Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Co...]]

Thank you Blkhawks! It is a shame that any of us have to be going through this.

 

Take care,

Committed

[[Ha...]]

Fwiw, Blkhawks, I agree with Committed.  I would just take your regular dose of A tonight and get back on track tomorrow.  I hope you feel better soon!

 

Haimona

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Hi Bikhawks, 

 

So sorry to hear about your bad day.  I know what it's like to feel like I needed to go to the ER.  I've come so close in the past but somehow I've always avoided it mainly because I was convinced they couldn't help me and would probably give me more drugs as the only answer or even make me feel worse.  But of course only you know how badly you're feeling and should absolutely seek help if you need to. 

 

I agree with the others to continue your ativan dose as normal.  Many of us have done a one time updose. I'm still wondering if you reduced too quickly- if any case, holding at your current dose seems best until things start to improve.  Hang in there my friend, one moment at a time.  I also spent a few months feeling sick and barely able to function when I started my taper.  Soon after I reached my lowest point of despair, I started to finally feel better and have felt a lot better for almost five months now.  I still have a long way to go and am just creeping along slowly with a liquid micro taper.

 

Sending you healing thoughts my friend,

 

Luey

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Comitted

You could not have said it better . I had all of those symptoms at the beginning . Still have a way to go and I am at a low dose , but it takes time a lot of time and acceptance

[[Bl...]]

thanks so much everyone 

 

i slept ok last night but morning anxiety is rough but common apparently. its 9 am but gonna wait until atleast 11 to take first dose

[[he...]]

Hi friends -- Blkhawks19, I agree with what others have said. Just stick to your usual taper schedule with the Ativan and don't worry too much about the one dose of clonazepam that you took (equivalent to more than your usual dose of Ativan). As Luey said, a lot of us have had an occasional updose/rescue dose here and there. I lost dear friend recently -- sudden and unexpected. That was really stressful and sad. During that intense period I used a small rescue dose a couple of times. It did not affect my taper and I kept going. I didn't dwell on the extra doses.

 

I too know what it's like to consider going in to the hospital. A long time ago I was hospitalized, and honestly I hope I never experience that again. In 2018 I was very close to going in again but I held on, increased my antidepressant and waited it out. Now when I have those overwhelming feelings I try to stay in the moment and do some deep breathing, go outside if possible, taking a shower sometimes helps change the feelings too. But I think everyone has their own threshold, and certainly if you feel unsafe you should go in.

 

And I know how hard it is to have to work when we are having anxiety/panic and possibly withdrawal symptoms. I have a bit of a high-stress job, and I work long hours. I keep a tiny rescue dose in my pocket. I have not taken one at work since November. Sometimes now I find I feel better at work than at home -- like it's a relief from my own thoughts and feelings and problems. Maybe that can help you too? Also I really feel like I have less anxiety now at a smaller dose of Ativan -- it was really messing with my brain. This success helps me to stay positive about tapering.

 

Sending healing thoughts to you and everyone else.

[[Bl...]]

Thank you so much heart is on fire . It's a week I also have a bad head cold so maybe that's screwing me up too. Im so sorry about the loss of your friend .already this process alone is tough but too lose someone  close is unbearable. All the best 

[[Bl...]]

sorry to be annoying ..should i updose to my previous dose at this point.

[[...]]

sorry to be annoying ..should i updose to my previous dose at this point.

Hi Bikhawks, How are you feeling today? The two choices I've read about on Benzobuddies are 1. holding at your current dose until you feel better.  (That is the only thing I have done). 2. Go back to the dose where you felt ok, hold there until stabilized and then proceed at a slower rate by micro-tapering. I guess it depends on how bad you feel. I hope that helps and hope you have been feeling a bit better.  Luey

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Yeah I might do that no choice as much as I need to get off this garbage I need to function . How are you doing luey?

[[po...]]

Blkhawks

 

I am so sorry you ae going through this. I have had a couple of dosing issues (missed my Xanax and took the Ativan that then did not work; ran out of Xanax for the weekend  3 days -and only had 2 and had to decide which night to not sleep) but I am no where near what you are experiencing. Do everything you can try and manage your anxiety, dig deep to decrease your stress; I think you knew what worked before, try to see if you can get back to it and stabilize. I may be different here, but I have updosed several times since last March, held for a while and then began a micro-taper. I actually get better results doing a micro-taper. I know it will take longer, but now keeping my same dose for three days and then decreasing by 0.001 seems to work

 

Last 11/23/19 I was at .22mg of Ativan. I tried to go to .21 and I failed. I do not know what happened but I had to repeat updosing to sleep. I went as high back to .36mg and knew it would be a longer journey back. I spent 10 days in Peru and slept wonderfully and I did not taper at that time and held at 0.28mg the entire time.

 

Tonight is a big night for me. I return to the 0.21 mg for the first time since 11/23. I am optimistic it will go better this time. I wish you more healing. My issues are so far minor than yours so I will pray more for you than for myself. Actually, I will pray for all of us. Good night Powerball.

 

[[Bl...]]

hey powerball its tough for all of us! im so glad your almost at the end keep it up ! does ativan disolve in alchohol? last time i put a pill in a water bottle with just water until it was gone and drank it as a test to see how i would absorb the pill but felt like i took nothing maybe thats why it failed because it was only water .. i need vodka? Good luck on your cut Powerball you got this!!

 

hope you guys are holding up !! 

 

 

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Powerball, I have a good feeling about your progress.  Congratulations for .21mgs.!

