Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Ta...]]

Hi Everybody,

 

I recently introduced myself on the introductions page and was kindly invited by JuJuBi to join this Ativan thread. I spent a lot of time reading the latest posts on this thread. It seems like a very positive supportive group.

 

I have been taking Ativan for six months. I seem to be building up a tolerance to it and it doesn't seem to be as effective. I have been trying to figure out how to get myself to start a taper. I am currently taking 1.5 mg per day, spread over three doses, eight hours apart. The prospect of trying to taper is causing a great deal of anxiety. I have a lot of questions about the best methods to safely taper.

 

I've been reading the Ashton manual and I'm torn between the idea of trying to taper straight off Ativan or making the switch to Valium. Can I get your input as to why you chose to to taper straight off Ativan rather than switching to Valium?

 

Thank you.

[[Ju...]]

Welcome Taylor

 

Here is a link with some info on substitution.  http://www.benzobuddies.org/benzodiazepine-withdrawal-methods/substitution/

 

Below are just some of my reasons for not switching

 

I knew how I reacted to Ativan. I had never taken valium and did not know how my body would react.

 

Valium has a sedative effect that I have seen some struggle with. I would have had to start with 15mg Valium. My doc and hubby both advised against it. They know me and thought that it was likely to heavily sedate me and make me unable to function and I have to work.

 

Reading through threads in the months I have been here, I have seen some do better on valium, I have seen some get stuck in between the crossover and seen some had to go back to Ativan. I thought I would at least try to taper direct first and leave that valium option open if I felt it was necessary later in my taper.

 

It takes a period of sometimes weeks to cross over which would have added time to my taper. It takes time for valium to build up in your system.

 

JuJuBi

 

 

[[Ma...]]

Hi Taylor, so glad you’ve found us! I know this is such a scary journey to begin, with so many options and variables... but so many have gone before you and have succeeded. So will you!

 

I have to echo JuJuBi’s thoughts... Ativan worked for me for such a short time, and the experience you’re describing of increased anxiety is actually caused by the meds once you reach tolerance. I didn’t want to chance adding in another very powerful drug into the mix. My system is too sensitive to have tried that.

 

I will say, that it will be tough at first, but I have found that as my dosage gets lower, the anxiety is lessening. This is because I know the Ativan is CAUSING my anxiety, and that there are other great ways that I have learned to calm my anxiety once it spikes.

 

Another option, should you decide to taper directly from Ativan, is to separate your dosing into 4 times a day... this may relieve the uncomfortable feelings you’re describing. The point is just to satisfy those Gaba receptors enough that they stop freaking out. Then, if I can suggest a daily Microtaper once you are stabilized, it will minimize your daily symptoms.

 

You are in the right place - we are here to help! Let us know if you need anything 

Maria

[[...]]

Welcome Taylor,

 

From my experience, I think it's better to stay with Ativan to taper.  My pdoc tried to switch me over to Valium, having heard it was easier to taper because of the longer half-life, but trying to substitute Valium for a portion of my doses I experienced immediate intolerable withdrawal symptoms. 

 

I recently finished an Ativan taper from 6mgs. to Zero in 18 months.  In the time I've been on the Ativan thread, a couple of other members who tried switching also reported a difficult experience and recommended against it.  (Maybe there are people who have switched successfully and are part of a different group).

 

I think the reason why Ashton's patients switched is because 10mg. Valium is considered to be equivilent to 1mg. Ativan.  So because the tablets are less potent, dividing Valium into smaller doses with direct tapering would be easier. But Ashton didn't use micro-tapering.  Liquid micro-tapering can help you accurately make the smallest possible adjustments to your dose allowing you to taper as slowly as needed directly from Ativan.

 

Good job advocating for yourself and doing your research.  I believe if you go slowly and listen to your body you'll be successful.  The moral support from this group helped save my life.

 

Luey

 

 

[[Ta...]]

Thank you all for your helpful responses. I noticed that all of you have used DLMT. I've recently seen this method mentioned a lot and I've done some research on it but I find myself being pretty confused by the whole process and I'm wondering if any of you can give me some useful guidance on how to go about using that method. Is it possible to do this method with Ativan using just water? I've seen some conflicting statements about whether or not it can be done this way.

