Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[2c...]]

Bibsjo , happy you are doing well.  It sounds like you have found a positive daily routine that is really helping your healing.

 

Haimona,  sorry to hear you’re having a wave right now.  Hang in there. This too shall pass! I was wondering how you were doing,

 

I am evening out after first cut.  Plan to cut again in a week.

I have had to seriously address the back pain.  I have tried many things to calm it down without using meds with very limited success. It is getting worse all the time time .  After over a year of dealing with it I decided to make the plunge and go to a pain management specialist knowing meds and injections would probably be advised.

It is just  something I feel I have to do. I believe  the pain is interfering with my brain and body healing. My days are filled with a red haze of pain everyday.

 

I’m also doing more specialized physical therapy. 

I am still being careful with this approach but hope in the next few weeks I will notice some relief and will not be in a total state of anxiety from the pain.

 

Thinking positive thought for us all,

 

 

[[Ho...]]

Hi everyone!

 

I am planning to start my taper soon from .375mg/day.

 

Question - after you make a cut, how long until symptoms emerge if they are going to?

[[Ho...]]

Hello everyone, I’m new here.

 

My daughter passed away in 2019 so my obgyn prescribed me 1mg of Ativan before bed. I was cutting my 1mg of Ativan into 1/2 every night and took that for about a year, year and a half. My panic attacks were becoming much worse and increasing as time progressed, so my PCP decided to put me on Prozac about two months ago, she also cut my dosage of Ativan down by 1/2 to 0.5 since I was already taking that dose anyways, which in turn caused me to cut my dosage down by 0.25mg because I wanted to take less of the medication.

 

This was when my withdrawal symptoms began, but I had no idea what was happening. My panic attacks were still increasing, which was causing me to take more Ativan during the day just to get through. I was cutting my pills into 1/4’s. I was also experiencing (recently) severe brain fog, hot / cold sweats, increasing panic attacks, feeling like I’m constantly on a boat, some nausea, and severe muscle and joint pain. I found a group on Facebook and later realized I was going through withdrawals.

 

After being obsessive and doing extensive research on the Ashton manual, I decided to do a micro water taper after stabilizing myself on the 0.25mg dosage. Tonight was my third dose and I am already feeling so much better as the dizziness / boat like feeling is subsiding. I also lasted reasonably well until about 5pm when my withdrawal symptoms progressively got worse, so I took my water mixture and finished it between 5-7:30pm. I am planning on asking my pcp / psychiatrist if they can switch me to a liquid Ativan so I can taper slowly, as my pcp recommended I taper 25% every two weeks which I KNOW will be too quick for me. I have been following my body and it’s cues so I know when to begin my taper.

 

For my taper, someone helped me come up with a taper plan that I feel comfortable with and I would

Like to run it by you guys since I have no idea what I am doing lol. I will dissolve a 0.5 tablet into 100ml of water, then split that up into two separate dosages which makes 0.25mg per night before bed. Once I begin to taper, I was going to remove 1ml of water / day. Do you guys have any suggestions? I’m terrible at math. I don’t know exactly when to stop my taper or

whether I am going too fast but I will make sure to listen to my body with this one. I refuse to take any more pharmaceuticals after this horrible experience. Thank you for reading my story and it makes me feel less alone knowing I’m here with all of you.

 

Hey there.  I am on the liquid Ativan taper, 0.1mg/1.0ML.  Worked with my doc and a compound pharmacy to get the right dosage/ML.  The math is really easy with this formula and I dont have to mix myself. 

 

At first I was taking 1x a day then 2x a day.  It wasnt until I split the dose to 4x a day that my wd symptoms went away.  The liquid and 4x has been right for me. It is only when I try to go to fast - like this weekend - that the wd comes back and strongly.

 

I am only a month new at this too so learning every time I make an adjustment.

 

Hey JBen!

 

How are you doing? I am able to get this compound oil at .1mg/1ml - did you have any side effects switching to it?

 

Also, how do you do your cuts? Do you cut and hold?

 

I’m at .125mg 3 times a day - I’m weighing my pills but want to switch to the compound. Have you experienced any symptoms with cuts? If so, when?

