Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[2c...]]

Hi Dianedeedee

 

I was thinking of you today.  I’m so sorry you are still in a wave.  I was in a pretty bad wave myself for a while.  I’m still not great but some of the really bad anxiety has lessened a bit. I really hope you get a window coming your way soon! 

 

I went to a new orthopedic doc to get yet another opinion about my back and hip pain.  I am cautiously optimistic.  I was prescribed a different anti inflammatory.  I actually had less pain today after starting it.  I also started  physical therapy again and it seems like I am getting a bit of movement back and less tightness in the muscles.  If I can manage the pain this way it would be great.  Do not want to get steroid injection.

 

It’s difficult to get out to all of the PT appts.  The anxiety kicks in.  I live in a rural area and to get to PT is  a 40 min drive but if it helps I’ll grin and bear it.  Of course doing the exercises at home as well.

 

I hope everyone is hanging in there.  It’s been a rough summer with the heat waves, storms and flooding.  We’ll hope for a calmer fall and maybe some long overdue windows for us all.

 

[[Di...]]

Hi 2cats,

Thank you its rough as you know.

 

I am so glad the anti inflammatory is helping.  I hope this ortho will be able to help you a lot.  I understand how horrible the anxiety can be.

 

Hang in there you are getting there.

Hugs❤

[[BW...]]

2cats,

It seems that one of my 2 10g calibration weights that came with the scale is heavier than the other one.  I haven't been able to calibrate it to exactly 10grams.  How accurate does it need to be?

Thanks for any advice you can provide,

BWarrior

[[2c...]]

2cats,

It seems that one of my 2 10g calibration weights that came with the scale is heavier than the other one.  I haven't been able to calibrate it to exactly 10grams.  How accurate does it need to be?

Thanks for any advice you can provide,

BWarrior

 

 

My scale weighs accurately down to 0.04 g.  Some buddies weighing Ativan  have said they can weigh to 0.01 g.  I think it would be important to weigh accurately to those low numbers especially with Ativan cutting.  Is it possible to return the scale and get another one?  My model of scale came with two 20g calibration weights. 

 

 

I’ve weighed my lowest doses to 0.04 g and then did one more cut of approx 1/2 of that 0.04 crumb. Last cut not super accurate but it’s the lowest I could go and it worked out ok for me with my midday dose.  I just cut my morning dose to that. 

 

 

 

I’m not sure of another way to correct it.  Not sure if this was of much help . 

[[BW...]]

2 cats,

.04g is the accuracy on my scale, too.  I just weighed 10 pills and divided by 10, which according to the scale, 1 pill = .06g.  According to my math, a 5% cut from that would be .003, so I'm not sure the scale is accurate enough.  Does my math on that look right to you?

Thanks for your help!!

BWarrior

[[2c...]]

2 cats,

.04g is the accuracy on my scale, too.  I just weighed 10 pills and divided by 10, which according to the scale, 1 pill = .06g.  According to my math, a 5% cut from that would be .003, so I'm not sure the scale is accurate enough.  Does my math on that look right to you?

Thanks for your help!!

BWarrior

 

 

I should have said that my scale can weight to .004g not .04g…

 

Yes your math is right but you won’t be weighing what you cut off, rather what you have leftover.

Let me explain.

I will use your 5% as the example.

 

Reduction 1- I want to do a 5% .  So I weigh the pill which you have done and it is .06g,

The weight of the pill after you cut it will be 95 %  or .95 of the original weight. 

Multiply .95 X .06.  That equals 0.057.  0.057 is the “new” weight of the pill.  So as you are cutting and weighing , you want the pill to now weigh 0.057.  It is more accurate to weigh the remainder of the pill as opposed to trying to weigh the tiny amount you cut off.

 

So that being the case, the next cut you make will be .90 x .06, then .85 x .06, .80x .06, .75 x .06, etc.

I figure  the average of 10 pills every time I open a new bottle.

 

It gets tricky when you get to the last tiny crumb and at what weight you decide to jump from.  I’ve jumped from my midday dose at approx..002g .  My scale won’t weigh .002g only .004, so I just eyeball the crumb of the pill and cut it in half.  Not super accurate but that’s what I do.  Others will add heavier objects such as a calibration weight to the crumb because it may weigh more accurately that way.

 

You could possibly get more info about that on the Planning Your Withdrawal board.

 

Does this make sense to you?

[[BW...]]

2cats,

Yes, this makes sense.  Do you think this works with what I want to do, which is cut & hold?  From here on out, I'd like to cut 5% and see how I feel for a week or 2, then do another 5% cut, etc.

