Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[2c...]]

Dianedeedee I hope the break helps and you start feeling better soon

 

2cats-Ashton recommends taking the plunge at .5mg valium which is .05mg Ativan. I took it down to .01 but it is your choice and you should go by how you feel.

 

 

Thanks JuJuBi.  I was thinking it was .01 mg but not sure.  That gives me something to go by. I’ve been holding for a bit now but feel like going forward. 

 

2cats

[[St...]]

hi folks emergency and quick question;  if you tried to go on v and couldn't tolerate it, how quickly do you went back to your starting benzo? I’m at 6.5m dia (only dia for over a month now before that I crossed over from 1mg ati to 8mg dia within 2 weeks) and have been throwing up unbearable conditions with seizures panic shaking etc. Only surviving. Considering going back to Ati so I can get by somehow and then very, very slowly withdrawing. thanks. So just asking HOW and how quickly do you went back to your initial Benzo?

 

Of course, I can also tell you a bit about my background:

I've been on benzos ati for 5 years on and off with several too fast withdrawals and kindlings in clinics because i trusted doctors etc but somehow could still endure it even it was hell.  now in march to april i was on antibiotics and had a bad setback and didn't know what else to do and started taking ati again daily (i hadn't understood for 5 years that ati was probably one of my main problems and kept wrecking my cns).  only now found all the info on the internet at benzo buddies and benzoinfo. So, from April 30th again daily ati 0.5-1.5 (I know already fatal) and then after 2 weeks at some point in May I wanted to stop and that didn't work.  I went crazy like never before in past wd with 7 days of no sleep, hospital, fear of death and non-stop panic.  I then increased back to 0.25 ati 4 times a day.  then I thought it would be easier to wean off with v.  I went from 1mg ati to 8mg dia in 2 weeks and that went well at first.  so when crossing everything was fine.  now since i've been on dia for over a month and already gone down to 6.5mg things have gotten worse again but so dramatically i can't sleep vomit panic shake fear of death seizures.  Bed bound completely destroyed.  In the meantime I've also tried to be more stable on 7mg dia for 2 weeks and it didnt work.  I have the feeling I can't tolerate the dia …with the Tavor it wasn't good either (no withdrawal from any benzo is easy) but with the dia only now it's no longer bearable for a second.  so please: if someone has done something similar and is back please please write me a plan or at what speed you went back to ati xan or whatever.  I appreciate any reply from very experienced members and ask for quick help. Today, July 23, I've been taking 0.25 mg ati in the morning only. No dia.  I don't know how to continue now.  thanks

[[2c...]]

Steffen26

 

I have not switched over from another benzo but I wanted you to know someone has read your post.  It sounds like you have had a very rough road..  If no one here  can answer, you might think about reposting on the Withdrawal Support Board.  I’m sure you will get an answer from another Buddie.

 

2cats

[[Ha...]]

I read your post too Steffen, but I don’t feel I can help. I tapered directly from Ativan. If you go back onto Ati and taper from there, well loads of buddies have done that and are still doing it.

Every good wish.

Hardy

[[St...]]

Thank you Hardy and Cat… Hardy can I ask you how you wean off the ativan on yourself?

Greetings, it’s such a agony right now even after all these years..

[[Di...]]

Dear Dianedeedee.

I hope you will feel better soon and I will miss you! Hope this wave will pass soon and you will be back.

Take good care of you.

💜💜💜

 

Hi Marie,

Thank you.  I hope you are feeling better.

❤

[[Di...]]

Hello everyone.  I hope everyone is hanging in there today!  It’s been a rough few days for me with my hip/ back pain but I had a good follow up with the pain doc to talk about options and I’ve decided to see another orthopedic doc to get another opinion.  He came highly recommended by a good friend of mine.  So we’ll see.  Not getting my hopes up but I need relief.  My daily life is grinding to a halt because of the pain.  Not good.  Anyway I’m trying to be positive 

 

I’ve been meaning to ask this question.  At what dosage does everyone think they will jump off from?  Or is it different for everyone? I’m going to stop my morning dose at .02 mg.  I was thinking the same for my bedtime dose when time  comes.  If I’m feeling decent maybe before that.

