Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[li...]]

PLEASE SOMEONE HELP OR DIRECT ME TO THE RIGHT PAGE. WHEN I STARTED MY DAILY LIWUID MICROTAPER WITH INTENSOL 1.5 ML/2 MG, THAT I WOULD ADD MY FULL DAILY DOSE TO 300 ML OF WATER AND THEN PULL MY ONE ML FROM THERE. NOW SOMEONE IS TELLING ME THAT THAT'S NOT GOING TO WORK because I need a solvent or I don't need any water at all I can just pull from the bottle but if I do that I'm pulling too much. I asked they compounding pharmacist and she checked with the manufacturer of intensol and supposedly that was okay. AM I DOING THIS ALL WRONG?  PLease help!!

[[or...]]

liza maybe send a PM to Libertas or Bob 7 to look at your math and give an opinion on the Intensol.

 

Best,

 

Katz

[[Di...]]

Lizgal I use the lorazepam intensol 2 mg/ml.  I pull 1 ml of the intensol and mix it with 299 ml of water.  Mixing it with water works great it distributes perfectly in the water.  I pull my dose from the mixture each day until I have used it all storing it in the refrigerator then I mix another batch.  I'm doing g a daily micro taper.  I hope this helps.

 

Wishing you the best.

[[li...]]

Sounds exactly like what I'm doing thank you

[[Di...]]

You are welcome.

[[St...]]

I’ve seen a few people mention intrusive thoughts.  Can you describe these?

[[Th...]]

Negative or untrue thoughts that won’t stop looping in your mind or that enter your mind time and time again. For me it was the fear of death, my heart was going to stop, I’ll never be myself again, today is going to suck and I want to fall asleep and never wake up.

 

I don’t get them anymore, but every once in a while I get an irrational fear here and there. It faded pretty fast though.

[[Al...]]

Hello i am tapering ativan. I cut 1.5 to .75. I spent 3 weeks at .75 now on .5. I find it hard because at .75 i had three doses so they were 6 hrs apart and now i take it 12 hrs apart. I am wondering is it worth it to try to cross over or just keep cutting .25 a month. I find the hardest dose will be that last .25 night time dose because the only relief i get is a solid nights sleep i take my last dose with 50 mg of Seroquel and for some reason it slows my mind down enough where i feel normal. I dont know if my doctor will allow me to cross over to valium. So maybe i should split my doses up to quarter tablets or .125 morning noon and .25 at night. Im on my 4th day of .5 and so far the first day I felt great until i had a panic attack at bedtime. Second day hieghtned anxiety and really tight jaw/jaw pains chest flutter from crying. Alot of tears. Day three cried most of the day from my own depression. Jaw pain tinittus. Last night i stayed up past my sleep meds and had a hard time sleeping sinus pressure made me feel off. Got to sleep slept alot today and now im just anxious and crying no appetite but decent.

[[Th...]]

So the good thing is you are stable. You can fu croon, although it is still uncomfortable;_; you should try splitting one half into quarters for the morning and afternoon, and keep the half at night so you can sleep better. That’s what I would do at least. I wouldn’t cross over at your dose since it is so small. I could be wrong though. Let’s see if someone else suggests anything :3

[[Al...]]

I talk to my psyc tomorrow he just seems so green to the tapering. Keep in mind i have been in a major depressive episode since september. I was pretty stable slow tapering at 1 mg but i left a job i liked because they broke some Promises and then the new job was too much stress. So i cant pin down what is withdraw and what is me. Looking back the first one was when I first got on ssris second was in 2020 when i found out how addicted i really was and my psychiatrist dropped me from 6mg to 1 in ativan and the whole time i thought it was the paxil withdrawls haha. This is mild compared to that. I literally thought i was dying everyday. My dpdr was insane. Started in feb ended around sept i think maybe sooner. Also my testosterone is at 153 so that cant help.  But i cant get to the endo until

January 20th so ill probably be off the ativan by then if all goes well.

[[Pa...]]

