Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

June 8, 2013

I take 1mg Ativan tid:

12 noon

5pm

11pm

my doc suggested to cut .5mg off the dose where I am the least anxious....so I chose the 5pm dose...and left the 1mg for 12 noon and bedtime...I have been on Ativan since 1996 at first .5mg tid and increased a few years ago to 1mg tid...

what is a more reasonable taper schedule? thanks so much...

June 8, 2013

So you take:

1 mg Noon

.50 mg 5p.m.

1 mg 11 p.m.

Total: 2.5mgs a day. Is this correct? That leaves 13 hours of no Ativan from 11 p.m. to Noon the next day. Ativan only lasts about 5-6 hours. Many of us who taper Ativan have to dose at least 4 times a day to avoid interdose wd. I wonder if it would help you to spread your doses out a little more evenly through the day.

WOW, since 1996. I really began taking benzo's regularly in 96 also. I think it's going to be imperative that you slow this taper down substantially or things could get much worse than they are right now. I'm speaking from experience. Long term benzo use demands a slow taper.

I'll try to find my taper schedule again and share it with you here. It'll just give you an idea of what a slow taper can look like. Its by no means the only way to taper. Some people choose to go to a longer acting benzo like Valium so that they only have to dose once a day instead of 3-4 times a day.

June 8, 2013

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 1.0 Total: 2.5 mgs

.50 .50 .50 .75 Total: 2.25 mgs

.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!

June 8, 2013

thank you so much for this schedule...I figured after reading some posts that maybe I was going to have a 4th dose...just didn't know how to do it...I will try this and congratulations for your success....

June 9, 2013

soulfulms:

My experience with Ativan has been that if I take identical doses separated by identical times, I get the best results. I haven't had to go to 4 X day dosing, but if I did i'd take it every 6 hours. If you take more at night, you might sleep better but you'll be short during the day. I find that it unbalances my taper. 3 mg of melatonin 1-2 h before bedtime seems to be all the sleep aid I need.

Aweigh

June 9, 2013

soul,

2.5 divided by 4 is .625. You could do that. that would be .625 four times a day.

it would help if you could get the .5 mg pills, easier to cut in quarters, and each quarter of a .5 mg pill is .125.

I am currently on 1.5 mgs, down from 8 mgs, I have been taking four doses a day.

Right now I am taking .375 four times a day.

A .5 drop from 3 mg a day is pretty steep.

I know docs are often uncooperative, but please tell him you are experiencing difficult withdrawal symptoms, and that you have read on here that it you should drop your dose in smaller increments.

Because, you SHOULD drop your dose in smaller increments. Plain and simple. They often try to get you off faster than the body can really handle.

Hugs.

June 10, 2013

thank you so much for the suggestions...since Thursday I have cut my daily dose from 3mg/day/tid to 2.5mg/day/qid following the taper from cedar:

Possible Ativan taper:

.50 .50 .50 1.0 Total: 2.5 mgs

.50 .50 .50 .75 Total: 2.25 mgs

.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!

since I've been doing it since Thursday...do you still think I should go back up and cut slower?

June 10, 2013

My taper suggestions are just a very rough outline and should be altered to work for you. I would never suggest cutting .5 mgs at a time because in my opinion that's just too large of a cut unless you've been taking it a short time and can handle a large cut in the beginning. This is just to show what a taper plan can look like.

I like Mairin's idea of splitting it up .625 mgs 4 times a day for a total of 2.5 mgs. Maybe you could get the pills compounded to that dose. Some people use the titration method which also works. There are many options available. Its just finding what method is going to work for you everyday.

June 10, 2013

since I've cut .5mg...this was my pdocs suggestion BTW and cedar was kind enough to provide me with a possible outline of what it could look like and I appreciate it very much...I never would have thought of adding a 4th dose...so, again, thanks...

I have been at this .5mg cut since Thursday and felt more evenly spaced today adding the 4th dose...

thoughts?