 

Marwegs, thank you for your suggestion to switch to 4 doses a day. I have been wondering if that change would help with my interdose withdrawals. Should I simply divide my current dose into 4 (instead of 3) and continue on with 4 doses a day? Or does it need to be done more gradually than that?

 

I really appreciate all of your encouragement.

[[be...]]

Hi Taylor,

  Welcome! Ativan is not water soluble, so it isn’t recommended that you make a solution using water alone. Using a solvent helps to ensure the pill is completely dissolved and evenly suspended. There are people who crush the pills and suspend in water alone, but it just isn’t the recommended way for the variable it brings in. There was some great conversation about this very topic just a few days ago here along with help from badsocref and Luey about options.

  As for splitting into 4 doses from 3, some people jump straight into the new number of doses, and others prefer a gradual movement over. When I moved from 2 doses to 3, I moved a small portion of each of my doses until I got to the 3 equal doses. It took a few days to do it, and I didn’t notice much change in my symptoms when I did it this way.

  I’m so glad you’ve joined the board. Please keep asking questions! We’re here for you, and you’re going to be well again.

 

Beauty

[[ld...]]

Hi all,

 

I, too, do a DLMT. I learned from these wonderful, experienced friends on this thread.

 

I dissolve two 0.5mg Ativan tablets in two cc of 80 proof vodka. This takes about 60 seconds (to be sure it dissolves. There is some visible granular matter but I read that that is just other ingredients in the make up of the Ativan). Then I add 98cc of distilled water. This makes a 100cc solution where each cc equals 0.01mg of Ativan. So today I took 7cc of my solution. That is 0.07mg of Ativan. I currently use a 10cc and 1cc syringe to draw up daily (the 1cc syringe is b/c I decrease by .002 mg every day so I need the 1cc syringe to do that. I also have a 20cc syringe that I use to mix up my batch. I also read that the solution should be kept in a cabinet so it won't be degraded by light. A lot of the info I got was from Sierra and Builder, two older BB who are no longer on the thread. You can search older posts however.

 

I am currently in a wave, not feeling great. I've been off of the the thread for a while trying to work on getting better.

 

Good luck to you all!

 

LD

[[ch...]]

Hello all,

 

I have questions on how should I dose/taper from Lorazepam/Ativan? I have a milligram scale so I'm leaning toward a dry taper and I found this: http://benzo.alwaysdata.net/. My new psych has put me on 10mg of Lexapro because my original issue was going off Lexapro too quickly. Currently I only take 1mg Lorazepam at 8pm every night to sleep but I know I feel withdrawal hit me at like 11am every day but somehow I am able to gut through it but it is effecting work performance. Also this new psych is told me to cut the 1mg in half but that just made me sick, freak out and the other half of the pill. I tried this 50% reduction twice last weekend to no avail. So that's not working. I talk to him tomorrow. He keeps mentioning Klonopin but most here say not to switch to K. What do you guys have to say? I have most of my history in my sig.

 

In short my doses/day are:

Suffer through a bit in the morning - although Wim Hof breath work and cold showers help a lot

2pm - 10mg Lexapro (this ramps me up some makes me feel horrible, but hopefully that will subside after a while)

8pm - 1mg Lorazepam

<REPEAT>

 

Sometimes I get itchy and have to take a benadryl to knock me out.

 

My symptoms are: tinnitus, super cold feet, some swelling my right foot, racing/buzzing brain thing, HR goes way up and BP goes way down, waves of anxiety, etc.

 

I'm not getting a lot of work done each day either, but I'm trying. Usually 4-5 hrs after the Lexapro I calm down enough to try and squeeze some more work in.

 

As of 11:40AM right now I feel like absolute shit and I haven't taken anything. I keep pondering taking 1mg at 11am and 1mg at 8pm and then taper, but I'm not sure if that's a great idea either. I see my new psych tomorrow and I get to tell him how horrible I've been feeling but I don't think this is "normal" anxiety but interdose benzo withdrawal. He tells me it's just normal anxiety from my SSRI discontinuation syndrome (the whole start of this mess), but I'm seriously starting to doubt that.

