Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[Ma...]]

Just bumping this and wondering how people are doing?

 

I found out today at the pharmacy that ativan does come in a prepared solution made by the maufacturer, not a compounding pharmacy.  It is highly concentrated though, 2mg/ml. 

 

I saw a video where it is possible to titrate a liquid solution as well.  Hope every one is doing ok and really wondering about BDL.

[[aw...]]

Mairin:

 

The pharmacy can make it up for you at 0.2 mg/mL, a 1:10 dilution, much easier to work with. Or you can make your own solution, which is what I have to do since my doctor is a %&*!. It works fine, just takes time and attention. I use alcohol; many people use milk.

 

aweigh

[[gi...]]

Doing better here Mairin. I am titrating by making my own solution. It works well for me. Wondering how BDL is doing as well.

Does anyone here know whether it is ok to go to the dentist with the withdrawal and all? I have been having pain in my gums for a month or two and am going to have to get it checked on. I thought I read somewhere that the novacain can mess with withdrawal. Just wondering if anyone has any advice or knowledge they can share as far as dentists appointments and withdrawal. Wondering about antibiotics and withdrawal also because I imagine they will be prescribing that as well. Thoughts anyone?

[[...]]

Hi Ginger

You can take carbocaine or plain lidocaine at the dentist's. Stay away from anything with epinephrine in it as it well rev up your symptoms

[[aw...]]

Hi, Bart:

Many lidocaine, procaine, etc. preparations contain epi to reduce secretions and keep the operative field dry. The dentist may have to special order one. OTOH, I worry a lot. 

 

Oh, stay far away from any fluoroquinolone antibiotics, Cipro being the most popular.

 

aweigh

 

PS- Just sent you a PM.

[[ar...]]

yeah, they don't mix good with benzos. 

i still believe that some pain killers or perhaps other mids can cause  w/s of ativan to surface.  2 wks ago i was administered vicotin for a tooth ache and the next day i suffered a 'yuky' day---see my blog.

[[...]]

Carbocaine typically does not contain epinephrine which my dentist happens to have on hand. Lidocaine can be gotten either with or without. Epinephrine mixed with a caine is used  for its vasoconstrictor effects which decreases blood loss and extends the effective duration of action of the caine.

[[aw...]]

Hi, Bart:

 

I should remember that having worked in a dental office doesn't quite qualify me to give expert consultations to one and all. Also, some Buddies are even more knowlegable than I am...

 

Well, the epi does help keep the field dry, or so my dentist told me as he angled the needle in. But, based on my experience with doctors, well...I wouldn't bet money on it.

 

Hush my mouth,

 

Aweigh

[[Ma...]]

I'm really glad to hear you're doing better ginger.  I really don't know about novacaine.

 

I do know that flouroquinalones are bad, apparently they knock the benzos off the receptors.  But other anti-biotics are ok.

[[be...]]

Hey everyone! I am doing well. Thank you Mairin for bumping his thread and reminding me that I have friends out there going through this. I've basically stopped talking about it to the people in my life. Because, as you all know, they just can't understand.

 

I screwed up on Christmas and consumed 4 or 5 drinks. I had not touched the stuff in well over a year but I was tired of not being able to share in the joy. I was feeling really ok with it until 2 days later when I realized I had really messed up my taper. I believe I have recovered now, but I spent 2 days in acute withdrawl. I am at a pretty low dose now so it probably wasn't as bad as it might have been 6 months ago, but still. Lesson learned. No booze. Not for a long while.

 

I'm now at .14mg. Still achy and mild waves come be go but I seem to be getting steady.

I am seeing the light at the end but I'm still crawling. My doc is suggesting to maybe rip the bandaid off soon.

 

Yeahhhhhh right!

 

Gnight y'all.

 

 

BDL

[[Ma...]]

HI BDL,

 

Glad you popped on.  good to hear you are at .14 and "getting steady".  Are you holding right now?  Or have you been inching down?

 

I really look forward to see how the rest goes and hope it goes well.  A few more months?

 

Wishing you the very best and a very soft and feather, pillows and airbags kind of landing!

 

Mairin

[[be...]]

I'm still inching down. I'm not miserable. Just feeling super weird most of the time. I think its probably milder forms of dp/dr and anxiety, depression etc. but since the cuts are smaller and the overall dose is smaller, its easier for me to handle. I am curious how the end will be. given my experience with cuts, i will likely need to taper to zero. Which means i have probably 3 more months. The pharmacist gave me new syringes that are .5 ml. So I can now cut my already tiny cuts in half. Still coming down every 2 or 3 days. If I start to get heavier symptoms, I hold for 4 or 5.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

 

BDL

[[ja...]]

Can anyone tell me how you cut your Lorazapam pills for a taper. My daughter takes .05 mg everyother day but it is causing her to be a wreck. Ive talked to many people about her situation. This is what sounded good to me. Taking .25 everyday at the same time and getting stable. Then start tapering. The ? is how much do you cut off .25 every 14 days? could someone help me with a taper plan. I know this is a low dose. But its causing problems. Please help with how to Taper this. That's the issue. I appreciate any help. Love Jackie  PS she has taken Lorazapam about 2 years. Started just as needed for mild anxiety, It has turned to more anxiety and just feeling weird. I know Lorazapam are very small pills. I cant seem to get a taper ansew from anyone and I have no clue with this benzo

[[aw...]]

