Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[sa...]]

I got off Ativan too!

Keep going, friends.

[[Fr...]]

Hi B.B. .... I am so glad  I found this thread. I have been on 2 mg daily of Ativan for nine years .  My doctor started tapering me in June and cut 25%, which I am still holding at .  He also added 25 mg Zoloft  and is not willing to switch me over to Valium. V.  I am really ecstatic to see some people manage to directly taper from Ativan and looking forward to positive support on this thread

[[bo...]]

Absolutly .. it is very possible. I remember when I couldn't tolerate the Valium switchover and was worried sick about how to do it from Ativan . Very very slowly is the answer and I went to a liquid taper which made it easier I think .. best of luck

[[Fr...]]

Thankyou Bozo for the support.  I will be calling my doctor to see if liquid form is available, especially once I get to smaller doses .

[[si...]]

Hi ativan co-sufferers

 

I realized only yesterday that ativan is a fast acting benzo so in 6-10 hours its effects stop then I experience horrible intermitend withdrawal (

 

So I even them out, 1mg for breakfast, 1 mg after 8 hours and 1 mg to sleep.  But i intend to do a very slow taper next month.

 

I see that each benzo is different, they all grip us the same way but its a diferent thing taking valium (long half life) and ativan (short half life).  Im so glad i found others here in this thread who have experience with ativan in specific.

[[Se...]]

Thankyou Bozo for the support.  I will be calling my doctor to see if liquid form is available, especially once I get to smaller doses .

 

I had a pharmacy make up the liquid for me.  It was 0.1 mg/ml, and I had them fill pre-loaded oral syringes all measured out to avoid any mess, or inaccuracy.  I picked up a weeks worth of syringes at a time, so I would have 21 syringes in total as I dosed three times per day.

[[bo...]]

Excellent .. good luck x

[[Fr...]]

Hello all,  How do I go about  switching to liquid Ativan.... Would you recommend I need to ask my doctor, or the pharmacy?

[[ol...]]

What brand of lorazepam is everyone taking? I have been getting Watson from WalMart forever. Now, they have given me three different makers over the last year. This screws me all up. Does anyone have a favorite maker that seems to work better?

[[si...]]

@[Ol...]

 

YES, absolutely, and as in your case, switching brands  made things worse.

 

I cannot say the brands cause it will indicate in which country I was permanent resident at. They are produced there by some company. Two different brands = two different companies in one country.

 

One of them (lets call it tosleep-benzo) puts me to sleep faster, while the other (sedation-benzo)_, and thats where I got to abusing them, doesnt really make me fall asleep but makes me really sedated...

 

They have different effects and potency.

 

When for a while my doctor prescribed only sedation-benzo brand, I ended up , updozing all the time, because 1mg of sedationbenzo would not put me to sleep as tosleepbenzo would. I had to take TWO mg than 1.

 

Different brands have differnet potency, even if they state same content ''weight''.  The basic formulation is the same, but somehow they arent the same.

 

So i confirm , from my part, what you say, and in fact its one of the main reasons I abused benzos

 

Now I stick to the benzotosleep brand, and trying hard to not mix them again, and use benzos just to sleep but its very hard ccause they ahve short life in the blood and intermitent withdrawal drives me insane.

[[ol...]]

Thank you for your response ☺

[[Fr...]]

My old Pharmacy switched manufacturers three different times. My new pharmacy gives me the generic lorazepam made by Watson .  It’s hard for me to say I have noticed any difference in the manufacture. Never really thought of that .....

[[ol...]]

The original Watson worked well and seemed consistent. Mylan gave me tinnitus and stomach upset.Just got new Watson by Actavis. Hope it works. Leader brand got flushed down the toilet.

[[Fr...]]

The Watson seems to work fine for me, so hopefully you should be OK as well

[[Pr...]]

Ativan

 

I thought I would share my taper plan thus far.  I have had some symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and some nausea but other than that it has worked well for me and I am able to make a cut every 14 days.

 

I cut 5% every 14 days and then hold for 14 days.  I cut the tablets using a razor knife and weight the tablets on a scale.  I intend to keep four doses all the way until the end.  Once the doses are very small I will crush them into a powder, weigh them, put the powder in my mouth and chase with water.  Here is an example of the calculation of doses:

 

 

So I cut one dose at a time starting from the bottom.

 

My current doses are

Dose 1: 0.34

Dose 2: 0.34

Dose 3: 0.33

Dose 4: 0.32

Total = 1.33mg (hold for two weeks)

 

Then I calculate 5% of 1.33mg which is 1.26mg.  That is a 0.07mg difference, so then my doses will be

Dose 1: 0.34

Dose 2: 0.34

Dose 3: 0.33

Dose 4: 0.25

Total = 1.26mg (hold for two weeks)

 

Then I calculate 5% of 1.26mg which is 1.20mg.  That is a 0.06mg difference, so then my doses will be

Dose 1: 0.34

Dose 2: 0.34

Dose 3: 0.27

Dose 4: 0.25

Total = 1.20mg (hold for two weeks)

 

and so on and so forth.  I really hope this helps someone.

