Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

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Welcome Heartsonfire!

 

So glad you found us but sorry to hear you are in the same battle as the rest of us.

 

Switching to a long acting benzo is an option. I tried to switch over to Valium unsuccessfully. Looking back, it was time I wish I had just spent working on my taper from Ativan. I feel the biggest benefit of tapering directly from Ativan is that, if you make any changes, you know pretty quickly if it is a positive change or not. A direct taper from Ativan is definitely doable!

 

I too agree that dosing 3 or 4 times a day is beneficial. I personally dose 4 times a day.

 

I was like you, the more Ativan they prescribed me the worse my symptoms and anxiety got. I truly felt like I was going crazy. But the body is amazing and we do heal!

 

I too agree with the group and feel daily liquid micro tapering works well. But no matter what method you choose to start tapering with, the important thing is you have decided to get off Ativan!!!

 

As you have heard already, go slow, go slow, go slow. It is so easy to get anxious to speed things up when you first start out.

 

Hoping you find some answers in our experiences.

Committed

 

[[he...]]

Hi all — thanks so much for your messages and sharing your experiences. I already feel less alone. I think I will try a direct taper rather than switch to something else and then taper. I think dosing more than once a day is good advice too — I have wondered if my escalating symptoms (including physical) were withdrawal symptoms/ rebound anxiety between doses. I’m at work at the moment and can’t read the links to tapering schedule and liquid dosing info. Do I need special equipment to make the liquid? Do I need a gram scale? If anyone can tell me what to get, I will get it tomorrow!

 

Also thank you for validating this crazy feeling. I will draw from your hope and successes.

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Wecome Heartsonfire. There is movement here to rename us "Ativan Haters." We shall see how that goes. You will make only the second person here now except me solely taking  one dose for sleep. I am also an RN too! I have been on Ativan since the end of March. I began at 4mg and have got myself down to .33mg. I dry taper and cut with a microgram scale and a blade designed for micro cuts and tweezers to move the crumbs to the scale. I am trying to think if anyone hear did the valium transition, but I don't think so, or someone did and it did not work. Most here have gravitated to liquid, but I had success cutting.

 

We truly support each other herer. We try and avoid horror stories but we do get to share our ups and down. I NEVER COULD HAVE MANAGED MY TAPER UNLESS I FOUND THIS BLOG. I am serious. Psychiatrists sure know how to get us on this stuff, but mostly are unable to help us to taper off. I do not blame my psychiatrist though. After my Ambien suddenly stopped working (long story) we tried EVERYTHING and the benzo was the only last option. I am an academic administrator and all my life if I do not get 8-9 hrs of sleep I do NOT function. If I or us can help in any way, we will try. Good night all. Powerball.

[[PV...]]

Hi  all

 

I thankful everybody who helped me  .and i will appreciate  them  .

 

I go  through  all links  which i have received,  for taper  off Ativan  tablets.  but while in  taper period , since  2 days  i started taper

2 mg  to  1.5  Mg  in THREE times  a day with  water, but  due to this taper  tablet , in night times also  i could not take  more than 1.5 mg,  so i could not sleep  3 hours also. whole night .this is the  problem  i faced  since 2 NIGHTS.  hence please,  any body can 

help me  in this connection , for INSOMNIA  .what  should i consume other type of medicine  in lieu of  Ativan  increasing  dose. please  reply.

 

thanking  every body

 

PVMN10

 

 

     

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pvmn ,

Welcome to the site, there are many here that struggle with insomnia , That has been the worst symptom for me I have gone days and nights with no sleep at all for a very long time, I choose not to take anything and just let my body take care of itself, this is very difficult to do and some may not agree, but I am sure that someone else will respond that will have some advice on other things that may help.

Wishing you well, and time is the real only thing that helps.

Lisa

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Hi Pvmn!  I think you're tapering too fast.  You should cut no more than about 5 to 10% every week to 10 days, I think.

