Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Al...]]

I am no longer at .68 mgs. I was suffering too badly and had to go back to .69 to try and stabalize for Christmas.

 

I think my problem is getting my measures correct. It is hard when water titrating and I think I sometimes mess up and this is when I get myself in trouble.

After Christmas I will see my Dr and ask for a script for compounding liquid, I checked in town and we have a lab 5 minutes away that says they can do it.

I am very dissappointed with myself for back sliding again.

[[Ma...]]

Hello,

 

I am very grateful for this website because I didn't know that a lot of my symptoms I have are caused by Ativan (Lorazepam) withdrawal.  In my introduction yesterday, I stated that I had gone cold turkey for 3 days and actually I had reduced my dosage to 1/2 4 days prior to going cold turkey, and realize now that is why my symptoms were so severe on the 3rd day of going cold turkey.

 

My prescribed dose is 2 mg of Lorazepam per night for sleep.  I had some stressful days and took a little more than prescribed and that is why I ran out so early.  My current prescription is 2mg of Lorazepam per night for sleep which I just refilled yesterday.  I took 2.5 mg yesterday, so I am already .5 mg short for the prescription month.  So, as you can see, I really need help so that I don't run out early again. 

 

I took .5 mg this morning because I was experiencing shakiness and tremors this morning and I think that it is because I take the full dose at night and nothing during the daytime and I think I need it during the day.

 

This is my plan and I hope that someone can tell me if it looks like a plan that might work.  I stopped working on November 1 of this year and I just stay home and I'm not able to drive (Drs orders), so I am able to experiment with my dosage.

 

From my 2mg prescribed dose at night - these are 2 mg pills, so it's hard to cut them down to less than .5 mg.  I want to start the 10% taper today.  2mg X 10% = .2 mg.  I will need to cut the 2mg pill in 1/2 for 1 mg, then cut the 1 mg in 1/2 for .5 mg.  The .5 mg shaving is hard to cut in 1/2, but I will try to break off 1/2 for the .2 mg dose that I am going to eliminate.

 

.25 mg  Morning (I really think I need to start this morning dose because of symptoms I have until I take my dose at night)

1.5 mg  Night (This is a .5 mg (25%) reduction to my nightly dose, but will only be a 10% reduction daily).

 

Does this sound like a good plan?  Do you agree with the morning dose?  I know I took .5 mg this morning, but I believe it is too strong, so tomorrow I will start following this plan.  I will save the .2 mg shavings in case I backslide.

 

 

 

 

 

[[ce...]]

I have to laugh at myself because I post this on this thread every once in awhile. I'm not an authority on tapering whatsoever, but this did work for me when I was suffering and I was able to successfully get off of benzo's.  Here's what I did.........

 

 

1. If you can take doses 4 times a day (rather than 2 or 3) it's better, as to avoid interdose withdrawals.

 

2. I suggest taking your largest dose at bedtime for sleep.

 

3. A Compounding Pharmacy can be your best friend.  Every city has a compounding pharmacy, so just ask your doctor about where the nearest one is, or google your city name and compounding pharmacy.

 

4. Spread your doses out evenly.  For instance 7 a.m.  12 p.m.  5 p.m. and 10 p.m.  (OR)  7 a.m. 1 p.m.  6 p.m. and 11 p.m.  This is important so as to avoid interdose withdrawals.

 

Note: if you choose to taper Ativan you'll have to watch the clock closely everyday to make sure you take your dose on time.

 

5. Get a calendar and map out your taper plan.  This was so helpful to me to know how much to take at what time of day. Otherwise it's too easy to forget what it was that you are doing.  There's enough pain and confusion with withdrawal anyhow.

 

Here's what a "possible" Ativan taper can look like.  You may choose to slow it down or speed it up depending on what your symptoms are.  Many people find that the lower you get on the doses the harder it is, so make it slower as you get to those low doses.  Try to make the cuts every 10-14 days for the best results:

 

Possible Ativan taper:

 

.50          .50        .50        .50                  Total:  2 mgs

.25          .50        .50        .50                  Total:  1.75

.25          .25          .50        .50                  Total:  1.50

.25          .25          .25        .50                  Total:  1.25

.25          .125        .25        .50                  Total:  1.125

.25          .125        .125      .50                  Total:  1

.25          .125        .125      .375                Total:  .875

.25          .125        .125      .25                  Total:  .75

.125        .125        .125      .25                  Total:  .625

.125        .125        .125      .125                Total:  .50

.125        .0625      .125      .125                Total:  .4375

.125        .0625      .0625    .125                Total:  .375

.0625      .0625      .0625    .125                Total:    .3125

.0625      .0625      .0625    .0625              Total:    .25

.0625      .0312      .0625    .0625              Total:    .2187

.0625      .0312      .0312    .0625              Total:    .1874

.0312      .0312      .0312    .0625              Total:    .1561

.0312      .0312      .0312    .0312              Total:    .1248

                .0312      .0312    .0312            Total:    .0936

                                .0312    .0312            Total:    .0625

                                            .0312            Total:    .0312

                                                                  Off!