 

1.33 – August 26 2018

1.26 – September 9 2018

1.20 – September 23 2018

1.14 – October 7 2018

1.08 – October 21 2018

1.00 – November 4 2018

0.95 – November 18 2018

0.90 – December 2 2018

0.85 – December 16 2018

0.75 – December 30 2018

0.70 – January 13 2019

0.65 – January 27 2019

0.60- February 10 2019

0.55 – February 24 2019

0.50 – March 10 2019

0.45 – March 24 2019

0.40 – April 7 2019

0.35 – April 21 2019

0.30 – May 5 2019

0.25 – May 19 2019

0.20 – June 2 2019

0.15 – June 16 2019

0.10 – June 30 2019

[[bo...]]

Great explanation and will be a real help to people. I notice that you take your smallest dose at night ? I usually kept my biggest dose for the night due to my chronic insomnia .. just suggesting that because it might be a tweak someone might like to make if insomnia is an issue .

Thanks for sharing

[[si...]]

I used to take only at sleep 1-2 mg and suffer day intermittent WD:/ But I didnt know...

 

NOw I try to even it out.

 

1 mg to  sleep

0.50 when i wake up

0.50 after 6 hours

0.50 after 6 hours

(sometimes an extra 0.50)

------------------------------------>  2.50-3.00 mg/day, in 4 doses with a heavier dose to sleep

[[bo...]]

It was just a suggestion for others .. the taper plan is great , but the dosage is an individual thing. I personally used to have my total daily dose in a glass of water and sip at it during the day when needed . ( with the most at night) that worked for me but wouldn’t for everyone . It’s important to know you can tweek plans to suit your own needs .. you are very wise taking it throughout the day if you used it only for nighttime previously ..

[[si...]]

Actually im sad to say im back to 2 mg to sleep as with 1 or even 1.5 mg i had less sleeing time and less rest resulting into less productivity so...

 

Im back to 2mg to sleep and 0.50 cuts for morning and afternoon , total 3 mg/day :/

I have lots of things to do (moving houses + exams) so right now i can't deal with a withdrawal. Will do it once im settled (finally)

[[bo...]]

And Simplitic that’s absolutely fine .. none of us are here to judge one another. We just do the best we can with what we’ve got . Once things  have settled you can turn your attention to it again. BB x

[[NW...]]

Hello, fellow taperers.  I continue to get lower in dosage (.175) but don't currently feel at all ready to jump.  Question to Bozobertie and others who have made the jump:  how did you decide you were ready at .17 mg/day or wherever you decided to stop completely? 

 

As I've done my whole taper, I continue to listen to my body.  But I would love any insights from those who have recently made the jump.

 

Cheers!

[[Su...]]

Hello, fellow taperers.  I continue to get lower in dosage (.175) but don't currently feel at all ready to jump.  Question to Bozobertie and others who have made the jump:  how did you decide you were ready at .17 mg/day or wherever you decided to stop completely? 

 

As I've done my whole taper, I continue to listen to my body.  But I would love any insights from those who have recently made the jump.

 

Cheers!

Hi

I’m not tapering Ativan but another short acting. There is some wisdom to the idea of stepping or walking off.. continuing to taper done to almost nothing, noting sxs and then walk off from fumes. Many people have missed acute with this method!

😊👍🏻

SS

[[bo...]]

NW guy.. I really don’t think there is any right or wrong. I intended to go all the way down and do that stepping off thing and not jumping! People said you had less chance of acute. But at the end of the day whenever you choose you really don’t know how it’s going to be ..for me I was just sick of the whole taper process.. I think ( and once again for me) there is some psychological factors that come to play at the end of it all . I just decided one morning I’d had enough and just stopped. From what some would say was a relatively high dose. I had no ‘acute’ period. Even now at nearly 17 months off , I still experience sx. They come and go .. insomnia is still there , although not as bad as it was in taper. Anxiousness is still there , although not as bad ..I have had all sorts of other things over the past 17 months , but over all I am doing well . I guess what I’m saying is the sx are not going to stop straight off when you do . So if you’re waiting for less sx before you stop I’m not sure that will ever happen ? What is it you are waiting for before stopping?

[[te...]]

Could someone please try and help me with a tapering plan.

I cant work the one provided on this site, I dont understand it,

I am currently on 0.5 mg of ativan one time a day and am trying to get off , by pill splitting.

but i think it is not getting accurate as i get to lower amounts. I understand i can put 10 pills on a scale and weigh them. but how much do i take and when?

any help please

[[Pe...]]

Hi fellow ativan peeps 

I am literally just getting started on this taper - my scale should be delivered today.  I have been micro scraping my early afternoon dose for several days.  I realized about a month ago that something was very wrong when I went to the doctor for bouts of dizziness/vertigo. I was told to get back into therapy. 

 

I've had numerous symptoms for about a year, possibly longer as docs haven't found anything wrong with me.  I see now it likely was the lorazepam backfiring on my system.  I will be doing a Direct Taper Daily for about 9 months, longer if necessary.

 

Looking forward to getting to know some buddies! 

-PeacefulHope