I agree with ThisBur, I wouldn't crossover to Valium, it will add time to your taper with no guarantee you'll be able to make the transistion.  I know its considered the gold standard for tapering but it comes with its own set of challenges so I never suggest it unless the member is experiencing severe interdose.

[[Al...]]

Ok ill try to figure out how to make smaller  cuts and take them closer. I suggested that to my doc but he said not to because its too hard to be consistent but ill just use my rcbs powder scale and cut in grains

[[Pa...]]

Ok ill try to figure out how to make smaller  cuts and take them closer. I suggested that to my doc but he said not to because its too hard to be consistent but ill just use my rcbs powder scale and cut in grains

 

What is your taper method, do you need help?

[[Al...]]

Well i am just following my doctor but he is not benzo wise. He wants me to cut .25 a time. Which ill do im just worried. Right now i take .25 at 6 am and .25 at 6pm. I dont notice much withdrawl. Were shooting to cut to 1 dose of .25 by december 19th id like to swap to the liquid but i have no idea how to do that. I have a gunpodwer scale i could use. But i dont know how to suspend it in a liquid.

[[Pa...]]

Well i am just following my doctor but he is not benzo wise. He wants me to cut .25 a time. Which ill do im just worried. Right now i take .25 at 6 am and .25 at 6pm. I dont notice much withdrawl. Were shooting to cut to 1 dose of .25 by december 19th id like to swap to the liquid but i have no idea how to do that. I have a gunpodwer scale i could use. But i dont know how to suspend it in a liquid.

 

His taper plan is awfully ambitious which could cause some severe symptoms, I'm hoping you can help your doctor see the value of a slow taper because you need to function. 

 

Ativan comes in liquid form from the manufacturer, you could eliminate the hassle if your doctor would prescribe it for you.  If not, we can help you make a homebrew liquid out of your tablets.  Or, you can use that scale to weigh your doses for accuracy.

[[li...]]

Getting worse and worse

Completely losing touch with reality

Can't think. Only 5 percent down. No hope for kindled with failed crossovers

 

[[Al...]]

Ill send him a message. Id like to cut quarters .5 .475 .350 .225 .1 but i am living with my parents and am able to not function i just dont want paws to suck i also wish i could address my testosterone because that is causing alot of the swings and tearfulness i think. So far im on day 6 and my depression was bad today i dont mind the speed im worried about my brain and paws. Could i just go to the pharmacy myself what is the cost of liquid. Im on michigan medicaid so i dont know.

[[Di...]]

Lizgal I am so very sorry you suffering so badly this ativan is brutal.

 

Alb 1 your doctor will have to write you a prescription for the liquid hopefully he will its much easier to reduce your dose with it.

 

Hugs to you both🤗

[[re...]]

Hi everyone <3 I just want to say I'm so grateful for this board and am sending you all so much love. Could use some advice with my situation: I've used Ativan on and off a few times to help taper from alcohol (have relapsed many times). I was at about a year sober before my latest relapse about a month ago. I used .125-.25 of a .5mg Lorazepam for a few days, then stopped and was fine for a few days. But I contracted this cold/cough and almost had a panic attack in the doctor's office and took about .125 of a .5mg (so about .06mg). Since then I've used 1/16 of a .5mg every day for about 3 days (so about .03mg). I know this sounds like a ridiculously small dose, but every time I've stopped I've had lightheadedness, anxiety, a little bit of DP/DR etc. How long do you think I should hold .03 and should I cut even further before stopping since I'm probably kindled? I'm doing a dry taper using a scale, btw. Any advice is appreciated!

[[Di...]]

Hi everyone <3 I just want to say I'm so grateful for this board and am sending you all so much love. Could use some advice with my situation: I've used Ativan on and off a few times to help taper from alcohol (have relapsed many times). I was at about a year sober before my latest relapse about a month ago. I used .125-.25 of a .5mg Lorazepam for a few days, then stopped and was fine for a few days. But I contracted this cold/cough and almost had a panic attack in the doctor's office and took about .125 of a .5mg (so about .06mg). Since then I've used 1/16 of a .5mg every day for about 3 days (so about .03mg). I know this sounds like a ridiculously small dose, but every time I've stopped I've had lightheadedness, anxiety, a little bit of DP/DR etc. How long do you think I should hold .03 and should I cut even further before stopping since I'm probably kindled? I'm doing a dry taper using a scale, btw. Any advice is appreciated!