 

I’m a short term user too - 2 months. Not sure how dependent I am but not trying to test the waters as I am still in withdrawal from cold turkey SSRI.

[[...]]

Hello everyone, I’m new here.

 

My daughter passed away in 2019 so my obgyn prescribed me 1mg of Ativan before bed. I was cutting my 1mg of Ativan into 1/2 every night and took that for about a year, year and a half. My panic attacks were becoming much worse and increasing as time progressed, so my PCP decided to put me on Prozac about two months ago, she also cut my dosage of Ativan down by 1/2 to 0.5 since I was already taking that dose anyways, which in turn caused me to cut my dosage down by 0.25mg because I wanted to take less of the medication.

 

This was when my withdrawal symptoms began, but I had no idea what was happening. My panic attacks were still increasing, which was causing me to take more Ativan during the day just to get through. I was cutting my pills into 1/4’s. I was also experiencing (recently) severe brain fog, hot / cold sweats, increasing panic attacks, feeling like I’m constantly on a boat, some nausea, and severe muscle and joint pain. I found a group on Facebook and later realized I was going through withdrawals.

 

After being obsessive and doing extensive research on the Ashton manual, I decided to do a micro water taper after stabilizing myself on the 0.25mg dosage. Tonight was my third dose and I am already feeling so much better as the dizziness / boat like feeling is subsiding. I also lasted reasonably well until about 5pm when my withdrawal symptoms progressively got worse, so I took my water mixture and finished it between 5-7:30pm. I am planning on asking my pcp / psychiatrist if they can switch me to a liquid Ativan so I can taper slowly, as my pcp recommended I taper 25% every two weeks which I KNOW will be too quick for me. I have been following my body and it’s cues so I know when to begin my taper.

 

For my taper, someone helped me come up with a taper plan that I feel comfortable with and I would

Like to run it by you guys since I have no idea what I am doing lol. I will dissolve a 0.5 tablet into 100ml of water, then split that up into two separate dosages which makes 0.25mg per night before bed. Once I begin to taper, I was going to remove 1ml of water / day. Do you guys have any suggestions? I’m terrible at math. I don’t know exactly when to stop my taper or

whether I am going too fast but I will make sure to listen to my body with this one. I refuse to take any more pharmaceuticals after this horrible experience. Thank you for reading my story and it makes me feel less alone knowing I’m here with all of you.

 

Hey there.  I am on the liquid Ativan taper, 0.1mg/1.0ML.  Worked with my doc and a compound pharmacy to get the right dosage/ML.  The math is really easy with this formula and I dont have to mix myself. 

 

At first I was taking 1x a day then 2x a day.  It wasnt until I split the dose to 4x a day that my wd symptoms went away.  The liquid and 4x has been right for me. It is only when I try to go to fast - like this weekend - that the wd comes back and strongly.

 

I am only a month new at this too so learning every time I make an adjustment.

 

Hey JBen!

 

How are you doing? I am able to get this compound oil at .1mg/1ml - did you have any side effects switching to it?

 

Also, how do you do your cuts? Do you cut and hold?

 

I’m at .125mg 3 times a day - I’m weighing my pills but want to switch to the compound. Have you experienced any symptoms with cuts? If so, when?

 

I’m a short term user too - 2 months. Not sure how dependent I am but not trying to test the waters as I am still in withdrawal from cold turkey SSRI.

 

I am holding right now at 0.090.  I split that up into 4 doses with the largest dose 0.03 at the end of the day to help me sleep.  The liquid is not giving me any side effects nor am I having interdose withdrawals.  At each cut tho I seem to have pretty severe anxiety and some depression.  I am pretty sure it is because I am cutting too fast.  My experience at each cut is as follows: Day 1-no sx; Day 2-severe anxiety all day; Day 3-severe anxiety starting at noon; Day 4 - severe anxiety starting at 3; Day 5 - sever anxiety starting after dinner the Day 6 and 7 no symptoms.  If I cut less than 5% it is not severe.  If I cut 6% or more it gets more severe as I increase the cut.

 

This is my experience so far.  I am still pretty new to it all.  It will be interesting to see how the next few cuts go at such low levels.

[[Ho...]]

Hello everyone, I’m new here.

