Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[ce...]]

All Tied Up,  That is so great that the Valium taper is working out for you.  To be honest, if I had this to do over again, I would have insisted on Valium for my taper too.  But, I did the only thing I knew to do at the time and taper what I'd been given.  In the end it all worked out, but I'll be the first to admit that dosing 4 times a day is no way to live your life.  I'm really happy this is working out for you!  Best of luck on your continued taper.

 

[[at...]]

Dear friends,

 

This may sound ridiculous but I must share because feel compelled to share anything that might help.

 

I feel great today. Yesterday, I was feeling the symptoms that come with more or less a normal taper. I think these particular symptoms were brought on by stress that day but you all know about this.

 

I have noticed that one of the side effects of taking these drugs, for me, was that I could not get tingles down my spine, I could not get goosebumps (gooseflesh). I had been listening to what are called ASMR videos on youtube in an attempt to feel this sensation again. These videos are supposed to cause tingles but up until last night, have not done anything for me. It made me realize that my brain was under the spell of a powerful drug.

 

Last night I made a concerted effort to get goosebumps. I tried, and tried and tried. Finally, with enough concentration, I was able to do so. It was amazing. I went to sleep thinking I was one step closer to being normal but that was all. However, something wonderful happened. My sleep was restorative for the first time in a long while. I woke up refreshed. I woke up feeling not only a good day coming on, but a very rare great day. I got up and realized that the goosebumps had returned without the aid of the videos. They had returned for good and that I could cause them easily.

 

At any rate, I will let you know how it goes. It is a wonderful feeling, this great day because it is a the day I feel that I will beat this poison completely. My greatest wish is that this can, perhaps, help someone else.

 

DJP

[[Al...]]

Cedartree, I hated having to dose 4 times a day though I stuck with it while I was trying that route.

I felt like a slave to the stuff and it seemed my whole life revolved around preparing my titration daily.

 

I have read a lot of posts on here and that direct taper from A or X seems to work for some people

And that's great.

 

I am not issue free still, I have anxious periods and an ongoing issue with lower than normal blood pressure, mild head aches, muscle pain and an assortment of other manageable SXS.

 

The scariest for me is the low blood pressure because I seem to be very tied and lethargic while it is going on.

 

You take care and keep up the great work, you are an inspiration to me.

[[aw...]]

All Tied up:

 

I'm tapering directly from Ativan, so far I've lost 20% of my starting dose w/o severe sx using a MT method. I hope to avoid a c/o as docs around here would Rx Klonopin for that, not Valium  :'(  As my dose gets lower, sx increase and I'm looking at 4 X day dosing. What was your experience with that? Was the c/o to 4 X day difficult? I'm at 4.8 mg/day now.

 

Thanks,

 

Aweigh

[[Al...]]

I wouldn't say it was difficult to take 4 A doses a day in fact it was a necessity. The interpose withdrawals were really bad. Even with 4 doses a day at the lower A doses it was too much for me.

 

My cross over to Valium, which my Doc was reluctant to prescribe, went really well. I first went to 3 doses then 2 doses per day where I am now.

I followed the Ashton crossover recommendations almost to a T.

 

I still have a ways to go but I feel it is doable whereas with the A, I personally just could not stand the severe SXS constantly. I know we are all different, in fact my Doc say I am his only patient who is having this much trouble getting off these Benzos. Hard to believe but that is what he said. Many can handle it, I couldn't.

 

Good luck to you with your taper. Stay positive!

[[aw...]]

Thanks for the encouragement. When you went to 4Xday dosing, did you do that gradually or suddenly? Just to be clear, what pretty much forced you to change over to Valium was that the IW sx from A got steadily worse as your dose went down? Were your doses identical and 6 h apart?

 

You say many can handle it; is this what you've seen in your time on the boards? That would sure be encouraging 

 

Aweigh

[[Co...]]

New here. Ativan off and on for a year. Past few weeks I have done 1.5 to 2 mg. headache for a week and ready to be off this nightmare med. neec help tapering off.

[[Ma...]]

Hello,

 

Well today I am going to go below 1.5.  I have cut the pills, but I realize that I don't think I am going to be able to cut the .5 pills into 1/8's.  I have cut one of my doses by .0625.  But I am sure it is not .0625, because the pills are just too hard to cut.

 

Anyway, at least it is less than 1.5.  Somewhere around 1.4.

 

My doc is really good, it took a long time for him to go with the slow withdrawal, but now he is completely on board with me.  And he is willing to prescribe whatever I would like, liquid or compounded pills.

 

I am dismayed about doing the compounded pills or liquid, I was hoping to just cut the pills, because I trust that more.

 

But it is looking like I will have to go with compounding.  It just seems too hard to cut the .5 pills as small as I want.

 

Too bad they don't make .25 pills.  Ugh.

 

Anyway, I am grateful that he is going to help me however he can.  That is a blessing and a big one.

 

To those looking for advice:

 

-Break it up into four doses a day.

