Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Ki...]]

You're getting so close, Cosmic!!! 0.13mg is awesome!!!!! 

[[Co...]]

You're getting so close, Cosmic!!! 0.13mg is awesome!!!!! 

 

 

[[Om...]]

Just want to mention that I haven't had any hypnagogic jerks sleep starts since I've reintroduced 600mg magnesium bisglycinate and 1000mg vit c just before bed. Don't know if it's a correlation or just my cns getting used to lower doses.

 

The magnesium helped me with my hypnotic jerks, and Im only taking about 300mg. Im not sure if vitamin c helps with them or not but it will obliterate certain amounts of cortisol in the body, which in theory should lower your stress since cortisol is the "stress hormone". Not sure where I read that at, heck, it might have been in this thread somewhere. Meh, benzo brain has me all confused. Anyhow, youre getting close, keep it up!

 

How is everyone else holding up? Prayers going out to you all.

[[Sh...]]

Hey All!

 

Thought i would catch you up since going to Phoenix for 3 weeks.

 

Last report i was still trying to stabilize on 1.5 mg Lorazepam (LZP) 5 x per day @ .30

I was taking 1 mg pill in AM and then .5 in afternoon but was starting to have severe i/d w/d

so was advised by this group to go to 4 times a day...i tried it but it was too long between doses so i cut it to

5 times per day.

It seemed to be two types of withdrawal going on. A vertical withdrawal ...going from a 1 mg dose at a time to a .30 mg

My sense of not getting the 1 mg at once was tough...it was like being in the desert and really thirsty and having a bottle of water that you could drink at once and now it is trickled into you...it takes a bit to get used to.

 

And the five times a day seemed to keep me on LZP all the time. Because i was on it as needed for 6-7 mths i had times of lucidity and "Normalness" feelings....now i never experience the "Normalness"

Sometimes in the AM when i wake up have internal tremors in my chest area and jaw/nose area and it has been 7-8 hours since my last dose...even though i am in i/d w/d there is a memory of "Normalness" and a temptation of stopping right then and c/t...BUT from past experience...NO THANK YOU!  It is a Bezo trick!

 

And the other point is as i weighed all my pills they were mostly 1.18 - 1.20 in weight each.....SO when i was weighing each dose at .30 x5 per day was i taking a .28 -.30 immediate hit when trying to stabilize at a scale weighed 1.5 total?

 

So at the 3 week seminar i was at i was very lucky to have a Oxford and Cambridge trained Dr. who i befriended and took me on while there. He came to my room for about 30 minutes to an hour a night and checked on me during class. Of course we talked class talk too...but what a relief to know such an amazingly trained Dr. who goes around the world training other Dr's...was there in case something major happened to me. There is tremendous relief. He listened to all i had to say and would let me know what was side effects and what was me piling on side effects with emotions.

He was still a Dr. so the idea of taking six months to get off my dose of 1.5 mg was way too long and he felt i could easily do it in 2 months or less seeing it is such a low dose and i was not on it all the time until 4-5 months ago. From seeing my reaction to the drug he did agree personally that i should get off it. He was cautious with what he said medically.

He is also trained as a therapist so that really played into the dream Dr. Scenario.

At one point i was pretty upset from side effects and he reach over and took my hand said he was sorry for what i was going through and said about 5 times while looking at me straight in the eye..."you are going to be fine"

This Dr. was amazing for 3 weeks and said i could skype him overseas if i wanted..whenever i wanted. Pretty cool!

 

The second and third week i was there i did seem to stabilize on the .30 mg 5x a day..... i was running out of pills before i was driving the 16 hours back home.... so i spent about 2-3 hours cutting up 25 - 1 mg pills into a new lower dose of .27 mg.

I got some empty small gelatin capsules  and would put each dose in the capsules. It has worked really well and i have reused them three times now and have many more uses left for each capsule. I usually open them and put it under my tongue and suck out any powder left. I also had a few pils that would weigh .29 or .30 and i would mark them with a black marker to know it was a higher dose and would take that one before i would go to class everyday or if i over slept ( yes i actually got 7-8 hours sleep there some nights) i would take the slightly larger dose if i got up in i/d w/d. I started the new dose last Weds. 23rd July

 

I was doing fine with the 2 day drive home and then for 2 days here home though i was wiped out for long day and lots of concentration filming and editing and assisting with coaching every day. Full days!