June 11, 2013

yes soul,

I would not cut again until you stablize from that .5 drop. That is a very big drop and you are not stable probably.

In the ideal situation, I would wait an entire month before cutting again. And then I would only cut .125 out of your dose thereafter.

June 12, 2013

Hello,

New here and I've been a slave to Ativan for close to 6 years. I've been doing alot of the reading over here and have a basic understanding of how crappy it will be to taper off this stuff.

I haven't started it. I see the doctor on the 20th and so I basically know what to ask him about possibly switching to Valium or if he won't do that then I need to know how to dry cut the 0.5 pill so that its gentle and slow . They are scored to be cut in half. How will I be able to adeptly cut them into fours and eights My preference is to just get off these slowly and do it without Valium. That is my first inclination.

My biggest fear/problem will be poor to no sleep as I taper. I can't lose my job over this. It's a good one, I like it, but I have to get some sleep. I drive seniors all day at a fancy Lifecare community. So obviously the job is life and death.

Any good ideas from any of you on a taper plan for me and how to successfully dry cut and also a possibly sleep aid Rx from a dr or OTC that will at least get me a little shut eye ?

I started the Ativan bc I could never sleep while taking the Zoloft. So I will have to have something after I'm done with Ativan in order to sleep again. But it won't be a benzo !

Thanks for reading.

June 12, 2013

marin...today is my 7th day with the .5 cut...I am sleeping well at night...spacing the doses 4x instead of 3x helps...my appetite is so so and i'm going to start a protein shake tomorrow...my motivation "sucks"

I am on Prozac 40mg for my depression/anhedonia....I have had this condition for many years and have been on several ADs...the only 2 that helped in the past was Effexor and Prozac...I was recently taken off Cymbalta because it wasn't helping

and the pdoc put me on Prozac which helped me in 1996 for a few years...this is a fairly new doc for me and he doesn't know me very well...since the start of the Ativan taper, I've been very depressed, not any different than before the taper...pdoc felt I needed to taper from Ativan as it was possibly contributing to the anhedonia...

I have to say, that today I am "scared" that I will always be this depressed and have been fighting this for so many years...I am also still dealing with the death of my then 20 year old son (9 years ago) and a divorce...

I am an RN, but haven't been working since January and am living off my savings...I temporarily moved back to the Buffalo, ny area (where I haven't lived for over 30 years) to be closer to my brother and his family and am staying with a childhood girlfriend who recently lost her husband...

I do not have much of a support system except for my brother and girlfriends, who really don't know much about depression...most days I feel my life is in tatters...trying to be strong...thanks....

June 12, 2013

Hello, Devers:

Welcome You might want to make an introductory post in the Introduction section. It'll get you info and links that I don't have handy. My sig tells my story--6 mg Ativan a night for 9 years. I'm tapering directly and am at 4.5 mg now...well, soon. 0.5 mg is a small dose and that should make for a simpler taper. There are two ways to go, dry cutting and liquid. If your doc will Rx liquid Ativan for you, you wont have to worry about cutting those tiny pills. That would really be the way to go; my doc won't write for liquid [yet], so I make my own solution using Everclear grain alcohol. Many people "dissolve" [suspend, actually] crushed Ativan in water and are able to use that method to taper. I prefer not to.

If you do have to dry cut, I would invest in a jeweler's scale. $50 on Amazon, reads to 1 mg. If I remember, those 0.5 mg Ativans weigh about 45 mg, so you could weigh 1/10 of a pill with good accuracy. That = 0.05 mg of Ativan. You could build a taper around that, but I'd really try for the Rx liquid first.

Don't read all the horror stories, they don't apply to you. Those folks didn't start from 1/2 a mg, believe me. Have you ever tried melatonin for sleep?

Aweigh

June 13, 2013

Thank you both for replies.

I'm new here and still not sure when people answer my posts .

I liked the sound of it but sure cant afford that price tag for something that may not work.

