Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[te...]]

Luey,

You are right have not heard from Commited, hope everything is ok. Glad you are doing well also Luey.

The group has gotten so big , its hard to keep track of everything, I am not good at writing so i just check in now and then, glad there are a good amount of people here to support each other.

Best Lisa

[[Wa...]]

Good morning, probably going to start taper on Friday from1mg. When I am ‘medicated’ this seems doable, when I start to slow down, seems impossible. The feelings of crushing anxiety returning scare me tremendously.

I am trying to have a positive mindset and want off this crap so badly. My family is all in, but I just have no idea how the heck I can pull this off.

I’ll post my taper plan soon. Ugh...

[[Ju...]]

Wanttheoldme,

 

I understand how you feel.  I was petrified in the beginning. I was scared, hurting, angry and in disbelief. I was questioning how I was ever going to do this. My dosing was all over the place and I was tapering way to fast at first. The support I have gotten here has been so helpful.  Once I slowed things down and put a good plan in place things have gotten much better.  I am confident you will get off this drug.

 

You were on for such a short time and I am glad you are getting off this. .

 

You got this.

 

JuJuBi

 

 

[[Ju...]]

Hello everyone

 

I hope you all are doing well.

 

My night dose has always been a bit lower than my other two day doses.  I have kept it there and not reduced it during my taper.

Now I am coming close to my day doses being equal with the night dose.

In a few days my doses will all be equal  .23 .23 .23

 

I am wondering if I should just keep on the path of lowering my day doses and leave the night dose and finish it last.  Or start reducing all 3 equally.  I know I may take the chance of interdose withdrawal again if they are uneven.  My sleep has stayed pretty good 5-7 hrs with one wake up (4:45 on the dot it seems) and I usually go right back to sleep.

 

I know I have to make a decision and go with it but any input is appreciated.

 

 

Wishing everyone a peaceful day.

 

JuJuBi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[ld...]]

Wanttheoldme,

 

Good for you. I just started a DLMT this week. We can do this together. It will help us both. You will be okay. The only way out is through.

 

LD

[[be...]]

Just checking in - all is going well with me and my taper. My 40th birthday was everything I could have hoped for last weekend, and I had a really nice symptom-free day for it. I’m now stabilizing at .125, and I’ll be heading to .1 in the next week or so if the pattern continues.

 

Juju, I think equal dosing is a good idea. Some like front loading for tough mornings or backloading for better sleep, but in my experience, the CNS just likes the stability of  a constant flow in the bloodstream. I hope you remain comfortable and confident whatever path you choose.

 

All others, keep up the great work! We will get there.

[[...]]

Hi JuJuBi,

 

"Listen to your body," always seems like the best advice.

 

In my 18+ months tapering and on this thread, I have seen people be successful with a variety of dosing schedules; everyone is different. I think it's best to take it when you think you need it the most.

 

I take more of my dose in the p.m. and it has been working out just fine. Inter-dose withdrawal symptoms have never been an issue even at my high starting dose.

 

As long as you go as slowly as you need to, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

Wishing everyone many good moments,

 

Luey

[[Wa...]]

Well started taper today after stabilizing 1mg for a few days .5am and .5pm,.

Today I dropped to .75- .25am and.50 afternoon.

Probably going to hold there for a few days then try drop to.50 -.25 morning and .25 afternoon. This one worries me because lately .25 usually doesn’t hold like it used to.

After that, I’ll need some guidance on cutting and weights as I’ve never done it before. Scale should be here next week.

Wishing you all a peaceful evening.

 

A

[[be...]]

wanttheoldme, congratulations on starting your taper! Welcome to the club. I couldn’t help but notice that those are pretty big cuts. Pay close attention to your body this week...some handle those just fine, but I know I sure couldn’t. Your body will tell your what’s right for you to do next. We are all here to help with the scale/weighing. You’ll catch on quick and be off this stuff in no time.

 

Be well everyone,

Beauty

[[Wa...]]

Thanks beauty, I think the .50 drop will be tough and noticed your.8?  These are the things I’ll need help with as I foolishly have no idea what that number is    

You have done awesome on your taper, how are you feeling?

[[Ba...]]

Hello Lovely People

 

I am now at .0625, the tiniest crumb I can manage to cut. I have only been doing a dry cut and hold. It's not necessarily the best way, but here we are.

 

I have to share my excitement. I am now one of those people who have a zero after the decimal point! Only benzo buddies would understand how that could be exciting 

 

I have a week left of crumbs and then I'm off. This took just under a year for the taper starting at 2mg. No idea what post-taper will be like, of course, but for now, I see the finish line. I'm turning 52 next week, so double prizes! Old and in withdrawal at the same time! Wooot!

