper this way. One of the moderator, Juliea did this, she used Xanax and tapered with a single nightly dose.

 

I'd say start this way if you like, if it's not working out you can always divide the doses later. Best of luck to you

 

Saga

 

 

[[Sa...]]

Thanks Kiddo I just know how bad w/d can be and Im really not wanting to go through that again. Hopefully Im going slow enough this time. Thanks for the support. Im a worrier and let small things get to me sometimes. I guess its not best to obsess about what could be and take it one day at a time.

 

Omni, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any panic or worries about your taper. You're going to do a great job this time, and you're going to go slowly enough to succeed this time!

 

Good luck starting tommorrow, you can do this

[[Ki...]]

Sorry Nolan - I misunderstood as well. Absolutely you can take your dose only once a day at bedtime if you aren't having any interdose withdrawals during the day. Sorry about my confusion 

[[Co...]]

Sorry Nolan - I misunderstood as well. Absolutely you can take your dose only once a day at bedtime if you aren't having any interdose withdrawals during the day. Sorry about my confusion 

 

How can you have hit tolerance and only dose 1x a day??

[[Ki...]]

Cosmic - tolerance just means the dose doesn't have the same effect as I did in the past....it doesn't necessarily mean interdose. Interdose is the reason people have to dose multiple ties during the day. If he doesn't have too that's great!

[[Om...]]

Thanks Kiddo I just know how bad w/d can be and Im really not wanting to go through that again. Hopefully Im going slow enough this time. Thanks for the support. Im a worrier and let small things get to me sometimes. I guess its not best to obsess about what could be and take it one day at a time.

 

Omni, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any panic or worries about your taper. You're going to do a great job this time, and you're going to go slowly enough to succeed this time!

 

Good luck starting tommorrow, you can do this

 

Saga Thanks for the good wishes  No need to apologize, Im just a huge worry wort. I obsess and overthink things a lot, so I'm to blame. I wish I wasn't like that, but that's just how my brain works. Gotta try and keep myself in check 

 

Im titrating a 0.015mg a day,That will be 1% of my dose daily.I have my first days batch already made at 99% of the original strength, and then that's divided into my 3 daily doses.Hopefully I can titrate at this rate,but realize 95% of people are going slower, so I might have to slow down. I just don't know how much more accurate I can be with my cuts.

[[Co...]]

Thanks Kiddo I just know how bad w/d can be and Im really not wanting to go through that again. Hopefully Im going slow enough this time. Thanks for the support. Im a worrier and let small things get to me sometimes. I guess its not best to obsess about what could be and take it one day at a time.

 

Omni, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any panic or worries about your taper. You're going to do a great job this time, and you're going to go slowly enough to succeed this time!

 

Good luck starting tommorrow, you can do this

 

Saga Thanks for the good wishes  No need to apologize, Im just a huge worry wort. I obsess and overthink things a lot, so I'm to blame. I wish I wasn't like that, but that's just how my brain works. Gotta try and keep myself in check 

 

Im titrating a 0.015mg a day,That will be 1% of my dose daily.I have my first days batch already made at 99% of the original strength, and then that's divided into my 3 daily doses.Hopefully I can titrate at this rate,but realize 95% of people are going slower, so I might have to slow down. I just don't know how much more accurate I can be with my cuts.

 

Omni, this is just my experience and from some of what I've read. I do know a lot of people have great success with daily titration, however if you are cutting too large an amount it can build up over time and hit you, hard, without much expectation. Thing is, cuts generally tend to be felt over time, say a couple of days after, and if your daily titrating too large amount this can build up real quick. Also, daily titraters generally need to take holds every once in awhile. Just giving you a heads up. I don't know how dependent your body is to Ativan but I think 1% is much too quick.

[[Co...]]

Cosmic - tolerance just means the dose doesn't have the same effect as I did in the past....it doesn't necessarily mean interdose. Interdose is the reason people have to dose multiple ties during the day. If he doesn't have too that's great!

