Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[sa...]]

thnx alot for the reply kiddo as ive been waiting on fire for a reply..

 

when i was on xanax the doc told me to take it whenever i feel anxiety..and at that time i was anxious 24/7 with anxiety attacks..

 

as i said i didnt know about these drugs..so i kept popping and popping..

 

let me tell u this, when i made the huge drop of 5mg xanax to 1 mg a day in ONE DAY.. the withdrawal hit me 5 days later and it was sooooo bad i didnt know it was from it..but i knew after searching..

 

anyways, the withdrawal lasted for only 3 weeks and i felt like i was getting better each day.. untill my body stabilized on the 0.5 twice a day.. then i was perfectly fine..

 

i told my doctor i want off! ( this time it was another doc )

 

he switched me to ativan ( no problems at allll ) at 1mg ativan would last for me the whole day...

 

the i took more ( very stupid !!) i blame myself now..i shouldve tapered at the start of ativan..

 

i increased the dose instead to 6mg sometimes 8mg a day..

 

then again i made a huge drop from that to 2mg twice a day...

 

i felt a little uncomfortable but manageable to be honest..

 

the doxepin is helping me alot though..

 

but i just want off this ativan now! i cant take it anymore!

 

i want to know what is the safest way to cut my dose? and from which dose shall i start?

 

i dont want to devide my doses though.. i want to cut from what i am now..

 

wake up...and nigh dose...

 

plllzzzzzzzzzzzz help.. i would appreciate it alooooot...

 

and i would like to also know what you think about my huge drop and symptoms for just 3 weeks then im fine ( is a good thing ) meaning im not going to have a loooong road after im completely off?

 

thnx alot..would appreciate every single word

[[Ki...]]

Hi Sameo,

 

I think you were very lucky to get off that amount with no blow-back. Anecdotally, the second w/d is harder, BUT the fact that you are somewhat stable again and that you were able to switch to A from X with no issue and that you only have to dose twice a day, all work in your favour. Absolutely!

 

I would err in the side of caution and begin your taper from 4mg. You may be able to do larger cuts, as you seem to bounce back from the okay. I would start at 10% of your dose and see how you feel in a week. If it isn't bad you can bump it up a little to where your comfortable. They key is to find a rate of cut that gets you off the drug but not too fast that your CNS is screaming. Most people need to slow way down at the end.

 

Do you have a scale you could use to cut your pills or will you be eyeballing it. If you eye ball it you can cut in fractions. 1/4 of a pill, etc.

 

How long have you been on benzo's?

[[sa...]]

thanx alot for the kind and assuring reply kiddo 

 

i guess i will be eyeballing the cuts...but what i dont understand is that from which dose shall i start? both at the same time?

 

10% of the morning dose

 

10% of the night dose?

 

im not sure if u got that..but i really hope u do..im so sad i cant even type u know..

 

 

and ive been on benzos for 5 years now..

 

once again thank u..im really happy or glad that u r talking to me now.. i dont know if im happy or glad..hahahaha..

 

aahhhh..ther is a sense of humor came out of me in months!!

[[Sa...]]

thnx alot for the reply kiddo as ive been waiting on fire for a reply..

 

when i was on xanax the doc told me to take it whenever i feel anxiety..and at that time i was anxious 24/7 with anxiety attacks..

 

as i said i didnt know about these drugs..so i kept popping and popping..

 

let me tell u this, when i made the huge drop of 5mg xanax to 1 mg a day in ONE DAY.. the withdrawal hit me 5 days later and it was sooooo bad i didnt know it was from it..but i knew after searching..

 

anyways, the withdrawal lasted for only 3 weeks and i felt like i was getting better each day.. untill my body stabilized on the 0.5 twice a day.. then i was perfectly fine..

 

i told my doctor i want off! ( this time it was another doc )

 

he switched me to ativan ( no problems at allll ) at 1mg ativan would last for me the whole day...

 

the i took more ( very stupid !!) i blame myself now..i shouldve tapered at the start of ativan..

 

i increased the dose instead to 6mg sometimes 8mg a day..

 

then again i made a huge drop from that to 2mg twice a day...

 

i felt a little uncomfortable but manageable to be honest..

 

the doxepin is helping me alot though..

 

but i just want off this ativan now! i cant take it anymore!

 

i want to know what is the safest way to cut my dose? and from which dose shall i start?

 

i dont want to devide my doses though.. i want to cut from what i am now..

 

wake up...and nigh dose...

 

plllzzzzzzzzzzzz help.. i would appreciate it alooooot...