 

Then a few days ago i got weird again...palpitations...tinnitus...DP/DR...burning on my face and arms. What a bummer after doing so well for a few weeks. My tinnitus had backed down to not even bothering me. So the last few days have been pretty rough. I wonder if the altitude difference at 4000 ft here might have made a difference ad it was having a hard time breathing the third day back along with faster heart rate ( 72 normal to 83). I also wondered about the black mold in our attic but its been dry. Funny how Benzos can get ya looking all over the place for reasons for these unexplained weird sxs.

 

Some things i noticed while there that may or may not be useful to others:

 

I would go lay in the hot 100+ heat by the pool for 15-30 minutes while dipping in the much cooler pool. It was a low chlorine and salt water pool This seemed to help me. Of course some of the beautiful women poolside did keep my mind occupied  outside of my internal thoughts

 

Keeping busy and helping others did wonders for me. Sometimes i was screaming inside not wanting to go to class or film but once there and interacting i felt better.

 

Brown sunglasses for sure helped me with the artificial lighting...which seemed to set me into hallucinations. I would step outside in the natural light on breaks and that would help. Also the heat outside helped and i noticed the cold A/C in the room would trigger me.

 

Different foods would help and some would trigger me. I am still working on this one but i noticed a huge correlation in what i ate and how bad the sxs would be. The big winner was potatoes. I had been dieting since last November and potatoes were out of the picture except when i cheated once in a while. Bread and pasta are out since my Hashimotos diagnosis. But for some reason i decided to eat the free full breakfast every morning with eggs and diced potatoes ( both were wonderful tasting )...and i would notice shortly after eating my breakfast i would start to feel "Normal" and really good. When they didnt have potatoes or i missed breakfast..it wasnt the same at all. I actually have used them very effectively in the past few days with my sxs and it has calmed them right down...at least the anxiety and palpitations.

 

Protien bars would set me off...sometimes bad and sometimes a bit

 

Nuts set me off big time

 

Sugar....even in the fresh fruit such as an apple would set me off

 

Teas...different teas would get me going

 

Rice settled me down

 

Too much meat would set me off in many different directions and other times not at all. I actually had hot dog once night ( first time in a year or more) and i was expecting a big set off and nothing came of it. Weird!

 

I know there are many supplements that can set me off including B12 ( of which i am low on ) and a one a day vitamin get me every time. My B50 also does me in. I pretty well stopped all my supplements during the second two weeks at my Seminar Dr. and maybe that helped a bit as well.

 

Drank lots of fresh bottled water...no sodas. I did drink some Kombucha probiotic teas and that helped.

 

So thats it. I hope someone got something out of my data dump here.

 

I am tempted to do a 2-3 month w/d but with this last cascade of sxs for the last 3 days i need to maybe stretch it a bit.

 

I am open to any and all comments, tips, suggestions

 

Thanks for listening!

 

 

PS i did have some pretty bad allergies and headaches upon returning to the mountains this with the sxs were bad. A friend had told me about Nasacort allergy relief and that it was the first thing that took away all her allergies. So i called my Pharmacist for interactions and he gave me the go ahead. I have tried it for the last two days and it is helping with the allergies and headaches from being stuffy. I am not stuffy now and that seems to be a relief. Heck any let up can be a relief when experiencing sxs

[[Co...]]

Hey All!

 

Thought i would catch you up since going to Phoenix for 3 weeks.

 

Last report i was still trying to stabilize on 1.5 mg Lorazepam (LZP) 5 x per day @ .30

I was taking 1 mg pill in AM and then .5 in afternoon but was starting to have severe i/d w/d

so was advised by this group to go to 4 times a day...i tried it but it was too long between doses so i cut it to

5 times per day.

It seemed to be two types of withdrawal going on. A vertical withdrawal ...going from a 1 mg dose at a time to a .30 mg

My sense of not getting the 1 mg at once was tough...it was like being in the desert and really thirsty and having a bottle of water that you could drink at once and now it is trickled into you...it takes a bit to get used to.

 

And the five times a day seemed to keep me on LZP all the time. Because i was on it as needed for 6-7 mths i had times of lucidity and "Normalness" feelings....now i never experience the "Normalness"

Sometimes in the AM when i wake up have internal tremors in my chest area and jaw/nose area and it has been 7-8 hours since my last dose...even though i am in i/d w/d there is a memory of "Normalness" and a temptation of stopping right then and c/t...BUT from past experience...NO THANK YOU!  It is a Bezo trick!

 

And the other point is as i weighed all my pills they were mostly 1.18 - 1.20 in weight each.....SO when i was weighing each dose at .30 x5 per day was i taking a .28 -.30 immediate hit when trying to stabilize at a scale weighed 1.5 total?