 

Hope this helps someone out there!

 

Don't lose hope you can recover from this.  I have!

 

Cedar

[[Ma...]]

Hi Mary,

 

It does sound like a good plan that you have.  I do agree that breaking up the dose into 4 doses would help.

 

The only thing I see is that you just experienced a cold turkey, this week?  And now you are trying to cut down.  It would probably be good if you could just stabelize on that 2 mgs before trying to cut down, for a few weeks.  You're body has just been through a shock.

 

You had cut down to .5 before this happened?  Do you have any leftovers from the cut down?  I would guess not if you went into a cold turkey.

 

It really would probably help if you got on .5 four times a day and stay at that for two or three weeks until you feel better, then start cutting down.  Just my opinion though.

[[ce...]]

I agree with Mairin's suggestion to hold for a few weeks before you begin to taper again. It might help you with symptoms too. 

[[Ma...]]

I had to cut down because I was out of the medication.  I went from taking 2 - 2.5 nightly to 1 mg for 4 nights to nothing for 3 nights. 

 

So, I thought that I should start with what I should be on, which is 2.0 nightly and work from there.

 

I already feel better, and it has only been 32 hours since I started taking it again.  I slept all night last night.  However, after suffering such severe withdrawal and being dependent on this drug for 5 years, I don't want to depend on this medication to sleep for the rest of my life, so I need to taper off of it.

 

I had to quit work in November because of health problems and I was taking medication just so I could function at work.  Lorazepam is just one of them.  The other drugs I am going to start tapering off are:

 

cymbalta - already quit taking this - having withdrawal symptoms but nothing compared to Lorazepam

dextroamphetamine - on 10 mg daily for fatigue - will start tapering in a couple of months

prednisone - 15 mg daily - I want off of this totally but have been taking it for 7 years

 

 

[[ce...]]

You can do this Mary!  We're behind you 100%.  It sounds like you have the right idea here. One drug at a time and get free from all fo this.

 

I struggled with sleep for years, but since I've been off everything my sleep is beautiful. I sleep better than ever.  When I was in wd I was lucky to get 1-2 hours a night, it made my brain feel completely broken. I was so ill for so long and have fully recovered. My message is that anyone can recover from benzo's.  Stick to your goal and you'll do great. Attitude is more than half the battle.

 

Lots of love,

Cedar 

[[Ma...]]

I agree with Mairin's suggestion to hold for a few weeks before you begin to taper again. It might help you with symptoms too. 

 

I think I agree with both of you about not tapering for a couple of weeks.  I'm just very fortunate that I feel so much better in such a short amount of time. 

 

While working, I had severe mood swings and I'm pretty sure I had an emotional break down.  Now that I am at home and have a very supportive husband, a lot of my stress is gone.  I went through a cycle of taking too much Lorazepam and being out of it for a day or two, but never for 5 - 7 days.  I know that medication affects me emotionally, I'm just not sure which medication does because I have been taking so much medication in the last 7 years.

 

I'm the type of person who acts on impulse and find it difficult to make and stick with a decision.  Again, I don't know if it's the medication that makes me this way, or if I have an underlying emotional/mental problem.   So, when I can't sleep, I take an extra dosage not really caring or thinking about the consequences such as running out.  However, this last Lorazepam withdrawal scared me so much that I think I have a problem and need help with not taking too much and running out.

[[Ma...]]

You can do this Mary!  We're behind you 100%.  It sounds like you have the right idea here. One drug at a time and get free from all fo this.

 

I struggled with sleep for years, but since I've been off everything my sleep is beautiful. I sleep better than ever.  When I was in wd I was lucky to get 1-2 hours a night, it made my brain feel completely broken. I was so ill for so long and have fully recovered. My message is that anyone can recover from benzo's.  Stick to your goal and you'll do great. Attitude is more than half the battle.

 

Lots of love,

Cedar 

 

Thank you   I am really looking forward to having a normal sleep pattern without drugs and it's great to hear from people who have been where I am and have recovered

[[ce...]]

I agree with Mairin's suggestion to hold for a few weeks before you begin to taper again. It might help you with symptoms too. 

 

I think I agree with both of you about not tapering for a couple of weeks.  I'm just very fortunate that I feel so much better in such a short amount of time. 

 

While working, I had severe mood swings and I'm pretty sure I had an emotional break down.  Now that I am at home and have a very supportive husband, a lot of my stress is gone.  I went through a cycle of taking too much Lorazepam and being out of it for a day or two, but never for 5 - 7 days.  I know that medication affects me emotionally, I'm just not sure which medication does because I have been taking so much medication in the last 7 years.