 

and i would like to also know what you think about my huge drop and symptoms for just 3 weeks then im fine ( is a good thing ) meaning im not going to have a loooong road after im completely off?

 

thnx alot..would appreciate every single word

 

Hi Sameo!

 

I would agree with everything Kiddo has mentioned. It's perfectly find to stay on the Ativan twice a day if you're not uncomfortable.  Other Ativan and Xanax are notorious for short length of duration. Interdose can be a big problem for many. That's when you may need to be flexible if it presents a problem.

 

I believe you were very very lucky to be able to do those large drops first with the Xanax and then the Ativan. I believe if you feel relatively stable, I'd also start the taper from the 4 mg point as well. At that large dose you can probably eyeball those cuts. Its up to you to decide which dose to make your reduction from. I'd rotate the cuts if it were me, back and forth.

 

No one can predict how you'll feel continuing to reduce , if you'll have the same luck you had with the previous drops in the meds. Subsequent w/d can be quite different. I'd spend a lot of time reading on the forum and ask as many questions as you need to devise your plan, and take it from there. Happy to answer any questions 

 

Saga

[[sa...]]

thanx for the encouragement saga 

 

what if i start with the wake up dose? and just that till i eliminate it..then start with my night dose?

 

as sleeping is very important..

 

can i do that? 

[[Sa...]]

Sameo, I'd rotate them instead of trying to eliminate one. The duration of Ativan is relatively short. Then you'd effectively be stretching your dose out for a 24 hour time frame. My opinion only, of course. Most people need to dose closer together than once or twice a day although maybe you can, who knows. It's been done...but my thoughts are to go back and forth. It's your taper, you have to be comfortable with your plan.

[[Ki...]]

Hi Sameo,

 

Sorry, I did miss that. I would rotate your dose as Saga suggested. It's important to try and keep the Ativan level in your bloodstream. I would take your 10% cut off the morning and hold for 7-10 days and then 10% off the night dose when your stable.

 

Remember, 10% is just a suggestion. You may feel like you can do more or less, depending on other circumstances. For example: I work and have a young family to care for so I keep my cuts around 5-6% as I need to be functional. It will obviously take longer, but I don't have a choice.

 

Keep asking questions if you need to 

[[sa...]]

thnx alot guys!

 

that was reeeeaally helpful..

 

i will rotate the cuts then..

 

and i will be posting once i start ... im just waiting on the doxepin to take full effect..and doxepin is helping alot so far..

 

thanks alot guys 

[[Sa...]]

Glad to be of help Sameo, good luck to you

[[...]]

Figuring my way around this forum as I'm kind of obsessed about my ativan. Question is, I dropped to 0.75 mg about a week ago; I'd actually dropped I think pretty fast from 1 mg and more during the summer. But I think i should stay here right now. Don't feel too good (but wonder if SSRIs and lamictal as adjunct are messing me up too - both fairly new) - nausea, dizzy, ears ringing, head ache, really really bad sleep, and other urinary discomfort.

 

Decided to do the 10% drop every week-ten days depending on how I feel. I have 0.5 mg pills which I've been splitting into six doses per day of 0.125 (roughly, since I'm just cutting them up) and this feels OK for now. Better than trying to do only 3 or 4 doses.

 

What do I do when I get to the next 10% cut - ie should I shave one of the doses in half, literally? Or try to take a small amount off of each dose? Or pick one of the doses during the day that seems the least trouble, and start removing from there?

 

I'm trying to understand the idea of "rotating" the cuts as mentioned below.

 

If you're using a scale, do you crush pills and try to measure out the right amount for each dose?

 

It all feels very complicated sometimes and scary. It's good to hear people have done it. I hope my doc will agree with me that I want to do this slowly. It feels very crazy-making - sometimes like I'm losing my mind and will never get it back. Very loose strange feeling in my head - does that happen to others??

 

 

[[Ki...]]

NYC4 - I'm sorry you find yourself having to be here....but you've come to the right place. I know you feel scared and crazy right now but I assure you we've all felt that way, that's just the benzo's lying to you. I will try and answer your questions the best I can and I'm sure Saga will be here in the morning and give you some advice as well. In the meantime, I encourage you to go back and read this thread in its entirety as there is a lot of useful information 

 

I agree with holding and stabilizing where your at (.75mg) - a scale would be better for you in the long run, they are cheap $20-$30 on Amazon.com - it's called the Gemini Pro 20 milligram scale.