 

Revolution I am so sorry for your struggles.  No small dose is ridiculous... Ativan is a beast!  I found out the hard way that its not good to bounce around with doses of ativan.  How are you feeling on the .03 mg?  It might be best to reduce a small amount at a time so you can wean yourself off without shocking your system.  Just take your time.

Hugs🤗

[[re...]]

 

Revolution I am so sorry for your struggles.  No small dose is ridiculous... Ativan is a beast!  I found out the hard way that its not good to bounce around with doses of ativan.  How are you feeling on the .03 mg?  It might be best to reduce a small amount at a time so you can wean yourself off without shocking your system.  Just take your time.

Hugs🤗

 

Hi Diana, thanks so much for your reply! I'm feeling okay on the .03.. Just a little bit of interdose withdrawal at the moment. Wondering if I should spread out my doses instead of waiting until the evening. My symptoms are almost all anxiety-related, I think.. So I guess my main symptom is heightened anxiety. Also experiencing a little bit of POTS (low blood pressure?).

[[Di...]]

 

Revolution I am so sorry for your struggles.  No small dose is ridiculous... Ativan is a beast!  I found out the hard way that its not good to bounce around with doses of ativan.  How are you feeling on the .03 mg?  It might be best to reduce a small amount at a time so you can wean yourself off without shocking your system.  Just take your time.

Hugs🤗

 

Hi Diana, thanks so much for your reply! I'm feeling okay on the .03.. Just a little bit of interdose withdrawal at the moment. Wondering if I should spread out my doses instead of waiting until the evening. My symptoms are almost all anxiety-related, I think.. So I guess my main symptom is heightened anxiety. Also experiencing a little bit of POTS (low blood pressure?).

 

Spreading your doses out could help.  I dose 4x a day I have horrible anxiety.  It might not hurt to wait a couple more days before you reduce from the .03.

[[or...]]

When I was on Ativan I had to dose 4X a day to control the interdose w/ds. Yet I still felt crappy and anxious. What really helped was crossing to valium (not suggesting you do this at your dose) and getting on a longer-acting drug. That made tapering possible.

 

Spreading out your dose might help. In any event, best to you revolution. You're almost there!

 

Katz

[[Ha...]]

I am tapering of Ativan now and I am over my halfway point. I was on 3 mg a day for at least 38 years. It's been an interesting journey. I have had rage like I've never known before, cry about every day, digestive problems, etc. I am now on 1 mg. 0.5 in the a.m. and 0.5 in the evening. I've been on this dose down for almost 2 months. Instead of symptoms getting better, they are getting worse! I am now having physical withdrawal symptoms worse than ever. Ringing in my ears that won't go away for the past week, aching joints, that feeling that all of your muscles are in a tight rubber band. And, the SLEEP disturbances, insomnia is also now kicking in. What else should I expect from this point? I plan on trying to be completely off of Ativan in 2 more months.

[[Pa...]]

Ill send him a message. Id like to cut quarters .5 .475 .350 .225 .1 but i am living with my parents and am able to not function i just dont want paws to suck i also wish i could address my testosterone because that is causing alot of the swings and tearfulness i think. So far im on day 6 and my depression was bad today i dont mind the speed im worried about my brain and paws. Could i just go to the pharmacy myself what is the cost of liquid. Im on michigan medicaid so i dont know.

 

The pharmacy might be able to tell you if the liquid will be covered but if it isn't, you have other options.  Some members will use a razor blade to shave their pill then eyeball it to get an approximate dose, others will grind them into little piles, still others will weigh and then there is making a liquid.  If your symptoms get too bad, you may need to cut less than by quarters. Titration FAQ's

 

Have you had your testosterone levels measured?  I'd advise not starting another treatment but if you feel you must, then it might be a good idea to hold your Ativan dose.