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since  2 days  i started taper

2 mg  to  1.5  Mg  in THREE times  a day with  water, but  due to this taper  tablet , in night times also  i could not take  more than 1.5 mg,  so i could not sleep  3 hours also. whole night .this is the  problem  i faced  since 2 NIGHTS.  hence please,  any body can 

help me  in this connection , for INSOMNIA  .what  should i consume other type of medicine  in lieu of  Ativan  increasing  dose. please  reply.

Good Morning PVmn, 

 

Good work participating on an English forum when it is not your main language.  Do you speak Hindi? I speak two other languages so I appreciate the challenge. I am a little bit confused by your description.    If you don't mind answering some questions, it would help us to understand your situation.

 

1. First of all, what taper method and schedule are you trying?

 

2.  Did you immediately reduce your total daily dose from 2mgs daily to 1.5mgs? That would be a large 25% cut which could contribute to symptoms such as insomnia.

 

3.  Did you reduce your night dose?  What are the current amounts of your three daily doses?  Some of us take more at night to sleep.  I take 50% of my total daily dose at night to help me sleep.

 

4. If you are starting a liquid taper, did you dissolve your tablets only using water?  Ativan is not soluble in water.  It is necessary to use a solvent like alcohol to dissolve Ativan before adding water to make a solution.  How are you measuring your doses? 

 

You answers could help us to better understand your overall situation and possibly why you started experiencing insomnia two nights ago. I think it would be better to consider your schedule and method before trying another medication for sleep. 

 

We look forward to your reply and clarification.

 

Sincerely,

 

Luey

 

 

 

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I’m at work at the moment and can’t read the links to tapering schedule and liquid dosing info. Do I need special equipment to make the liquid? Do I need a gram scale? If anyone can tell me what to get, I will get it tomorrow!

Good morning HeartsFire,

 

The link AF1 sent you for liquid tapering gives a good description and illustration of the supplies you need.  Did you have a chance to read it? Please let us know if you have any questions.

 

You might have noticed that the "README FIRST" links are descriptions that are part of a computer application developed by Jim Hawk, a BB member.  I think his descriptions for Daily Liquid Micro Tapering (DLMT) are overall the best I have seen whether you use the application or decide to do your own math/schedule.  You can play with the application to come up with some possible tapering schedules to start with.  I personally wanted to learn how to do my own math so I could be more certain about the numbers.  Let me know if you want help or more info.  Here's the main link for Jim Hawk's application.  http://benzo.alwaysdata.net

 

Wishing you peaceful moments in your day,

 

Luey

 

 

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Luey, you're amazing!

[[Co...]]

AF1 - I was thinking the exact same thing! Luey, you are amazing!

 

PVMN - Welcome!! Glad you found us and I hope we can be of help to you.

[[Os...]]

Hi all, I found this thread after someone recommended I check it out.

 

I started a progress log, and a withdrawal support log. 

 

Long-story short, I'm tapering from Ativan.  I didn't like how I was feeling after 3 months on it, at 1mg per day (0.5mg morning and 0.5mg evening).  I'm down to .25mg morning and .125mg evening.

 

I've had some weird days and nights since tapering, but I'm doing okay so far.  I started tapering at the beginning of October.  I hope you are all doing well, and I appreciate any advice and support. 

 

Once I get down to 0.25mg per day, I plan to use a milligram scale and carefully dry microtaper.  My doc wouldn't switch me to Valium for a long half-life benzo, he was careless about putting me on Ativan (for anxiety) and told me I could either take it for the long-term, or just quit it cold turkey.  I'm glad I found out more on my own.

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Heartsonfire: As I am an Ativan for sleep only, here are some comments. Until I turned 50 (I am 58 now) I never used anything for sleep and I lived all my life with night eating syndrome, meaning I would get up throughout the night and eat once or twice which I could deal with. In women, they gain weight, in men we are less prone to that. When my night eating got out of control -  4 times a night-  I got exhausted, long story short, it all led to ambien for 8 years until it stopped working. On ambien, my sleep was perfect. 8 hrs a night, woke up refreshed, no hangover, but did have some of that "ambien behavior" occasionally if you know what I mean.