 

The best bet is to keep your doses even, we only recommended rotating dose because Sameo is dosing twice a day and not using a scale. I believe it's essential to have a scale if you are dosing 6x a day. I dose 5x a day and all my doses are even throughout the day. With even doses you would just figure out your total cut (10%) and divide into 6 doses. So your first cut would be .075mg which would give you a new dose of .675mg.

 

The symptoms that you are experiencing are very common withdrawal symptoms but could also very likely be from the start-up of the SSRI. I doubt you'll ever figure out what one is causing problems right now. The best bet would be to hold your benzo dose and give a solid 6 weeks for the SSRI start up.

 

There are a lot of uncomfortable and strange feelings in withdrawal, but I assure you that although the feelings are scary they won't hurt you.

 

Keep posting and asking questions, we'll help you through it 

[[Sa...]]

Figuring my way around this forum as I'm kind of obsessed about my ativan. Question is, I dropped to 0.75 mg about a week ago; I'd actually dropped I think pretty fast from 1 mg and more during the summer. But I think i should stay here right now. Don't feel too good (but wonder if SSRIs and lamictal as adjunct are messing me up too - both fairly new) - nausea, dizzy, ears ringing, head ache, really really bad sleep, and other urinary discomfort.

 

Decided to do the 10% drop every week-ten days depending on how I feel. I have 0.5 mg pills which I've been splitting into six doses per day of 0.125 (roughly, since I'm just cutting them up) and this feels OK for now. Better than trying to do only 3 or 4 doses.

 

What do I do when I get to the next 10% cut - ie should I shave one of the doses in half, literally? Or try to take a small amount off of each dose? Or pick one of the doses during the day that seems the least trouble, and start removing from there?

 

I'm trying to understand the idea of "rotating" the cuts as mentioned below.

 

If you're using a scale, do you crush pills and try to measure out the right amount for each dose?

 

It all feels very complicated sometimes and scary. It's good to hear people have done it. I hope my doc will agree with me that I want to do this slowly. It feels very crazy-making - sometimes like I'm losing my mind and will never get it back. Very loose strange feeling in my head - does that happen to others??

 

 

 

Hi NYC,

 

Scared and crazy, uh yes, this can be difficult at times, no doubt at all. Kiddo has given you great advice, I don't have very much to add. If you began those new meds recently some of your sxs could easily be from those. Holding now is a very good idea, especially if you feel you've reduced too quickly. No harm in holding.

 

I did not keep my doses even, so I believe Kiddos way of splitting and dividing keeps it simple since you're dosing 6 times a day. That would be easier instead of rotating which dose to cut from. Keeping it simple when you can helps.

 

I read the entire Ativan thread when I landed here and would highly recommend it as well. It helped relive some of my fears about tapering. Keep asking questions

 

Saga

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[...]]

NYC4 - I'm sorry you find yourself having to be here....but you've come to the right place. I know you feel scared and crazy right now but I assure you we've all felt that way, that's just the benzo's lying to you.

 

I agree with holding and stabilizing where your at (.75mg) - a scale would be better for you in the long run, they are cheap $20-$30 on Amazon.com - it's called the Gemini Pro 20 milligram scale.

 

The best bet is to keep your doses even, we only recommended rotating dose because Sameo is dosing twice a day and not using a scale. I believe it's essential to have a scale if you are dosing 6x a day. I dose 5x a day and all my doses are even throughout the day. With even doses you would just figure out your total cut (10%) and divide into 6 doses. So your first cut would be .075mg which would give you a new dose of .675mg.

 

Keep posting and asking questions, we'll help you through it 

Thank you!!!

 

To clarify, about keeping doses even, and the next round being at .675, how do you actually do it? (How, step by step, would you "divide into 6 doses"?) It's such a tiny amount to handle. Do you cut a 0.5 mg pill up into pieces and then weigh each dose until you find .675? What do you do with the little bits of powder that lie around? It's hard to imagine creating 5 or 6 doses each day by doing this, is what I mean, and keeping track of the bits and the powder. Maybe I should try fewer doses again.

 

I do want to keep it simple while also keeping sane. Some weird and scary things going on; makes me feel like I'm becoming crazy and detached from all life.

[[Sa...]]

Hi NYC,

 

Well, I'm. to going to much help to you since my taper was so complicated with the pills I had my hubby do all of it. I was using two different pills and it became complicated.

 

Kiddo and I both used the Gemini milligram Pro scale from Amazon. I used the weight of the pill to determine reductions and weighed each dose, cutting tiny amounts off with a razor. So truthfully, I'm not sure how she does hers, I'll let her answer...

 

You could also make a liquid yourself with the pills and titrate that way. I believe a lot of people on the thread use that method as well.