 

Any advice/help would be much appreciated.

[[Ma...]]

Hi chillywilly - welcome 

 

A few things - were you given Lexapro to manage the Ativan taper? Or was this prescribed beforehand?

 

I have to say... any doctor that would suggest you cut 50% of your dose is not a doctor who understands a safe and effective taper, and I would hesitate taking their directive.

 

If you haven’t already, take a read through the Ashton Manual:

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

 

A reduction of 5-10% every 7-10 days is recommended, and even then, may be too fast for some. The goal is to calm your Central nervous system as you get your body off of this drug. To reduce by 50% is ludicrous and explains why you’ve felt so horrible - so sorry you are going through that!

 

I would try a slow taper off of the Ativan before you even consider switching to another benzo, especially Klonopin. The trick is is to give your Gaba receptors just enough to satisfy, which is why breaking up your dose throughout the day will give you much more relief . I was also taking 1mg for sleep at bedtime, but suffered greatly until I spread my doses out. Don’t increase to 2mg. Your body is set at the 1mg, so try taking it 3 or 4 times a day to give your body the sense that it’s getting what it needs. Ativan has a short half-life, but there are ways around tapering off without switching to a different benzo.

 

Lots of us here are doing a daily microtaper, either dry cutting or using liquid, and are happy to help you with a plan once you decide the reduction rate you’d like to proceed with. This is a great group... happy you’ve found us!

 

Maria

 

 

[[Ju...]]

ChillyWilly,

 

Welcome to the Lorazepam group.

 

I agree with Marwegs not to go to 2mg.  Many who experience interdose withdrawal have split their dose into 3-4 doses. For me it made a big difference.

 

When I split my dose I did it slowly.  I was on two doses a day. Morning and afternoon.  I did not move and reduce at the same time.  I moved a small percentage from afternoon dose to night. Held. Then moved some from the Morning to the night and held.  I did this rotation for 10 days or so until the doses were even and 8 hours apart.  Some can move doses easily and other experience wd. I found going slow made the move easier. In your case you might try starting with moving some of the night dose to the morning. Then a bit to the afternoon and rotate this move until you have 3 or 4 even doses.

 

We are all so different in the way we metabolize this. I have seen some creative ways to move doses. There is no hard fast rule to any of this.  We are all scientist in a way experimenting as we go.  My basic rule is take it slow and listen to your body.

 

JuJuBi

 

[[ch...]]

Hi chillywilly - welcome 

 

A few things - were you given Lexapro to manage the Ativan taper? Or was this prescribed beforehand?

 

I have to say... any doctor that would suggest you cut 50% of your dose is not a doctor who understands a safe and effective taper, and I would hesitate taking their directive.

 

If you haven’t already, take a read through the Ashton Manual:

 

https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

 

A reduction of 5-10% every 7-10 days is recommended, and even then, may be too fast for some. The goal is to calm your Central nervous system as you get your body off of this drug. To reduce by 50% is ludicrous and explains why you’ve felt so horrible - so sorry you are going through that!

 

I would try a slow taper off of the Ativan before you even consider switching to another benzo, especially Klonopin. The trick is is to give your Gaba receptors just enough to satisfy, which is why breaking up your dose throughout the day will give you much more relief . I was also taking 1mg for sleep at bedtime, but suffered greatly until I spread my doses out. Don’t increase to 2mg. Your body is set at the 1mg, so try taking it 3 or 4 times a day to give your body the sense that it’s getting what it needs. Ativan has a short half-life, but there are ways around tapering off without switching to a different benzo.

 

Lots of us here are doing a daily microtaper, either dry cutting or using liquid, and are happy to help you with a plan once you decide the reduction rate you’d like to proceed with. This is a great group... happy you’ve found us!

 

Maria

 

I was taking the Lexapro because my original problem was going too fast off the Lexapro and trying to restabilize. The Ativan/lorazepam was just my crutch lately but then I realized I started taking it 1mg every night. This shifting doses thing seems a bit tricky, I thought just taking 1mg mid day and 1mg at night would make it easier and more consistent. Guess not?

 

I was hoping to do a 5-10% taper every 10-14 days at it shows here:

http://benzo.alwaysdata.net/direct/directForm.php

 

Is that too slow? Can we work with the form there and come up with something?