 

So at the 3 week seminar i was at i was very lucky to have a Oxford and Cambridge trained Dr. who i befriended and took me on while there. He came to my room for about 30 minutes to an hour a night and checked on me during class. Of course we talked class talk too...but what a relief to know such an amazingly trained Dr. who goes around the world training other Dr's...was there in case something major happened to me. There is tremendous relief. He listened to all i had to say and would let me know what was side effects and what was me piling on side effects with emotions.

He was still a Dr. so the idea of taking six months to get off my dose of 1.5 mg was way too long and he felt i could easily do it in 2 months or less seeing it is such a low dose and i was not on it all the time until 4-5 months ago. From seeing my reaction to the drug he did agree personally that i should get off it. He was cautious with what he said medically.

He is also trained as a therapist so that really played into the dream Dr. Scenario.

At one point i was pretty upset from side effects and he reach over and took my hand said he was sorry for what i was going through and said about 5 times while looking at me straight in the eye..."you are going to be fine"

This Dr. was amazing for 3 weeks and said i could skype him overseas if i wanted..whenever i wanted. Pretty cool!

 

The second and third week i was there i did seem to stabilize on the .30 mg 5x a day..... i was running out of pills before i was driving the 16 hours back home.... so i spent about 2-3 hours cutting up 25 - 1 mg pills into a new lower dose of .27 mg.

I got some empty small gelatin capsules  and would put each dose in the capsules. It has worked really well and i have reused them three times now and have many more uses left for each capsule. I usually open them and put it under my tongue and suck out any powder left. I also had a few pils that would weigh .29 or .30 and i would mark them with a black marker to know it was a higher dose and would take that one before i would go to class everyday or if i over slept ( yes i actually got 7-8 hours sleep there some nights) i would take the slightly larger dose if i got up in i/d w/d. I started the new dose last Weds. 23rd July

 

I was doing fine with the 2 day drive home and then for 2 days here home though i was wiped out for long day and lots of concentration filming and editing and assisting with coaching every day. Full days!

 

Then a few days ago i got weird again...palpitations...tinnitus...DP/DR...burning on my face and arms. What a bummer after doing so well for a few weeks. My tinnitus had backed down to not even bothering me. So the last few days have been pretty rough. I wonder if the altitude difference at 4000 ft here might have made a difference ad it was having a hard time breathing the third day back along with faster heart rate ( 72 normal to 83). I also wondered about the black mold in our attic but its been dry. Funny how Benzos can get ya looking all over the place for reasons for these unexplained weird sxs.

 

Some things i noticed while there that may or may not be useful to others:

 

I would go lay in the hot 100+ heat by the pool for 15-30 minutes while dipping in the much cooler pool. It was a low chlorine and salt water pool This seemed to help me. Of course some of the beautiful women poolside did keep my mind occupied  outside of my internal thoughts

 

Keeping busy and helping others did wonders for me. Sometimes i was screaming inside not wanting to go to class or film but once there and interacting i felt better.

 

Brown sunglasses for sure helped me with the artificial lighting...which seemed to set me into hallucinations. I would step outside in the natural light on breaks and that would help. Also the heat outside helped and i noticed the cold A/C in the room would trigger me.

 

Different foods would help and some would trigger me. I am still working on this one but i noticed a huge correlation in what i ate and how bad the sxs would be. The big winner was potatoes. I had been dieting since last November and potatoes were out of the picture except when i cheated once in a while. Bread and pasta are out since my Hashimotos diagnosis. But for some reason i decided to eat the free full breakfast every morning with eggs and diced potatoes ( both were wonderful tasting )...and i would notice shortly after eating my breakfast i would start to feel "Normal" and really good. When they didnt have potatoes or i missed breakfast..it wasnt the same at all. I actually have used them very effectively in the past few days with my sxs and it has calmed them right down...at least the anxiety and palpitations.

 

Protien bars would set me off...sometimes bad and sometimes a bit

 

Nuts set me off big time

 

Sugar....even in the fresh fruit such as an apple would set me off

 

Teas...different teas would get me going

 

Rice settled me down

 

Too much meat would set me off in many different directions and other times not at all. I actually had hot dog once night ( first time in a year or more) and i was expecting a big set off and nothing came of it. Weird!

 

I know there are many supplements that can set me off including B12 ( of which i am low on ) and a one a day vitamin get me every time. My B50 also does me in. I pretty well stopped all my supplements during the second two weeks at my Seminar Dr. and maybe that helped a bit as well.

