Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Ho...]]

It's up to you when to try the new oil.  Stable doesn't mean that you feel good; it just means you feel good/confident enough to continue.  You're the only one who knows when you're ready to move on.

 

No harm in holding for a while.  Don't let that bother you.  You're correct that you'd rather do this right than have to do a big up-dose and begin a new taper.  Take your time.

 

Thank you so much!

 

I was at that “withdrawal normal” where you still feel crumby but you’re at your “normal” for this situation. I was definitely there before this last liquid fail.

 

I’ll probably try to get back there or close to there before switching to liquid. Delays like this are just super frustrating.

 

You’ve helped so much - thank you!!!!

 

I’ll report back soon!

[[Bi...]]

Hi All,

 

It's been 3 weeks since I jumped and just thought I would check in. I had some difficult anxiety the first week, but by week two it was significantly better. I'm still left with bad sleep and tinnitus, but overall I feel really good. I'm starting to focus on getting back into shape, exercising and posture / strength training (the egoscue method).

 

Also, I always wondered why we did not hear too frequently from our buddies who "graduated." Now I know. It's probably a good thing to not feel the need to check in. It most likely means we are doing well!  I'm here today not because of symptoms, but trying to see how buddies are doing after the covid vaccine, because I am hesitant.

 

But please know that all of you are dear to my heart and I pray for everyone here.

 

Much love,

Bibs jo

 

 

[[Di...]]

Bibsjo so very very happy for you!  I haven't gotten to vaccine yet but my 89 yr old mother has received both of hers and she did great...a little soreness at injection site with the second one for a day but that was all.

[[...]]

Hey Bibsjo.  Congrats on your progress and glad to see you are feeling so well!!  I am at 90 days today and feeling pretty good.  Seeing progress each month!

 

I got the Moderna shots in the last month.  There were no correlating side effects related to benzo withdrawal.  The second shot did knock me down for a few days but that is normal.  I had no anxiety from it.

 

[[Gi...]]

Bibsjo,

Congratulations on your jump from the benzo.  You sound

like you are doing pretty well and that is good to hear.  I know you will continue to feel better and better.  Your patience in tapering down so low will pay off.

 

I'm at about 14 weeks off.  I'm noticing sleep is slowly improving.  I had benzo belly for several weeks, ugh.  Yesterday and today I have felt good.  The sinus congestion has greatly lessened and rarely bothers me now.  No more headaches, a bit of anxiety from time to time but very manageable.  I'm just so grateful to be off.

 

Covid cases are on the decline here.  I haven't had the vaccine and not sure I will.  All of my friends who have had it say it was no big deal, sore arm, one or two days of fatigue, aching but very tolerable.  I hope this helps JBen.  Hello to all the rest of our group.  Spring is almost here! Ginger

[Guest [ba...]]

Bibs - I'm so happy that you're doing well. 

 

I don't know why more graduates don't post their success stories.  Obviously, I wish they would.  I look forward to reading yours.

[[Ho...]]

It's up to you when to try the new oil.  Stable doesn't mean that you feel good; it just means you feel good/confident enough to continue.  You're the only one who knows when you're ready to move on.

 

No harm in holding for a while.  Don't let that bother you.  You're correct that you'd rather do this right than have to do a big up-dose and begin a new taper.  Take your time.

 

Hey badsocref! Hoping to get your opinion. It’s been a week since I stopped that liquid after trying it for 5 days. Friday night I had better sleep and Saturday was a better day but yesterday was pretty brutal and last nights sleep was bad. I woke up at 4am and laid around waiting for 5:30am for my morning dose. I felt withdrawal symptoms leading up to my 5:30am dose and when I took it, I felt some relief (although still terrible).

 

I haven’t waited around for my morning dose in a long time - interdose withdrawal hasn’t been there since maybe the beginning.

 

Any suggestions on why I’m getting worse? Should I hold until I stabilize more?

[Guest [ba...]]

I think everybody has better and worse days.  Sounds like yesterday was one of your worst days.  Don't overthink it.  I wouldn't start a taper following a rough day.  Give yourself enough time to be confident about continuing with your taper.  You're the only person who will know when that is.

