Feeling unable to take meaningful breaths, while on Ativan.

[[mr...]]

Thank you mrtmeo.

I am grateful that you shared this breathing exercise with me ..I cannot wait to go find it ..

Wishing you blessings, and wellness ..

Take good care,

Warm thoughts of healing,

Anu

Hi An,

I am sending my prayers and good calm breathing your way.

Hope your breathing issues goes away soon and be well.

 

[[An...]]

Thank you very much for your kindness, support and encouragement mrtmeo ..

I appreciate you very much ..

Sending you warm thoughts of wellness, for your Mom and you ..

Love, Anu

[[An...]]

Hi Lee ,

Thinking of you , and hoping that your breathing issues got better ..

I found myself in a wave these past few days , which made my breathing unbearable ... :'( I feel like chocking ..

Take care of you Lee ..

Sending warm thoughts of well being .

Anu

[[mr...]]

Hi An,

Have u tried the buteyko breathing technique?

If we get a panic or anxiety attack, this can spiral out of control.

However, if we can do something at the moment we notice, we can stop it before it goes too far.

This is one of the most horrible symptoms for my mom and hope your wave stops really soon.

Have u ever considered crossing over to valium?

Are u dry cutting or titrating your dose?

 

[[An...]]

You are so very kind mrtmeo .. I am grateful for your care .. 

I did try the video , but I cannot hear it very well .. The volume is set too low .. I will need a set of ear phones for help .I ordered a set , and should be here this coming week ..

I cannot thank you enough , for sharing your knowledge about this debilitating symptom.

As far as Valium , my doctor wants me to taper the Ativan down to 1mg , before she will consider Valium. I am at 2.07 mgs , and I do dry cutting .. But even a tiny cut gets objected to , by my CNS ..  :'(

With  a heartfelt thank you , and sending warm thoughts of healing to your Mother ,

Anu

 

[[mr...]]

You are so very kind mrtmeo .. I am grateful for your care .. 

I did try the video , but I cannot hear it very well .. The volume is set too low .. I will need a set of ear phones for help .I ordered a set , and should be here this coming week ..

I cannot thank you enough , for sharing your knowledge about this debilitating symptom.

As far as Valium , my doctor wants me to taper the Ativan down to 1mg , before she will consider Valium. I am at 2.07 mgs , and I do dry cutting .. But even a tiny cut gets objected to , by my CNS ..  :'(

With  a heartfelt thank you , and sending warm thoughts of healing to your Mother ,

Anu

 

Hi An,

I sure wish u would get some relief.

I understand why your dr doesn't want to switch u to 20mg valium because it is so sedating.

would your dr be willing to put u on part valium and part lorazepam to wean down?

 

As far as the buteyko method, you simply breath in your nose, pause (breath hold) and breath out your nose.

The key is slowing down your breathing if u r hyperventilating.

When hyperventilating, we take in way too much oxygen blow off all our CO2, but we need some CO2 to diffuse the oxygen into our blood stream.

Most people think that co2 is a waste gas that we don't need, but this is wrong.

When breath faster and faster thru the mouth, our nose gets congested and the brochials constrict (wheezing) in an attempt to get us to stop breathing in too much air so it can get some co2.

Holding our breath stops this and they call it the control pause.

Here is a website that explains it.

www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=94857.0;topicseen#quickreply

 

Lorazepam is such nasty drug.

have u tried splitting your dose up into more times per day?

 

 

[[Th...]]

Hi Anu:

 

I think of you every noon, after lunch when my sinuses/breathing gets so difficult.  Am sending you some soothing vibes....hoping that if I can't breath, maybe you can. 

 

The temp has plunged here.  This morning was 14 and with the winds it as supposed to feel like 1 degree.  That's not helping me any.  I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and look forward to Spring.

 

I was at 2 mg. Ativan last Feb.  I made it down to about .4 now........hang on in there.....you will get there, too.  I PROMISE!

 

hugs,

Lee

[[An...]]

Hi dear Lee ,

I am so saddened that you are still in battle with the breathing issues .. I was hoping you would be feeling better by now ..

I did find your tapering method , but even though it is simple as you say , to my brain it looks mountainous ..

I would need to look at it again , with a clear mind ..

Please stay well , and keep sending those soothing vibes .. Some may just find their way here ..

Thinking of you ..