[[Ju...]]

BaronessBlixen,

 

Good to hear from you!  That is exciting news and glad you popped in to share. What a journey you have had and you are so close.

 

Happy Birthday! 52 is not even close to old. I have you beat in that department. I celebrated my birthday this year in withdrawals from ct xanax. To Better birthdays ahead for both of us! Cheers.

 

JuJuBi

[[be...]]

Thanks beauty, I think the .50 drop will be tough and noticed your.8?  These are the things I’ll need help with as I foolishly have no idea what that number is    

You have done awesome on your taper, how are you feeling?

 

Hi, in the beginning, my doctor was directing my taper...I was trying to get off in a few weeks since I was such a short term user. I fell flat on my face between .8 and .7. I spent 8 days non-functional, and it was around that time that I found the forum and a Facebook support group. If you haven’t already, please read the Ashton manual...it’s full of great information and lays out some slower taper plans that the mods of this site generally recommend as guidelines. When I first joined, I also heard over and over again that you’re looking for cuts of 5 to 10 percent of your current daily dose every 7 to 10 days. Some can go faster, others need to go slower. Listening to your body is essential, and there is no wrong way to taper as long as you’re doing that and moving downward. I maintained about 10% cuts every 7-10 days until .4mg...then I just stayed with the Ashton method and have been tapering .05-.1mg weekly. While I have been functional and stable in my taper since just after the big drops, I cannot recommend my method/speed for you or anyone, as everyone’s taper is unique to them. You must find what works for you...once you get more comfortable, I think you’ll be amazed at what a pro you are at knowing what you need to do next.

 

When you see people’s histories, the numbers are the total mg taken daily (like my .8 you mentioned). To calculate those numbers, you’ve got to do a bit of math...weighing your pill and finding the weight of various mg amounts. For now, I would just focus on getting/remaining stable and waiting on your scale. When it comes, we are all here to help!!

 

Best wishes,

Beauty

[[Wa...]]

Thanks beauty. I appreciate the advice and clarification. Slow is smooth....I hope

[[Ju...]]

Wanttheoldme

 

I can attest to what Beauty is saying. Your body heals as you go. Slow and steady gives your CNS the time it needs to settle in between cuts so it can heal.  Listen to your body's signals. You will get the hang of this. 

 

We are all a bit different but for me I usually can feel my reductions in 2-4 days. I use this to guide what my next reduction will be.  I am on DMLT so it is not the same as cut and hold. You can still get to know your body's reaction and can base things off that.

 

You have support here and you will get through this.

 

JuJuBi

 

 

 

 

[[ld...]]

Hi all,

 

I'll pose this question to everyone who does a DLMT: I still am not feeling well, although the awful anxiety has subsided a bit. I have held at 0.15cc (I hear you Baroness, I can't wait to have the 0 AFTER the decimal point) for almost a week. How do I know when to restart the taper???

 

Thanks!

LD

[[ld...]]

Wanttheoldme, this is a link for you:

 

http://benzo.alwaysdata.net/

[[Ap...]]

Hi all,

 

I'll pose this question to everyone who does a DLMT: I still am not feeling well, although the awful anxiety has subsided a bit. I have held at 0.15cc (I hear you Baroness, I can't wait to have the 0 AFTER the decimal point) for almost a week. How do I know when to restart the taper???

 

Thanks!

LD

 

I've had to hold out 13 days once until I felt fine moving on. In those 13 days, 9 of them sucked. Right now I'm in another heavy symptom period and I'm a week in. My hopes are this current wave is similar length to last one. I can usually tell by how much I'm curled up in my bed and not wanting to get out. If I start spending a decent amount of time outside, doing small tasks etc, and I do that a few days in a row then I usually know I'm ready.

[[Wa...]]

Just got my scale (Gemini 20) and weighed my 1mg. It weighs .117gram? Freaking out. Sorry I might not be thinking right but can’t figure out weight thing. Can someone explain that to me a bit. I have scale set to “G”

I started taper yesterday at .75 so three quarter tablets. What should each quarter tablet actually weigh?  I’m sorry group, but have never used a scale and thought it would just read actual weight.

I’m really not an idiot ...really...but just want to make sure I do this calculation correctly, and going forward need to understand the conversion.

Any help would be appreciated !

[[Gi...]]