 

Like maybe go over the input params to come up with something decent that I can even show to my psychiatrist? Hell I was about to take 2mg today...guess I'll try and NOT do that.

 

Oh and when you say take it 3 or 4 times a day what do you mean? 3 or 4 times a day for a total dosage of 1mg across those dosages? I was actually meaning take 2 x 1mg doses per day because that seems to be enough to keep things at bay for now.

[[Ha...]]

Hi everyone,

 

Welcome to all the new members.  You have found a very wonderful and supportive and knowledgeable group.

 

I am struggling HARD with benzo brain today (and a hard work day -- bad combination!!) so can't add much.

 

The taper is hitting me hard today, and I am struggling to believe that I will get better, although I will keep on going.  Brain fog, DP/DR, headache, anxiety, jittery feeling, dizziness.  It's not a good day.  Thanks to everyone here for all the support and encouragement.

 

Haimona

[[Ju...]]

Haimona,

 

Sorry to hear you are struggling.  Working and doing this is tough I know.  Just keep going and never give up.  You will heal and get through this.  We are all here rooting for you.

 

JuJuBi

[[Ma...]]

Haimona, I'm having a rough day too.... air hunger, doubt and brain fog... but JuJuBi is right... we will just keep going and we WILL heal. You're making progress! Celebrate the little wins. I like to look at my journal, and see that even if it feels never-ending, I'm actually making progress. You will get there. 

 

Chillywilly - I would again strongly advise against going up to 2mg.... that's not the way the brain works... you will just be feeding the dependancy. If you space out the 1mg throughout the day, it may feel rough at first, but you are giving your body the same dosage it is used to daily, just in little doses to satisfy the brain's craving. JuJuBi switched over gradually, and it worked for her, as she described. I did it over 2 days, and switched to 3 even doses. I felt rough for a few days, then stabilized. Some people do a larger dose at the time they struggle (some for sleep, so they'd take a bit more at sleep time for example) but many have concluded that the body likes routine, that even doses at equal times apart means for a happier nervous system. At least that has been true for me.

 

I set my alarm on my phone at 7am, 3pm and 11pm. Those are my dose times, and I stick to them rigidly.

 

So, your 1mg dose could be divided like this:

 

0.33mg, 0.33mg, 0.34mg - then reduce each dose evenly by the 5-10% per 7-10 days you are looking to do. I wouldn't say it's too slow. I would say start slow, then you can always pick up the pace if you are stable and feeling decent.

 

If you are looking to dry taper, remember that the pill's weight does not equal your dosage... it is a common confusion point, especially given our brains are foggy! Not sure what pills you have.... 0.5mg or 1mg? You will need to weigh them to get an average pill weight. To do this, I usually weighed 10 pills, then divided the weight by 10 to get the average.

The calculator you linked is a great tool but can be confusing.

 

A simple formula I used to calculate the weight of each dose:

 

(Dosage in mg) X (weight of 1mg of Ativan) = Weight of each dose

 

Ask if you need help, I'm happy to run some numbers!

 

 

[[Bi...]]

Hi All,

 

Well, I was all ready to switch at .25mg to DLMT with the help provided from all of you, but... I ran it by my Psych and unfortunately he does not support me using even 1 ml of vodka as a solvent, as I am a recovered alcoholic (sober 16 years). I received the exact same message from my therapist. He said that he will consult with a compounding pharmacy to discuss options for liquid microdosing not using alcohol. This may take some time as he will be out of the office for the next 10 days.

 

I just wanted to thank everyone for your help. Hopefully the information you provided to me will be helpful to others on this thread.

 

Best,

Bibs Jo

[[ch...]]

Haimona, I'm having a rough day too.... air hunger, doubt and brain fog... but JuJuBi is right... we will just keep going and we WILL heal. You're making progress! Celebrate the little wins. I like to look at my journal, and see that even if it feels never-ending, I'm actually making progress. You will get there. 

