Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Ia...]]

Wow. Happy to find this years old Ativan club. 

 

I’m about to start tapering a mammoth dose of 10 mgs of Ativan. I take it 5 times a day in 2 mg capsules.

 

I tried two years ago and failed. But I was doing too big of cuts. Now I plan on going slower then a snails pace and do it without focusing on an ending. If it takes ten years. So be it.

 

Anybody else taper that high of a dose? I started it in 2013 at 2mg because I had a rare but serious illness. I recovered about the same time I hit 10 mg in 2016. I’ve been on that dose ever since.

 

Hello and Welcome Iamthelght, (love your handle)

 

We are a very supportive crew here with folks at all different stages in this journey.

 

I don't know about the high dose as I have only been here a few months myself, but wanted to say welcome!

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[Guest [pa...]]

do your headaches feel like a tight band around your head?

 

Honestly, I can't deal with those....it's so hard.

 

I have an icepack permanently on my head, even sleep with it on.

 

I really don't know how to get off these meds....it a horror show!

 

Just a few weeks ago, it was more manageable, but now.....

 

My poor kids, I wail in pain and the crying - oh man, I've never cried so much.......

 

I just can't believe a human being could feel this much pain!!!!

 

I just can't seem to move off of the sublingual Ativan - it gets absorbed directly into your bloodstream, so whenever I try to move to another form, it's like a drop in dose etc.

 

Take care,

WinnieDog

Yeah, until my cold-turkey I never knew a man can feel that bad and still be alive.

 

Do they have delorazepam in your country? It's a lorazepam pro-drug with insanely long half-life.

[[2c...]]

Wow. Happy to find this years old Ativan club. 

 

I’m about to start tapering a mammoth dose of 10 mgs of Ativan. I take it 5 times a day in 2 mg capsules.

 

I tried two years ago and failed. But I was doing too big of cuts. Now I plan on going slower then a snails pace and do it without focusing on an ending. If it takes ten years. So be it.

 

Anybody else taper that high of a dose? I started it in 2013 at 2mg because I had a rare but serious illness. I recovered about the same time I hit 10 mg in 2016. I’ve been on that dose ever since.

 

Hello and Welcome Iamthelght, (love your handle)

 

We are a very supportive crew here with folks at all different stages in this journey.

 

I don't know about the high dose as I have only been here a few months myself, but wanted to say welcome!

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

Yes welcome Iamthelight! 

 

I’ve only been in this support group a short time too.  I have found this group to be helpful, encouraging and positive.  I think you will feel that too.  I’m sure someone will chime in about tapering from a high dose. 

 

2cats

[[Ha...]]

Hi everybody,

 

I hope all are doing well, or as well as possible, this morning.  I have a question about antibiotics. 

 

I just finished taking a course of antibiotics for an infection, and I have noticed in the past week while I've been taking them, it's almost like I made another cut in the Ativan.  What I mean is I am experiencing w/d symptoms like worse sleep, jitteriness, racing heart, and brain fog, worse than normal, even though I haven't changed my dose of Ativan in the last week.  It's awful.  Has anyone else experienced this? 

 

I seem to remember someone on this board saying a while back that they took antibiotics and it set back their taper process.  Does anyone else remember this?

 

Thanks,

 

Haimona

[Guest [pa...]]

Beta-lactam antiobiotics and NSAIDs work like reverse benzos, i.e. they're anxiogenic. Floroquinolone antibiotics are even worse, they are not only anxiogenic, but also displace benzos.

[Guest [...]]

taking antibiotics in the spring, is what led me to using zopiclone etc.

 

I had all the feelings you are talking about, but no dr will believe me that antibiotics could do that.

 

My hunch is that the antibiotics got rid of all your good gut bacteria etc.

 

Take a good probiotic and watch high histamine foods etc.

 

No idea what it will do to your taper, as I wasn't on the drugs then, maybe hold for a bit to see if the feelings subside etc.

 

WinnieDog.

 

[[Ha...]]

Thanks, WinnieDog!

 

I have begun to feel very skeptical of doctors while going through this, unfortunately.  I feel like they throw this poisonous medication at us and then shrug their shoulders when we have these reactions to trying to get off of them (not to mention what the medications themselves do to us!).