 

Didn't know it was possible to have a physical dependency and be able to dose only 1x a day.

[[Co...]]

Seems like the symptom of the week for me are these dreaded nightmares. According to my sleep app I'm hitting REM 3 to 5 times a night, however each rapid eye I'm having these torturous vivid nightmares. I'm either dying or having a panic attack or losing consciousness. I always wake up with severe nerve burn or exploding muscles lol. I find it so funny how this thing tends to just randomly choose symptoms every 4 or so days. Wonder what's next in the bag for me! Any guesses?

[[La...]]

Thanks Kiddo I just know how bad w/d can be and Im really not wanting to go through that again. Hopefully Im going slow enough this time. Thanks for the support. Im a worrier and let small things get to me sometimes. I guess its not best to obsess about what could be and take it one day at a time.

 

Omni, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any panic or worries about your taper. You're going to do a great job this time, and you're going to go slowly enough to succeed this time!

 

Good luck starting tommorrow, you can do this

 

Saga Thanks for the good wishes  No need to apologize, Im just a huge worry wort. I obsess and overthink things a lot, so I'm to blame. I wish I wasn't like that, but that's just how my brain works. Gotta try and keep myself in check 

 

Im titrating a 0.015mg a day,That will be 1% of my dose daily.I have my first days batch already made at 99% of the original strength, and then that's divided into my 3 daily doses.Hopefully I can titrate at this rate,but realize 95% of people are going slower, so I might have to slow down. I just don't know how much more accurate I can be with my cuts.

 

Omni, this is just my experience and from some of what I've read. I do know a lot of people have great success with daily titration, however if you are cutting too large an amount it can build up over time and hit you, hard, without much expectation. Thing is, cuts generally tend to be felt over time, say a couple of days after, and if your daily titrating too large amount this can build up real quick. Also, daily titraters generally need to take holds every once in awhile. Just giving you a heads up. I don't know how dependent your body is to Ativan but I think 1% is much too quick.

 

I cut ativan at ~15% each week, which corresponds to about 2% per day. When I cut more than 15% week, it hit me hard, sometimes I had to cut less, but overall, through much of my taper, my target was 15% per week. How much to cut varies from person to person.  Having read through many ativan wd signatures, I might be inclined to say that 1% may not necessarily be too quick. You will find your own path.

[[La...]]

Cosmic - tolerance just means the dose doesn't have the same effect as I did in the past....it doesn't necessarily mean interdose. Interdose is the reason people have to dose multiple ties during the day. If he doesn't have too that's great!

 

Didn't know it was possible to have a physical dependency and be able to dose only 1x a day.

 

I developed a severe addiction to ativan and dosed only one time per day through the whole taper. I'm not advising anyone to try this. In retrospect, I most certainly made things unecessarily difficult on myself by dosing once per day but the fear of changing my dosing schedule was paralyzing at the time.

[[Co...]]

Thanks Kiddo I just know how bad w/d can be and Im really not wanting to go through that again. Hopefully Im going slow enough this time. Thanks for the support. Im a worrier and let small things get to me sometimes. I guess its not best to obsess about what could be and take it one day at a time.

 

Omni, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any panic or worries about your taper. You're going to do a great job this time, and you're going to go slowly enough to succeed this time!

 

Good luck starting tommorrow, you can do this

 

Saga Thanks for the good wishes  No need to apologize, Im just a huge worry wort. I obsess and overthink things a lot, so I'm to blame. I wish I wasn't like that, but that's just how my brain works. Gotta try and keep myself in check 

 

Im titrating a 0.015mg a day,That will be 1% of my dose daily.I have my first days batch already made at 99% of the original strength, and then that's divided into my 3 daily doses.Hopefully I can titrate at this rate,but realize 95% of people are going slower, so I might have to slow down. I just don't know how much more accurate I can be with my cuts.