 

Chillywilly - I would again strongly advise against going up to 2mg.... that's not the way the brain works... you will just be feeding the dependancy. If you space out the 1mg throughout the day, it may feel rough at first, but you are giving your body the same dosage it is used to daily, just in little doses to satisfy the brain's craving. JuJuBi switched over gradually, and it worked for her, as she described. I did it over 2 days, and switched to 3 even doses. I felt rough for a few days, then stabilized. Some people do a larger dose at the time they struggle (some for sleep, so they'd take a bit more at sleep time for example) but many have concluded that the body likes routine, that even doses at equal times apart means for a happier nervous system. At least that has been true for me.

 

I set my alarm on my phone at 7am, 3pm and 11pm. Those are my dose times, and I stick to them rigidly.

 

So, your 1mg dose could be divided like this:

 

0.33mg, 0.33mg, 0.34mg - then reduce each dose evenly by the 5-10% per 7-10 days you are looking to do. I wouldn't say it's too slow. I would say start slow, then you can always pick up the pace if you are stable and feeling decent.

 

If you are looking to dry taper, remember that the pill's weight does not equal your dosage... it is a common confusion point, especially given our brains are foggy! Not sure what pills you have.... 0.5mg or 1mg? You will need to weigh them to get an average pill weight. To do this, I usually weighed 10 pills, then divided the weight by 10 to get the average.

The calculator you linked is a great tool but can be confusing.

 

A simple formula I used to calculate the weight of each dose:

 

(Dosage in mg) X (weight of 1mg of Ativan) = Weight of each dose

 

Ask if you need help, I'm happy to run some numbers!

 

Well I have 1mg pills and the weights are like 1.208 or so for 10 (something like that) so that divided by 10 is 0.121g or so if I round up.

 

So my dose would be:

2 * 0.121 = 0.242 ?

 

These numbers don't really jive with me. I am a bit confused. The pills end up weighing anywhere from 0.118g - 0.121g. I have the milligrams scale.

 

EDIT: If I plug these numbers into the website it makes sense though or at last if I choose the 3 dosages you mention.

 

EDIT: Also I wish I would've talked to guys earlier because I took like a 1mg pill at noon today already....hope I can sleep later.

 

EDIT AGAIN: How do I keep from wasting pills if I'm to break them up into 3rds roughly? They have like 1 score down the center. I felt better taking a 1mg dose mid day though but now I'm wondering if I'll be able to sleep now. That was pretty stupid of me I guess in hindsight but I felt like accomplished something today for work instead of suffering all day.

 

 

[[Ha...]]

Haimona,

 

Sorry to hear you are struggling.  Working and doing this is tough I know.  Just keep going and never give up.  You will heal and get through this.  We are all here rooting for you.

 

JuJuBi

 

Thanks, JuJuBi! I am definitely holding on to that thought, that I will somehow, someday heal from all this.  Today's a tough one, though

 

Marwegs, I am so sorry you are having a hard day too.  The doubt is one of the hardest parts, isn't it?? I guess we have to take turns on our good days cheering each other on. 

 

Much love to all of us struggling with this iatrogenic illness.

 

Haimona

[[ch...]]

Chillywilly - I would again strongly advise against going up to 2mg.... that's not the way the brain works... you will just be feeding the dependancy. If you space out the 1mg throughout the day, it may feel rough at first, but you are giving your body the same dosage it is used to daily, just in little doses to satisfy the brain's craving. JuJuBi switched over gradually, and it worked for her, as she described. I did it over 2 days, and switched to 3 even doses. I felt rough for a few days, then stabilized. Some people do a larger dose at the time they struggle (some for sleep, so they'd take a bit more at sleep time for example) but many have concluded that the body likes routine, that even doses at equal times apart means for a happier nervous system. At least that has been true for me.

 

I set my alarm on my phone at 7am, 3pm and 11pm. Those are my dose times, and I stick to them rigidly.

 

So, your 1mg dose could be divided like this:

 

0.33mg, 0.33mg, 0.34mg - then reduce each dose evenly by the 5-10% per 7-10 days you are looking to do. I wouldn't say it's too slow. I would say start slow, then you can always pick up the pace if you are stable and feeling decent.

 

If you are looking to dry taper, remember that the pill's weight does not equal your dosage... it is a common confusion point, especially given our brains are foggy! Not sure what pills you have.... 0.5mg or 1mg? You will need to weigh them to get an average pill weight. To do this, I usually weighed 10 pills, then divided the weight by 10 to get the average.