 

After that, like you, I had to find something else for sleep. I absolutely had to. After failing about 7 different drugs, we went to the Xanax and Ativan. The xanax doesn't really bother me but the 4mg of Ativan did, but we had to gradually move up to 4 to give me real sleep. It literally knocked me out, rarely eating ate night, but as Luey mentions, the nighttime Ativan (actually any Ativan dose) has a very short half life and my doom is around 4-5p when it vacates my system. I get nauseated and that often leads me to have less calories for dinner, which means a lower overall total calories/day which leads to MORE night eating. It is a vicious cycle. My last two night of sleep where I reduced 0.001  - that is what AF1 did I believe  -I have had two horrible nights. Not because I cannot get to sleep, but my hunger pains woke me up 5 times to eat.

 

Today I have done an experiment. I have gorged myself today! to see if I sleep better. But I cannot keep this up or I will get fat. I keep meticulous records of my daily weight and I am 1 lb over what I was 8 years ago and I cannot afford to outgrow my work suits! The problem in the past was that my night eating had zero to do with calorie counts. I could eat a big meal at 12 mn (on a cruise for instance) and be starving at 2am.

 

So I recommend taking meticulous notes. If you are cutting, get a microgram scale. Cut o.oo1mg off your pill (not easy at such a low cut!), see how you do, and hold until you are stable and you think you can progress. LIsten to your body. ALL OF US are different here. AFI says the low doses are the hardest to taper. But the nausea is going to be there. Usually it is not that bad, and it comes and goes. Some days I have none. I have never considered multi-dosing during the day because I need my full dose for sleep and it has taken me quite a while to get down to a lower dose and I still sleep.

 

But I do NOT calibrate my taper based on my nausea. I taper based on my quality of sleep. But cutting is NOT simple! Most every other pill has a different weight. So I weigh bottles. My previous bottle had a pill average of 0.119mg; my current bottle is 0.122mg; so my tapering dose had to be recalculated with a new bottle and new pill average.

 

I use the standard weight for every pill bottle and I do NOT weigh each pill in the bottle - that can be done, but it is madness! It can take me up to 20 minutes to cut my precise dose. Now I am down to about 10 minutes. This is complicated but once you get it, IT is easier. My belief is that your body adjusts to the standard weight and likes it. If you want my step my step by step method, let me know. Powerball. Good night everyone. I wish you no symptoms tomorrow or fewer ones. And AFI - keep it up! We are following behind you.

 

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Welcome Osprey! Lots of new people lately.  Glad you already know what to do and glad you weren't on the ativan for very long.

 

Thanks, Powerball! Yesterday and today haven't felt very good, but hopefully it's just a little blip and not how I'll feel for a while. If I could feel ok off ativan like I did the first 10 days then it's possible to feel that way again so I will.  Works for me. 

 

 

[[Os...]]

Thanks for the welcome to this group.

 

I'm doing ok I think.  This morning about 1.5 hours after I woke up, I had ringing in both ears.

 

Anyone else experience from a similar situation?  (a few months of daily 1mg Ativan, no increase due to tolerance, then taper off?)

 

Some guides suggest that there are a few categories of use:

 

-a few weeks (what doctors should be doing, but don't)

 

-less than 6 months

 

-6 months or more

 

The biggest thing I don't want to do is crash hard and have to stabilize back at a higher dose.  I'm down about 70% from what I was prescribed per day, but I see in a lot of these threads that people crash & burn once they either Jump or once their taper has gotten into the small dosage stage (like < 0.25mg /day).  I want to get as far away from this prescription as possible, but I don't want to crash and get stuck either.

 

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Osprey, when I started tapering I could cut 0.25 mg a week, but after I got below 1 mg I had to slow it down to cutting about 0.002 mg a day, then at the very end I only cut 0.001 mg a day.  Yes, go as slow as you need to.

[[he...]]

Hi friends. Thanks, all, for the support and the advice. I have read the tapering links and I took meticulous notes and did all the math. Today I am gathering supplies. Kind of excited for this kitchen chemistry with the solvent, the beaker and whatnot! I am planning to start tomorrow with divided liquid doses, 50% at night. Will see how it goes; hoping I can sleep. I am entering a long stretch of work, which makes sleep harder. I am wondering if divided dosing alone will even me out. I woke up with anxiety and nausea, sometimes I have this and sometimes not. I feel like my whole nervous system is jacked from this drug, hair trigger anxiety response. It's hard to believe that my body and mind will heal and find peace. I am drawing hope from your support and success. Peace and love to ALL. And I mean that!!