Laelani, let me know how it goes with the Ativan withdrawal. I will start June 20 after I talk to Doc.

My biggest worry is not sleeping and holding down a job at the same time.

Good luck to you both !

Hi Devers,

Well about my ativan taper, I've been on it for 7 years. Originally prescribed for anxiety & panic attacks, but then continued on it for sleep for years. Well I think I started abusing it within the last couple of years, started drinking almost every night & taking it at the same time. Helped my anxiety tremendously, but I started paying the price with building tolerance & interdose withdrawals. So I'd take a little more here & there then I just really started feeling sick everyday from all if it. So I told my doc I was done & wanted off it. She right away said I needed to go back on an antidepressant & I said no way. She also offered gabapentin, which I was to afraid to take. So she said to just crossover to Valium. But the 1st thing she said was "people usually never ask to come off these meds" kinda laughed!! Well I can see why they don't now! Anyway, so we opted to try a straight Valium crossover, which was really terrible. Valium did not react well in my system. Not a positive response, so I decided to just try & cut & taper. Which I did, oh & I stopped drinking too, double whammy. Got down to .5 in a couple of weeks & backed up to .75 in a month. Got hit with huge w/d symptoms...I know it was probably too much too soon. So now here I am 20 lbs thinner, in bed with severe anxiety, obsessive thoughts & anxiety. Weak as heck. Saw an addiction specialist yesterday who said he'd help with my taper, but I'd need to go on celexa, get stable & we could then move on from there. I really don't want to start on celexa again, but at this point I feel like I need to follow doctors orders,& just trust in God that this is the right way to go about it. I have children & a family that need me so I have to try & see what will help me out of this mess.

You know everyone's taper experience is different....I should have gone much much slower to start with, but I felt I didn't have enough guidance. So I have to put my taper in hold & try a different way....then hopefully I'll be healthy enough to continue the mission I set out for.

Please keep in touch & let me know how you are & what kind of taper plan you plan on doing.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Laelani

June 13, 2013

wondering if I could get a few words of encouragement...today is my 8th day taper of Ativan...from 3mg/day to 2.5mg in 4 divided doses of:

.5mg tid

1mg HS

I'm having more "panicky" feelings today...please someone just let me know you're out there...thanks

June 14, 2013

soulfulms: We're out here. We're doing (or trying to do) what you're doing; it's hard, and it's worth it because we've already explored the alternative. IMO, you might feel better if you could get all your doses equal. 3 mg melatonin works for me for sleep.

You'll make it because you are making it

Aweigh

June 14, 2013

thanks buddy aweigh...sometimes you just feel so alone...i'm trying to figure out how to do what you suggested....will be changing pdocs hopefully soon...the one i'm with now is not very helpful...keep moving forward...it sure helps to hear from you guys/gals...someday, i'll be able to lend a helping hand

June 14, 2013

Finding a doc with some knowlege and/or experience who will listen to you is a big one. Perseverence furthers...I found a good one, she's not "benzo wise", but she has enough humility to admit that and so is willing to let me more or less run the taper. As long as my Rx keeps going down

Here are a couple of useful links:

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?board=55.0

You also might want to make a signature. There's links for that in the intro sections.

Aweigh

June 14, 2013

I need help tapering off 1.5mg of Ativan. .5mg 3 times a day. I quit cold turkey from 2mg at night for sleeping a few weeks ago and had to go back on. I went back on at 1.5mg, .5 mg 3 times a day a few days later and am having interdose W/D symptoms. I have 1mg tabs so its hard to split my doses evenly. I have too much Ativan prescribed to me to get another script of .5mg tabs. My Psyc wants me to cut 25% and then another reduction in 5 days. Is this too fast for someone that has only been on this medicine for less then 2 months. I desperately need help with this.

