Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Li...]]

Another member of the low bp club!  All Tied Up  - Hoosier and Mairin know what they're talking about!!  Even just adding V8 to my diet has helped me immensely, and more bananas!  I too am a lifelong fainter, especially in the morning....... I actually have a scab healing from a morning "fall" a few weeks ago..... My son compared it to his skateboarding scabs...... does that make me cool?

 

I hope everyone is feeling good today -

 

MAIRIN - YOU ARE DOING AWESOME!!! AND I'M SHOUTING TOO!!! :crazy:

 

 

[[Ho...]]

oh my god, LITN....I am sending you a helmet! 

 

I've been having a rough few weeks, sorry to report.  Symptoms have been intense, and then I guess its been complicated by the fact that I "expected" to be further down the healing line by now.  So, my mental state hasn't been good.

 

I "reassessed" yesterday and made myself go back to the basics that have helped me "get through" in the past -- an hour of good CBT / meditation in the morning; doing a gratitude journal; and trying to focus on the things I CAN do, as opposed to my limitations.  I'm also trying to just live in the day, however it unfolds, instead of thinking of how many months I have in front of me before I feel better.

 

Don't want to be a downer; just where I am at right now and further evidence that taking it slow and listening to your body will win you this race in an easier fashion.

[[Li...]]

oh Hoosier

 

I'm sorry you've been down.  It sounds like you have a lot of great coping mechanisms in place though for when this happens.  Meditation can do wonders..... it's hard not to think about things that you might not be able to do now, or how you're feeling...... but, you are so right, by focusing on what you CAN do, and things you are grateful for in your life, that can really make a difference.  That's how I tend to live my life (hence, my screen name), but, I too struggle with depression.  When it hits, it's nearly impossible for me to come up with one thing I'm grateful for.  I hate to admit it.  It's just the worst.

 

 

I keep reading that these symptoms are signs that we're healing......so, that's one way to look at it. Here are a bunch of hugs :hug: :hug: :hug:  

 

Breathe... think positive thoughts..... you've come SO FAR..... it will get easier.

 

Peaceful thoughts,

LITN

 

 

[[Al...]]

I want to thank all of you for taking up my fainting issue so quickly.

I have already started the V-8 suggestion and I will heed the other suggestions as well.

slept on my right arm and when I awoke it was totally numb and started to tingle as soon as I got up. I jumped out of bed and went to washroom, my arm filling back up with blood must have drained my head.

This along with the taper induced LBP in the am, I think caused this.

 

What do you think about this theory?

[[Ma...]]

All Tied Up, yes that seems like a good theory.  Getting up abruptly probably did mess with your bp, and the arm.

 

Thanks for the support LITN and Hoosiers   I'm really sorry you are having a rough time Hoosiers, but you seem to be coping as well as you can in your mind, that's the best you can do.

 

I have asked for a lot of prayer so I believe that is helping me.  Its nothing I'm doing, all I'm doing is cutting small and holding long, taking vitamins and trying to be mindful of my blood pressure.  Just hoping and praying it will continue to go well.

[[Ho...]]

Thanks for the support and hugs, guys.  I just really need it right now.    :'(

[[Wi...]]

Happy to hear Mairin, you are doing great So sorry to hear Hoosierfans, big hug, keep doing what has been working for you and yes you are going to heal, I know you will Keeping everyone in my prayers

 

W

[[Al...]]

Mairin & Hoosierfans and others:

 

Have you guys & gals ever tried or considered a switch to Valium. Many on here have told me I should try this.

 

Any thoughts on this?

[[mi...]]

I crossed over to Librium from ativan. I have been off ativan for over a year now. I am almost done tapering the librium. I just have my bedtime dose left. I have been feeling wonderful and like I was given my life back. I workout both aerobics and dancing, and lifting weight, go tanning  still and am going to start marial arts soon. I know people talk about having windows but I seem to have them every day. In fact when I taper a dose, it seems like I get lazy and get the munchies and fall asleep easy just watching a movie. Of course I put myself on a soecial diet which is mostly all natural foods with no preservatives. If you want your receptors to heal faster, you have to fees them. Raw spinach is the answer. Reason is because it has L-glutamine in it which helps produce GABA. I eat two bowl a day with avocado and tomato. I havent looked this good and felt this hmealthy and strong in years. In fact I even changed my wardrobe and feel and look so young and vibrant. It helps to have a wonderful nurse practioner that is very caring and supportive and has patients with me. I thank the Lord every day for giving me a second chance at life. I hopr all is well with everyone.