 

Drank lots of fresh bottled water...no sodas. I did drink some Kombucha probiotic teas and that helped.

 

So thats it. I hope someone got something out of my data dump here.

 

I am tempted to do a 2-3 month w/d but with this last cascade of sxs for the last 3 days i need to maybe stretch it a bit.

 

I am open to any and all comments, tips, suggestions

 

Thanks for listening!

 

 

PS i did have some pretty bad allergies and headaches upon returning to the mountains this with the sxs were bad. A friend had told me about Nasacort allergy relief and that it was the first thing that took away all her allergies. So i called my Pharmacist for interactions and he gave me the go ahead. I have tried it for the last two days and it is helping with the allergies and headaches from being stuffy. I am not stuffy now and that seems to be a relief. Heck any let up can be a relief when experiencing sxs

 

If you want my opinion, the last thing you should do is try to plan out how long a taper should take. I've done this at least 4 times during my taper, and it never worked out so simply. It's going to take me at least 6 months to taper off 0.375. Everyone is different, but let your body and central nervous system decide how long it should take rather than plowing through it, which never ends well. 1.5mg is not a low dose in my opinion, and 2 months may not be sufficient. Seems like you're already having a bit of difficulty stabilizing at your dose. Just my 2 cents

[[Co...]]

Just want to mention that I haven't had any hypnagogic jerks sleep starts since I've reintroduced 600mg magnesium bisglycinate and 1000mg vit c just before bed. Don't know if it's a correlation or just my cns getting used to lower doses.

 

The magnesium helped me with my hypnotic jerks, and Im only taking about 300mg. Im not sure if vitamin c helps with them or not but it will obliterate certain amounts of cortisol in the body, which in theory should lower your stress since cortisol is the "stress hormone". Not sure where I read that at, heck, it might have been in this thread somewhere. Meh, benzo brain has me all confused. Anyhow, youre getting close, keep it up!

 

How is everyone else holding up? Prayers going out to you all.

 

Thanks Omni. And yes that's the idea behind vit c, however it's not difficult to reach tolerance on it and have to back off for a bit.

[[Sh...]]

Thanks Cosmic!

 

its like i am playing a game with two minds....one keeping me hoping it will be fast and one in acceptance that it may take 6 months or longer to shake this demon

[[Sa...]]

Hey All!

 

Thought i would catch you up since going to Phoenix for 3 weeks.

 

Last report i was still trying to stabilize on 1.5 mg Lorazepam (LZP) 5 x per day @ .30

I was taking 1 mg pill in AM and then .5 in afternoon but was starting to have severe i/d w/d

so was advised by this group to go to 4 times a day...i tried it but it was too long between doses so i cut it to

5 times per day.

It seemed to be two types of withdrawal going on. A vertical withdrawal ...going from a 1 mg dose at a time to a .30 mg

My sense of not getting the 1 mg at once was tough...it was like being in the desert and really thirsty and having a bottle of water that you could drink at once and now it is trickled into you...it takes a bit to get used to.

 

And the five times a day seemed to keep me on LZP all the time. Because i was on it as needed for 6-7 mths i had times of lucidity and "Normalness" feelings....now i never experience the "Normalness"

Sometimes in the AM when i wake up have internal tremors in my chest area and jaw/nose area and it has been 7-8 hours since my last dose...even though i am in i/d w/d there is a memory of "Normalness" and a temptation of stopping right then and c/t...BUT from past experience...NO THANK YOU!  It is a Bezo trick!

 

And the other point is as i weighed all my pills they were mostly 1.18 - 1.20 in weight each.....SO when i was weighing each dose at .30 x5 per day was i taking a .28 -.30 immediate hit when trying to stabilize at a scale weighed 1.5 total?

 

So at the 3 week seminar i was at i was very lucky to have a Oxford and Cambridge trained Dr. who i befriended and took me on while there. He came to my room for about 30 minutes to an hour a night and checked on me during class. Of course we talked class talk too...but what a relief to know such an amazingly trained Dr. who goes around the world training other Dr's...was there in case something major happened to me. There is tremendous relief. He listened to all i had to say and would let me know what was side effects and what was me piling on side effects with emotions.

He was still a Dr. so the idea of taking six months to get off my dose of 1.5 mg was way too long and he felt i could easily do it in 2 months or less seeing it is such a low dose and i was not on it all the time until 4-5 months ago. From seeing my reaction to the drug he did agree personally that i should get off it. He was cautious with what he said medically.