 

My daughter passed away in 2019 so my obgyn prescribed me 1mg of Ativan before bed. I was cutting my 1mg of Ativan into 1/2 every night and took that for about a year, year and a half. My panic attacks were becoming much worse and increasing as time progressed, so my PCP decided to put me on Prozac about two months ago, she also cut my dosage of Ativan down by 1/2 to 0.5 since I was already taking that dose anyways, which in turn caused me to cut my dosage down by 0.25mg because I wanted to take less of the medication.

 

This was when my withdrawal symptoms began, but I had no idea what was happening. My panic attacks were still increasing, which was causing me to take more Ativan during the day just to get through. I was cutting my pills into 1/4’s. I was also experiencing (recently) severe brain fog, hot / cold sweats, increasing panic attacks, feeling like I’m constantly on a boat, some nausea, and severe muscle and joint pain. I found a group on Facebook and later realized I was going through withdrawals.

 

After being obsessive and doing extensive research on the Ashton manual, I decided to do a micro water taper after stabilizing myself on the 0.25mg dosage. Tonight was my third dose and I am already feeling so much better as the dizziness / boat like feeling is subsiding. I also lasted reasonably well until about 5pm when my withdrawal symptoms progressively got worse, so I took my water mixture and finished it between 5-7:30pm. I am planning on asking my pcp / psychiatrist if they can switch me to a liquid Ativan so I can taper slowly, as my pcp recommended I taper 25% every two weeks which I KNOW will be too quick for me. I have been following my body and it’s cues so I know when to begin my taper.

 

For my taper, someone helped me come up with a taper plan that I feel comfortable with and I would

Like to run it by you guys since I have no idea what I am doing lol. I will dissolve a 0.5 tablet into 100ml of water, then split that up into two separate dosages which makes 0.25mg per night before bed. Once I begin to taper, I was going to remove 1ml of water / day. Do you guys have any suggestions? I’m terrible at math. I don’t know exactly when to stop my taper or

whether I am going too fast but I will make sure to listen to my body with this one. I refuse to take any more pharmaceuticals after this horrible experience. Thank you for reading my story and it makes me feel less alone knowing I’m here with all of you.

 

Hey there.  I am on the liquid Ativan taper, 0.1mg/1.0ML.  Worked with my doc and a compound pharmacy to get the right dosage/ML.  The math is really easy with this formula and I dont have to mix myself. 

 

At first I was taking 1x a day then 2x a day.  It wasnt until I split the dose to 4x a day that my wd symptoms went away.  The liquid and 4x has been right for me. It is only when I try to go to fast - like this weekend - that the wd comes back and strongly.

 

I am only a month new at this too so learning every time I make an adjustment.

 

Hey JBen!

 

How are you doing? I am able to get this compound oil at .1mg/1ml - did you have any side effects switching to it?

 

Also, how do you do your cuts? Do you cut and hold?

 

I’m at .125mg 3 times a day - I’m weighing my pills but want to switch to the compound. Have you experienced any symptoms with cuts? If so, when?

 

I’m a short term user too - 2 months. Not sure how dependent I am but not trying to test the waters as I am still in withdrawal from cold turkey SSRI.

 

I am holding right now at 0.090.  I split that up into 4 doses with the largest dose 0.03 at the end of the day to help me sleep.  The liquid is not giving me any side effects nor am I having interdose withdrawals.  At each cut tho I seem to have pretty severe anxiety and some depression.  I am pretty sure it is because I am cutting too fast.  My experience at each cut is as follows: Day 1-no sx; Day 2-severe anxiety all day; Day 3-severe anxiety starting at noon; Day 4 - severe anxiety starting at 3; Day 5 - sever anxiety starting after dinner the Day 6 and 7 no symptoms.  If I cut less than 5% it is not severe.  If I cut 6% or more it gets more severe as I increase the cut.

 

This is my experience so far.  I am still pretty new to it all.  It will be interesting to see how the next few cuts go at such low levels.

 

Wow, you're low! I'm ready to be there, lol.

 

So you are cutting around 10% every week or so?

[[...]]

Hello everyone, I’m new here.

