Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Co...]]

I know I am a little behind but welcome Blkhawks. Toward the beginning of my taper I tried crossing over to Valium. It did not go well at all and I ended up going back to Ativan. In hindsight, it was time I wish I had just spent working on my taper from Ativan.

 

Best wishes

[[Bl...]]

Thanks commited to be free how many times a day do you dose with Ativan I take it twice a day ?

[[Co...]]

I started out at twice a day but eventually changed to four times a day and it helped smooth things out a bit for me.

[[Bl...]]

ya i will start taking .25mg 3 times a day. today was rough i hope its because of my bad head cold . but my suicidal thoughts are returning with crushing aanxiety. i have to go back to work tomorrow and im freaking out about it. thank you all for answering my questions ! sucks you guys have to go through this garbage to but atleast were not alone i guess

[[Ja...]]

Thank you Luey, I’ll order what Jim Hawke suggests . I hope using water is ok.

[[po...]]

Blkhawks...as you return to work, whenever you feel the throbbing anxiety I recommend taking three deep breaths. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths, first breath in with you nose as deep as you can, hold briefly for a few seconds, and then release from your open mouth with two exhaling breaths. Do this three times. It is supposed to increase a relaxed state. It is very simple. Maybe it will help, it helps me.

 

I have had some pretty significant transient nausea. Most of mine is interdose from my single nightly dose, but today it came earlier and it is pretty persistent these days and lasts  about 2 hrs. The problem is that with nausea I have to return to my food fixes - food that still attracts me and often it is not very good. We bought a rescue kitten today, Patrick. We got the kitten to hopefully play with our 6 yr old little dog who wants to play. The 13 year old cat just wants to be left alone, and getting a second dog would just be too much work. Good night all. Patrick is in the bathroom sleeping with a room divider keeping him inside. He has his own bed which he really hasn't ever had. He played a lot today. He is exhausted and I am too. Good night. Powerball.

[[Bl...]]

thank you so much powerball. must be nice to have pets around for the company and to keep busy. i had a cat but it passed away and my dad is allergic so cant get another

 

all the best to everyone 

[[...]]

Thank you Luey, I’ll order what Jim Hawke suggests . I hope using water is ok.

 

Hi Jannalla,

 

I'm glad to hear your plan to order the supplies; it will help you practice and build your confidence.  Sorry I'm repeating myself, but from what I've learned on BBs, Ativan is not soluble in water.  Your dosing amounts would not be uniform if you don't dissolve it first. Jim Hawk gives alternatives to using alcohol as a solvent:

 

1. Use liquid Ativan, Intensol, available by prescription.  It comes as a concentrated solution that needs to be diluted with water to micro taper. No solvent needed.

2. Use propylene glycol as an alternative solvent to using alcohol. 

3. Make a suspension instead of a solution using Ora-Plus.  (Jim Hawk says the downside would be "the medication is not as uniformly distributed as when it was dissolved by a solvent.")

4. Do dry tapering using a scale.

 

I know all these options might seem confusing and difficult to make a decision.  Maybe go back and read both of Jim Hawk's README FIRST sections again and it will help you decide.  I also had to take a lot of time researching the different options, but once I got going with liquid I now find it routine.  Isn't it crazy how so many of are using these sophisticated micro tapering methods that most of our doctors don't even know about? Please let me know how I might be able to help.

 

A warm hug,

 

Luey

 

 

 

[[...]]

ya i will start taking .25mg 3 times a day. today was rough i hope its because of my bad head cold . but my suicidal thoughts are returning with crushing aanxiety. i have to go back to work tomorrow and im freaking out about it. thank you all for answering my questions ! sucks you guys have to go through this garbage to but atleast were not alone i guess

Hi Bikhawks,

 

I am so sorry to hear of your anxiety- I know how terrible it can be. Do you have a good pdoc who is working with you to adjust your other meds if necessary? Were your other meds working before you started tapering Ativan?