He is also trained as a therapist so that really played into the dream Dr. Scenario.

At one point i was pretty upset from side effects and he reach over and took my hand said he was sorry for what i was going through and said about 5 times while looking at me straight in the eye..."you are going to be fine"

This Dr. was amazing for 3 weeks and said i could skype him overseas if i wanted..whenever i wanted. Pretty cool!

 

The second and third week i was there i did seem to stabilize on the .30 mg 5x a day..... i was running out of pills before i was driving the 16 hours back home.... so i spent about 2-3 hours cutting up 25 - 1 mg pills into a new lower dose of .27 mg.

I got some empty small gelatin capsules  and would put each dose in the capsules. It has worked really well and i have reused them three times now and have many more uses left for each capsule. I usually open them and put it under my tongue and suck out any powder left. I also had a few pils that would weigh .29 or .30 and i would mark them with a black marker to know it was a higher dose and would take that one before i would go to class everyday or if i over slept ( yes i actually got 7-8 hours sleep there some nights) i would take the slightly larger dose if i got up in i/d w/d. I started the new dose last Weds. 23rd July

 

I was doing fine with the 2 day drive home and then for 2 days here home though i was wiped out for long day and lots of concentration filming and editing and assisting with coaching every day. Full days!

 

Then a few days ago i got weird again...palpitations...tinnitus...DP/DR...burning on my face and arms. What a bummer after doing so well for a few weeks. My tinnitus had backed down to not even bothering me. So the last few days have been pretty rough. I wonder if the altitude difference at 4000 ft here might have made a difference ad it was having a hard time breathing the third day back along with faster heart rate ( 72 normal to 83). I also wondered about the black mold in our attic but its been dry. Funny how Benzos can get ya looking all over the place for reasons for these unexplained weird sxs.

 

Some things i noticed while there that may or may not be useful to others:

 

I would go lay in the hot 100+ heat by the pool for 15-30 minutes while dipping in the much cooler pool. It was a low chlorine and salt water pool This seemed to help me. Of course some of the beautiful women poolside did keep my mind occupied  outside of my internal thoughts

 

Keeping busy and helping others did wonders for me. Sometimes i was screaming inside not wanting to go to class or film but once there and interacting i felt better.

 

Brown sunglasses for sure helped me with the artificial lighting...which seemed to set me into hallucinations. I would step outside in the natural light on breaks and that would help. Also the heat outside helped and i noticed the cold A/C in the room would trigger me.

 

Different foods would help and some would trigger me. I am still working on this one but i noticed a huge correlation in what i ate and how bad the sxs would be. The big winner was potatoes. I had been dieting since last November and potatoes were out of the picture except when i cheated once in a while. Bread and pasta are out since my Hashimotos diagnosis. But for some reason i decided to eat the free full breakfast every morning with eggs and diced potatoes ( both were wonderful tasting )...and i would notice shortly after eating my breakfast i would start to feel "Normal" and really good. When they didnt have potatoes or i missed breakfast..it wasnt the same at all. I actually have used them very effectively in the past few days with my sxs and it has calmed them right down...at least the anxiety and palpitations.

 

Protien bars would set me off...sometimes bad and sometimes a bit

 

Nuts set me off big time

 

Sugar....even in the fresh fruit such as an apple would set me off

 

Teas...different teas would get me going

 

Rice settled me down

 

Too much meat would set me off in many different directions and other times not at all. I actually had hot dog once night ( first time in a year or more) and i was expecting a big set off and nothing came of it. Weird!

 

I know there are many supplements that can set me off including B12 ( of which i am low on ) and a one a day vitamin get me every time. My B50 also does me in. I pretty well stopped all my supplements during the second two weeks at my Seminar Dr. and maybe that helped a bit as well.

 

Drank lots of fresh bottled water...no sodas. I did drink some Kombucha probiotic teas and that helped.

 

So thats it. I hope someone got something out of my data dump here.

 

I am tempted to do a 2-3 month w/d but with this last cascade of sxs for the last 3 days i need to maybe stretch it a bit.

 

I am open to any and all comments, tips, suggestions

 

Thanks for listening!

 

 

PS i did have some pretty bad allergies and headaches upon returning to the mountains this with the sxs were bad. A friend had told me about Nasacort allergy relief and that it was the first thing that took away all her allergies. So i called my Pharmacist for interactions and he gave me the go ahead. I have tried it for the last two days and it is helping with the allergies and headaches from being stuffy. I am not stuffy now and that seems to be a relief. Heck any let up can be a relief when experiencing sxs

Hi Mark,

 

Glad your trip went so well! It must have been great to have a dr there you felt comfortable talking with. Nice he is making himself available to you to answer your concerns and fears if necessary.