 

My daughter passed away in 2019 so my obgyn prescribed me 1mg of Ativan before bed. I was cutting my 1mg of Ativan into 1/2 every night and took that for about a year, year and a half. My panic attacks were becoming much worse and increasing as time progressed, so my PCP decided to put me on Prozac about two months ago, she also cut my dosage of Ativan down by 1/2 to 0.5 since I was already taking that dose anyways, which in turn caused me to cut my dosage down by 0.25mg because I wanted to take less of the medication.

 

This was when my withdrawal symptoms began, but I had no idea what was happening. My panic attacks were still increasing, which was causing me to take more Ativan during the day just to get through. I was cutting my pills into 1/4’s. I was also experiencing (recently) severe brain fog, hot / cold sweats, increasing panic attacks, feeling like I’m constantly on a boat, some nausea, and severe muscle and joint pain. I found a group on Facebook and later realized I was going through withdrawals.

 

After being obsessive and doing extensive research on the Ashton manual, I decided to do a micro water taper after stabilizing myself on the 0.25mg dosage. Tonight was my third dose and I am already feeling so much better as the dizziness / boat like feeling is subsiding. I also lasted reasonably well until about 5pm when my withdrawal symptoms progressively got worse, so I took my water mixture and finished it between 5-7:30pm. I am planning on asking my pcp / psychiatrist if they can switch me to a liquid Ativan so I can taper slowly, as my pcp recommended I taper 25% every two weeks which I KNOW will be too quick for me. I have been following my body and it’s cues so I know when to begin my taper.

 

For my taper, someone helped me come up with a taper plan that I feel comfortable with and I would

Like to run it by you guys since I have no idea what I am doing lol. I will dissolve a 0.5 tablet into 100ml of water, then split that up into two separate dosages which makes 0.25mg per night before bed. Once I begin to taper, I was going to remove 1ml of water / day. Do you guys have any suggestions? I’m terrible at math. I don’t know exactly when to stop my taper or

whether I am going too fast but I will make sure to listen to my body with this one. I refuse to take any more pharmaceuticals after this horrible experience. Thank you for reading my story and it makes me feel less alone knowing I’m here with all of you.

 

Hey there.  I am on the liquid Ativan taper, 0.1mg/1.0ML.  Worked with my doc and a compound pharmacy to get the right dosage/ML.  The math is really easy with this formula and I dont have to mix myself. 

 

At first I was taking 1x a day then 2x a day.  It wasnt until I split the dose to 4x a day that my wd symptoms went away.  The liquid and 4x has been right for me. It is only when I try to go to fast - like this weekend - that the wd comes back and strongly.

 

I am only a month new at this too so learning every time I make an adjustment.

 

Hey JBen!

 

How are you doing? I am able to get this compound oil at .1mg/1ml - did you have any side effects switching to it?

 

Also, how do you do your cuts? Do you cut and hold?

 

I’m at .125mg 3 times a day - I’m weighing my pills but want to switch to the compound. Have you experienced any symptoms with cuts? If so, when?

 

I’m a short term user too - 2 months. Not sure how dependent I am but not trying to test the waters as I am still in withdrawal from cold turkey SSRI.

 

I am holding right now at 0.090.  I split that up into 4 doses with the largest dose 0.03 at the end of the day to help me sleep.  The liquid is not giving me any side effects nor am I having interdose withdrawals.  At each cut tho I seem to have pretty severe anxiety and some depression.  I am pretty sure it is because I am cutting too fast.  My experience at each cut is as follows: Day 1-no sx; Day 2-severe anxiety all day; Day 3-severe anxiety starting at noon; Day 4 - severe anxiety starting at 3; Day 5 - sever anxiety starting after dinner the Day 6 and 7 no symptoms.  If I cut less than 5% it is not severe.  If I cut 6% or more it gets more severe as I increase the cut.

 

This is my experience so far.  I am still pretty new to it all.  It will be interesting to see how the next few cuts go at such low levels.

 

Wow, you're low! I'm ready to be there, lol.

 

So you are cutting around 10% every week or so?

 

Yes about every 7 days and it is still difficult even at this level - severe anxiety/depression.  I plan to walk off at 0.01.  I’ve been told I am highly medication sensitive and need to go as low as possible.