 

-Go slow, take 2 weeks between each drop.

 

-Try to keep your cuts under 10% of the last dose.  Really, closer to 5% is better.

 

Hugs,

Mairin

[[Al...]]

Aweigh,

Going from2 or 3 doses to 4 can be done in a day because your not changing the Medicine, and your not changing your 24 hr/ daily dose, your just breaking it up into more smaller doses. The overall daily dose doesn't change. That is something you can do easily with a short half life benzo.

 

Take care.

[[aw...]]

Well, I probably did it wrong. I tried to c/o in one day and was bitten by a benzo shark...Yow!  I think it boils down to I'm not you. Imagine that  So for me, I'll need to back up and spread things out a little more. Not hard to do when you're working in solution, fortunately. I think I'll be able to get there, one way or another.

 

Aweigh

[[jo...]]

Hello all-

 

I've been taking Ativan off/on for the past 3-4 months. I've taken probably 60 .5mg pills since Feb 1, 2013. The past two months have been when I've taken the majority. Not everyday but very near it. Some days I can get through w/out any Ativan while other's I can't. These past two weeks I've only really taken .5mg a day w/ 2 days of taking 1mg total. The other complicators possibly is I've been taking .5 mg of Ambien semi regulary the past two months as well and now haven't taken any of it for 5 days. I can fall asleep ok, but wake up a few times during the night but have been able to fall asleep. I then wake up at 4-5am for good. This sleeping issue has been going on before I started taking the Ativan for breakthrough anxiety.

 

My MAIN symptoms I deal with are-

 

Lack of appetite, especially in the AM

Morning anxiety that builds from wake up till 10-11. It's usually much better in the afternoon and evenings.

 

Now, I've been dealing with Generalized Anxiety for a few years now but only recently has all the anxiety started firing in the morning.

 

I'd be greatful for anyones thoughts or expertise on if I should start weaning off the Ativan or not?

 

Thanks !

[[ce...]]

Joeygilbert, great job getting off the Ambien.  I'd say my Ambien wd was worse than my benzo wd.  It was the most terrifying experience of my life. Please don't go back to it. You're really lucky you got out of this with just waking a few times in the night.  Maybe create a safe Ativan taper plan and then begin tapering from it.  If you're only taking .5 mgs a day you should be able to taper off of this relatively quickly. 

 

Cedar

[[jo...]]

Thanks Cedar. Any other thoughts?

[[Co...]]

Newbie.  Starting taper.  .75 at night and .25 in AM.  Was doing 1 -1.5 at night every night for a few weeks.  Was on for a year.

[[so...]]

hi all...i'm into my 14th day of ativan taper...

 

down to 2.5 mg divided doses x4

 

.5mg 6a; 12p; 6p and 1 mg at 11:30p

 

 

the pdoc i saw today said the neurontin would help???

i'm also on prozac 40mg daily...

pdoc said i should hold at 2.5mg ativan because of depression symptoms and anxiety...not to taper any further???

 

he wanted to add abilify (small dose) to augment the prozac...i resisted the neurontin and abilify...

 

when i first posted, most said the .5mg cut was large and should stay with it for at least a month...

 

BTW...has anyone here had luck with a pdoc that specializes in withdrawls?

 

 

thanks everyone...i'm trying...and good luck to you all...soulfulms

[[La...]]

Hi All,

 

I'm back & not doing well lately. After getting down to .75 on my ativan taper of a daily dose of 1 mg to 1.5 mg, I was placed on 1.5 mg per day for the past week. I feel horrible on it, take 3 .5 doses every 8 hours, and per docs orders , have been trying to start celexa, which has not gone well. I feel drugged up all the time, and hate taking the ativan at all. Instead of having it stabilize me, its done a number on my brain. I dont talk to my family members I cant focus< & I fet severe interdose withdrawals. i cant sleep because i jerk awake, I am basically hating life. Today is the 1st day I decided to cut my midday dosage in half. I feel somewhat clearer, the 1st time in a week., but I'm scared to begin tapering again. My doc now wants me to switch to klonopin, as well as start on a new AD on Monday, then once the ad takes hold, in about 3 to 4 weeks, he'll start my taper. I'm very scared to do this, but I'm also afraid of staying where I'm at on this ativan taper.

Ive also lost more weight, & can't eat. Looking for thoughts, comments, suggestions on this please.

 

Thank You,

Laelani

[[ce...]]

Okay, I'm just going to say it. It makes me so sick (and sad) that docs keep prescribing more medications when people are already going through wd from psych drugs (and benzo's).  This is a recipe for disaster IMO.  Laelani, I really hope you don't do this. But this is me talking based on my experience.  I believe you'd be significantly better off if you'd create a much slower taper and spread out your doses to 4 times a day instead of 3.  Ativan loses its effectiveness after about 5-6 hours. 