The calculator you linked is a great tool but can be confusing.

 

A simple formula I used to calculate the weight of each dose:

 

(Dosage in mg) X (weight of 1mg of Ativan) = Weight of each dose

 

Ask if you need help, I'm happy to run some numbers!

 

Well yesterday I ended up doing 1mg at noon 20mg Lex at 2pm and 1mg at 8pm to sleep and that actually worked out fine. I think I should just stick with the 2mg total at 11am and 8pm and that seems like it may be easier to wean. There has been 4-5 days where I did take 2mg in total for the day. I was able to function and write code for work (I'm a software dev) and the 10mg of Lex didn't make me feel like crap either. I was actually in a good mood as well. I don't know why I'm able to stretch things 15 hrs from bed to mid day (11am or so) but I am. So despite misgivings I think I might stick w/ 1mg Lorazepam @ 11am, 10mg Lexapro @2pm, and 1mg Lorazepam @8pm and start weaning the Lorzepam at 10% every 14 days or so and according to http://benzo.alwaysdata.net/ I'd be done in Jan of 2021 in 137 days.

[[...]]

Good Morning Friends,

 

My heart goes out to people in the group suffering terrible withdrawal symptoms from this drug.  Hang in there, I know how hard it can be.  I suffered from severe nausea and crippling fatigue for many months but slowly I recovered and am doing well and enjoying life post taper.  I truly believe it's possible to recover from the very real physiological damage. For me it was sometimes just getting through one day (one moment) at a time.  Holding helped me when I was experiencing difficult withdrawal symptoms.

 

I am amazed at all the detailed technical advice we give in the Ativan support thread these days.  When I joined BB only 20 months ago we mainly relied on each other for moral support in this group and got technical advice from a few knowledgeable members in the "Planning Your Withdrawal" section. But a couple of solid members who consistently helped many of us plan our tapers from that section are no longer active making it more difficult, in my opinion, to get quick and reliable help.  I hope new members are finding the info. they need.  I'm impressed how quickly people on this thread, even with a short time here, have studied and quickly are passing on technical details of micro-tapering, pill cutting, liquid measuring, etc.

 

It's also a bigger group these days which is good to see. For a long time we were just a handful of people. Now more people are finding their way here and getting support;  some of you have even actively gone to the introductions and guided people to this group. I also see how difficult it might be to sort through many different opinions, experiences and information.  In the end, i think the most important thing is to keep offering each other kindness and encouragement in tough moments and celebrating each other's victories. This group, since I joined, has always been so positive and helpful in that way.

 

We are all so different and in the end we all have to gather all the information we can to decide how to do an individualized, symptom-based taper.  We can't tell each other what to do but we can always offer moral support and share our own experiences. We're all so different.  For example- some people do better with 3 or 4 equally divided doses at exact times.  Or someone like me who did not need to keep exact times, i would take a morning dose whenever i woke up, my doses were not divided equally but rather I took a larger dose at night throughout my taper.  Powerball always just took one dose daily and did not suffer from inter-dose withdrawals. 

 

We are all so different but share the challenge of recovery.  I believe some simple advice is always worth repeating- Go as slowly as needed, listen to your body and take care of your overall health through nutrition, moderate exercise, loving yourself and managing stress. And never give up hope.

 

Peace, Health and Love,

 

Luey

[[ch...]]

What do you guys think is this tapering method? -> http://publish.lycos.com/benzo-taper/the-45-day-benzo-taper/

[[...]]

What do you guys think is this tapering method? -> http://publish.lycos.com/benzo-taper/the-45-day-benzo-taper/

 

Honesty, I think it's terrible and would set most of us up for failure or cause a lot of suffering.  I think it's much too dogmatic and mcuh too fast for most people on this forum. Again, an INDIVIDUALIZED SYMPTOM BASED TAPER is the best way to taper.  Maybe it could work for someone who hasn't developed dependency or experiencing withdrawal symptoms but clearly that's not most of us at BB. Overall a bad idea and I don't like the way they use the word "addiction."  Worse recommending you switch to Xanax seems like a very bad idea.  Even my doc. told me she wouldn't prescribe Xanax because of the difficulty tapering off it.