 

I'm the type of person who acts on impulse and find it difficult to make and stick with a decision.  Again, I don't know if it's the medication that makes me this way, or if I have an underlying emotional/mental problem.   So, when I can't sleep, I take an extra dosage not really caring or thinking about the consequences such as running out.  However, this last Lorazepam withdrawal scared me so much that I think I have a problem and need help with not taking too much and running out.

My friend, it IS the medication. You do not have a mental problem. The drugs make you have a mental problem period. But, the mind and body fully recover. You've been on these for 5 years, I was on them for about 20 years. Trust me if I can recover, you can too. 

 

Wishing you all the best. Remember sleep hygiene is the answer for your future of good sleep. 

[[Ma...]]

Mary, I echo what Cedar said, you probably do not have a mental problem.

 

Really I find it a bit disturbing that you are on an amphetamine at the same time you are on a benzo.  No wonder you have mood swings!!!  You are on both an upper and a downer!

 

Maybe you could post in the withdrawal and recovery support board about this, ask if anyone has been on these two completely opposite drugs at the same time.  When getting off benzos, we want to avoid stimulants such as coffee, I cannot imagine how amphetamines are going to affect you coming off benzos. 

 

Ok I'm not a doctor, but really I would ask around on this board about that.  It just seems to me that could be pretty problematic.

[[Ma...]]

Seems like the logical thing to do would be to get off the dextroamphetamine first and take the Lorazepam only at night for now. 

 

I don't have any idea what withdrawal symptoms dextroamphetamine causes because I have taken this daily and never ran out for over 5 years. 

 

A quick google on the internet:

 

Dextroamphetamine withdrawal symptoms can include, but are not limited to:

 

Extreme fatigue (tiredness)

Depression

Unusual behavior.

 

Although dextroamphetamine withdrawal is generally not life-threatening, it can be very uncomfortable. It can be so uncomfortable that people will start taking dextroamphetamine again in order to relieve the dextroamphetamine withdrawal symptoms.

 

This prescription was just filled yesterday and unfortunately it comes in 10 mg capsules, so seems kind of hard to split them in 1/2.  If it can be split in half by counting the little beads inside of them, I could do that.  However, they are extended release capsules, so I don't know if I could still split them in 1/2 and take them that way?  Or,  I could start taking them every other day. 

 

I have a question about caffeine though.  Why does it affect people tapering from Lorazepam?  I drink caffeine throughout the day.  Seems like I'm doing all the wrong things.

[[Ma...]]

Hi Mary,

 

I am not a doctor, I am just a fellow buddie trying to figure all this out.  Whether or not you take the amphetamine is up to you and your doc.

 

It just seems to me that an amphetamine would be working against you in trying to get off the lorazepam.

 

Here's a quick lesson from what I have gleaned from being on this board and reading other research.

 

We have two major substances (at least I think they are substances) in our bodies, GABA and glutamate.  GABA is calming and glutamate is excitatory.  What benzos do is increase GABA, the calming substance, that is why they tranquilize us.  But this puts the body out of homeostatis.  So in order to compensate for this disturbance of yin/yang if you will,  the body eventually produces more glutamate to offset the lack of harmony.  So, when we back down on the benzos, GABA decreases, and now we have the unbalanced state of too much excitatory glutamate.  Apparently, this glutamate imbalance will decrease as we taper or heal, but we will temporarily be out of sync with the two substances.  We will have too much glutamate.  This is what causes the panic and other symptoms. 

 

So we try not to further increase this excitatory state by avoiding stimulants, like caffeine.  And of course an amphetamine is much stronger excitation than caffeine.

 

I'm not telling you what to do, I'm just pointing this out.

 

If anyone feels this is not correct, please feel free to correct me.

 

I have no idea how to come off an amphetamine.  I was hoping you might find others on this board that have had this experience.

[[...]]

Hi Mary

I would just buy the dextro in the form of cough syrup and calculate your  current required liquid dose by how many milligrams in pill form you are taking. You should be able to taper off it in this manner. I thought dextro flared up my benzo w/d symptoms.

[[...]]

You're welcome. I spent one winter taking it for months when I had chronic bronchitis. It is nothing like benzos to come off of.

[[Ma...]]

Hi Mary

I would just buy the dextro in the form of cough syrup and calculate your  current required liquid dose by how many milligrams in pill form you are taking. You should be able to taper off it in this manner. I thought dextro flared up my benzo w/d symptoms.

 

I feel like an idiot but have to ask this question.

 

Can you be a little more specific about how I would use cough syrup and my capsules. 

[[Ma...]]