[[Ha...]]

I'm so eager to be done.  I made the next cut tonight, from .285 to .276.  That's another ~3% cut, yet each one still hits me pretty hard.  But ever closer to the goal of being benzo free.

 

Haimona

[[2c...]]

Jben021 and Haimona

 

Great going guys!  You certainly have the end in site.  Cheering you on!,  :thumbsup:

[[Ha...]]

Ugh, is day 3 of the taper always the hardest? It seems like it may be, for me. I woke up with a headache, super anxious, jittery, of course tired (that's a given), foggy (also a given), and just about ready to jump out of my skin.  Damn, I wish this taper could be done and I could be feeling better already. It has been so long.

 

And it doesn't help I finally hired a therapist, thinking I could really use some support and someone to talk to during this taper, and she is really pressuring me to taper faster.  "I've never heard of anyone taking this long to taper, you should see a psychiatrist and get prescribed something to help you get off the benzo."  I respect that everyone's process is different, and some people benefit from SSRI's during their taper, but I really don't want to get on another psych med, at least not until I see how my brain does benzo free.  And now she's got me afraid again, since it's taking so long, that there really is something permanently wrong with my brain and my memory.  That really threw me for a loop.

 

And it's Monday, and it's back to faking it at work for another week.  Sorry to vent like this, but I am struggling here.

 

Much love to all of us going through this hell,

 

Haimona

 

[[...]]

Hey Haimona.  Yes!  Day 3 is the worst.  I am right there with you today.  Same symptoms!!

[Guest [ba...]]

Find another therapist.  I 'fired' one once.  He wasn't helping me one bit.  The fit has to be right, and that usually takes a few sessions to figure out. 

 

I wanted a therapist who could help me deal with anxiety and anger - not one who could criticize the rate of my withdrawal/healing.  Once I put my mind/emotions on a better course, everything else cleared up much more quickly.  The therapist is there to help you discover the path - not to shove it down your throat.

[[Bi...]]

I'm so eager to be done.  I made the next cut tonight, from .285 to .276.  That's another ~3% cut, yet each one still hits me pretty hard.  But ever closer to the goal of being benzo free.

 

Haimona

 

Haimona,

 

It does not sound like this therapist really understands benzos and how each individual reacts differently while tapering.

 

Yes, I found that there is a 3-4 day lag between a cut and the worst symptoms.

 

Also, I suffered from some severe cognitive issues. I had to think about how to put on my shoes, unlock a door, or take a shower. These have all resolved about 95% and getting better. Work was extremely hard. Anything that involved executive functioning was extremely hard. My cognition is strongly recovering and I have complete hope, faith and knowledge that I will recover to more than 100%!

 

It was the worst for me right where you are now - dry cutting between .25 and .1875. When I switched to liquid my cognitive skills started rapidly improving.

 

I am blessed to have an addiction psych, a therapist and a counselor helping get through this. Thankfully I have the $ to do this. However, I realized about 6 weeks ago that they all had their own preconceived notions about "how I should be doing." My psych has been surprised that it has been so hard for me at the lower doses. My acupuncturist was pushing herbs on me. My therapist has listened to this and has been great. I finally put my foot down, and said "no, you need to listen to me now and follow my lead." I finally assertively took back control and they all got onboard, and it is going so much better and I am feeling so much better.

 

After reading all of the posts and listening to all of the stories, I think you are perfectly normal. It's hard for many of us at the end. There is nothing unusual about that. It sounds like your intuition is right on.

 

- Bibs Jo

 

[[Ma...]]

Hi Haimona, I wanted to jump on here and say the same as badsofcred... get another therapist!

 

As I near 1 month off, I look back and think that the MOST important thing throughout this experience is healthy, supportive networks. We lose so much control in the process of going off of benzos, and in surrendering, we need safe spaces to be vulnerable. You are the only one who can determine your rate of reduction. And you are making great progress! You still have a journey ahead of you, after you walk off, and you need to have strength to do so. Don’t let ANYONE dictate how that should go for you.

 

I have days where I am teaching my son about polynomials, and days where I can’t remember what I said an hour prior. We are HEALING! Don’t let the fear of your symptoms dictate your process. You’re a warrior. You’ve got this!!!