 

There's so much stuff out there on the internet, especially on Youtube, that just isn't that helpful.  Please be careful with it.

 

Luey

[[kr...]]

quick update on me:

 

I've been off now for 19 days and generally feeling better..  really my only issue seems to me my ears..  tinnitus, ear pressure and background noise is bothersome..  I fear that will never clear up..  if I did not have that I would feel like in on a good path to recovery.. 

[Guest [ba...]]

45 days is probably fast for a lot of people.

[[Ha...]]

quick update on me:

 

I've been off now for 19 days and generally feeling better..  really my only issue seems to me my ears..  tinnitus, ear pressure and background noise is bothersome..  I fear that will never clear up..  if I did not have that I would feel like in on a good path to recovery..

 

Hey Kry,

 

It's good to hear from you and that you are generally doing well! I think it's likely your tinnitus and related issues will clear up too; it takes a long time from what I've heard for some of the symptoms to clear.  Great that you are feeling better and hopefully soon, if you haven't already, you will be able to get back to working out too.  I know how important that is to you.

 

Haimona

[[su...]]

<snip>

If I decide to make the leap to the liquid Ativan to finish off my taper, where do I start & how do I do it with what I have?  Additionally, how do you all figure out the drop percentage?  Are you taking the percentage off the weight of the pills or the actual dose?  My brain wants to understand the microdosing of dropping .01 as taking it off the weight of the pills, but I'm not sure.  My hope is to stabilize and then begin dropping that .01 each day so things go much slower--and hopefully smoother. 

<snip>

 

There are plenty of ways to do this.  One way would be to combine 1.0 ml of your liquid ativan with 199 ml of water.  Mix well.  The diluted ativan solution will have a concentration of 0.01 mg Ativan per ml.  If you want to take 0.175 mg, you would measure and drink 17.5 ml of that diluted ativan solution.  If you decide that you want to do a slight up-dose when switching from solid to liquid, you could (for example) take 20 ml which would be 0.200 mg of ativan. 

 

The math is really simple.  17.5 ml = 0.175 mg;  20.0 ml = 0.200 mg;  12.7 ml = 0.127 mg;  1.3 ml = 0.013 mg

 

That will make enough for at least 3-4 days.  You can make a bigger stock if you wish.  Keep the unused solution in the fridge.  Mix well each time before using. 

 

So you'd need a container with a 200 ml mark.  200 ml is the same as 6 3/4 ounces in case you want to make your own '200 ml' container out of a canning jar or something like that.  If you want to get fancy, you can purchase a 250 ml graduated cylinder.  If you want to get insanely accurate, you can purchase a class-A, 200 ml volumetric flask (but I wouldn't).  You can use a syringe to measure the dosage you wish to take.  I'd think a 10 ml syringe would work well.  You'd have to fill it twice, but that's an easy thing.  Wash it out well after each use.

 

The surface of new, untreated glass can bind things like ativan, so I'd find a glass container that's been used a few times.

 

I hope all of this makes sense.

 

badsocref,

 

Thank you for this.  Have been riding this wave but last couple days seem like things are letting up some so finally feeling up to wrapping some brain power around your guidance here.  Okay, so my first clarification needed is dosing 3xs a day.  That is what I am currently doing, spreading out the doses every 8 hours.  If I draw out the 17.5 ml that would be my entire daily dose of .175 mg, but I don't take a once a day dose, so how would I accurately draw the roughly 5.83 ml for a divided up dose then (17.5 ml daily dose divided by 3)?  It's the accuracy that is getting me when the numbers don't round nicely to match up to the marks on a syringe.

 

Next, the decreasing.  Am I correct in understanding that a DLMT is going down .01 mg a day?  So if I'm using the liquid, it would be a sequence over the course of a week of 17.5 ml then the next day 17.4 ml, then 17.3, 17.2, 17.1, 17, 16.9, etc...  (dividing these by 3 for my equal daily doses, of course).

 

Your guidance did make sense, I just tend to overanalyze everything. 

 

Best,

 

Sunshine