 

Your dose is not a small one, and your usage isn't as short as you believe, in my opinion. In that respect I disagree with the dr. Very much, in fact.

 

Your taper plan is your own. We can only offer advice and opinions. I just finished a 7 month taper. I pushed my taper for many reasons, the most compelling one the chronic pain the Ativan caused. I did work full time during my taper, but I can tell you I had no social life whatsoever during that time. It was all I could do to work. You are planning to work and have a young family I recall. Maybe you can push the rate and do ok, maybe not. After all, people survive c/t but it's not advisable. A 2 month taper is basically a c/t IMO.

 

I'm glad dividing the doses seems to help, and you were able to get some sleep. All in all it sounds like a better place than before!

 

Saga

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[Co...]]

Thanks Cosmic!

 

its like i am playing a game with two minds....one keeping me hoping it will be fast and one in acceptance that it may take 6 months or longer to shake this demon

 

Trust me, I KNOW how you feel. I felt the exact same way. 1 month of lower use and I was in the same boat as everyone here. Just keep this in mind, your CNS will decide how quickly it will heal, whether you taper in 2 months or in 7 months it will make minor difference. Your acute (post jumping off ativan)  will be just as bad if not worse as drawn out Tapering. Does that make sense? My point is, ultimately, your system will dictate how long it takes to heal, not your Tapering speed.

 

With this being said, I recommend what saga and kiddo generally have told me. Try and stabilize at a dose, where symptoms are manageable, then attempt a 5% cut. If this is manageable, push it a bit harder, and monitor how big a cut your mind and body can handle. Who knows, you may be able to tolerate much larger cuts, you may not.

 

It's funny because I always thought that every 10% cut that I would make,i would max feel like 10% of the Shit I felt in acute cold turkey withdrawal. It turns out it's not so simple. Trial and error.

[[Sh...]]

Saga & Cosmic...Thanks!

 

That's why i came back here

Dr.actually recommended i stop internet and chasing symptoms...and it did help

but so does talking here when i feel alone on this roller coaster ride.

I also know he never had to get off LZP either.

 

My mind still has trouble with the fact that these drugs were and still are let out for public use.

i am still in denial there is such an addictive drug...and i unknowingly am addicted by my Dr.

it angers me to see so many folks suffering and Dr. so freakin oblivious

 

i still cant believe i am caught up in this!

First do no harm...my ass!

 

That being said i do have a young family and midssed half of my six year old daughters birthday yesterday

she asks me why i am sick all the time...and cannot answer her...i just apologize to her.

 

I would like to see a lawsuit to stop these drugs or at least have mandatory notification of the addictive qualities and the time it could take to get off of them.

 

6 months seems forever and know it is a rough 6+ months and it doesnt stop after the drugs stop!

 

My only hope is knowing that when the dose goes under 1 mg sxs might slow down

 

Thanks again!!!

 

 

 

[[Ki...]]

Hi Mark,

 

Boy were you busy. Incase you haven't realized this yourself, you have really accomplished more in 3 weeks then many people have in 6 months. You should be very proud of yourself. Listen, I know how hard it is to feel crappy every day, and to get little teasers of normalcy, that make you want to push faster in your taper. I think the smartest way to approach it is building your percentage up every week until you are at a level that your symptoms aren't manage or anymore, then scale back to the last comfortable percentage. Like Cosmic said, maybe you can do bigger cuts, maybe you can't. I find this all very frustrating myself because I believe we don't "truly" heal until we are benzo free so getting off as quick as possible is paramount for me. With that being said, I also have to balance the fact that I have young children and a job and a life that I want to hang on to. I can only go as fast as my body will let me. Sometimes that's 5% sometimes it's 8% sometimes it's 3%.....as long as its always going down I'm content. For now. 

 

I also agree with Saga, that you are not considered low dose or a short term user, unfortunately. Trying to get off the Ativan in the past was indicative of that....you struggled because the dependence was already there. We are not the part of the population that can go on and off benzo's with no difficulty. One day "they" will discover why. Right now out only job is to get off safely with minimal collateral damage.