 

It took a while to get my meds figured out for severe depression/anxiety.  By the time we found a medication that worked, I had unfortunately developed a dependency on Ativan. I've been tapering now for more than a year slowly but surely lowering my dose working my way towards zero.  That has taken me a while to figure out too, but after a few bad months, I have finally been feeling a lot better for several months now. There is hope!

 

No matter what I think the breathing technique Powerball recommended is a very good one.  You will get this sorted out and you will feel better.  I truly believe that.  Don't give up hope.  It just sucks when your feeling bad and trying to figure it out. It can take a lot of patience. 

 

Luey 

 

p.s. I would not recommend making any rapid changes to your dosing schedule.

[[...]]

Hi Committed to be Free,  How have you been doing recently?  You are always so nice to help others.  I would love to hear how you are doing too.

Powerball,  Greetings from tropical Montana (-:  I know the nausea feeling all too well- it can be terrible.  I hope you, Patrick the cat, the dog and your husband all get into a good groove soon.  I hope you get good rest my friend,

Greetings and Well Wishes to Everyone,

Luey

 

 

[[Bl...]]

hey luey yes i have adhd, severe anxiety and depression. my illness is biochemical as well as most of family has it. im sorry you have to deal with this as well. i take zoloft and lithium i was ok until i starting working again and couldnt handle stress so i was given ativan. antidepressants alone use to help me but then stopped so started ativan what a mistake. its weird a couple of years ago i was hospitalized and given clonazepam. i was able to get off quite easily thats why i keep thinking of changing

 

thank you so much luey . and i wont make any drastic changes to my doses .

 

you are truly an angel

[[...]]

Hey Bikhawks,

 

Yes those of us who suffer from the terrible bio-chemical illness of severe depression/anxiety have to be super careful about stress. 

 

I also was able to get off ativan easily in the past just going cold turkey. (Check out my signature). But this time it caught up with me. Unfortunately it sounds like it caught up with you too.  My opinion is still to not switch to clonazepam.

 

Is your pdoc working with you to adjust your other meds? Are they supporting you to taper Ativan?

 

You'll figure this out my friend.  Sometimes it's just one day or moment at a time.

 

Luey

[[Iz...]]

Hello all. Izzy is jumping in here. I’ m questioning my existing plan. I’ve made it to 1.96 mg of Ativan by cutting my morning and and noon doses, but still take a full 1 mg in the evening ( not bedtime). So my dosing does not really keep symptoms at an even keel. My symptoms are mostly just physical pain- bone pain, burning, neuropathy. Do I keep going as is or do I start taking off the 1 mg. The trouble is my body is so accustomed to such a rigid time schedule I wouldn’t know how to change 3 into 4 doses. I am really pretty miserable before the next dosage Advice?

[[...]]

Hello all. Izzy is jumping in here. I’ m questioning my existing plan. I’ve made it to 1.96 mg of Ativan by cutting my morning and and noon doses, but still take a full 1 mg in the evening ( not bedtime). So my dosing does not really keep symptoms at an even keel. My symptoms are mostly just physical pain- bone pain, burning, neuropathy. Do I keep going as is or do I start taking off the 1 mg. The trouble is my body is so accustomed to such a rigid time schedule I wouldn’t know how to change 3 into 4 doses. I am really pretty miserable before the next dosage Advice?

Hi Izzy,

 

It sounds like you are asking two questions- 1. how to even out your doses and 2. how to change from dosing 3xdaily to 4xdaily.

 

The way I evened out my doses so I could reduce them simultaneously was to measure my full daily liquid solution in a glass measuring cup and top it off with water.  Then I drink the amount from the cup I want for each dose.  For example:  1/3 cup every 8 hours or 1/4 cup every six hours. 

 

You can customize to fit your situation.  For example I dose 4xdaily (every six hours) but take 1/2 of my total dose at night. I divide the other 1/2 into three parts.  Here's how I do it:  In the evening I use my syringes to measure my total amount for 24 hours into a glass measuring cup.  I top the cup off with water and drink half the cup at around 7pm.  I top it off with water again to one full cup and drink 1/3 of that cup every six hours.  My doses are scheduled for 7pm, 1am, 7am and 1pm.  (I don't wake up to take the 1am dose.  I drink it only when I wake up.  If I sleep through till morning I drink 2/3 cup at 7am)

 

To answer the question about how to transition from three doses to four daily.  I also decided to change from dosing 3xdaily (every eight hours) to 4xdaily (every six hours).  I did not try to taper while moving doses around.  I slowly moved a little bit of each of my doses to make a fourth dose. 