 

If you don't need to dose 6 times a day due to interdose, feeling the need to dose again rather quickly, you could always combine them and start dosing 4 times a day. Always an option. Ativans duration seems to be around the 6 hour mark. I dosed at 7:00, 12:15, 5:15, and 10:30.

 

Weird and scary things, yes, this is quite a ride most days, but it's perfectly normal for w/d if you spend a lot of time reading around the forum. This is very doable, it does require a lot of patience and perseverence. It's not easy, but it will be worth the time to get off this poison. I'm sure Kiddo will be around later with more detail about how she does her doses. 

 

Saga

 

 

[[Ki...]]

Hi NYC,

 

Weird, crazy, messy, scary.....it's all w/d and/or startup from SSRI. Either way you can get through it with knowledge and support 

 

Ok, first off, I want to mention that moving your doses around can feel like a cut. So if you change from 6x a day to 4x day, keep that in mind. Keeping things "stable" means staying with the same number of doses per day, taking them on schedule everyday, etc. if you want to go to 4x a day that's not problem but once you switch to that try and stay there unless the interdose w/d becomes too much for you 

 

First: order the scale, I feel like it's imperative to get somewhat accurate dosing

 

Second: since you are stabilizing at .75mg while you wait for your scale you will be eye balling. Take your 1mg tablet and cut it into 4 equal pieces. Put one of the pieces back in your pill container. Now you have 3 pieces equalling roughly .75mg. Cut each one of those in half. You now have 6 doses.

 

Third: purchase medicine containers with the days of the week on them. The little ones used for people who take a lot of medication. That's what I keep my doses in. Here is a picture.

 

http://i.imgur.com/ePNODc0l.jpg

 

Once you get your scale and have stabilized and are ready to start tapering we will walk you through that as well. For now, I wouldn't worry about it. One hurdle at a time 

[[...]]

Super nice of you! Thank you! (I'm using 0.5 mg tabs right now already an cutting those up). I'll get the scale. And then figure out what to do with the little shavings and crumbs. The DIY liquid thing is beyond me now unless I can get my doc to prescribe the liquid form..thank you for your care!!

[[Gr...]]

Super nice of you! Thank you! (I'm using 0.5 mg tabs right now already an cutting those up). I'll get the scale. And then figure out what to do with the little shavings and crumbs. The DIY liquid thing is beyond me now unless I can get my doc to prescribe the liquid form..thank you for your care!!

 

If you want to try the liquid you don't need your doctor to prescribe it. All you need from your doctor is your normal prescription. The little piece of paper. You then take that to a compound pharmacy and they will make you your liquid. That was my case anyway.

[[pe...]]

So i started a suspension of 2mg Lorazepam on Thursday- its been horendous. I don't know whether its the drugs sxs or I'm in withdrawal from the drug being weaker.

 

I can't sleep- constantly got feeling of rushing going through my body like I'm on speed, feel impulsive and somewhat ungrounded. What is interesting is the dental pain I had with my teeth has gone.

 

When on tablets i always slept and never had feelings like this in fact the last few weeks my ocd and agoraphobia had lessened. I feel like going back to the tablets.

 

 

[[Gr...]]

So i started a suspension of 2mg Lorazepam on Thursday- its been horendous. I don't know whether its the drugs sxs or I'm in withdrawal from the drug being weaker.

 

I can't sleep- constantly got feeling of rushing going through my body like I'm on speed, feel impulsive and somewhat ungrounded. What is interesting is the dental pain I had with my teeth has gone.

 

When on tablets i always slept and never had feelings like this in fact the last few weeks my ocd and agoraphobia had lessened. I feel like going back to the tablets.

 

You need to give it a few days. Your body has to adjust to this new way the drugs being delivered. I too had a rough few days but after that it's been smooth sailing. Stick with it. You'll be glad you did. Just my opinion.

[[Ju...]]

Super nice of you! Thank you! (I'm using 0.5 mg tabs right now already an cutting those up). I'll get the scale. And then figure out what to do with the little shavings and crumbs. The DIY liquid thing is beyond me now unless I can get my doc to prescribe the liquid form..thank you for your care!!

 

If you want to try the liquid you don't need your doctor to prescribe it. All you need from your doctor is your normal prescription. The little piece of paper. You then take that to a compound pharmacy and they will make you your liquid. That was my case anyway.

 

This isn't the case in the US.  Prescriptions to be compounded must be written up and specified by the prescribing MD, as to exactly how to be compounded on a new prescription or the compounding pharmacy won't touch it.

[[La...]]