 

[[pe...]]

hi

 

I am on 2mg of lorazepam split in 4 doses- I have serious facial tingling- gum and teeth pain 24/7- my gums have receded a lot over the last 6 months that I have taken this. I am wondering if this is sxs or withdrawal effects. Anyway I need to get off it- might my symptoms reduce if i switch to diazepam?

What a truy horrific drug! Its made me suicidal the longer ive been on it.

[[Sh...]]

Thanks Kiddo!

 

Pete  so sorry for what you are going through

[[Sa...]]

hi

 

I am on 2mg of lorazepam split in 4 doses- I have serious facial tingling- gum and teeth pain 24/7- my gums have receded a lot over the last 6 months that I have taken this. I am wondering if this is sxs or withdrawal effects. Anyway I need to get off it- might my symptoms reduce if i switch to diazepam?

What a truy horrific drug! Its made me suicidal the longer ive been on it.

 

Hi Pete,

Welcome to the thread! I'm sorry you're here..and yes, the sxs you're experiencing are w/d sxs, I'm not certain about the gum recession however...you've split your doses into 4 which is great, that should help with interdose sxs.

 

I have a question about your previous Valium usage in your signature...you withdrew form Valium with no problems previously? If so, this is your second experience with benzos? You could always switch to Valium and taper from it. Each withdrawal can be very different from my understanding, and it's a matter of opinion if Valium is easier to withdraw from. If interdose is an issue, then yes, after a careful crossover, Valium is a good option.

 

Saga

 

 

[[Ki...]]

Hi Pete - I'm so sorry for your struggles.....we are all in the same boat. These drugs are truly horrific. Are you finding your symptoms a little more manageable with the dose splitting to 4x per day?

 

Regarding the tooth and gum pain....this has been a constant symptom of mine since the beginning. I don't know if a side effect from the Ativan or a w/d symptom, I not think it really matters. My teeth are shifting alignment as well, I suppose that's from grinding and clenching. My gums also bleed (quite a bit) and have receded. Try not to panic and remind yourself that this is a common symptom, and although painful, will not "hurt" you. That helps me.

 

As far as suicide ideation, that is also very common and what I believe to be the scariest symptom. Please do reach out if you feel like acting on those thoughts. It's not you talking, it's the drugs. That is a long term solution to a short term problem. Things WILL get better.

 

Do you mind giving us a little more information? How long have you been tapering? How big/small were your cuts? Are you feeling a little more stable since splitting your dose?

 

I would never discourage anyone from doing whatever it takes to get benzo free. If that means switching to Valium, so be it. There is more than one way to skin a cat. I see you tried Valium before. Did that have any affect on your depression? The only concern I have about a crossover is that Valium is known to cause depression in some people. Just do lots of research and be confident in what ever direction you choose to travel.

 

Take care, kiddo

[[Si...]]

Benzo withdrawal can cause dry mouth which can lead to some dental problems. I know I was waking up with bad dry mouth most mornings. It's faded some as time has gone on, but still wake up with some dry mouth.

 

I agree with everyone here, if you can stay stable and taper, it's probably a good idea. Especially since you have a family to take care of. I c/t'd and it will make you feel like you dropped your brain in a deep fryer. I did somehow go back to work 3 days after though, but it was as pretty horrible thing to have to do. I didn't sleep for three weeks out of six weeks (not days in a row, but total).

[[Sh...]]

quick question

 

Since my first cut last week...about 4 days into it i have been having w/d pretty well all the time even when i take my dose i dont get much relief

is this what i should expect every cut? or something like it?

 

 

[[pe...]]

Thanks all for your replies...

Since I went 4 x a day it took about 6 weeks for me to level my head off. Before that I was having massive anxiety and terror with derialisation and crazy intrusive thoughts all the time. Now i  have tingling in my face and this teeth problem and the most horrendous bouts of depression.

 

I have been on lorazepam as a prn for many years and was also taking it daily about 5 years ago and didn't have any of these symptoms. The problem is how to get off the lorazepam i have been trying to get a solution im in the UK to taper but I'm thinking of now switiching to valium although the shrink I was seeing switched me straight a few months ago and the valium sxs were horrendous but now i know that this is not the way to cross taper.

 

My issue with valium is if i switch will i have a sudden increase in OCD symtoms and intrusive thoughts. I took valium when I was 22 about 20 years ago and came off it ok but circumstances were different then.

 

 

[[Jo...]]

Hi folks ...haven been on in a while lots has changed for the good and worse......

 

At 1.50 daily Ativan now. Divided into .25 every 4 hours( so .25 six times daily ) recommendations on how to direct taper? How long to hold between cuts?