 

I believe some others on here have also moved their doses around so hopefully they will reply too.  I know the math can get kind of confusing. I put it all down on paper and sometimes had my math teacher friend double check it.

 

Best wishes,

 

Luey

[[Iz...]]

Are you using liquid lorazapam?

[[...]]

Hi Izzy, 

 

I make my own liquid solution by mixing a tiny of amount of alcohol (to dissolve the tablets) diluted with water. The porportions I use are:  1mg ativan, 2ml of alcohol, 8ml of water.  This 0.1 mg/ml concentration makes the math easy.

 

What are you using? 

 

Luey

[[Wa...]]

Thank you heartsonfire for all of these suggestions and congratulations on being 50% lower!

 

Hi friends and welcome, WalterB and Jannella -- you have found a good place. I am relatively new here, but since joining the group in November 2019 I have been feeling better about my taper and more confident that I can get off this poison. I have decreased my dose by 50%! The lowest I've been in years. Feeling mostly good. With the supportive advice of others here who have been tapering longer than me, I have learned to slow down and listen to my body.

 

WalterB I've had bouts of extreme, debilitating, near constant nausea. I am not sure what sets off those spells. Around 0.75 mg (down from high dose of 1 mg) it was the worst, this was also around Christmas with some added stress, poor eating, and an occasional glass of wine. Everyone is different, but I have found that slowing down (cut and hold until you feel better) has helped. As well as exercise when able, fresh air and sunshine even if below zero, and for me reducing/eliminating sugar and coffee, drinking gallons of water. You get the idea. I consume a lot of fresh ginger -- sometimes I make a tea, sometimes I just eat pieces of it, add it to most everything I cook. I did use anti-nausea medication on some of the worst days when I did have to function at work. It feels important for me to remember that these are just feelings in my body and they will pass. And they have! I've been nausea free for several weeks. I just made another small cut and so far doing Ok. I hope you find some relief and have moments of feeling better today.

 

Hugs to all! I'm grateful for this group.

[[Iz...]]

Mine is actual an oral concentrate -2mg=mL but then a 1 mg tablet in the evening

[[Bl...]]

I screwed up big time replaced my Ativan .25 this morning with clonazepam 0.25 because Im so desperate to get better might check into a hospital

[[Bl...]]

My doctor just called told me I could stay with Ativan but now I think I just updosed by taking .25 k instead of .25 a .

[[Co...]]

Blkhawks, I am so sorry that you are struggling. I know this is so difficult but YOU CAN DO THIS!!! If it were me and it was just the one dose of K, I would just continue with my regular dosing of A. When I first started tapering, I couldn’t read a book, watch TV, go into a store, I had trouble walking, talking on the phone, I was sensitive to sound, touch and light. (I had to shower in the dark because the light was too bright) and I cried ALL THE TIME. I also developed a terrible phobia of being alone. ER 3 times, hospitalized once. I was a physical and emotional mess. Although I still have a way to go, I am functioning so much better. I know it is probably hard to see right now, but you will get better too!!! Hang in there and remember time is the ultimate healer!!

 

Committed

[[Bl...]]

Thank you so much committed. Since I took .25 k which is equal to .50Ativan should I just take half the Ativan tonight .25 instead of .5

[[Bl...]]

I wish I didn't have to work for now. Makes it 10 x worse 😔 but other people are doing it so I have to suck it up I guess.

[[Co...]]

If it was just the one dose of K and it were me, I think I would take my regularly scheduled dose of A. Maybe someone else will chime in with their opinion. Ultimately you have to do what you feel comfortable with.

[[Bl...]]

Sounds good I really appreciate your response and thank goodness you got better from that experience! Noone should have to go through that ! You should be proud for going through that