[[Ho...]]

All, thanks again for the hugs and support....yesterday was a better day.  Concentrated on doing my meditation, my journaling and CBT, went to physical therapy, and then did some crafty stuff (my son's Wall-e costume).  I know in order to fight the physical I have to get the mental right....  a vicious cycle.   

 

I also read a great thread posted on here about the HPA Axis and how benzos disrupt this axis, and, most importantly for me, that if you are on any kind of glucocorticoid, the HPA Axis is further disturbed (i.e. w/d is tougher and longer).  Unfortunately, I've been on that kind of med for about 2 years and have to take it for my bp.....so it explains why the w/d has been so impactfuly on me and full of physical effects.  Knowing this just gives me a little bit of comfort that I will heal, even if it takes a bit longer than most. 

 

ATU, I tried Valium for 1 day and hated it.....it was probably the only day that I've ever been suicidal.  It caused such a deep depression I can't tell you.  BUT, that being said I lot of folks find it more sedating at first and then it evens out.  And, their tapers tend to be much easier than off of Ativan.  So, don't take my experience as a "don't do it."  Just take it as a word of caution --- I guess my advice is stick with what is working -- if Ativan tapering is working, stick with it.  If it isn't, cross over....I should have taken my own advice (Klonopin worked great in the past and I had little trouble tapering; so I should have crossed over to K when the Ativan made me feel so awful; but Valium wasn't for me!).

 

Wishing everybody a day of healing with moments of joy and enjoy the beautiful fall weather!  Cheers! 

[[as...]]

I somehow always missed this thread and just found it today for the first time. I didn't realize that there were so many other people who had issues with Ativan.

 

I am hoping that someone can answer a question for me.  I have been tapering since last March or April and have a good problem that I don't want to turn into a bad problem.  To make a long story short, I was on Ativan for about 17 years and took at least 3 mgs per day, on a good day.  In reality, I ended-up taking about 5-6 mgs per day, for at least the last 5 years or so.  My doctor prescribed the Ativan for anxiety, based on a misunderstanding and never explained what the drug was.  Like a fool, I never bothered to find out what it was and just took it all of the time.  I never had an issue with anxiety before taking Ativan, but did after being on Ativan for a while and had horrible problems between doses, but only in the afternoon and early evening.  For some reason, I never associated all of the problems with the Ativan, as dumb as that sounds.  As my problems got worse, I started to take larger doses, but wouldn't take them at regular intervals.  For example, I would take a dose at 10 PM, but not take my next dose until the next day at 2 PM at the earliest. 

 

My taper has been freakishly smooth.  I cut by .5 mgs at a time and have minor issues when I first reduced my dose, but only for 3-4 days.  Since March or April, I have gone from at least 3 mgs a day (5 or 6) to .25 mgs per day. I  have been at .25 mgs for a while now.  Currently, I have no issues whatsoever with withdrawal or anxiety, that I feel.  I have to really pay attention or I forget to take the .25 mgs.  When I read about the experience that others had, I have no such issues, luckily.  My doctor thinks that this is because I would never take the doses at regular intervals and am so used to the withdrawal that I no longer notice it.  I am not sure if that is good or bad.  My doctor lets me taper at my own pace and stays out of it.

 

I am finally getting to my question, I swear.  My plan was to keep tapering, next to .125 mgs and then lower, although I can't imagine how I will get these pills any smaller.  Since I have no withdrawal, I was considering just jumping at .25 mgs.  I am curious what others think of me jumping at .25 mgs, based on my history.  I am a bit concerned that I could screw this up at this point and end-up going backwards.  What do you think?

 

 

 

 

[[be...]]

If I were you I would jump after holding .125 for a few weeks. But that's me. Not everyone gets physiologically dependant on ativan.

That seems to be your case. If you were, you would certainly know it by now.

I'm at .224 a day but I when I take a 3% cut, it hurts. Bad sometimes.