Hi;

I suggest you invest $50 in a Gemini jewler's scale from Amazon. Then you can weigh the cut pills and determine what fraction of the 0.5 mg the cut pill is. I do this. A typical 0.5 Ativan tab weighs 45 mg. If I cut it into 'halves' that weigh 18 mg and 26 mg (yes, 1 mg vanished) then, 18/44 = 0.409 and 26/44 = 0.591. So the 18 mg fragment contains 0.491 X 0.5 mg [in whole tablet] = 0.245 mg of Ativan and the 26 mg fragment contains 0.591 X 0.5 = 0.295. Adding the fragments as a check gives 0.54 mg, close enough to 0.5. The difference is mostly accounted for by the 'missing' mg and rounding errors, I'd say.

 

aweigh

[[ja...]]

Thankyou aweigh, I do have a gemini scale. Kian taught me how to use it. Yes I think that is what we will end up doing. Im just not sure of anything right now. This is my daughter and my youngest. I just feel so bad for her. Because she still thinks something else is wrong with her. And I know its her body needing more drug. I have told her she needs to trust me. We are very close. But you know how this drug can make us think all kinds of stuff. thanks so much for your post. Im not very good at math. Im thinking she will need to get somewhat stable and then make a cut of maybe .0625. She needs to be functional so I just dont know. Thankyou so much. Love Jackie  PS I feel we need some sort of taper plan. I just dont know how to go about this.  Also is there liquid Lorazapam?

[[aw...]]

You're quite welcome. Yes, liquid A is available by Rx in two forms, one with alcohol and one without. Both are 2 mg/mL, too concentrated for our use. The pharmacist can dilute it to 0.2 mg/mL for you. IMHOP, that is definietly the way to go for gradual reduction. I couldn't get my doc to Rx the liquid, so I prepare it myself with Everclear alcohol. You are very right about getting stable before starting a taper.

 

aweigh

[[ja...]]

So you just drop your pill in the alcohol and dissolve and add liquid? Then MT everyday? She cant afford to waste any pills. Hugs Jackie

[[aw...]]

It's not quite that simple, as you have to measure the cut and there is some math involved. I'm not clear about your daughter's dose, history etc., because your sig line is about your history with Valium, right? Also, is the doctor flexible at all? You only need a small amount of the dose in liquid form, not the whole thing; most of the dose can be taken dry.

 

aweigh

[[na...]]

Hi, I started a taper 2 days ago, reducing to only .495.  I noticed w/d symptoms in the late afternoon/evening as my dose wears off that I did not experience before lowering my dose.  Would spreading my dose to 3xday help reduce symptoms?  Also, can I divide the dose as follows: .495 at 10pm, .25 at 7am and .25 at 2pm?  Or how should I spread the dose?

 

Thanks!

[[Ma...]]

I am considering using the method of dissolving my Ativan pills in water to reduce my medication over time but I don't know if they dissolve well. Will I be able to do this? I have measured syringes I can use for this but only if the pills dissolve right.

[[aw...]]

Mariposabel:

Ativan does not dissolve in water. The pills turn into a suspension, floating in the water. It's possible to taper in water, but you need to treat it as a suspension, not a solution. There are people on this thread who are doing that. They can help you. Many people also use milk sucessfully.

 

I prefer to use ethyl alcohol, which does dissolve Ativan. I'm about to post my taper on this board under titration taper plans. It's a bit technical; I hope to simplify it soon. The thread is called "aweigh's taper". I hope it can at least give you an idea of one way to taper using both liquid and solid.

 

aweigh

 

PS: Nature Lover: I think it's better to take your doses at even intervals and identical amounts. Otherwise, you might have a lot of w/d symptoms.

[[Al...]]

Hey, everyone. I just couldn't handle the interdose withdrawals on Ativan.

I am always amazed at how well most of you are doing.

I would get down near or just past .7 mgs. then all hell would break loose. We are all different.

You were all a great help to me and I wanted to say thanks again.

 

I have just started my stepwise Valium crossover so will be hanging out on that board.

 

Gooid luck and Gods blessings to all of you here.

 

[[aw...]]

Tied Up:

How often are you taking your dose? Once a day will guarantee IW sx. 3X day works for me.

 

aweigh

[[Al...]]

With the Ativan, I was dosing 3 times a day then had to move to 4 times aday as the dose got smaller. With the Valium, I will be dosing 3 times a day then once crossed over fully 2 times a day.

[[aw...]]

Tied up: I hope to cut at 0.017 mg/day of Ativan, which is 0.3% of my starting dose of 6 mg/day. Adds up to 9%/month. So far I'm 6 days away from being at 0.017 mg. If I'm 'happy' for 2 weeks at that rate, I'll cut more and see what happens. This is just to give you a ball-park idea of what some people (me) consider to be a slow taper.

 

aweigh