 

Big hugs,

Maria

[[Ha...]]

JBen, I'm sorry to hear you're in the same boat today, although it does feel good to know I'm not alone.  Ugh! The worst.

 

Badsocref, I think you're right.  I ended the video call with the therapist feeling worse than I did when I started; I know that can't be a good thing.  I just hate to start all over again looking for someone new.  But maybe it's better to be without a therapist than to see one who makes me doubt myself more than I already did (which is considerable).  This is so tough.  I really don't know how I would be keeping my sanity without the buddies on this board who let me know I'm not the only one going through this, and of course those who have walked/jumped/gotten off the benzos and are seeing the other side.

 

And Bibsjo (your reply came in as I was about to post mine), I love what you have done with taking control with your team of professionals working for YOU.  I wish I could find a therapist who would listen and be supportive like yours. I haven't given up.  And thank you for validating my experience -- I can't tell you (although I suspect you know) how important that is.

 

Struggling today,

 

Haimona

[[Bi...]]

Haimona, I modified and added more to my post. Check it out. You are doing the necessary work, and we support you!

[Guest [ba...]]

Sometimes I felt worse after therapy, but it was for the 'right' reasons.  Maybe we'd dug deep, found something, maybe even cried (boys don't, you know), ...  Maybe I was just 'stuck' in my head for the entire session.  I might leave feeling really drained and maybe shaken a bit.  But I knew it was a positive session overall.  I was coming up against 'stuff' that I needed to get thru.

 

I think that a good therapist will understand what a client can take (in terms of therapy) and what they need (in terms of support), and balance the sessions accordingly.  It's probably more difficult via video since some of the experience is missing.

[[Ha...]]

Hi Haimona, I wanted to jump on here and say the same as badsofcred... get another therapist!

 

As I near 1 month off, I look back and think that the MOST important thing throughout this experience is healthy, supportive networks. We lose so much control in the process of going off of benzos, and in surrendering, we need safe spaces to be vulnerable. You are the only one who can determine your rate of reduction. And you are making great progress! You still have a journey ahead of you, after you walk off, and you need to have strength to do so. Don’t let ANYONE dictate how that should go for you.

 

I have days where I am teaching my son about polynomials, and days where I can’t remember what I said an hour prior. We are HEALING! Don’t let the fear of your symptoms dictate your process. You’re a warrior. You’ve got this!!!

 

Big hugs,

Maria

 

Maria,

 

Thank you so much for this, and for letting us know how you are doing.  And thank you for mentioning your memory being inconsistent, because as you know this has been one of my biggest problems ever since I went below .5 mg last fall -- so frustrating and scary! I'm so glad to hear you are having some good days where you can manage complicated mental processes like teaching binomials to your son. 

 

Bibsjo, 

 

Thank you for adding what you added about your memory and cognition.  It really helps, I mean really really helps, me to know others have experienced this and gotten better or are getting better.  It is such a struggle to not be able to depend on my memory or my knowledge of how to do certain things, especially when I have to work every day and my work depends on those things.  Writing every single thing down has gotten me through, but there are days when I just want to cry from frustration and exhaustion and fear.

 

Badsocref,

 

I totally hear what you're saying about feeling worse at the end of a session.  Some years ago when I was going through a completely different thing, I had a great therapist who really helped me (unfortunately he has since retired), and sometimes I would feel the same way you did at the end of a session -- but it was a different kind of "worse," a productive kind -- not worse in terms of self doubt and feeling unsupported.

 

I am really moved by all the support I am getting from you guys.  For benzo related reasons, I am not able to cry -- but if I could, I would, in a good way right now.  Much love. 

 

Haimona

[[Ho...]]

Hey guys!

 

For those of you doing cut and holds, how much percentage do you cut and how long do you hold?

 

I have to start this way until I can get liquid compound in a couple of weeks.

 

I’m at .125mg 3 times a day starting out.

[[2c...]]

Haimona

 

Sorry you are having a rough time.  You are a bit ahead of me on this journey but I’m experiencing the same as many others are. I get the worst jitters and movement issues now but getting ready to cut on Sunday.