Love , Anu

 

[[An...]]

Hi mrtmeo,

I have learned so much from you ..!! Thank you for your support and encouragement .

Your thoughts and input are invaluable ..

I have not thought to ask the doctor about doing part Valium part Lorazepam ..It sounds too complicated and frightening having two benzos to cope with ..Is it?

And I do split the doses ..I dose 5 times a day.

I think that there is a possibility that having had 2 SSRIs abruptly dropped at a detox facility, in January, maybe the reason that my Ativan taper is suffering ..I am holding a tiny cut for over 9 weeks now, with no sign of stability, but with unbearable symptoms .. :'(

Thank you for sending me the link about breathing ...I look forward to it ..

You are a lovely gent mrtmeo ..

Love,  Anu

[[mr...]]

Hi mrtmeo,

I have learned so much from you ..!! Thank you for your support and encouragement .

Your thoughts and input are invaluable ..

I have not thought to ask the doctor about doing part Valium part Lorazepam ..It sounds too complicated and frightening having two benzos to cope with ..Is it?

And I do split the doses ..I dose 5 times a day.

I think that there is a possibility that having had 2 SSRIs abruptly dropped at a detox facility, in January, maybe the reason that my Ativan taper is suffering ..I am holding a tiny cut for over 9 weeks now, with no sign of stability, but with unbearable symptoms .. :'(

Thank you for sending me the link about breathing ...I look forward to it ..

You are a lovely gent mrtmeo ..

Love,  Anu

Hi Anu,

I am sure all the tapering and pill cutting seems so confusing when withdrawing.

I wish I could wave the magic wand and make it all dissappear.

As far as a cross over, step wise substitution, dr ashton shows tapers using original drug and adding valium until low enuf on the original benzo, then moving completely to the valium.

 

If u r on 2mg ativan which is = 20mg valium.

ex taper:

 

Day .5mg A, .5mg A, 10mg V  (total day equals 20mg valium or 2mg Ativan)

Or

Day .25mg A, .25mg A, .25mg A, .25mg A, 10mg V

 

Because valium has a long half life, u will feel the relief once your blood levels come up.

Once stabilized, u can gradually replace the ativan with Valium.

for ex,

 

Day 7      5mg V, .5mg A, .5mg A, 10mg V

Day 14    5mg, V, 5mg V, 10mg V

and so on or change it up any way you feel comfortable with while keeping the equivelant to 20mg valium.

Keeping the night time dose the highest valium allows for better sleep and less daily sedation.

 

[[An...]]

Thank you so very much mrtmeo .. 

The information is preserved here , for future use .. You are so kind .. I am grateful for your guidance and help ..

I hope that the day is kind to you , and your dear Mother ..

Sending you thoughts of wellness and serenity ..

Love , Anu

[[An...]]

Thinking of you, mrtmeo and Lee ..

I hope that all is going well for you ..

I have been having terrible WD, and have been unable to cope these past few days, even though I have not changed anything.  :'(

My head symptoms are just horrendous, and debilitating ..

I have a question mrtmeo ... A few days ago , I experienced a new symptom .. My eyes became blurry, and was unable to see clearly for quite a while.

This  unleashed a chain of events .. My dreaded head symptoms started up in full force, my breathing became labored, my heart beats were heavy and frightening, my BP climbed up ..

Have you seen this eye symptom here?

Thank you for any words of wisdom ..

Love, Anu

 

Lee, I hope that your breathing has improved .. Thinking of you ..

[[mr...]]

Thinking of you, mrtmeo and Lee ..

I hope that all is going well for you ..

I have been having terrible WD, and have been unable to cope these past few days, even though I have not changed anything.  :'(

My head symptoms are just horrendous, and debilitating ..

I have a question mrtmeo ... A few days ago , I experienced a new symptom .. My eyes became blurry, and was unable to see clearly for quite a while.

This  unleashed a chain of events .. My dreaded head symptoms started up in full force, my breathing became labored, my heart beats were heavy and frightening, my BP climbed up ..

Have you seen this eye symptom here?

Thank you for any words of wisdom ..

Love, Anu

 

Lee, I hope that your breathing has improved .. Thinking of you ..

Hi Anu,

I missed u too.

Was hoping u would post soon.

I think the worst of my mom's underlying lorazepam w/d's are over and I have been tapering her daily.

