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[[Ki...]]

I've been on Ativan in varying doses since a psychiatric hospitalization for depression over a year ago.  During that time, I was first put on Lexapro 20 mg. and then abruptly switched to Pristiq 50 mg. (time-release variety) and Remeron (forget the dose) plus 1 mg. Ativan for sleep.  After getting out of there and getting off of Remeron, my personal doctor switched me to Lexapro 10 mg. plus the 1 mg. Ativan for sleep and otherwise "as needed".

 

I retired this past September and my stress level dropped so fast and hard that Lexapro made me really hyper and so I tapered off of that over four months (with my doctor's supervision and approval) and took my last dose December 14th.  Because of the withdrawal syndrome from that, I've continued to take Ativan as needed from .25 mg for anxiety to 1.5 mg. on really bad nights for sleep.  There hasn't been a consistent daily dose during this time.  In fact, on some really good days I haven't taken it at all.

 

Now, after reading some of these posts, I'm wondering how much of my current symptoms are due to still being under the influence of Lexapro and the neurological changes it made and how much to my erratic use of Ativan.  My current problems vary a lot from day to day and include tinnitus, extreme irritability, hypersensitivity to noise and bright light (although that has diminished considerably) and insomnia.  Right now I'm having one or two good days followed by one or more bad ones.

 

Enough for now.

 

[[Bi...]]

Kinsey,

 

Welcoming you to Benzo Buddies.

 

You will find plenty of support here.

If you have any questions, let us know.

 

Billy.

[[...]]

Hi Kinsey,

 

Welcome.  Make yourself at home, and if you have any questions, we will do our best to answer them for you.  Your current withdrawal symtoms are all very common.

 

pj

 

[[Be...]]

Hi Kinsey,

 

A warm welcome to BB.  I hope you settle in well.  There's lots of information here to help you in understanding benzos and their side effects.

 

I'm sorry that you are so symptomatic.  Do you think that you will eventually begin to taper of Ativan? 

 

I hope today is a better one for you

 

Hugs,

Betsy xxxx

[[we...]]

Welcome to BenzoBuddies

 

congratulations on having figured it out! Not only is it possible that you were having withdrawals from the Lexapro, but you're also varying your dosages of Ativan. Just to add to those 2 things, Ativan also has a very short half-life and is notorious for causing inter-dose withdrawal.

 

So it looks like you have to wait it out for the Lexapro withdrawal to subside, and stabilize your Ativan dosages. By stabilize I mean taking the same dosage every day, and investigating whether you are getting intraday variations in symptoms that are reproducible and cyclical fashion.

 

Since you're varying your dosage, and you are also have varying moods, one could very well be causing the other. High startle response is definitely a sign of withdrawal. You probably know that insomnia is also a sign of withdrawal. In fact, the insomnia that you may get from withdrawal is probably worse than the insomnia that you had to begin with. Irritability is also right in there . These drugs are such a trap, and I am being politically correct here.

 

Since you are obviously very sensitive to these medications, you can expect withdrawal from the Ativan as well. Although you've only been taking Ativan for one year, you've had plenty of time to develop tolerance. One thing you might try to do is to determine the minimum dosage of Ativan that gets you through the day. Once you've determined that dosage, stay on it for a couple of weeks for more before starting your taper. It often recommended to keep the dosage for the nighttime to help with sleep. You mentioned you're getting anxiety during the day, that is typical of inter-dose withdrawal. Many people choose to cross over to a longer acting benzodiazepine, like clonazepam or Valium, but I did a direct taper from Ativan.

 

Once you have a solid footing from where to start from, either Ativan, clonazepam or Valium, then you can start a slow taper. You'll find plenty of information on this forum, as well as more experience than we care to have. Make yourself at home.

[[Ch...]]

Hi Kinsey,

I also took Lexapro for a couple of years around 2004 to 2006.  I remember the withdrawal was miserable, and the symptom that lingered longest and most annoyingly was brain zaps.  They lasted for several months after I quit.  I was also on Xanax and still am tapering.  The symptoms you're describing:

 

[My current problems vary a lot from day to day and include tinnitus, extreme irritability, hypersensitivity to noise and bright light (although that has diminished considerably) and insomnia.  Right now I'm having one or two good days followed by one or more bad ones.]

 

sound like the ones I am experiencing as benzo w/d, but each of us is different.  I am absolutely no expert and haven't taken Ativan, but wonder if you've thought about taking an average daily dose and tapering from there?

 

Challis

[[Ki...]]

Many thanks for the warm welcomes, advice, and information!  I feel at home already.