 

 

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Good Morning,

 

AF1 and Committed, Thanks!  You made my day.  Not sure what you think is amazing, but in keeping with the "amazing" theme, I dressed up as SUPER WOMAN yesterday to go help the neighbor kids carve pumpkins.  Pow! Bam!  Take that at.v.n! You are not going to hurt me or my buddies anymore!!.

 

PVmn, Hopefully you saw my reply to your private message. We're not supposed to give tapering advice on private messages.  Please share your information here so everyone has a chance to help you.

 

Osprey Welcome! It sounds like you're being careful and making great progress.  I hope you can safely and quickly get off since you only took it for a short time. Try not to worry about worse case scenarios if you can.  I think if you keep listening to your body and set your pace accordingly you will do well.

 

Powerball, Sorry you had a couple of bad nights. It's such a balancing act to figure it all out. And of course we do our best and then there's so much we can't control.

 

Heartsfire, Great job getting organized! The one thing that caught my attention was your plan to split your doses.  I'm wondering if it would be best to move just a little bit at a time.  When I switched doses around, I moved only a tiny amount from my night dose into the day and waited until I felt my body had adjusted. This process can take a lot of patience!

 

Keep hanging in there everyone, Peace and Healing to all!!

 

Luey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[he...]]

Luey -- thank you, moving just a little bit at a time makes sense. I'll try that.

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Luey, all the tapering advice and calculations and the fact that you speak 3 languages and that you helped the neighbor kids carve pumpkins are all amazing.  How appropriate that you dressed up as Wonder Woman. 

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THANK YOU AF1!!!  That is so sweet of you and really makes me feel good! 

 

Thank you for all you contribute here, your friendship and courage.

[[Os...]]

This morning I started with the next phase of the taper.

 

0.125mg morning + 0.125mg evening

 

Only sys so far is occasional tinnitus (ears ringing).

 

I'll hold here for a bit, and watch for sys change.

 

Slept okay last night, woke up at 2 am.  But that's probably because I had alcohol at a Halloween party.

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This morning I started with the next phase of the taper. 0.125mg morning + 0.125mg evening. Only sys so far is occasional tinnitus (ears ringing). I'll hold here for a bit, and watch for sys change. Slept okay last night, woke up at 2 am. But that's probably because I had alcohol at a Halloween party.

 

Hi Osprey,  I hope you have no problems with your new total dose of .25!  As long as your symptoms are minimal, I would not delay getting off this stuff any longer than necessary. Not sure if you've found this in your research, but from everything I've read, it's best to stay away from alcohol because it affects the brain similarly to benzos.  Take good care of yourself, Luey

[[Os...]]

Luey, I saw on your signature that you were able to CT twice, but then experienced dependency after 6mg for a few months.  If you don’t mind my asking, what caused the 6mg per day?  Did a doc put you back on it?  You’re currently tapering from the 6mg starting point?

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I was going to hang out in the post withdrawal board, but it's a scary place over there. My guess is that there are plenty of people doing well after jumping, but they're out there living their lives instead of on BB.  I had a few days of feeling a little yucky, but nothing unbearable. 

[[Os...]]

My microscale arrived today from Amazon Prime.  Unfortunately, it isn't sensitive enough to accurately measure amounts below 0.5mg.  At least it wasn't too expensive ($20).

 

I think I'm going to do the last of my taper by shaving the quarter pills with a nail file.  I'm down to 0.125mg 2X per day, and sys have been easier... not as much internal anxiety and insomnia as a month ago.

 

Any thoughts on how low I should taper before the final jump?  Maybe get to one dose per day of .125mg?  It is hard to reduce the pill size to less than a quarter pill, and Ativan doesn't come in dosages smaller than 0.5mg.  My doctor won't transition me to Valium, he said I could just quit anytime without issue, but I want to be careful.