Tapering off Ativan Support Thread

[[po...]]

Hey Satasha congratulations on making it to benzo free, well done, wishing you a lovely smooth landing xxx

[[Ti...]]

Satasha==How many mg. did you jump from?  Not sure what those mL converted to...  What really screwed me up is when a month ago I jumped down from .115 to. 085.  That was the beginning of this mess I am in.  I wish I had gone down slower...but thought I was at such a small dose that my body could handle it.  Anyways, I will get there eventually but am discouraged because it seems so far off--and I was soooooooooooooooo close.  Was very stable at .115!!!  Now I'm not even close to stable--still barely sleeping, a akithesia, and today some GI problems began (amongst a handful of other symptoms).  Keep us posted with your progress--so proud of you 

 

Poppins--Hope you are doing well and that your surgery went smoothly.  You are so right that slow and steady wins the race.  I regret the "big jump" I made from .115 to .085 so much   I thought my body could handle it because I was feeling so good before I did it and just wanted OFF ASAP (plus my doctor had encouraged me to go as quickly as possible), and then I was also worried about that last bottle of compound, etc., etc.  You are so close to the end yourself! 

[[Ti...]]

Katy--you might want to post to the main forum.  not quite doing so hot myself right now (and I am currently just beginning Ashton's method).  hope someone can chime in to help you out soon.

[[Kl...]]

I need help on tapering off 3 mgs Ativan and 5 v

On benzo 23 yrs and not taking them on schedule - failed Ashton's method w severe depression

Wore my story in

Main forum desperate for help no dr here

 

Hi Katy, I had a short term history with 3mgs/day Ativan....so I don't have a lot of experience with your exact situation. But I have followed the posts of a lot of others here on BB over the past 9 months and  read your other posts from earlier today to get some more information.

 

You may be able to taper on Ativan......at least down to a level that is so low that if you cross to Valium later it will not cause the depression. I tapered by dry cutting Ativan from 3mgs/day down to 0.75mgs/day before crossing and I did not have big depression.

 

-Ativan only has about a 6 hour half life...so You may want to start your taper by trying to stabilize at 3mgs/day - but make the doses more even, and take them every 6 hours. Get the liquid Ativan for making any fractional part of a dose. If you can't get the liquid then there are others on BB who are more experienced than I with scales or titration. Once you have stabalized you can probably start cuting at 10% every 1-2 weeks. Consider crossing to Valium once you are down to 1mg/day Ativan. God bless.

 

 

 

 

 

[[sa...]]

Tina, I put one tablet in 100ml milk, and never really "jumped" since I was down to 3x 0.5 ml which is half a percent of the pill or 1/200 mg.

I went slow, and steady. It took me 4 months to taper the Ativan I had been taking for 4 weeks! But the gradual decline was worth it. Many days I was symptom free, which is great! And believe me, I was very hooked after only 4 weeks on 3 to 4 tablets...

All the best for your taper!

 

 

[[mi...]]

The truth is, when you read about Ativan, it is one of the cleanest benzo's for your system. But then it is also one potent drug that you NEVER want to detox off. I learned the hard way and was back on it. It is also one of the more easier drugs to cross over to Valium or Librium. I was on Ativan for 10 years and now completely off it after my crossover to Librium. It did feel kind of strange at first when I crossed over my last dose of Ativan. After a few days I got use to not being on that drug anymore. I cannot wait until I take my last dose of Librium.

[[be...]]

Wow congrats satasha! That gives me hope. I just made my first cut 5 days ago from 2mg to 1.75.

The weirdest thing is that my symptoms have decreased notibly since that day.

I'm going to wait 2 more days and drop another .25. I really hope it goes like this from here on out. I am convinced that running 3 miles every morning and yoga 2 times a week is making a HUGE difference. The symptoms still come but it's mostly mild brain fog and tinnitus. Not much anxiety or depression. I think my endorphins are flowing moreso now than in my whole life.

It's truly ironic that this nightmare experience could turn into something so positive.

I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself with so long to go. But I guess the positivity

is good. 

[[sa...]]