 

We learn we are not alone (in fact there are thousands of us) on boards like this one.

 

I did eat a lot of yogurt for the probiotics, but I could get a capsule as well if that would be helpful.  Now I need to look up what high histamine foods are. 

 

Thanks,

 

Haimona

[[Gi...]]

Hi everybody,

 

I hope all are doing well, or as well as possible, this morning.  I have a question about antibiotics. 

 

I just finished taking a course of antibiotics for an infection, and I have noticed in the past week while I've been taking them, it's almost like I made another cut in the Ativan.  What I mean is I am experiencing w/d symptoms like worse sleep, jitteriness, racing heart, and brain fog, worse than normal, even though I haven't changed my dose of Ativan in the last week.  It's awful.  Has anyone else experienced this? 

 

I seem to remember someone on this board saying a while back that they took antibiotics and it set back their taper process.  Does anyone else remember this?

 

Thanks,

 

Haimona

 

I've taken Augmentin without any problems.  I avoid fluoroquinalones since having a couple patients who had ruptured achilles tendons from taking them.  Then I found out they were bad for benzo users. G

[[2c...]]

Hi everybody,

 

I hope all are doing well, or as well as possible, this morning.  I have a question about antibiotics. 

 

I just finished taking a course of antibiotics for an infection, and I have noticed in the past week while I've been taking them, it's almost like I made another cut in the Ativan.  What I mean is I am experiencing w/d symptoms like worse sleep, jitteriness, racing heart, and brain fog, worse than normal, even though I haven't changed my dose of Ativan in the last week.  It's awful.  Has anyone else experienced this? 

 

I seem to remember someone on this board saying a while back that they took antibiotics and it set back their taper process.  Does anyone else remember this?

 

Thanks,

 

Haimona

 

Hey there Haimona,

 

From reading posts by others, I think reactions to antibiotics and even some other drugs are very individual. Except for the floroquinolones and those mentioned by pacenik that are known to react or work against benzos.  I’m not a medical person so may have not expressed that correctly.  I personally have taken some meds that others have not responded well to that were not  an issue to me or not a big issue at least.

 

It’s hard to know what to do sometimes when we have other medical issues besides the benzo withdrawal, whether chronic or acute.  This is a good place to see what others have experienced.  It can help us make a decision.

 

I know the use of steriods is not favored but I made a personal decision to get a targeted injection under flouoscopy in my back in a couple of weeks.  This is after months of trying many different kinds of alternative treatments like acupuncture, chiropractic, PT, heat, cold, pain patches, topical products, etc.which helped a bit but was  short lived relief and I just can’t take the pain anymore. 

 

My conclusion was that, for me, the pain is definitely adding to my anxiety and stress and to me that interferes with my healing maybe as much or more than one steroid shot.

 

So that was kind of a ramble!    With COVID-19 and limited connection with people , we talk as much as possible when we get a captive audience. 

 

I hope your worst symptoms ease up.  You’re so close to the end!

[[be...]]

Hi friends,

 

I had a horrible reaction in July to Bactrim. I was in my final weeks of taper when I got a UTI, and the Bactrim put me right into acute withdrawal. I had been doing better and better as I lowered my dose before that. Some people do fine with bactrim in withdrawal, but it’s obviously not one for me.

 

It took two weeks for my CNS to settle after I discontinued the Bactrim. During that time, I took amoxicillin for the UTI, and did fine with that. It took several more weeks before I was back to my pre-Bactrim baseline. At that point, I had walked off the lorazepam, so it’s hard to know what was left of the antibiotic setback and what was fresh benzo withdrawal.

 

I’m a little over 4 months off of everything, and I’m doing fairly well. I have windows and waves, and I’m able to live my life close to normal. Distraction and pushing through on hard days...all gratitude for the good days...

 

We will heal.

 

Love to all,

Beauty

[[Di...]]

Haimona I'm sorry about the antibiotic.  I took doxycycline for an eye infection bout a month ago it caused me to have alot of digestive issues therefore making my anxiety worse.  Also think the stress to my eye caused my vision to be blurry for a couple weeks.

[[Ha...]]