So I am going to taper to zero probably.

Should that be the way you chose to go, you can have your prescription compounded into a liquid solutions that alows you to make tiny cuts via a oral syringe.

 

Good luck to you and welcome to the AV club.

 

BDL

[[Al...]]

How is this possible? Here is a guy "Ashton" who has been on a rather high dose (3 mgs.) for many many years then just cuts down to what I would consider a small dose in no time at all. I was on 1 mg. for just over a year and have been trying to taper for over a year now and am at on;y .70 mgs. and each cut of .005 even almost puts me over the edge.

 

What is going on with us, that we can not also cut like Ashton????????/

[[Ma...]]

All tied up, switching to V is a crap shoot.  Some people do ok and others don't.  I think it has more metabolites than Ativan.  These drugs are not really equal to each other, they each have their own quirks of action.  Some people have switched to V at doses of 70 or 80 mgs.  You would only need 7 mgs at the point you are at now.  There are no guarantees whether you will tolerate it well or not.  But it seems like it maybe be something to consider if you are really getting stuck at .7.  There are other options but they are not very common.  Like librium that miss kim is on.  It is less depressing for a lot of people than V.  Then I've heard one person talk of a benzo called Serax which is supposedly similar to ativan but weaker in strength.  Everybody is so different in how they react from one med to another.  Just look at the posts on this page.

 

Miss Kim, so glad to hear your librium taper has worked well for you, and I hope it continues to go well. 

 

Ashton, that is so great to hear that you are not having problems.  I see by your signature you have gone pretty slow with each cut.  There is a theory called "kindling" that purports that if a person has been on and off more than once, they may have a harder time getting off each subsequent time.  Perhaps if you have never switched from A to anything else, you stand a better chance of not having much or any w/d.  So that's fantastic for you.  Probably the lower you can get before you jump the better off you will be.  .25, wow that's great and you've come so far down.

 

Hoosier, sending you love and hugs.  BDL, hugs to you too.

Mairin

[[as...]]

BDL:

 

Thanks.  I will give it some thought.  That was actually my original plan, but I feel like I am just prolonging it needlessly.  We will see, I suppose.

 

Good luck to you too.

[[as...]]

All Tied Up:

 

I don't know that I would wish this on anyone. It seems great now, but I paid for it for years.  I only mentioned this briefly, but I lived with the symptoms that people feel when tapering every day for probably 15 or so years, I just never associated it with Ativan.  That might actually be worse, since I had no idea what caused it.  It probably made me worse, since I never had a panic attack in my life, until I was on Ativan for a while and then it was endless panic attacks and problems.  The panic attacks caused me to take higher doses, which caused me to have more frequent and severe panic attacks. It was a lovely cycle that never ended.  In a way, I would rather have them now, as I would at least understand why they occurred and not have to wait for 15 years, suffering the whole time.

[[Al...]]

Thanks for the feedback Ashton, I understand what you are saying. It just seems that I am really having a tough time with this ativan taper. After being on it for a year 1 mg./day, I started having what I now understand to be interdose and tolereance withdrawal. I chose then to get off it since I thought what had caused my anxiety had since passed and I shouldn't need it any more. Now I am in the battle of my life! I thought quitting smoking 20 years ago was hard, that was nothing.

 

I am determined to beat this even if it kills me first!

 

Good luck with your continued taper, just tale it slowly the rest of the way.

 

Take care.

[[Ma...]]

Ashton, I'm kind of amazed that you said you were taking 5-6 mgs a day for the past five years.  So you just dropped 3 mgs at once?

 

Just to clarify what I said, kindling happens when you go completely off the drug and get back on one or more times.  This can cause it to be harder to get off each subsequent time.  You've never been off the drug before, so perhaps you don't have that extra problem.  Switching from one drug to another can cause problems too, but I'm not sure that's considered kindling.  But you've never been off and you've never switched, so you have both going in your favor.