Benzo Down - I don't think that's weird at all. When going over my notes yesterday I found out that the Benzo could have CAUSED most of my symptoms! I found out that when I raised my dose after 2 weeks of 2mg I went to the ER within 24h (where they raised my dose even more). And it seems my body got used to it very fast and I got interdose withdrawal, too. I think because I hate the feeling of being drugged ever so slightly, my body and mind reacted with panic. I got this when I smoked a joint once, too. Bloody Ativan -  even on small doses it played its tricks on me, but since I'm off I'm back to normal. (I hope this stays)

I hope this makes some sense ;-)

 

[[...]]

I try to post in here but it scares me I hacve been usng ativan for 10 years and valium 10mgs for 13 that =23 yrs...and if it is so awful coming off in a short time imagine how frightened I am?

I cannot cross to V tried that and failed with severe depression ended up in psyche ward.and finally to escape the depression went bk to ativan.

its allhoriible I dont mean to trivialize your experience but 23yrs is no picinic the only decent dr I saw said i would have to remain on 5-10 mgs of v to avoid pw and I believe him.

someone mentioned crossing to librium.but i dont know -I take lyrica as well.any ideas>any hope because i am all outta hope.

tks

[[jo...]]

The truth is, when you read about Ativan, it is one of the cleanest benzo's for your system. But then it is also one potent drug that you NEVER want to detox off. I learned the hard way and was back on it. It is also one of the more easier drugs to cross over to Valium or Librium. I was on Ativan for 10 years and now completely off it after my crossover to Librium. It did feel kind of strange at first when I crossed over my last dose of Ativan. After a few days I got use to not being on that drug anymore. I cannot wait until I take my last dose of Librium.

 

Hi Miss Kim, 

I am on ativan, and wondering what you meant by it is one of the cleanest benzo's for your system?

i have been taking ativan for 6 months .75 mg a day.  Currently doing water tapering, reduciton 1 ml a day.

i have been doing the tapering 1.5 weeks.  I feel the w/d symptoms.  My two arms are buring at night.  My back and my shoulders are buring during the day time.  Also feeling neasus.  my body is anxieous. Is it common for people to get w/d at the beginning?  does it go away as i am tapering down to a lower dose?  or should i slower down my decrease rate?  I appreciate if anyone can tell me about their ativan tapering off experience.  With slow tapering, will i be able to avoid server w/d after i am out of benzo completely?  Thank you.

                                   

[[po...]]

Hi Katy

 

I just wanted to wave hello as another long term user coming off Ativan, and wanted to share some of my experience with you as you asked.

 

I've been taking it really slow over the last 18 months, and while no picnic, and at times just awful, overall its made for a fairly smooth reduction.  I do feel now the worst is behind me, the symptoms are definitely and significantly reduced in their intensity.

 

I made the mistake of reducing too much at the start - dropped by .5mg out of 1.5mg overnight and really paid a price.  I didn't realize this process is more about regrowing your own brain's ability to function than about getting the drug out of your system.  Don't do this.  Try and stick to reducing by no more than 10% of your current dosage, and see if you can learn your own body pattern and response to cuts.  For me, I peak in my lack of sleep and symptoms between days 2 and 6 after a cut.  After that I feel slowly stronger, and then get ready and cut again. 

 

I tried out different methods of cutting over time and was flexible about how often and how I did it.  For a while I reduced by a little every day so it was smooth, but came to realize it works better for me to cut by 10%, suffer and recover. 

 

I think I'm a calmer person now than before I started reducing.  I sleep well, unless its just after a cut. I've kept working throughout.  When life events have intervened, and I've had some big ones, I've stopped reducing for a month or two and waited it out, then started again.  I got my all clear  - no cancer diagnosis on Tuesday, and yesterday I started reducing again.  I think that commitment to slow and steady forward progress has helped me.

 

I use ativan compounded into a liquid which means I can be really accurate.  I didn't ever seriously consider a crossover to Valium.

 

I also concluded that going through withdrawal is not a useful time to do therapy.  The symptoms caused by the drug leaving the body mimic reactions to trauma and stress.  I decided just to wait it out, and its been really good to just leave all that side of things be.