 

My CNS is super sick probably kindled and a mess.

 

I also have .25 mg Klonopin taken daily as well.

 

All advice welcomed because all my doctors are freaking idiots. Scared ... Extremely ill ..... Can't use Valium or higher Klonopin dosages ...my body only slightly tolerates Ativan ........

[[Sa...]]

quick question

 

Since my first cut last week...about 4 days into it i have been having w/d pretty well all the time even when i take my dose i dont get much relief

is this what i should expect every cut? or something like it?

 

 

 

Sadly Mark I'd have to say yes...at least that was my experience. I never felt " relief" when I took my doses once I began tapering, very limited at best.

[[Sa...]]

Thanks all for your replies...

Since I went 4 x a day it took about 6 weeks for me to level my head off. Before that I was having massive anxiety and terror with derialisation and crazy intrusive thoughts all the time. Now i  have tingling in my face and this teeth problem and the most horrendous bouts of depression.

 

I have been on lorazepam as a prn for many years and was also taking it daily about 5 years ago and didn't have any of these symptoms. The problem is how to get off the lorazepam i have been trying to get a solution im in the UK to taper but I'm thinking of now switiching to valium although the shrink I was seeing switched me straight a few months ago and the valium sxs were horrendous but now i know that this is not the way to cross taper.

 

My issue with valium is if i switch will i have a sudden increase in OCD symtoms and intrusive thoughts. I took valium when I was 22 about 20 years ago and came off it ok but circumstances were different then.

 

 

 

Pete, if you're considering a crossover to Valium, I would take a copy of the Ashton manual and/ or research Roger Peart's method as well. Take it to your Dr. And plan a careful crossover. I'm reading about people doing direct changes, and Valium needs time to build up, I believe about 3 weeks. Plus a hold time to level off once the crossover is complete.

 

I'm nor sure why you'd think you may have an increase in OCD or intrusive thoughts by switching to Valium. I'm sorry I don't quite understand...

[[Sa...]]

Hi folks ...haven been on in a while lots has changed for the good and worse......

 

At 1.50 daily Ativan now. Divided into .25 every 4 hours( so .25 six times daily ) recommendations on how to direct taper? How long to hold between cuts?

 

My CNS is super sick probably kindled and a mess.

 

I also have .25 mg Klonopin taken daily as well.

 

All advice welcomed because all my doctors are freaking idiots. Scared ... Extremely ill ..... Can't use Valium or higher Klonopin dosages ...my body only slightly tolerates Ativan ........

 

Hi Joanna, I'm sorry you're having such a rough time...I think would take things very slowly, if you're kindled and feeling every cut maybe consider doing a daily taper? It may be much kinder to your CNS rather than the cut and hold method. You would be able to put times so holding into this method and take it very carefully.

[[Sh...]]

Saga

 

thanks!

 

yeah not sure how much more i can take of this.

six months of this everyday will do me in

 

4AM a skunk filled my house with scent...i woke up in severe w/d and having a hard time breathing/palpitations

 

took my dose early at 5 am getting some relief but having a hard time

 

read something last night that said what i am trying to do by tapering only has 20% success rate...is this true?

how the heck do folks get off this crap

 

im worn out

 

 

will i stabilize at new dose do you think? or will i just be on edge until next cut and go through this horror each time

 

Thanks!

[[Co...]]

Saga

 

thanks!

 

yeah not sure how much more i can take of this.

six months of this everyday will do me in

 

4AM a skunk filled my house with scent...i woke up in severe w/d and having a hard time breathing/palpitations

 

took my dose early at 5 am getting some relief but having a hard time

 

read something last night that said what i am trying to do by tapering only has 20% success rate...is this true?

how the heck do folks get off this crap

 

im worn out

 

 

will i stabilize at new dose do you think? or will i just be on edge until next cut and go through this horror each time

 

Thanks!

 

Try to stay away from reading things. If you have questions ask the people in this thread but by going overboard with looking into things you're only gonna make it more difficult. I'm speaking from experience. Just reading your last post was enough to give me really bad palpitations.

 

That success rate is for those that try to taper quickly, usually misinformed.

[[Sh...]]

i read the information on a site for this new drug that can help people get through this quicker

i was searching help in a positive direction when i saw it

 

Sorry it threw you in fits...did the same for me

 

 

PS So are the rules not to say anything negative on the boards?  I thought it was a place to bring my concerns.

      i dont wanna feel bad for asking a question. Not sure where else to go to ask it and really dont want to live in a box while getting off this stuff