 

I was on 1 to 1.5 for about 8 years.  I never had "symptoms", never desired for an increase.  A few years ago a doc told me it wasn't working (?) and upped my does to 2.5.  I honestly never felt the need for an increase.  I took the 2.5 anyway, I did not realize it was probably unecessary.  Then last year I got put on increasingly higher doeses, from 2.5 to 6 mgs A in about 4 months, and finally switched to 6 mg K, which I am upset about, cause I know that was unecessary now, but was ignorant of the extreme powerfulness of K at the time.  It didn't take long for me to start having trouble with all that K.  It was horrible being switched back from K to A, it involved quite a drop in dose, roughly equivalent to losing 4 mgs A instantly.  I had terrible w/d symtoms for several months, but thank God I finally stabelized from that drop.

 

BDL, some people don't get physiologically addicted to A?  Maybe I was one of them, but now since going through that K thing, I'm not sure.  I did go off A at about 1 mg 9 years ago, with no withdrawal, because I was pregnant.  I had no withdrawal from doing that.  I think at that point I had more of a pychological need for it, because I missed it and went back on it a few months after the baby was born, but I did not suffer.  So that experience led me to believe that it was not hard to get off this. 

 

Ah sorry, just rambling I guess.

[[be...]]

Yeah, I mean to be honest I have taken benzos for years on and off and never had problems stopping them. This is how most people in the world are. Benzo buddies represents a very small percentage of folks who happen to have a really tough time. And I believe that there are some people on this board who come here out of concern for what might happen when they discontinue, but have not formed the type of dependency that others have. Oh how I wish to be one of them. 

 

 

BDL

[[Bi...]]

I do not hear to many people talking about blood pressure medication. From my experience the tinnitus and vertigo is worst when my blood pressure is high.  Also when I make a cut and start feeling bad and my blood pressure goes up 20%.  When I ran out of meds  (cold turkey from lack of proper planning)  my blood pressure went up 40%.  Taking blood pressure medication for me is an important step to lowering the tinnitus and withdrawal problems I think.  I think blood pressure medication should be part of any withdrawal strategy as it lowers heart rate and clears up much of my tinnitus. I like beta blockers since they slow production of that nasty Hormone Adrenalin that is suspect for panic attacks and tinnitus also beta blockers have a general calming effect!!! Does any one have similar experiences with beta blockers?  I could use all the help I can get.

[[as...]]

Ashton, I'm kind of amazed that you said you were taking 5-6 mgs a day for the past five years.  So you just dropped 3 mgs at once?

 

 

After I re-read what I wrote, I wasn't at all clear.  I was prescribed 3 mgs per day, well 2-3 mgs per day, but actually took 5-6 mgs for most of the 15-17 years, or however long it was.  For some reason, I don't really remember much of the time period, but surely the Ativan didn't contribute to that (kidding).  I decided to just stop taking Ativan last March and just quit cold turkey.  An ambulance ride and emergency room visit the next day convinced me that this was probably a bad idea.  I re-instated, but at 3 mgs per day.  I never really thought about it, but for I always consider my taper as starting at 3 mgs, not the 5 or 6.

 

 

[[ce...]]

BDL, I love your optimism about 2013.  I think it's going to be a great year for all of us to be benzo free, healthy and happy!   

 

Ativan peeps, life gets better.  You can taper this stuff.  Don't let anyone tell you it's too hard or that it's impossible.  It's very possible.  Not easy, but possible.

 

 

[[be...]]

Thank you cedar. I'm having a rough day all of a sudden. So it was

Good to see a famiar ativaner. Symptoms are coming back pretty strong

At these lower doses. Anxiety, fear, tinnitus, aches, all of it really.

I'm at .22ish. I was really hoping the rough stuff was behind me. This

Path is unbelievably hard. I don't want to hold any more. This has gone on for

Almost 9 months now. I can not believe it.

Just when I think I can tolerate it, it gets worse. Almost to spite me it seems.

t least it's not constant. I get a wave every day for a few hours but on either side of  that

Wave I feel ok. This is rough though. Thanks for listening.

 

BDL

[[Bi...]]

Hi,  Is there any problem staying at any doze level for too long??  I am afraid I will need more if I stay at any level to long,,, or is that just silly? 

[[...]]

Biologic maxum 101- Individuals within a species vary. Even Ashton says that up to 50% of people can quit benzos abruptly with little or no problems. Other "experts" claim that 50-100% of people have problems stopping benzos. I'd like a gene change please.