Thank you everyone for replying to me, and letting me know I'm not crazy to feel like the antibiotic did something negative to my withdrawal symptoms.  Now I feel like I just need to wait a bit before making another cut, and give my system time to clear it.

 

Gingermint, I hope you're doing well!

 

Beauty, I think you were the person I was thinking of who had the setback from antibiotics.  I'm glad to hear you're doing fairly well overall!

 

2cats, I keep thinking I'm so close too, until I realize that at this rate it will be at least another 6 months before I'm done (maybe more).  But progress is progress.

 

Dianedeedee, doxycycline can definitely be hard on digestion.  I hope you're feeling all better from the eye infection now.

 

And it's Friday! Not a moment too soon.   

 

Haimona

[[Gi...]]

Thank you everyone for replying to me, and letting me know I'm not crazy to feel like the antibiotic did something negative to my withdrawal symptoms.  Now I feel like I just need to wait a bit before making another cut, and give my system time to clear it.

 

Gingermint, I hope you're doing well!

 

Beauty, I think you were the person I was thinking of who had the setback from antibiotics.  I'm glad to hear you're doing fairly well overall!

 

2cats, I keep thinking I'm so close too, until I realize that at this rate it will be at least another 6 months before I'm done (maybe more).  But progress is progress.

 

Dianedeedee, doxycycline can definitely be hard on digestion.  I hope you're feeling all better from the eye infection now.

 

And it's Friday! Not a moment too soon.   

 

Haimona

 

Not doing too badly.  A bit of a rough weekend but better today.  Just windows and waves but I'm used to those.

 

You're getting close, but take it slow holding as needed.  It will be worth it in the end. G.

 

 

[[Ha...]]

So, no sooner did I say that I was going to hold for a while than I cut again.  My desire to be off this poison and start (hopefully) healing is always at war with my desire to do it slowly and minimize the awfulness of the taper.  But my big goal was to be down to .25 (a quarter of my original dose, and half of where I was last year around this time), by the end of the year -- well, really I want to be under .25 but I am pretty happy to be here at last anyway.  So NOW I plan to hold for at least 2.5 weeks, maybe longer.  It would make me happy to make one more cut and get to about .24 mg before New Years. 

 

But having said all that, I am definitely, definitely feeling it today: I'm so shaky and jittery, and foggy and sort of in a cloud.  I've also noticed that I not only cannot cry (I've had this problem for a long time on A), but now I find it hard to really deeply access any emotions.  I guess it's a kind of emotional blunting.  I mean, I feel sad, happy, etc. at appropriate times, but only on a fairly superficial level.  The deeper emotions are just not available to me.  And I really do wish I could cry.  Has anyone else experienced this?

 

Hoping all are doing well today,

 

Haimona

[[...]]

Hey Haimona.  I am the same way when it comes to cutting.  I would have bad anxiety one day, say I am going to hold a while and then wind up skipping a dose that night.  It was VERY hard and I felt really really bad every time I cut.  There were times when I was disconnected to the world and to my deeper emotions.  I dont seem to have that issue now that I am off.

 

I walked off 0.02 earlier this week.  I felt great for a few days and then symptoms hit me again.  I have full blown high anxiety, ringing in my ears, breathing problems, short term memory problems and some depression.  Guess Im not done healing.  BUT at least Im not taking the poison anymore.  Happy about that, truly.

 

You will make it through this!!

 

 

[[Ha...]]

Hey, congratulations, JBen!

 

Yeah, I get so impatient ... it feels like I have been tapering FOREVER (and it has been a long time).  But if this is how I react to a 3% cut, I don't dare try to go much faster.

 

I hope you start to feel much better very soon!  And thank you for the encouragement.  It is so appreciated.

 

Haimona

[[Di...]]

Jben congratulations!!!  Praying that you will be feeling good very soon.

[[2c...]]

JBen

Congrats on walking off  :thumbsup.  Hope your healing continues from here and you will be feeling better.

 

 

Haimona,

 

Sorry you are feeling rough after cutting.  I totally understand about being in a hurry.  I feel the same and I’ve barely started. I’m trying to maintain the mindset that as long as I’m going in the right direction it is good.  I’m not even doing 3% but it was nice to hear my NP tell me I was doing a good job.