This daily tapering seems to work well.

Have u considered crossing over to valium and tapering slowly?

The longer acting valium helped my mom alot.

 

Are u doing water titration of the ativan?

I am convinced that daily tapering allows the body to correct the imbalances better than cuts every couple weeks.

I wish I would have done the daily in the beginning.

Her symptoms might have been smoother.

 

I sure hope u find some relief soon.

 

[[An...]]

Thank you so very much dear mrtmeo ..I appreciate your response ..

Well, the method that I started using is the "cut and hold" .. Unfortunately the recommended initial cut , proved too harsh for me .. The second cut which was tiny, ended up being more brutal than the first. I have been holding for over 9 weeks now.

When stable , I will try the micro cuts, thank you for suggesting those.

Also , my doctor wants me to taper the Ativan down to 1mg before he considers a V cross.

I am delighted that your Mother is doing well ..She is blessed to have a dedicated son by her side ..

Take good care mrtmeo .. Thank you for being there for me ..

Love, Anu

[[mr...]]

Hi Anu,

I saw a video on youtube where a guy was mixing his benzo with seltzer water, so that his pill would dissolve right away.

Have u considered titrating your ativan?

for ex. u could mix 2mg ativan into 2mL of seltzer which would provide 1mg/mL solution.

If your dose is divided by 4, then u would take .5mL 4 times per day.

 

 

[[An...]]

Hi mrtmeo,

I am so grateful and appreciative of your help and care ..

This method sounds very interesting , thank you for suggesting it.

My daily dose is 2.07 mgs. So then I mix the whole daily amount in 2mL of seltzer, and dose it for the day? I dose 5 times a day ..

Please forgive me as my brain is confused .. Is 2mL of seltzer enough liquid to desolve the Ativan ?

And I assume that I repeat this each day?

You are wonderful mrtmeo .. Thank you again ..Now, if I could only get stable on this hold that I am on, so that I can resume tapering again .. Wouldn't that be a blessing ?

I hope that your Mother is doing well..

Love, Anu

 

[[mr...]]

Hi mrtmeo,

I am so grateful and appreciative of your help and care ..

This method sounds very interesting , thank you for suggesting it.

My daily dose is 2.07 mgs. So then I mix the whole daily amount in 2mL of seltzer, and dose it for the day? I dose 5 times a day ..

Please forgive me as my brain is confused .. Is 2mL of seltzer enough liquid to desolve the Ativan ?

And I assume that I repeat this each day?

You are wonderful mrtmeo .. Thank you again ..Now, if I could only get stable on this hold that I am on, so that I can resume tapering again .. Wouldn't that be a blessing ?

I hope that your Mother is doing well..

Love, Anu

 

Hi Anu,

I have not personally, tried this method, so not sure if it will work or not.

If u dose 2.07mg per day divided by 5 = .414mg per dose.

Because of that extra .07mg, you would be wasting alot.

If u put 2.07mg into 5mL of seltzer, you could take 1mL for each dose.

Maybe run this by bart or etown and see if this makes sense to them?

 

 

 

 

[[na...]]

Since yesterday, I started to have "air hunger " issues.

My sinuses feel plugged, yet I smell foul smells that do not exist. I cannot breathe through my nose, and feel like I am running out of air ..

It is a frightening symptom, that borders into panicking .. :'(

Breathing through my mouth, somehow does not fix the problem ..

Has anyone experienced this symptom?

Please, any thoughts or help will be appreciated ..

Thank you, Anu

 

Hi Anu, I had that when withdrawing from X a few years ago - I had to do it fast.

 

I unfortunately got back on it and now I am doing it slowly. I am not an expert on dosing, so I hope the advice from others works.

 

The dyspnea and the bronchospasms lasted for a few days and left and never came again.

 

It was worse during the nighttime and when I paid attention. Controlled breathing helped but was very difficult to initiate.

 

Hope it goes away very soon.

 

All my best to you,

Anne

 

PS  Edited for accuracy

[[An...]]

Hi Anne,

Thank you very much for responding, and I am so sorry that you too have experienced this terrible symptom.

Mine is constant, day and night, which makes it difficult to cope.

I just hope and pray that it will go away, as it has tormented me for quite a while ..

Please take good care, and thank you again.

Sending you thoughts of well being Anne ..

Love, Anu