I have a therapist who is a nice person but not sure she really knows what to do with me.  I may be looking for a new one but yes you definitely do not need someone that makes you actually feel  worse.

 

Hang in there, Haimona!! We are all doing this together! 

[[Ha...]]

Thank you, 2cats! I feel like we are taper mates, in a way, and the support really helps me.

 

Hope for Tomorrow, I am sure others will chime in but I have been reducing about 3% each time, and I'm doing a direct dry taper from .3125 down to wherever I walk off eventually.  There is a buddy in the taper boards named Bob7, and he was very helpful in helping me find the right scale to use, figuring out how to weigh the pills and do the math, and starting me on a rough taper schedule.  You can look for my thread in that forum if it helps (I have no idea how to link you to the thread, sorry).  But as I said, I am sure others will chime in.  Good luck!

 

One other thing I wanted to add, is that each time I taper lately, along with the usual side effects/symptoms, I have this weird unsettling feeling of the ground not being solid under my feet.  It's almost like I can't trust the floor of my home, like any surface I'm on might cave in at any moment.  Scary, even though I know it's a taper-related thing.  It just feels scary.  Has anyone else experienced that? It seems to go along with generally not feeling sure about anything, not trusting anything to be solid. 

 

Haimona

[[Pa...]]

There is a buddy in the taper boards named Bob7, and he was very helpful in helping me find the right scale to use, figuring out how to weigh the pills and do the math, and starting me on a rough taper schedule.  You can look for my thread in that forum if it helps (I have no idea how to link you to the thread, sorry). 

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=245459.0

[[Ha...]]

Thank you, Pamster! I was hoping you would step in.

 

Haimona

[[2c...]]

Hi guys

 

I am a little over half way through my first cut of my taper.  I thought the first taper cut wouldn’t be a big deal. Ha!

So I had some symptoms day 3 which I posted about

Yesterday I had some weird scary symptoms.  Teeth chattering, stuttering when I spoke,  rocking or the urge to.  It eased off a bit in the afternoon but woke up feeling the same way today maybe a bit worse.

 

I calm down a bit at night but I wake up after about 3-4 hours and then I gradually start getting that hyped up, jittery, teeth chattering feeling,  it’s horrible.

 

I’m assuming this is just some more crazy withdrawal symptoms?

 

Full disclosure, I started gabapentin again .  I finally broke down and saw a pain specialist for my back.  I couldn’t take the chronicle pain anymore.  It is gradually getting to where I can’t  calm the pain down with other measures and treatments. He wants me to work up to 300 mg gabapentin.  Also alternating ibuprofen and Tylenol throughout the day.

[[Ba...]]

Hi, Ativaners,

 

I have been keeping up my progress log. A couple of weeks ago I felt a window open up and it has been such a relief. I'm about four months out from my last dose.

 

I was prescribed ativan a hundred years ago for muscle and nerve pain, and those have been my worst withdrawal and post-taper symptoms, which makes sense. I have been coping with that by getting regular therapeutic (as in, OWWW!) massages and occasional chiropractic adjustments.

 

My sleep is up to SEVEN hours on some nights here and there. I know I'll probably get caught up in a wave again, but I just wanted to share some good news. I didn't have an ideal or careful taper and I'm not even sure how I got through it, but if you're able to go slow and not get rushed, you'll be in good shape. Just don't get mad at yourself.

 

For those of you suffering from nervousness/anxiety, I do have that on occasion but it's usually related to life events and not from a whacked out CNS. In other words, more toward the normal range. I'm still struggling with various symptoms, but at this time, it's not quite the all-consuming experience it can be. Every good hour, day, or week means that good is possible and that's a big deal.

 

-- Liz

[[2c...]]

I'm still struggling with various symptoms, but at this time, it's not quite the all-consuming experience it can be. Every good hour, day, or week means that good is possible and that's a big deal.

 

-- Liz

 

 

Baroness:  I love the last sentence of your post.  Sometimes We get caught up in all the bad of this journey and forget to see the good even if it is for an hour. Thanks for the reminder to see the good moments as what is possible as we go forward

 

 

I’m not really sure how to use the quote function so it didn’t really show up as a quote.