 

The 4 am wake-up thing is super common.  Mornings (esp around 4 am) suck.  Very normal for people to have their worst part of the day from 4-5 or even 4-6.  I used that time each morning to catch up on some web/computer work.  I'd feel a little better by 6 and could get up and start the day.

 

 

[[Ma...]]

Hi everyone

I am new to this awful world, and I think I need some encouragement. I am a very short user of Ativan, I've been only using it 1-2 a week for the last 2 months, and it was enough to make me dependent. I am in an awful situation, as I can't believe that I am stuck with this poison for months now, because I have no choice of tapering it.

Now, I am searching for the right dose I must take everyday. I just feel awful anytime.

I would like to know, according to your experience, if I take 0.2mg at night and I am able to sleep, do I stick on this dose and wait to stabilize, even if I have more and more interdose symptoms as the day pass?

And do you think if I must split the dose during the day?

 

Thank you so much for your help!

[[...]]

Hey Marie79.  Welcome.  We are all in this together.

 

I can only provide you with my experience as I am not an expert at this.  There is the ashton manual that gives some good advice about tapering at 10% about every couple of weeks.  I chose to do it faster and regret my decision.  I wished I had held longer but wanted off the benzos as fast as possible.  I also had interdose withdrawals and eventually had to move to a liquid compound taken 4x a day.  Moving to 4x a day quickly resolved the issue and I was able to taper.  Just tapered too rapidly.

 

Hope this helps.

[[Ma...]]

Hey Marie79.  Welcome.  We are all in this together.

 

I can only provide you with my experience as I am not an expert at this.  There is the ashton manual that gives some good advice about tapering at 10% about every couple of weeks.  I chose to do it faster and regret my decision.  I wished I had held longer but wanted off the benzos as fast as possible.  I also had interdose withdrawals and eventually had to move to a liquid compound taken 4x a day.  Moving to 4x a day quickly resolved the issue and I was able to taper.  Just tapered too rapidly.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thank you so much.

I am trying to split the dose im two to begin with. Will see if it helps.

I want too to be off benzo asap. I've only been on it for 4 days before it hooked me. Incredible. I am still in shock.

The reason I didn't C/T, first the WD symptoms were too hard to bear, and I am already in a Mirtazapine WD, so my CNS is very sensitive. I don't want to srew it more with  a C/T.

 

[[...]]

Greetings Ativan Warriors,

 

Most of you don't know me as I finished my taper nine months ago and quickly stopped logging into BBs.  During my 18 month taper from the high dose of 6mgs. Ativan, I  checked in almost everyday. I did not have the support of an "enlightened" psych. doc..  The mutual support here was a life-line and I will be forever grateful. 

 

My taper was pretty classic, I tried going too fast in the beginning using "cut and hold" until it caught up with me and I started having debilitating symptoms of nausea and fatigue.  So I slowed down, held as needed, switched to Daily Liquid Micro Taper (DLMT) by making my own solution and things got a lot better.  In fact, I was almost symptom free during the 2nd half of my taper. 

 

BBs randomly crossed my mind tonight and I wondered how the people I knew are doing.  Most have successfully completed their tapers and like me rarely log on. Moving on with our lives is a sign of health. 

 

I believe you will be successful!  You will feel better!  And your life will not be dominated by Ativan.  Here's what helped me: taking it as slowly as needed, doing an individualized symptom- based taper, taking good care of myself holistically with a low-inflammation diet, moderate outdoor exercise, limiting stress and finding even the smallest distractions to feel joy even if just for a moment.  I tried to stay away from the "horror stories" on this website and limited myself to helpful threads.  Hope, perseverance and patience along with a support system were some of the things that helped.

 

I wish you all ease and success!

 

Luey

 

 

[[Ha...]]

Luey,

 

It's so nice to see you checking in and most importantly, feeling happy and well!! I remember you as you were one of the most active (and supportive) voices on this thread when I first joined.  I'm still slogging through it, but it certainly gives me hope and encouragement to hear from buddies like you who have successfully tapered.

 

Thanks for stopping by. 

 

Haimona

[[Gi...]]

