Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Mo...]]

Good luck, NoFun!!!   Omni, hope your surgery went well!

 

I've had a sudden onset of sxs I had prior to ever taking Ativan; tingling in my left hand, cold feeling under my skin and facial discomfort/flushing. Appetite is gone again. all my neuro stuff has come back clean, however, apparently my c1c2 vertabrae are connected. the neuro thinks it's a "big nothing", probably something I was born with, and not connected to the various sxs I've had. My spinal cord is "clean". I just messaged my pdoc to see what she thinks and to let her know where I am with my taper. I was doing so well...maybe this last cut hit me later. It was a 25% cut, which may have been too big, but I'm going to try and stick to it. I had to cancel a lunch with a friend because I don't think I'd be good company right now. Just have to get through 4.5 more work days and then winter break. I hope these sxs moderate soon!!

 

Hugs and love to all of you! 

[[Th...]]

Good luck, NoFun!!!   Omni, hope your surgery went well!

 

I've had a sudden onset of sxs I had prior to ever taking Ativan; tingling in my left hand, cold feeling under my skin and facial discomfort/flushing. Appetite is gone again. all my neuro stuff has come back clean, however, apparently my c1c2 vertabrae are connected. the neuro thinks it's a "big nothing", probably something I was born with, and not connected to the various sxs I've had. My spinal cord is "clean". I just messaged my pdoc to see what she thinks and to let her know where I am with my taper. I was doing so well...maybe this last cut hit me later. It was a 25% cut, which may have been too big, but I'm going to try and stick to it. I had to cancel a lunch with a friend because I don't think I'd be good company right now. Just have to get through 4.5 more work days and then winter break. I hope these sxs moderate soon!!

 

Hugs and love to all of you! 

 

Thx mookie  !  I think splitting the 0.25 into two pieces is a good idea.  That is what i did, and it made the withdrawal much easier.  Good luck  !!

[[Sa...]]

Kick answered on the jumpers thread...you too NoFun although I'm super excited for you!!!

 

Mookie I'm sorry you're having a tougher time with this cut...I would agree try to hold on a little longer if you can and wait for it to settle some...remember these are uncomfortable but temporary sxs and you've done really well so far...I'm glad the neuro thinks your result is a big nothing...that should make you feel better having good news.

[[Mo...]]

Thanks, Nofun and Saga! Yes, it is a relief to know that my brain is ok, and my spine, too. These sxs now are just too similar to what I had prior, so they're annoying me more! But like you said, Saga, it's just temporary and will pass. Very hard time concentrating at work, but getting little bits done here and there. Thank goodness I'm not micro-managed.  Hoping tomorrow is better!

[[Om...]]

Hey guys. I was discharged day before yesterday. The surgery went fairly well. They use propofol to put me under. I woke up with some fairly heavy anxiety but it subsided quickly. It reved up my sxs for around 3 days, but nothing near like I thought it would do. Im so thankful for that. Thank you guys for your support. Im praying for you all. Ill drop back by in a few days 

[[Om...]]

Does anyone have experience with Augmentin?

[[Th...]]

Not during taper, but I have taken it before.  Always made me very nauseous

[[pe...]]

I'm at a slight loss how im going to get off this ativan- bought few gem20 scales they are too inaccurate. I am looking to reduce 2 % at a time.

 

 

[[wa...]]

Yes , I took it but had to discontinue it . It made me very nauseous also. Will never take again.

 

I hope your feeling better. I'm happy your home.

 

Warrior

[[Ki...]]

Omni - I'm afraid I can't be of any help....the only med's I've ever taken are benzo's and SSRI's....that enough damage for one lifetime 

 

NoFun - how are you?!?!? Keep us posted!!!! We all need hope to cling on to. 

 

Mookie - your the next one to "graduate".....how are you holding up? 

 

Warrior - happy to see you posting again, I'll come find you on your blog 

 

Pete - I'm not sure it's possible with the Gemini scale. Why not trying dropping .01 every 3 days or something like that instead? I'm not sure what I'm going to do either.....the liquid didn't work for me so I'm kind of out of luck as well. Have you tried the liquid? I think you did and it wasn't good, but I can remember 

[[Mo...]]

I'm holding up alright...the witching hour is getting to be a pain in the butt!! Such fogginess, facial flushing, headachy in the afternoon. But otherwise, I'm good and trying to stay focused on my next cut. I have had a couple of crying jags here and there, one today listening to a song. The chorus snuck up on me.

 

"Gotta look myself in the eye, and say 'it's gonna be alright'.

Maybe everything won't be alright all the time.

Gotta take these chances where they lie,

It's gonna be alright.

Gotta see things for what they are at the time"

 

How are YOU, Kiddo?

 

Omni, glad to hear you are recovering well!

 

Grateful it's the weekend!

[[Ki...]]

That's great Mookie.....well, it's not great per se.....but it could be worse  You are doing so great and I'm so envious that you and NoFun have been able to taper so quickly. I know if I go any faster I won't be able to keep my job and actively parent.....as it is I'm dangling precariously 

 

The family and I had a trip to Florida planned so I'm currently sitting in the van and pretending I'm not in w/d. It hasn't been completely awful so far. We have about 5 hours to go to get to our destination and have driven 18 hours so far. I'm "handling it" but not enjoying it. Ugh. This is such bullshit. Lol.

 

[[Mo...]]

I'm glad it hasn't been completely awful, but it sounds awful! I was so grateful that we aren't going to my hub's family Christmas party, and that's only a 2.5 hour drive!!