 

One bit of advice I'd have here - people get terribly self focussed and the withdrawal process becomes consuming. I think its important to really try and keep a life outside of these boards.  Let others into what you are doing, I've found them supportive.  Try and learn to recognize when your mind is freaking out on the symptoms of withdrawal.  Get a discipline going to read the success stories and see the positive not just the struggle.  I've been doing a daily online 5 things I'm grateful for here, its wonderful, especially on the dark days.

 

I love it now catching myself before i fall into an anxious spiral, its a whole new skill that I think will be useful in other contexts. 

 

okay, all the best to you

 

poppins

 

 

[[mi...]]

I am no longer on Ativan since my crossover was complete this last summer but I do know a lot about the drug.

[[be...]]

Wow. unexpected bad day today. I'm on day 6 of my first cut from 2mg to 1.75mg. The first 6 days after the cut felt great. Like the symptoms even lifted. Then I got hit pretty bad today. I was going to drop another .25 tomorrow.

Suppose I should wait or just drop again and see what happens? I'm DYING to move past this. I only started taking this stupid stuff on Dec 15th. This is ridiculous.

Ugh. Just venting I guess. Thanks for being here guys and gals.

 

a

[[Bi...]]

Hello to all.  My Dr. said no to substitution, so I'm cutting .5mg Ativan tabs into quarters.  Yesterday I dropped to .125mg every eight hours for a total of .375mg/day. 25% drop.  It's hard to cut the little pill into accurate fourths, eighths may be impossible IMO.

 

I'm scared that this cut was too much, but 2 days in I can't see turning back. 

 

So far so good, feel shaky, ears singing since before the last dose, so that may be the most annoying thing right now, knock on wood.  No heart palps, panic, flushing, etc. like as with the interdose or full w/d (2 days is as long as I CT'd since I became aware of the addiction 6 days ago).  I have to work M-F and am really worried about performing on what is a stressfull technical position.

 

It is day 16 of 20 mg Prozac.  But I can't say how it is affecting my mood, or contributing to the w/d or what.  All I know is it seems unwise to stop it while tapering, as sensitive as I seem to be to these brain meds.

 

I'm starting to think that ongoing depression & anxiety, etc., is better than addiction.  Telling the doc yesterday made me feel really small, not like a 52 year old man.  For all the help I got I may as well have kept this to myself. . . actually, I was offered a referral to a pdoc, are they any more likely to go along with substitution than an MD?  I'm afraid (my new fav. word?) that a pdoc would immediately load me to the gills with all kinds of pills.  I once did see one who diagnosed me with 8 or more disorders within 5 minutes.  I never went back.  I know I'm a mess in some respects but I can see how sometimes the treatment is worse than the cure.  I try and keep my life a little "smaller," and more manageable since I have trouble coordinating too many things.

 

Anyway fellow Ativanians, please critique my methods and rationales, or if it makes sense to you please let me know that too.  I'm happy to say my dog does not know anything is wrong.

[[sa...]]

Dear Bilbo,

Slow usually is the key.

Pdocs are not better in my opinion.

Brain drugs don't help half as much as I had hoped/been told.

As you say, I'd choose depression over addiciton. But there are also other ways to deal with these. EFT for example...

Usually, the easy ways are just too good to be true...

Wishing you all the best!

 

 

[[mi...]]

Bilbo, just because that doctor says no does not mean a permanent "no". There are so many doctors, physicians assistants and nurse practicioners out there that will listen and will cross you over. I see a nurse practicioner and she has been wonderful to me. She doesn't completely understand what it is like to withdrawal from benzo's but she is allowing me to taper from Librium because it's working and she sees me tapering easily and showing great progress. She is learning by the things I tell her. Someday she will understand when she sees me take my last dose and owe it to her for supporting me through this and trusting me enough to let me do my own taper schedule and take my time nice and slow. She does keep a close watch on the meds though and makes sure I only get exactly what I need once a month. You just have to search and you will find.

[[Bi...]]

Thanks for the replies.  It does seem to help. . .

 

Anyone else have dehydration as a withdrawal sx?  I'm really having to drink more water than usual during the day.  Thats' after taking the Prozac and my morning .125 mg ativan.  I'll have to research if dehydration is a side effect of Prozac. . .