 

If it were me, I'd make a very slow taper plan, take it 4 times a day (spread out evenly through the day), and avoid all other psych drugs at all costs while going through wd.  The reason is because AD's and other drugs all have their own set of side effects and there is no way you'll ever know what is from the AD, or from wd from benzo's.  Your CNS is already jeopardized, why make it worse?

 

There are many things you can do to take care of yourself while tapering other than taking more drugs.  IMO, the only way out of this is to go through it and get free of it.  Right now you're in what I call the revolving door.  Your suffering wd, so you go to the doctor, they give you more drugs. You take those, they don't work, you go to your doctor, they give you something else and so on until you're so sick you can't see straight anymore.  If you want off this merry-go-round, you've got to take control of the situation.  After 20 years of being on this merry-go-round, I know what I'm talking about.

[[ja...]]

Dear Cedartree, I couldnt agree more. I know it is none of my buisiness, but because i am angry too about the polydrugging going on. And because I care deeply about each and every person taking any of these drugs. I want to warn about Celexa. I know someone on it and trying to get off and she can;t even leave her bedroom let alone her house.

 

She is not good. I did a search on it and read many peoples post about it and this is a drug from hell like benzo's. It is not my intention to hurt anyone, but in my opinion from knowing someone and reading up on it your asking for trouble. IMO adding more drugs is the worse thing you can do.

 

Take this for what it's worth. No I'm not a Doctor, but after 20 years for me too I've learned a thing or 2 by experience unfortunatly.

 

Take care

Love Jackie :smitten:

[[ce...]]

This is for Laelani.  Remember that this is not the be all end all of tapers.  It's just a rough suggestion and you have to fit it to what is going to work for you.  This is roughly what I did (although I started it at a higher dose than 1.5 mgs.). 

 

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!

 

 

 

[[ce...]]

Hello Jackie.  Its a hard lesson to learn, but if we can share our knowledge with others maybe they can avoid some of the pitfalls we've encountered.  Lots of love to you and I liked what you shared about Celexa.  I couldn't agree more. 

 

[[mi...]]

Hi Everyone;

I am in the middle of the 6th stage of the Ashton method, tapering down from 1 mg 3x a day.  This is the first week without any Ativan and I'm up to 30mg of Valium per day.  On Thursday I will start to taper the valium.  I would love to hear from anyone that has been through this program and how they felt at this particular point.  I'm having hot flashes like crazy, difficulty getting up in the morning then periods where I have boundless energy.  About 4 in the afternoon, after my second dose of valium I have trouble staying awake.  Once I make it through dinner time I am bouncing off the ceiling again.  I am a nighthawk by nature so I end up staying up until 1 or 2 in the morning even when I have taken my last 10mg of valium at 11 or so.  The mood swings are horrible.  One minute I want to nap the next I want to go back to work (I've been off work for almost 2 years due to thyroid issues and sinus surgery)

I guess my question to you veterans of this ativan hell is when does the brain finally settle down? I have been in a fog for the last 2 years and forget what I was like before this mess began.

[[gi...]]

Hey Everyone, I don't get on here to much to post so I hope everyone has been doing well with their tapering. I have been moving right along with mine and I am right under .11 ! I am thinking I will probably jump somewhere between .10 and 0. Just a little nervous about it. Anyone else jump at .10 or shortly under that? What kind of symptoms did you have after jumping? I feel pretty good. Some symptoms I have are insomnia for the past five days but I think my body's sleep schedule is just messed up and it will take awhile to get it back on track. Other symptoms: Muscle twitching, occasional dizziness. Otherwise besides these few symptoms I have been doing great with my taper and I have a surgery schedule for the 22nd so I am kind of nervous about the taper and the anesthesia interaction. Just curious to hear how others did jumping on the last few milligrams.

[[so...]]

hi everyone,

 

I was taking 3mg Ativan tid... on june 6 I cut .5mg and now take:

 

a 6-12-6-12  schedule of .5mg with a 1mg dose around 12am for sleep.

 

I am also on Prozac for depression...I have been visiting family out of town and decided after an extended visit to return to st. Louis where my pdoc is and let him assist me with this...I am very scared...

 

once I get back to st. Louis, I plan to return to therapy to learn some coping mechanisms for this anxiety and try to get my depression under control...

 

I don't have a lot of family support...my friends are kinda tired of me moping around and i'm basically not a lot of fun these days...I've been pretty good through the years of masking my depression/anxiety and with the taper...well, it's more difficult to put on a happy face...

 

I suppose i'm asking for some encouragement from you all....i'm very sad...

[[so...]]

I should clarify...I was taking 1mg Ativan tid...not 3mg tid

[[so...]]

hi everyone...I would appreciate some help with my taper....

 

I started my Ativan taper june 6.

 

I was taking 3mg in divided doses ...1mg 3x/day

 

june 6:

 

changed from 3x/day dosing to 4x/day as follows:

 

.5 mg  6am

.5mg    12pm

.5mg      6pm

1mg      around midnight

 

I have been holding at this level since june 6...

 

when and how much should be my next cut?

 

thanks in advance for any help you can give me...