Hi Mary

I would just buy the dextro in the form of cough syrup and calculate your  current required liquid dose by how many milligrams in pill form you are taking. You should be able to taper off it in this manner. I thought dextro flared up my benzo w/d symptoms.

 

I feel like an idiot but have to ask this question.

 

Can you be a little more specific about how I would use cough syrup and my capsules.

 

Are these two drugs the same drug?  dextromethorphan vs dextroamphetamine

[[Ma...]]

Yeah Mary,

 

I thought it was dextromethophan.  I would seriously doubt that is the same drug.  I thought about it for a few minutes and it didn't seem right.

 

Cough syrup is probably not the way to go.  I'm pretty sure its not the same thing.

[[...]]

Sorry. They are different. You will need to get a liquid version for the taper or else make your own from your pills. Ora-Plus is commonly used by pharmacists and can be ordered on amazon.

[[Ma...]]

Sorry. They are different. You will need to get a liquid version for the taper or else make your own from your pills. Ora-Plus is commonly used by pharmacists and can be ordered on amazon.

 

Thanks

[[oc...]]

hello...i am new to the site...ive been taking ativan for about 4 years 1mg a ady,,,an jus started taking 2mg a day...because it was the only thing that would help.....now i dont know what to do or how to do it,,,,want to be off this demon pill asap....any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!please....i see a counsler but i need to talk to people in my situation,,,that was my first step....wanna get back to real life...just got married an my wife is getting frusterated with the pills and everything that goes with it....shes always been my support but im draining her,,,,please help!!!!.....thank you

[[Ma...]]

Hi October,

 

Welcome to this thread.

 

My first suggestion would be to break up that dose into 4 doses.  You said you just started on 2 mgs.  It seems one of the problems people run into with ativan is that they only take it once or twice a day.  It really doesn't work well that way after a while.  Why?  Because ativan's length of action is about 6 hours.  It will stay in your body longer, but the tranquilizing effects last about 6 hours for most people.

 

People seem to have a hard time with this fact.  They get used to taking one a day or once a day and that just DOES NOT carry you through the day.  I think it would really help if you broke that 2 mgs into .5 and take .5 four times a day.  I assume you are using 1 mg tablets.  Just cut them in half and take 1/2 at 4 evenly spaced intervals a day.  Maybe just work on that for now and let your body get used to that.  Then when you feel better, you can work on cutting down.

[[aw...]]

Sorry. They are different. You will need to get a liquid version for the taper or else make your own from your pills. Ora-Plus is commonly used by pharmacists and can be ordered on amazon.

 

Thanks

Hi: Bart is right. Dextromethorphan is a cough supressent that's now behind the counter 'cause kids found out that it will make you sick, I mean get you high. Dextroamphetamine is prescription speed, very addictive, very illegal, and not generally a street drug.

 

I think the two w/d are very different. For me, it would likely be the speed first; rapid w/d, A can help with sx. I'm guessing your brain would have to 're-align' for the benzo taper, because it's a different receptor system. All rank speculation.

 

Aweigh

[[Ma...]]

Sorry. They are different. You will need to get a liquid version for the taper or else make your own from your pills. Ora-Plus is commonly used by pharmacists and can be ordered on amazon.

 

Thanks

Hi: Bart is right. Dextromethorphan is a cough supressent that's now behind the counter 'cause kids found out that it will make you sick, I mean get you high. Dextroamphetamine is prescription speed, very addictive, very illegal, and not generally a street drug.

 

I think the two w/d are very different. For me, it would likely be the speed first; rapid w/d, A can help with sx. I'm guessing your brain would have to 're-align' for the benzo taper, because it's a different receptor system. All rank speculation.

 

Aweigh

 

As far as the dextroamphetamine taper, I am going to talk to my doctor about it at the end of this month.  I'm going to ask for 5 mg capsules instead of 10 mg capsules and take 5 mg for awhile and then discontinue using it.  Then I will start on the Lorazepam taper.  My main challenge with Lorazepam currently, is taking too much and running out by the end of the prescription month, so for me to try to stick to the same dose of Lorazepam at the same time of day, is very hard for me.

[[Ma...]]

Hi Mary,

 

I'm sorry you are having this trouble.  Its no wonder to me you are having trouble because you have this speed in your system as well.  I understand how it is to take a few too many and run out before you can get a refill.

 

I very rarely did that but I did do it under times of high stress, maybe take a few extra pills a month.  Somehow I managed to get away with that, I don't think I ever took more than like 4 extra pills in a month and I was able to skip a dose, but that was a very long time ago.  And it is very dangerous to do, as you have found out.

 

It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to be on both a benzo and speed.  I do understand how a doctor might wind up doing that, it seems they often prescribe a drug to counter the effects of another drug, and then it just turns into a big mess.