June 15, 2013

Hello Mrance. That's a very fast taper and if you're already having trouble from benzo's I'd try to slow it down a lot. Its generally recommended to make smaller cuts every 10-14 days. Some say a 10% reduction is best. I made a taper plan where I took 4 doses a day instead of 3. Ativan lasts about 5-6 hours I discovered, so 4 times a day works out pretty well. Try to even out the doses as much as possible. If you look back a ways on this thread I posted my taper plan if you want to see it. Its just a rough plan and can be altered to fit your needs. But, I would be very cautious in not rushing this taper.

June 15, 2013

Thanks aweigh and Laelani

How do you measure the liquid Ativan ?

What would a reasonable taper be for me at the .5 mgs I'm on every night in order to sleep?

I'm already anxious about the sleep I won't be getting and I haven't started yet !

I don't care though I'm not getting quality sleep on it now anymore and I'm tired of feeling spacey and drugged. I can't remember things anymore, I can't read and focus and assimilate the words I read any more, and I'm becoming ever so more paranoid due to persistent poor sleep.

I'd rather be benzo free and exhausted then drugged up and exhausted.

Life has to be better than this. It's too short to feel so bad.

I'm pulling for everyone here against this shit.

June 15, 2013

I don't know how to do a 10% reduction with the medicine I have. Can someone help me with this. I am desperate. Also my Dr. suggested I go to a Detox center to get off this, is that a good idea.

June 15, 2013

I don't know how to do a 10% reduction with the medicine I have. Can someone help me with this. I am desperate. Also my Dr. suggested I go to a Detox center to get off this, is that a good idea.

Detox centers are not a good idea because they will take you off benzo's in only a few weeks (essentially a cold turkey) when benzo's should be tapered very slowly. This will not happen in a detox facility and it is very painful for most and dangerous to do this.

This is what a "Possible" taper plan could look like. Its not 10% reductions in the beginning, but it worked out for me to taper this way. Some use the titration method (which I had been able to do) and is another great way to taper Ativan. There are people who can help you with that. But, if you are going to dry cut it, this is one taper schedule. For the smaller doses I had my doctor prescribe me the doses I needed and then took the script to a compounding pharmacy. It worked out really well.

.25 .25 .50 .50 Total: 1.50 (wait 10-14 days then make the next cut and so on.)

.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!

June 15, 2013

Hi everyone,

This is very important & I need help. I've been very sick on my taper. I've gone from usual dose of 1mg sometimes more, depending on the situation of the day, drinking as well. So I started my taper about 1 month ago made it down to . 75 however I've lost 20 lbs, & bedridden & in a severe state of depression. I decided I couldn't go on like that, I was put in the hospital, & almost 1 foot in the door of being admitted to the psych hospital last night. I 've up dosed a few times since Thursday on the advise from my doctors, but haven't kept a regular schedule like I had been doing during my taper. I'm basically a mess. & have taken an average dose of 1.25 to 1.5 of ativan throughout the past couple of days. I'm trying to stabilize on it but I'm not sure what to do. I know I've screwed everything up but can someone help me with this please. ?

Laelani

June 16, 2013

I was on 1 mg. of Ativan for just over a year. Then I spent a year trying to taper off. Every time I got down to around .75. My symptoms were so bad I went to the ER with crazy high blood pressure and a myriad of other symptoms. I finally convinced my Dr. That a crossover to Valium was my best bet.

He reluctantly agreed and I am now down to 2.75 mgs. V. I still get some SXS and this is still a challenge but nothing like I was suffering from trying to get off Ativan.

Some people in here will not agree with me but if I had stuck with the Ativan I would still be struggling with a high dose.

Something to consider,.... Good luck to you regardless of the path you choose.

Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

Recommended Posts

[so...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

[Ma...]

[ce...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[ce...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[so...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[aw...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[Ma...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[so...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[ce...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[so...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[Ma...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[De...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[so...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[aw...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[La...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[so...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[aw...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[so...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[aw...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[mr...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[ce...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[De...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[mr...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[ce...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites

[La...]

Link to comment

Share on other sites