Luey,

Thank you for checking in.  I'm happy you have been successful.  It's definitely worth doing and I'm glad I finally made it to the other side.  I agree with everything you said.  Best of luck for your ativan free life.  Ginger

[[Di...]]

Oh my Luey I was so excited when I saw your name on here today!  I have gone back through all of your posts and still reread alot of them often...you give me so much hope.  I am struggling so hard right now.  I wish you a wonderful life thank you for checking in.

[[Ju...]]

Hello Lorazafamily,

 

Luey so glad that you stopped in! Gives us all still in this process so much hope. Glad to hear you are living life and not thinking about this much.

 

I am still reducing at an extremely slow pace. For now my only symptoms are the skin heat in my feet and legs, hot flashes and my new phase of crying a lot.  Not like a hard crying but I seem a bit sensitive and well up in tears at the slightest things good or bad. Sleep is ok 5-7 hours. Sometimes broken sometimes straight through.  I was keeping it at 3% reduction a month but have been able to take it up to 5.75%  seeing how this goes and hoping to stay higher. I will not hesitate to drop back down if symptoms kick up.

 

On the 28th I will be under .3 and into the .2s!!!!  So going the right direction.

 

I don't come on here too often as I am doing my best to live my life.  On a whole I am living a pretty normal life and it gets better the lower I go. Working, shopping and went out to a restaurant last weekend for the first time in over a year.  It felt wonderful.

 

If I have any advice it is go slow slow slow. I believe we heal on the way down.  For me this is the right way. I am able to live my life fairly normally as I do this.

 

JuJuBi

[[...]]

Haimona, Ginger, Diane, JuJu and Everybody,

 

How nice to hear back from you all.  Ginger, you made it!  Congratulations! Diane, so sorry to hear you are currently struggling, I know how awful it can be. Hang in there, you are going to feel better. Give yourself some extra self care. You might feel it will never end, but it will.  Haimona, I hope your slog will soon feel like a peaceful stroll.  JuJu, it's good to hear how much you've been able to put it in the background.

 

Tapering from benzos is truly this a heroes journey.  Every month I would pick up my prescription and report my progress to my pharmacist by the percentage point.  I was much more open with her than with my psych doc about micro-tapering.  My doc. knew I was tapering and wanted off but I told her I was just cutting by 1/4 of a pill every six weeks or so.  Since she doesn't think there's a problem with prescribing Ativan, I don't trust her as much as I would like.  Hopefully she's learning! In any case, at the end of my taper my pharmacist said:  "That's amazing, unheard of" to know of someone successfully micro-tapering off such a high dose of benzos while enduring the symptoms of withdrawal.

 

So really be proud of yourself for your courage and strength.  It takes a lot to endure when you don't feel well and have terrible symptoms.  I'm sending hope and positive thoughts out to all of you.

 

Big hugs,

 

Luey

[[Au...]]

Hi Luey,

Congrats on your recovery. Just a quick question... your signature mentions another medication. We’re you on this to help with withdrawal symptoms? Or for other reasons? (Sorry to pry).

I’m having a tough time like everyone else on here but I also now suffer from a movement disorder called FND.

I’m on Ativan, tried to c/o to Valium and failed miserably. I’ve been tapering off Valium and now withdrawing from that too. I’m hoping now I’m off the Valium that I will stablise on just the Ativan (better the devil you know!) and then I will commence DMT using scales. Im not keen to try the liquid, I’m not feeling strong enough for another potential set back so I’m all set up and ready to go with using symptom based DMT using Ativan tablets.

Your story is inspiring. Ultimately it would be nice to taper and function eg. Work part time.

We’re you able to participate in life whilst tapering? Ok if you’re not comfortable with answering that, just curious. Any suggestions/recommendations appreciated!

I push myself everyday to go for a 10 minute walk and try to distract when I can but I seem to get no relief at the moment.

[[...]]

Hi Luey,

Congrats on your recovery. Just a quick question... your signature mentions another medication. We’re you on this to help with withdrawal symptoms? Or for other reasons?

 

We’re you able to participate in life whilst tapering? Any suggestions/recommendations appreciated!

I push myself everyday to go for a 10 minute walk and try to distract when I can but I seem to get no relief at the moment.