 

I hope you start feeling better.  I don’t have emotional blunting but I cry constantly about every little thing.  Wish we could mesh our emotional status and come out with each of us being somewhat normal!

 

Hang in there!!

[[Ha...]]

 

 

Haimona,

 

Sorry you are feeling rough after cutting.  I totally understand about being in a hurry.  I feel the same and I’ve barely started. I’m trying to maintain the mindset that as long as I’m going in the right direction it is good.  I’m not even doing 3% but it was nice to hear my NP tell me I was doing a good job.

 

I hope you start feeling better.  I don’t have emotional blunting but I cry constantly about every little thing.  Wish we could mesh our emotional status and come out with each of us being somewhat normal!

 

Hang in there!!

 

Ha! I wish we could, too, 2cats.  It's awful going through a taper during covid and not being able to cry, but I'm sure I wouldn't like crying all the time either.  I would gladly take half of your tears!

 

I try to focus on the forward momentum, too.  But OH, I am ready to be done with this drug.  I know I have a ways to go still. 

 

Haimona

[[Bi...]]

Congratulations Jben! Praying that you will recover over 100%. Better than you ever were.

 

Hai, I told my doc that my drive and determination both helped and hurt in this situation. On the positive it helped me keep at it. Having a goal and an a definite end date kept me moving forward knowing that I would at least be off the drugs. It hurt because I began to push myself harder and faster than my body could take.

 

My acupuncturist has been encouraging me to accept my suffering as it is instead of making it more difficult by giving it a timeframe. The theme that keeps popping up for me in my morning meditation is acceptance. Acceptance is in the first verse of the serenity prayer which I have been praying for 15 years. I never really understood it until this last wave.

 

I just revised my taper schedule to cut even smaller amounts. Now that this is pushing into 2021 I’m just going to go as fast/slow as I need to:)

[[Ha...]]

Sigh.  Acceptance is HARD, even though I get how necessary it is.  I'm glad we are here to walk each other through it, and support each other.  At this rate it may still be another year before I'm done with this garbage, but I am trying to remember to take the "one day at a time" perspective and just keep going.  One foot in front of the other.

 

Haimona

[[Ha...]]

Oh my gosh, everybody.  Day three on the new dose and this may be the worst day I've had yet during this taper.  I am almost unbearably jittery, my left eyelid is twitching, I am anxious, feeling about to jump out of my skin, brain fog, serious DR and DP, and my heart feels like it's pounding hard.  Holy cow.  So hard to fake it through this work day.  I hoped I would get the worst of this cut over with during the weekend by doing it on Friday night, but so far it's just been awful every single day.

 

I guess I just needed to share that.  I keep telling myself it will get better, but right now I feel horrible.

 

Haimona

[[2c...]]

Haimona

 

That’s what we are here for.   Sometimes you have to get it out there.  I hope you start feeling better soon.  I’ve had a horrible few days myself.  Today I felt a compulsion to literally bang my head against the wall.....it was scary.  Reminding myself by the minute that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Are you getting any extra days off work over the holidays that you could not have that pressure of having to go to work and perform?

[[Ha...]]

Thank you, 2cats  sounds like we are in a very similar place right now.  Not that I wish this on anyone, but it's nice to know we are not "in the trenches" by ourselves.  I'm so sorry you are struggling too. 

 

I made it through this day but I had to take a small piece of my nightly dose early to finish my work day.  I decided to do that as a compromise, so as not to updose but stay functional.  Who knows, maybe it will end up being something I want to keep doing, to divide the dose (usually I just take it once, at bedtime).  I'll see how that goes after I've had a smaller bedtime dose, in the morning.  But at the moment I feel almost no worse than on a typical day. 

 

I will get a couple of three day weekends with Christmas and New Years coming up, which I am very happy about.  You are completely right about that pressure to perform.  It just compounds the difficulty of the taper.

 

And we will get to the end of this tunnel, one day.  Most of the time, I feel sure of that.

 

Haimona

[[Bi...]]

Can someone tell me what the recommended jump off dose is for Ativan? I’ll be at 0.05 mg on Monday.

 

Thanks!