Super nice of you! Thank you! (I'm using 0.5 mg tabs right now already an cutting those up). I'll get the scale. And then figure out what to do with the little shavings and crumbs. The DIY liquid thing is beyond me now unless I can get my doc to prescribe the liquid form..thank you for your care!!

 

If you want to try the liquid you don't need your doctor to prescribe it. All you need from your doctor is your normal prescription. The little piece of paper. You then take that to a compound pharmacy and they will make you your liquid. That was my case anyway.

 

This isn't the case in the US.  Prescriptions to be compounded must be written up and specified by the prescribing MD, as to exactly how to be compounded on a new prescription or the compounding pharmacy won't touch it.

 

Exactly.

[[...]]

I'm back, don't have the scale yet, am wondering if it's simpler to reduce the number of doses per day. I just had a wave of nausea and feeling like I'm going crazy. Since I split the 0.5 mg pills, there's lots of dust left and little crumbs. So I'm not getting the exact same dose each time. Granted I have had a really rough year (hospitalized for anxiety/major depression last December) but I feel like my brain is a bit fried and I worry I'll never be the same person again. Nothing interests me, I'm scared of being outside and of socializing, I force myself to do things. Unemployed and don't know if I can even really work (except these tiny jobs I do in online classrooms) the way I used to or wanted to (and running out of money and any career plan). It's like everything's been blunted.

 

I had a decent day yesterday, mood wise, but today I feel thrown all around. The sudden physical ill feeling must be due to this ativan, I've decided. Loneliness is contributing too - I'm achingly lonely in all this and often physically alone for long stretches. Obsessed about the ativan and am now carrying around a bottle of the little chips I've made roughly 0.125 mg each. It's been about ten days on this dose and the first few days were miserable (though coupled with prozac/lamictal might have contributed too).

 

The feeling of being loose in the head and crazy is very scary to me. I hope that's common, horrible though it feels. Like I'll never come back and be able to enjoy life again.

 

[[Sa...]]

Hi NYC,

 

I'm really sorry you're feeling so rough and all over the place right now. Much of what you posted I really don't have an answer for to be honest. I know how hard tapering and recovery can be. You began two meds that can be a factor in this as well, so from my way of thinking it's tough to know what's going on.

 

Of course you can go to 4 doses if you would like to, but for now why not stay where you are in case your body takes changing the doses as a cut. I know it's hard to eyeball the doses. I did that myself for a long time, and truthfully I noticed no difference myself. You're not interested in doing a liquid so right now this is your only option unless you change your mind.

 

Much of the mood and feelings you're expressing can be benzo related or the other meds you're taking start up, or simply the natural feelings of doubt and fear we all experience at times. I know so much of what you're reading here is probably overwhelming. It's a lot to take in...there are many sections of the forum I simply can't read since I become upset too easily myself.

 

You will be you again. I'm sure of it. A lot of this is normal fears and anxiety about tapering. It can also be very lonely I will agree. I hope you can just take a deep breath and take each day as it comes for now. I know that's difficult at times, but staying in the present is how I've managed my taper and post jump experience. You're going to be ok 

 

Saga

[[Ki...]]

Hi NYC - I don't think getting rid of a dose would make things easier. I think that would be tough to do as you would be increasing the time between doses and the key is to keep the drug level even in your bloodstream. I think you need some stability here so you are already symptomatic.

 

Please know the symptoms you are feeling are NORMAL for w/d. I've had depression, subsided ideation, brain surges, numb feet, tremors, crying for no reason, depersonalization, derealization, vertigo, panic attacks, anxiety, blurry vision....the list goes on. I'm not sayin these things to scare you, I don't get them all at once, but withdrawaling from these drugs is challenging. BUT, you can do it and remain FUNCTIONAL. The fear of going crazy or never being the same again is very real, but it's a benzo lie. People do heal. Every day. Go read the success stories, they help put things in perspective.

 

Keep posting, we are here for you 

[[...]]

Hi again all you supporters and Saga and Kiddo,

Just ordered the scale.

 

Feeling a little better this hour. I keep reading about "waves" and "windows" and assume a wave is a negative shitty time and a window is when you can see the light and feel semi-normal. Anyway!  Onwards. And I will read some success stories. I think that the five-six months I've been taking ativan made me worse in the head (maybe more depressed, sick, numbed out) ... and now getting off of it (the middle of the night panic attacks for one) is clearly challenging. I love the idea of a benzo lie. So glad to hear that. Will read some success stories but try not to overwhelm myself. And will try to do something fun tomorrow.

 

nyc