Thank you so much for all your help!

BWarrior

[[2c...]]

I’ve been doing a cut and hold taper and I do have some ups and downs definitely but personally I did not want to go through a switch to Valium.  There have been many that have successfully tapered Ativan doing a cut and hold taper.  As you go along, you can decide if it’s right for you.  If your symptoms are not bearable you can decide what you need to do.

 

I have never gotten to a point where I feel totally “stable “ in between cuts and have had some really bad times but I feel like updosing would just prolong the agony. There have been a few times where I have held my cut a bit longer and I have had to do that the smaller my doses get.

 

I’ve gotten some really good support and advice from this site and you will too.  Just be smart about what you chose to read.  Not everyone has extreme symptoms as they taper.

 

As far as your 5% cut, I believe Aston recommends 5% -  10% but many are finding they need to go lower.  I chose 3% mainly because I’ve been taking it for 17 yrs and I thought slower would be better.

 

Wishing you well! 

 

2cats

[[BW...]]

Thank you so much, 2 cats for your advice. 

It's helpful to see how much progress you've made.

Wishing you well, too!

[[2c...]]

Thank you so much, 2 cats for your advice. 

It's helpful to see how much progress you've made.

Wishing you well, too!

 

 

 

[[Di...]]

Hi 2cats,

You haven't ever really felt stable during your taper?  This is so hard...seems like every post I read they all talk about when they get stable.  I haven't ever been stable.  I feel horrible most of the time.  I just can't believe what is happening.

Sorry for being so down.

[[2c...]]

Hi 2cats,

You haven't ever really felt stable during your taper?  This is so hard...seems like every post I read they all talk about when they get stable.  I haven't ever been stable.  I feel horrible most of the time.  I just can't believe what is happening.

Sorry for being so down.

 

Oh Diane you aren’t being down, just realistic.  I used to get some windows every so often but it’s never been for days at a time.  More like minutes!  No I have never been what I would call stable.  You are not alone!  It’s gotten worse the smaller my dose gets. It’s been a rough 3 months for me. 

 

Tons of pain and crazy anxiety.  Some days I feel like I am totally losing it!  One day I looked in the mirror and for a split second I didn’t recognize myself.

 

I shared these thing just to let you know that you are not suffering alone and sometimes it is just darn hard to be positive.  On the other hand,  I do think we will come out on the other side and feel better again!  I read success stories and that encourages me.  I am careful about what I choose to read on here.

 

I’m thinking about you! 

[[Di...]]

Hi 2cats,

You haven't ever really felt stable during your taper?  This is so hard...seems like every post I read they all talk about when they get stable.  I haven't ever been stable.  I feel horrible most of the time.  I just can't believe what is happening.

Sorry for being so down.

 

Oh Diane you aren’t being down, just realistic.  I used to get some windows every so often but it’s never been for days at a time.  More like minutes!  No I have never been what I would call stable.  You are not alone!  It’s gotten worse the smaller my dose gets. It’s been a rough 3 months for me. 

 

Tons of pain and crazy anxiety.  Some days I feel like I am totally losing it!  One day I looked in the mirror and for a split second I didn’t recognize myself.

 

I shared these thing just to let you know that you are not suffering alone and sometimes it is just darn hard to be positive.  On the other hand,  I do think we will come out on the other side and feel better again!  I read success stories and that encourages me.  I am careful about what I choose to read on here.

 

I’m thinking about you! 

 

I am so sorry your journey has been so bad.  I do thank you for sharing.  This has been pure HELL!  I've said that if someone thinks that they want to do drugs they should have to go through wd first!  I too had small windows nothing big maybe a couple hours at a time and not very often. 

 

I know you have endured extreme pain and I am so sorry and the anxiety oh my gosh I know what you mean on that one.  My anxiety has gotten worse the past few months.  I'm hoping like JuJuBi told us that she went through a rough patch about where we are at and then it cleared.  Yes somedays I don't think I can take anymore.

 

I am so sorry you suffer so much too but it does help me to know I'm not alone.  I pray we get relief very soon.

 

Prayers and hugs for you. ❤

[[BW...]]

Has anyone here had excess mucus/cough as a tolerance and/or withdrawal symptom?  I've been dealing with this for a long time.  It may be due to some other nasal issues I have but I've also wondered if there's a link between the benzo & excess mucus/cough.

Thanks

[[2c...]]

BWarrior

 

I’ve personally never had excess mucous/ cough that I related to benzo withdrawal.  I’ve had allergies, though, since I was a kid.  Seasonal and allergic to some pet hair. 