Just got my scale (Gemini 20) and weighed my 1mg. It weighs .117gram? Freaking out. Sorry I might not be thinking right but can’t figure out weight thing. Can someone explain that to me a bit. I have scale set to “G”

I started taper yesterday at .75 so three quarter tablets. What should each quarter tablet actually weigh?  I’m sorry group, but have never used a scale and thought it would just read actual weight.

I’m really not an idiot ...really...but just want to make sure I do this calculation correctly, and going forward need to understand the conversion.

Any help would be appreciated !

 

Want,

 

Divide the .117 gm pill weight by 4 and that will give you the weight of a quarter of a tablet. So each quarter would weigh about .02925 gm. G

[[...]]

LD,

 

I made up "rules" for myself.  If I had three bad days in a row I had to hold or at least slow down.  Then I had to have three good days or more in a row before moving forward or at least instinctively feel right about continuing.  The last time I took a two week hold was around the 1st of the year- too much sugar and break from the routine, not to mention the normal stress and expectations of the holidays. 

 

It helped to have one of my good friends always telling me to go slowly. I would talk to her almost every night.

 

One thing I will mention is I started feeling better when I started following the advice of my wonderful holistic M.D. to eat a low inflammation diet and other healthy lifestyle practices. I've always been pretty healthy but he gave me the encouragement to make some changes. Also, if I could get out for walks outside at least a couple of times a week it really seemed to make me feel better.  At first my stamina was low but now I feel strong again.  I really believe moderate regular exercise has helped me to heal.

 

One week is really not that long.  I remember when I started my taper from 6mg. I thought oh I'll be off in six months.  Well here I am eighteen months later and I am finally starting to see the finish line.  I will say I let go of expectations of how long it would take a long time ago.  More important is staying as functional and feeling well as much as possible.

 

It kind of boggles my mind how so many of you who have recently come into the thread have had difficulty tapering what I consider low amounts and/or short term use.  It's scary how much this med. can mess people up.

 

LD, I recommend you try to be patient and accepting of what is.  It just sucks when you don't feel well. 

 

Hang in there,

 

Luey

[[ld...]]

Thanks Luey. I like your rules. I, too, try to eat healthily. Low carb, low sugar. I was exercising regularly until this week. The increased heart rate while the adrenaline was high was just too much for me. Now that I'm feeling a little better, I'll try cardio again tomorrow. I love Pilates and did that today. It did help.

 

I find it crazy that some of us are having trouble getting off of low doses too. I think that it is all relative. When you start low but steady, your body and receptors adapt. The exact number of mg doesn't matter, the receptors regulate just the same. It is the percentage of change that matters when you stop. At least that is how I have rationalized this. Who the heck knows???

 

They teach us in DBT about radical acceptance. I strive for it daily. It is hard for me, but I try.

 

LD

[[po...]]

JUJU...many folks here know that at my emerging low does I took very slow micro cuts. 3 days at 0.04 and then to 0.03mg etc., My full plan was to stop weighing at the end 0.01mg and take the crumbs and halve them to 0.005mg but that seemed ridiculous. So from 4mg and after 1 year 7 weeks and 4 days I walked slowly out of the water and on to the sandy shore. I dry cut all the way. Saturday night I begin my first cut from 1 mg of Xanax. Luey said wait some time and I have. Good night to all you brave warriors. Powerball.

[[be...]]

Hello Lovely People

 

I am now at .0625, the tiniest crumb I can manage to cut. I have only been doing a dry cut and hold. It's not necessarily the best way, but here we are.

 

I have to share my excitement. I am now one of those people who have a zero after the decimal point! Only benzo buddies would understand how that could be exciting 

 

I have a week left of crumbs and then I'm off. This took just under a year for the taper starting at 2mg. No idea what post-taper will be like, of course, but for now, I see the finish line. I'm turning 52 next week, so double prizes! Old and in withdrawal at the same time! Wooot!

 

Delighted for you!! Please keep us posted on your progress. I am thrilled for my own .0XX moment coming in the next few weeks, so I know EXACTLY what you’re talking about. You are a joy to follow...I pray the walk off is easy peasy.

 

Beauty

[[Wa...]]

So looking out a little but would like to have a plan in my head to focus on , even if it changes, and need some help. Currently have 1 mg tablets.

 

Scenario 1- taper from .75 to .50 next Friday. 3 doses. What should each pill weigh?

Scenario 2-taper 15% off .75 next Friday. 3 doses. What should each pill weigh?

As always, thanks for everyone who helps here. It is much appreciated.

 

Waking up with awful surges...