 

Omni, this is just my experience and from some of what I've read. I do know a lot of people have great success with daily titration, however if you are cutting too large an amount it can build up over time and hit you, hard, without much expectation. Thing is, cuts generally tend to be felt over time, say a couple of days after, and if your daily titrating too large amount this can build up real quick. Also, daily titraters generally need to take holds every once in awhile. Just giving you a heads up. I don't know how dependent your body is to Ativan but I think 1% is much too quick.

 

I cut ativan at ~15% each week, which corresponds to about 2% per day. When I cut more than 15% week, it hit me hard, sometimes I had to cut less, but overall, through much of my taper, my target was 15% per week. How much to cut varies from person to person.  Having read through many ativan wd signatures, I might be inclined to say that 1% may not necessarily be too quick. You will find your own path.

 

The difference though is that you cut, being able to monitor your bodies response within those 7 to 14 days or whatever. With daily titration you could possibly get hit very hard without too much warning or feedback from your body. But I cannot disagree, everyone's different.

 

Laser, regarding your recovery, are you able to engage in physical activity somewhat to the same extent pre benzos?

[[La...]]

Thanks Kiddo I just know how bad w/d can be and Im really not wanting to go through that again. Hopefully Im going slow enough this time. Thanks for the support. Im a worrier and let small things get to me sometimes. I guess its not best to obsess about what could be and take it one day at a time.

 

Omni, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any panic or worries about your taper. You're going to do a great job this time, and you're going to go slowly enough to succeed this time!

 

Good luck starting tommorrow, you can do this

 

Saga Thanks for the good wishes  No need to apologize, Im just a huge worry wort. I obsess and overthink things a lot, so I'm to blame. I wish I wasn't like that, but that's just how my brain works. Gotta try and keep myself in check 

 

Im titrating a 0.015mg a day,That will be 1% of my dose daily.I have my first days batch already made at 99% of the original strength, and then that's divided into my 3 daily doses.Hopefully I can titrate at this rate,but realize 95% of people are going slower, so I might have to slow down. I just don't know how much more accurate I can be with my cuts.

 

Omni, this is just my experience and from some of what I've read. I do know a lot of people have great success with daily titration, however if you are cutting too large an amount it can build up over time and hit you, hard, without much expectation. Thing is, cuts generally tend to be felt over time, say a couple of days after, and if your daily titrating too large amount this can build up real quick. Also, daily titraters generally need to take holds every once in awhile. Just giving you a heads up. I don't know how dependent your body is to Ativan but I think 1% is much too quick.

 

I cut ativan at ~15% each week, which corresponds to about 2% per day. When I cut more than 15% week, it hit me hard, sometimes I had to cut less, but overall, through much of my taper, my target was 15% per week. How much to cut varies from person to person.  Having read through many ativan wd signatures, I might be inclined to say that 1% may not necessarily be too quick. You will find your own path.

 

The difference though is that you cut, being able to monitor your bodies response within those 7 to 14 days or whatever. With daily titration you could possibly get hit very hard without too much warning or feedback from your body. But I cannot disagree, everyone's different.

 

Laser, regarding your recovery, are you able to engage in physical activity somewhat to the same extent pre benzos?

Daily titration and cut and hold certainly have different features, but I would think that even with daily titration, a bad move would be felt within a short time frame. Short enough to make the necessary adjustment.  I now engage in strenuous exercise pretty regularly; at this point I might be as bold to say that my strength and endurance are just about 100% (of my pre-benzp level). But I pushed myself to exercise all through my taper, even in the worst of times I went out surfing, cycling, and pushed myself as hard as I could until the benzo beast pushed back. 10 days ago I went backpacking/climbing with my daughter above 10,000 ft, we had an agressive itinerary and succesfully hit our target.

 

But dont get me wrong, all is not roses. I still have some minor sxs pop up here and there, my stress tolerance is very low, and I still tend to worry a bit more than I should. But I do try to focus on the positive, just today I awoke with tremendous joy that lasted all day.

[[Ki...]]

Thanks for your input, Laser. You know how much I love it when you pop by 

[[La...]]

Thanks for your input, Laser. You know how much I love it when you pop by 

 

aw shucks