 

You might post this in the Withdrawal Support board and see if others besides us Ativanites  . have experienced this.

 

 

[[BW...]]

2Cats--will do--thanks.

[[2c...]]

2Cats--will do--thanks.

 

 

 

 

[[Ju...]]

Warrior

I have had a symptom of the feeling of excess mucus. Not sure looking back now if I had excess mucus or if I was just more sensitive and aware of the mucus that was there.  For me at time it caused a cough but more incessant throat clearing. It caused me anxiety and to panic at times. Even toward the end of my taper if I got stressed at all that mucus feeling and throat clearing would kick up.

[[Pa...]]

Has anyone here had excess mucus/cough as a tolerance and/or withdrawal symptom?  I've been dealing with this for a long time.  It may be due to some other nasal issues I have but I've also wondered if there's a link between the benzo & excess mucus/cough.

Thanks

My sinuses got fucked up 5 weeks after I jumped and still are to this day. Really hard mucus in my nose every day which clogs it up.

[[BW...]]

JuJuBi,

Do you still have that feeling, or has it gotten better since you've been completely off?

Thanks,

Nancy

[[to...]]

Finally free since 6 days

 

 

I couldn't deal with it at home anymore and did choose the way to do withdrawal in a clinic - i'm in the last days of my clinic stay now - currently on 2 day home stay vacation. Because of the harsh withdrawal symptoms while tapering off at home in the last 12 months i had a tremendous amount of anxiety of going into clinic for withdrawal - but everything went fine.

 

I did choose to do withdrawal with Pregabalin (Lyrica) support. My nervous system was ridicolously sensitive during the time with Ativan. Pregabalin helped me during withdrawal. I had to updose Pregabalin to 150 mg (75mg prior sleep 75mg in the morning) which is a rather small dosage - anxiety couldn't come up with this dosage.

 

During withdrawal in clinic my orher primary symptoms beside anxiety (bad sleep, Tinnitus) did worse a little bit - but it's easier to handle when you are in a safe clinic setting.

 

Already after 2-3 days without Ativan i did feel that some things which were blocked while being on Ativan are coming back. I literally feel that my body is pourring something out that hasnt been poured out while being on Ativan.

 

 

I will never touch benzos again. And i will get away from Pregabalin sooner or later too. Every way with getting away from Benzos is personal and individual. Just because you hear stories of other experiences does not mean it will unfold the same way for you. While your in it it may seem endless and hopeless - but that's the effect of the dependency and the substance - it's not endless and it's not hopeless.

 

I wish you all very much luck on your personal way with this tough battle - never give up - if i can do it anybody can do it  :smitten:

 

 

 

 

 

[[li...]]

I could use some encouragement. Just started  dlmt 3 weeks ago of 5% amd i already have times where i feel like im close to losing touch with reality. Im a strong person who has been through this before, but this is terrifying. Ive seen my brain do some amaxing things as a workaround, but has anyone felt this way and made it through? Anyone heal on the way down?

[[Ju...]]

warrior

 

That feeling is pretty much gone.  In high stress situations I still get that little urge to clear my throat but it does not cause anxiety like it did. 

[[BW...]]

JuJuBi--thanks.  That gives me hope.

Tomson--your post gives me hope, too. 

Lizagal--I'm sorry you're going through this.  I just started my taper, so I don't have any advice.  I hope others have some words of wisdom for you to help you with your journey. 

BWarrior

[[2c...]]

I could use some encouragement. Just started  dlmt 3 weeks ago of 5% amd i already have times where i feel like im close to losing touch with reality. Im a strong person who has been through this before, but this is terrifying. Ive seen my brain do some amaxing things as a workaround, but has anyone felt this way and made it through? Anyone heal on the way down?

 

 

Hi Lizgal,

 

I have absolutely felt like I’m losing touch with reality and yes it is very scary.  Many days I say to my husband that I am scared,  One day I looked in the mirror and for a split second did not recognize myself.  I’m not quite done with my taper. The severity of my symptoms goes up & down.  The last 3 days I felt a little window of normalcy but today is not so good at all.

Some buddies have reported feeling better as the get really low in their taper.  I haven’t yet but as you know everyone is different.

I’m still learning to accept the fact that this can be part of this journey while our brains are trying to get back to normal.  I’ve heard it said that real healing doesn’t begin until we stop taking the drug.

 

All that being said, you are definitely not alone!  We are in this together.  It does help me to know I’m not the only one going thru this!

 

I have been trying to just take one day at a time and have confidence that one day I will feel good again.  You’ll make it too.  

 

2cats