 

Bikhawk, I agree, I also had to hold and slow way down this time last year because I was barely functioning after tapering too fast.  Now everyday I am grateful and amazed at how well I am doing.  It seems like my energy keeps getting better and I haven't felt symptoms except a couple of weeks after the holidays when I ate sugar and caffeine.  I xc skied about five miles today and it felt great.  I am taking Lamictal for the depression/anxiety. One thing I have done this whole time is walking in nature.  It has always helped me to feel better and has slowly helped me build my strength back to normal.  I also follow a low-inflammation diet.  Daily liquid micro-tapering is working well for me.  Hang in there- many of us have felt poorly for months and then have had a long period of feeling good just when we thought we couldn't take it anymore.  Also,if your symptoms are unbearable- do you think you might need to adjust your other meds first?  I did.  And yes you need a solvent to dissolve Ativan.  For most of us Alcohol is the best option.  Check out this site for micro-tapering info.  Especially study the "README FIRST" sections. http://benzo.alwaysdata.net

 

How is everyone doing?  Hoping no news is good news, check-in sometime if you can.

 

Blessings and Hugs to all,

 

Luey

[[Bl...]]

hey luey

 

so happy to hear youre doing well on your taper. It gives me hope that it can definitely be done without suffering. I think my meds do need an adjustment. is lamictal good for anxiety as well. My zoloft isnt doing much

[[he...]]

Hi friends -- a quick check in before I go to work. Glad to hear we all keep truckin forward. Blkhawks19, we are rooting for you! I don't have personal experience with Lamictal, but I have read that it helps with anxiety. Maybe Luey is on to something -- check with your pdoc possibly a med adjustment would help with this transition off Ativan. I went back on a low dose of amitriptyline shortly into the taper; I do feel like that's helped smooth things out.

 

It's -10 here today and sunny. I love it! Took the dog for a walk, packed all my food and soon heading out. Tonight I'm making another small cut, and planning to hold here for awhile. There's no rush!

 

Hugs to all

[[Bl...]]

Hey heartisonfire. I'll call my doc today. Those cold sunny days are amazing .enjoy it . Im so messed up mentally but i can't lose this job . I feel like we're playing a video game and everyone is playing on easy or normal and were playing on hard . Guess the positive is were the stronger and better players 😂😂😂

[[po...]]

Heartsonfire -10 degrees, are you kidding me and you like it! Were do you live? My dog could not even take 9 degrees in NY two years ago. I did sleep on .21mg last night so that is a little victory. 4 mg of Ativan seems so long ago and still getting from .21mg to o.oo seems so far away. I am a little fearful at what dose I will stop sleeping, but I cannot worry about that now. My sleep hygiene is about a B. Not a B+ nor an A. But to manage my micro tapering, I have to live pretty rigidly, but I really do not mind so much. Doing the same thing everyday at the same time helps enormously. My husband even put a checklist on the wall as I walk out the door to make sure I have everything I need to go to work. I always look at that note.

 

Also, good news. Luey and maybe a few others know this, but I got a Promotion today! I am no longer the Interim Associate Provost but The Associate Provost, no Interim anymore. It has been a long haul since I took this job on April 4, 2019. I was about 3.9mg and I had just begun tapering on March 31. Looking back, it has been a long journey. But I will tell you all, the one thing I did for my tapering that had the greatest effect was moving right near my work, reducing my commute from about 1 hr and 10 minutes to about 15-20 minutes. I got a big part of my life back. I can even wake up and get my clothes ready for work. Before I literally had to do it the night before and then run out the door to work the next morning and often not eat that healthy. 

 

Good night all. Peace and love. Powerball

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Congrats powerball for all your accomplishments !

Lisa

[[Iz...]]

Hearts on fire- I also live in the frozen tundra but I hate it! Question- has anyone used lorazepam oral concentrate or is that not available for most?

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Congratulations on your promotion, Powerball! 

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Happy Friendship Day! 

 

[[po...]]

How nice Luey, AFI and Tech! My husband and I quit the Valentine's things years ago. It got too corny for us and dining out is SO marked up. I have had a couple of days with no nausea. Getting my permanent job sure is a stress reducer. I am going to SC next week to Myrtle Beach to visit my mom. She has a great time share on a great beach in north Myrtle Beach and I look forward to just she and I chillin' out and dining out together. Our little Kitty Patrick is OUT OF CONTROLL! I never had a kitten before and I wanted to get a rescue. He is 9 weeks old and he an our  6 year old Dachshund Wayne play so roughly! So I continue this micro-taper and I AM NOT going to F....with it. Good night all. Powerball.

[[Bl...]]

Congratulations on the promotion powerball!

[[Ha...]]

Good morning all,

 

I was getting some nights of better sleep.  One night I even slept 6.5 hours straight! that was amazing.  Last night was awful again, waking up every hour, which is the worst for me.  I have come to realize the uninterrupted part is more important than the total number of hours.  Every time it gets interrupted I don't get actual rest, the kind that clears away the toxins and the cobwebs from your brain.  But I think I know why last night was so bad, a stressful thing going on at work that I'm worried about. 

 

Meanwhile, I stay stuck in my taper.  Every time I look at the micro tapering information, it seems too complicated and I am afraid I am going to mess it up.  But I'm way too scared to cut my .5 mg pill down by another quarter (from .375 to .25) all at once. The cut from .5 to .375 just about did me in.

 

I'm proud of everyone who is doing well with their tapers.  This isn't easy, that's for sure.

 

Haimona

[[Bl...]]

Don't feel bad halmona I too was cutting by .125 and it almost killed me I had to updose hopefully I'll stabilise as cutting is out of the question for now