 

Just wondered what most Ativan users did. I haven’t checked Dr Ashton’s recommendation if indeed she has one.

 

Hope you guys are doing ok and thinking about DianeDeeDee too.

 

Hi 2cats,

I am so sorry the pain has gotten so bad I hope someone will have some good answers for you.

❤

[[2c...]]

Thanks Dianedeedee   

 

Hope you are feeling better.

 

 

[[li...]]

Someone please help! I was hoping to do a daily liwuid microtaper from ativan, but the best i can do because of what i can get is a minimum 4 percent cut and hold

[[Di...]]

Someone please help! I was hoping to do a daily liwuid microtaper from ativan, but the best i can do because of what i can get is a minimum 4 percent cut and hold

 

Lizgal reach out to Libertas or Bob7.  They can help you with the calculations.

[[Ma...]]

Hi Dianedeedee,

Thank you for asking. I hope you feel a bit better.

On my side, I still am in this bad wave and it is very hard. I’ve had yesterday a very slight better day, but I was still very symptomatic. I feel very hopeless these days.

I really hope things will get easier soon…

Have a nice day

Marie

[[Ma...]]

Hi I need some help.

I am in the worst wave I’ve ever been.

So relentless, full of depression!

I really don’t understand what is happening to me.

It started few days after my colonoscopy, maybe it is

a reaction to the Fentanyl? I only took that, and I deeply

Regret it.

Please tell me it won’t last forever.

I was feeling so good in June, cannot believe what is happening to me now…

[[Di...]]

Hi I need some help.

I am in the worst wave I’ve ever been.

So relentless, full of depression!

I really don’t understand what is happening to me.

It started few days after my colonoscopy, maybe it is

a reaction to the Fentanyl? I only took that, and I deeply

Regret it.

Please tell me it won’t last forever.

I was feeling so good in June, cannot believe what is happening to me now…

 

Hi Marie,

I am so sorry you are in such a bad wave.  Have you changed or added anything?  I made a big mistake was taking Tylenol with caffeine for over two months and didn't realize it.  I stopped it last Saturday CT and am having a horrible time.  I'm sorry I don't know anything about fentanyl.

Feel better🤗

[[li...]]

So concerned that im only days into my taper following months of tolerance and ive already lost so much brain function. When your brain is what jelps you reason how to cope, but your brain instead has poor executive functioning (like frontal lobe being eaten away), major DR, irational fears--how do you override that to cope?

[[Pa...]]

So concerned that im only days into my taper following months of tolerance and ive already lost so much brain function. When your brain is what jelps you reason how to cope, but your brain instead has poor executive functioning (like frontal lobe being eaten away), major DR, irational fears--how do you override that to cope?

 

I believe how we speak about what's happening to us is important, using thoughts and terms to describe what's happening to you can feed into what you appropriately describe as irrational fears.  So to use the phrase "(like frontal lobe being eaten away)" can do more harm than good.  Your brain isn't getting worse when you're tapering it's getting better, if you think in terms of the pain you're experiencing being cause by healing, it can help drive the fear down.

 

 

[[Pa...]]

So concerned that im only days into my taper following months of tolerance and ive already lost so much brain function. When your brain is what jelps you reason how to cope, but your brain instead has poor executive functioning (like frontal lobe being eaten away), major DR, irational fears--how do you override that to cope?

The decline of my cognitive function has frightened me too. I always was able to rationalize and adapt to my situation by quick thinking. Ever since my symptoms, I've been feeling quite challenged mentally. The way I've been getting through this is taking it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Which very much sucks, when all my life I've been looking at the bigger picture. But I focus on the now, because I can't handle more. 

[[li...]]

BRILLIANT! Im just listening to a pastor saying something similar. Im going to save this and read it every day. Thank you.

[[BW...]]

Hi,

I made an intro post, but wanted to introduce myself on this thread as well, as I'm a new taperer of Lorazepam, and perhaps get some advice.  I got some good advice on the intro thread, too.  I've been reading this thread but have only gotten through about 10 pages. 