 

I know I've had a fairly smooth ride so far getting off this and I only hope it continues to be so. I have to remind myself that the weirdness going on is from w/d and not some horrible illness or issue. My therapist today was so nice, saying how unfair it is that it's so hard to get off these and how people suffer. I was telling her about some of the stories I've read on here, and making sure that I don't fall down a rabbit hole thinking OMG that's gonna be me!! Because, God willing, it won't be. My heart breaks for those having such a hard time with these stupid drugs.

 

Hope Florida is warm and soothing!!

 

[[La...]]

Get back to vacationing kiddo!

[[Th...]]

Kiddo, just hang in there, hopefully Florida will distract you!  At least it will be warm  ! 

 

I am doing ok, feeling a little trembly tonight, some mild vibrations.  Nothing i can't live with!

[[pe...]]

How do you suggest i drop 0.01 when i have nothing to weigh the drug accurately?

 

The tablets weigh each approx. 0.110. The scale which i have 2 of them just bounces all over the place even when stationery. I have calibrated numerous times and they are just basically cheap and crap.

 

I want to reduce the over all dose each time by 2%. I've got no chance with these scales. The suspension it took me 4 weeks before i leveled out a bit - up until then i was near goner with the symptoms - but I persevered then the pysch. wouldn't write me a script for it again.

 

So I'm left in no mans land again with severe teeth pain and gum recession everyday.

[[Sa...]]

Pete you sound frustrated and I understand your frustration. The liquids didn't work well for you. If you're planning to do a reduction like the 2% somehow I think you're going to need to make the scales work for you even though you're not happy with the calibrations. I don't see another alternative. Either liquid or solid.

 

Omni glad the surgery went well. I haven't used augmentin...

 

Mookie the witching hour...I know it well keep talking yourself through it...

 

Warrior big hugs...keep hanging in there

 

General pep talk...you can do this! You are stronger than you think. Just get yourself through every day. That's all you need to do. 

[[Ki...]]

Pete - you're asking for opinion.....I gave you one. I can only suggest ideas for what you have to work with. Is the scale 100% accurate? Of course not.....it was $20. Do you have another alternative? It doesn't sound like it. Unless you are comfortable making your own liquid at home than you are going to have to make it work.

 

SophiasNana and Rriver both have their Ativan Liquid Method posted.

 

Good luck!

[[Om...]]

Im not sure if I could help you with dry cutting pete. Ive only done the liquid

[[pe...]]

Sorry if my post came across as abrupt wasn't intentional.

 

I'm just in intense pain my teeth with lots of recession as I have mentioned before. Any frustration lays with the so called professionals who were supposed to help me. Its almost i can't believe this is happening and now i have facial burning and speedy effects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[Ki...]]

Hi Pete - yes, I did feel it was directed towards me. I'm a little overly sensitive these days too 

I'm sorry the teeth/gum pain is so bad....I get this too, but it changes in intensity. Gum recession and tooth pain can be caused by grinding/bruxism (I'm 90% sure that's the cause of it in my case). Anyway, have you tried a mouth guard? I just got one. Will be using it tonight to see if it helps over the next couple days.

 

As far as tapering.....are you comfortable making liquid at home so you can taper smaller doses? I've done it, it's quite easy to make. Omni posted a great method on this thread, and you can also look up Rriver and SophiasNana. That might be your best option for dosing consistency.

 

Let us know what you decide.....and remember EVERYONE heals/recovers 

[[Mo...]]

Mama is cutting the night dose tonight!  So I'll be at .625 spread over 5 doses. Wish me luck! I have chamomile tea at the ready for bedtime.

[[je...]]

I have this scale & works great.  No bouncing.  American Weigh Scales GEMINI-20 Portable MilliGram Scale, 20 by 0.001 G

[[Mo...]]

Hi all. I am new to this...and thank heavens I found this forum because I thought I was the only one and going crazy. I am tapering from 2mg after 8 weeks of Ativan use...it was sporadic in the beginning and when I realized there was an issue I was taking no more than 2 mg a day...the biggest dose (1.5) at night. I cut from 2 to 1.75 12 days ago and it seems that my withdrawal symptoms are worse than the beginning of the cut. What is this and is it normal? I thought I would be stabilized by now...most of the symptoms are nausea, jittery, mild anxiety...will this get worse as I continue down even after just one cut???

 

I do have a doc on board with a taper plan...he has me doing 1/4 cuts every 2 weeks. I read that 5-10 percent is much smoother. The water titration rattles me...am I able to scale dry pills?? To do 10 percent instead? I am grasping with the fact that I was only on them for 8 weeks and what a mess!! Not sure that I would do a crossover as I was only one them for 8 weeks...but may be more doable??? What's everyone's experience? Also...any withdrawal relief tips would be great! I do espom salt baths and heating pads...but as I have 3 children...cannot sit in tub all day. LOL. Anyone take supplements that seem to help?

 

Kudos to all of you tapering down. Thanks in advance.

[[Th...]]

Mookie, good luck with your cut!

 

MooseMom,  good to meet you!  I am sorry you are still feeling pretty sick after 12 days, i hope you stabilize soon.  It took me a good two weeks in the beginning to stabilize; after that, my taper was very manageable.  Hopefully it will be like that for you.

 

Epsom salt baths are great, they helped me a lot.  Also, i didn't have caffeine until the symptoms eased up.  My doctor prescribed me gabapentin for the shakiness, it helped me very much, but it doesn't work for everyone.  Also, i am now tapering off the gabapentin (i jumped from ativan on 12/17), so it is another medication you would have to taper from.

 

Inositol seems to help me a little bit with the jitters.  But i didn't try that until about a month ago, i was too worried about trying out new supplements, not knowing how they would affect me.

 

Distracting yourself helps a lot.  I have three kids, too, and being busy helped.  Even though it was hard at times.

 

You will be ok, just go slow, and try not too worry too much.  Not easy, but you will be ok