 

The tinnitus is listed here as a rare side effect.  Do you all think it is more common with Ativan w/d compared to other benzos?  It seems to be a key feature of mine.  Even when all other sx recede for a while my ears sing away.

 

I had taken my bottle of pills to a compounding pharmacy here; they told me that trying to make a liquid using the pills was messy and to try and get the liquid preparation.  Dr says no to the liquid.  The compounding pharm. did say come back either way.  Has anyone had a suspension liquid made from the pills?  Does it separate over time?  Are you happy with it and able to regulate your intake to a finer degree?

 

Thanks again, Bilbo

[[po...]]

Hey Bilbo

 

Tinnitus has been a dominant symptom for me, although now I'm under .25 I think its finally receding (although now I've written that I bet it comes back!).

 

I used a compounding pharmacy, and found it really good.  I shake the bottle vigorously before I remove doses.  It was a relief to be so much more accurate.  It cost me a lot of money, but totally worth it, in my book.  Surprisingly, it actually tasted good too!

 

hope this helps, cheers

poppins

 

 

[[sa...]]

I had tinnitus, too, and sometimes the pulse pounding in my ears.

I made my own liquid with milk and it worked just fine and was much cheaper ;-)

There are tutorials on how to do this.

[[Ti...]]

Hi everyone--

 

Just an update here.  I am "crossing over" to Valium and it has helped me stabilize   I slept 7 hours last night and am gaining some weight back.  My husband has been a huge support and is figuring out all the math for me with the crossover since I am at such small doses (doctor very supportive with whatever will work for me--he is awesome and follows Ashton).  Since I am feeling stable, another option I have is to stay where I am and continue tapering the dose of Ativan I am on (suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuper slowly) and then when I finish with that, taper off the Valium suuuuuuuuuuper slowly.  Right now about 1/4 of my daily dose is Valium and 3/4 of my daily dose is Ativan.  I don't see the point of completely crossing over so long as I reached a point of stabilization.  I am still undecided here, but am taking baby steps.  I have learned a lot about these drugs.  What I have learned is that the SLOWER the better, no matter how long you have been on them (once your brain is hooked, it is hooked).  I also have learned not to underestimate feeling "stabilized".  Several weeks ago, I felt stabilized and so good, that I took a 30% cut which totally backfired.  I have learned that feeling stable is an illusion, because we are not really stable when on the drugs--the reality is that our body needs these drugs to feel normal, which is so hard to accept--but the truth.  Anyways, wanted to let you know I am doing better and am going on outings with my kids again, eating and sleeping.  Even drinking some decaf coffee without feeling like I'm having a heart attack Not tapering yet, but giving my CNS a break and figuring out the course of action I will take from here forwards.  Hugs to all of you!!!

 

Tina 

[[Kl...]]

Tina, So glad to hear that the C/O is working for you and your spouse is so supportive....it really helps to have a few more light on in the house we are benzo brains. Hopefully we will both be able to break out the caffeinated coffee soon. God bless.

[[sa...]]

Tina, I'm glad you've found your way. Looking forward to hear from your progress...

 

[[sa...]]

Dear Ativan Buddies, I hope you're ok.

I've been off almost two weeks now and feel great! The day after I took my last dose I felt better and never looked back. I even went to the dentist and had three fillings and it worked just fine. So keep your heads up, you can do it! It's worth it!

[[Kl...]]

Dear Ativan Buddies, I hope you're ok.

I've been off almost two weeks now and feel great! The day after I took my last dose I felt better and never looked back. I even went to the dentist and had three fillings and it worked just fine. So keep your heads up, you can do it! It's worth it!

 

So glad that you are doing so well. It is a big encouragement as well. God bless.

[[Ti...]]

Satasha so happy for you. I am not sleeping well again. Tried crossing to value which really helped at first but the Ativan w/d caught up with me. I may have to add some more Valium.  Really don't want to add more Ativan. I feel so stuck. The insomnia is what gets me.  You never had insomnia right? Thanks for checking back with us.

 

Tina