Hi Aussie, Nice to meet you! Yes, I am taking Lamictal. I suffer from the very real bio-chemical neurological (genetic?) illness of severe "depression" episodes.  (It's not psychological of emotional) One of my symptoms when I get sick is vomiting. That's why I was prescribed the Ativan- it did help and probably saved my life.  My illness has been difficult to treat, I tried so many different things both holistic and anti-depressants. I've always lived a very healthy lifestyle!  Finally Lamictal helped which allowed me to stop the Ativan. Unfortunately though my body had developed a dependency on Ativan so I had to go through that next. But the benzo withdrawal symptoms were distinctively different and not nearly as severe. I will likely need to stay on medication for the rest of my life, just not benzos! Lamictal is an anti-convulsant but is being used more and more to treat bi-polar (especially the depressive side) and major depression disorder.

 

Yes, I really was able to get my symptoms under control once I slowed down, switched to DLMT and as my dosage got lower.  From the beginning I always walked for about an hour at least once a week but I still spent a lot of time on the couch.  I also got serious about a low-inflammation diet and started feeling better after all of those things.  Yes, I really did get my life back to normal for the last eight months of my taper, virtually symptom free. Like Builder, a famous buddie, used to say preparing your daily dose can become "like brushing your teeth."  Feeling "normal" again feels like such a gift.

 

I really believe if you slow down and listen to your body along with a commitment to a healthy lifestyle your symptoms will lessen.  It can take a lot of patience though to get them under control.  It took me several months of ups and downs.

 

I am sending you my best wishes.  I'll check back here to see if you or anybody else has questions or replies.  I'm happy to help in anyway I can. Hang in there my friend,

 

Luey

[[Au...]]

Thank you so much for your reply Luey.

I will keep your message close by to remind myself that there is hope for me too.

 

Thanks again for checking in with BB. I really needed to hear your story today. All the best 🤗

[[Ma...]]

Hi everyone. I am new here. I am desperately trying to stabilize on Ativan. It is hard for me to find the good dose, as I became dependent to it by taking it 2-3 a week (0,5mg). I don’t really know which dose I have to take everyday, so I am trying and changing for the last two weeks. I just destabilized further my CNS doing so. I need some guidance to help me find the good fit. For now, I am trying 0,28mg a day, split in two doses (0,08mg at 11am and 0,20mg at 7pm). For now, I really struggle to stabilize, I am not able to do nothing, I am a wreck. I would like to be at least a little fonctionnal.

So if you have tips or insight, I will be happy to read you.

Thank you so much!

 

[[Di...]]

Hi Marie, I am so sorry you are suffering.  I am not very knowledgeable about how to handle what you are asking help for but I know there are many on here that will be able to give you some very helpful information.  Keep checking back and hang in there.  I now know that I didn't do myself any favors by jumping around with my doses in the beginning and then tapering to fast.  Someone will help you figure the right dose then encourage you to taper slow.  Wishing you the best.  Hugs!

[Guest [ba...]]

I think that you might want to try to get stable on 1.5 mg per week since you were using 0.5 2-3 times a week.  That would be around 0.22 mg per day.  0.25 mg might be easier to do if you don't have a milligram balance.

[[Ma...]]

I think that you might want to try to get stable on 1.5 mg per week since you were using 0.5 2-3 times a week.  That would be around 0.22 mg per day.  0.25 mg might be easier to do if you don't have a milligram balance.

Thank you! In fact, I’ve tried to take only 0,18mg to 0,25mg and nothing seems to be enough. This is why I am trying a little bit more. It is very difficult for me to find the good dose, because I’ve only used it 3 times and I became immediately dependent (3 times with days in between). I am still in shock of how it happened so quickly. I hate myself enormously to have put myself in this trap. I known that it was addictive, but I thought that if I only used it few times with days in between, I would be ok. It is not the case. I have been trapped. I am in hell.

 

Thank you for your help! I feel so desperate, I have the feeling I won’t be able to get rid of it...

 

Marie79

[[Ma...]]

In fact ,I have some questions.

If I stick to this dose (0,28mg) split in two times a day, can I expect that I will somehow stabilize? And if so, I can split it in three after? I don’t know how to do it .