Before my first cut 1 week ago, I was at 1.5mg Lorazepam.  I made about an 8% cut; now down to 1.375mg.  Here's my current schedule:

.5mg at 8am

.125mg at 12 noon (1/4 pill; had been 1/2 pill until my cut last week)

.25mg at 2pm (this is new; I decided to cut my .5mg afternoon pill in half and take half at 2pm, the other half at 6pm.  Had been taking .5mg at 4pm)

.25mg at 6pm

.25mg at 2am

With the first cut, I had anxiety & lightheadedness the first day, so I'm sure I was at tolerance and/or interdose withdrawal (I'm not sure I understand the difference between the 2, or if it really matters).  My symptoms have mainly been lightheadedness, brain fog, and generally feeling weird in late afternoon, so I'm not sure that splitting the afternoon dose was a good idea.  My idea with doing that was to even out the dosage a little. 

Anyway, I have a scale coming today and hope to make smaller cuts in the future, hopefully just dry tapering as I don't want to do a switch to a different drug since I'm sensitive to most meds. 

My current plan is to hold at this level for another week & see how I'm feeling.  If I do decide to cut another bit out, I'm thinking 5%. 

My question is: any suggestion as to which of the above dosages I should make my next cut? 

Thanks for any advice you may have, for this question and in general. 

[[2c...]]

Welcome BWarrior

 

Everyone is tapering a little differently and sometimes it is trial and error.  Personally, I kept my doses at 3 X day and tapered my A.M. and midday doses first, saving my bedtime dose for last although I did shave a bit from it early on.  Dr. Ashton mentions that that may be one option for some, saving the last dose of the day to taper last.

 

I am getting ready to get rid of the last crumb of my A.M. dose.  I have dry cut all the way so far and plan on doing it to the end .  Others have switched to liquid to make smaller, more accurate cuts.

 

My worse symptoms so far have been insomnia( For me it’s waking up at 2 or 3 am and not going back to sleep ), of course, anxiety, days of depression and muscle pain.

 

I was going pretty steady at cutting 3% every two weeks but have had to hold it a bit longer a few times. 

 

I think most of us have picked a wayto taper that we thinks will be a fit for us and then adjusted depending on our symptoms. It’s a pretty fluid situation.

 

I’m sure some others on this thread will have some suggestions too.  We are small but mighty! 

 

Wish you the best!

 

 

 

 

[[BW...]]

2catsintheyard--thanks for the info & encouragement.  I assume you are using a scale?  I just got one today, and having some issues calibrating it. 

[[2c...]]

What scale are you using, BWarrior?

Mine is a Gem50 Smart Weigh  jewelry scale. 

I read in the manual that comes with it how to calibrate.  Is this the scale that you have by chance?

 

 

[[Di...]]

Hello Bwarrior,

You have received some very good advice from 2cats.  I am doing a liquid taper I'm sorry I can't help with any info on the scale.  Lots of buddies on here taper all the way using a scale I'm sure you will do fine.

Wishing you the best this ativan board is full of good info and support I have read it from the beginning many times.

💕

[[BW...]]

2cats--Mine is a Smart Weigh, but it's a Gem 20.

Dianedeedee--thanks for the encouragement.  I need to read through more of this thread; I've only gotten through about 10 pages. 

[[2c...]]

2cats--Mine is a Smart Weigh, but it's a Gem 20.

Dianedeedee--thanks for the encouragement.  I need to read through more of this thread; I've only gotten through about 10 pages.

 

 

If you need help with your scale I will help you if I can.  There is a buddy called Bob7 who is great at tapering math and using a scale.  You might do a post in the Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper) board if you need help with it too.  Bob7 has some videos about using a scale, etc but I do not have the links.  Maybe someone else here has them and will share.  In the meantime I will try to find them.

 

2cats 

[[Di...]]

Hi 2cats, Marie, everyone else.

How are you all doing?  I'm still in a wave.

Hugs and prayers🙏🙏❤