Ativan tolerance

They are always finding new and improved ways to help us to cope and feel better with our health problems…I hope they find a better medication for us to get rid of benzodiazepines without suffering from severe symptoms. I sometimes wonder if there’s something else already that works but they haven’t realized it yet…I’m amazed to read that a drug used for controlling diabetes can also help you to lose weight..I also remember a drug called Zyban, the spelling might be wrong, was brought out for depression and it failed to be effective however more than half the group that used the drug quit smoking. This was a happy side effect that resulted from the study, so it is possible that it can happen with benzodiazepines. We need to have hope that things will get better for everyone and most of all we need peace and love to keep going forward.

The trouble with all psychiatric medications, especially benzodiazepines, is they do not always work as intended and do not yield to one’s willpower.

I am an extremely disciplined person. Yet when it comes to medication I never know what’s going to happen.

According to my doctors I have “profound” depression. I also get extreme anxiety that pushes my low level of suicidal ideation to an urgent need to commit suicide right now,

For years they had me on 1mg of Ativan three times a day. No more anxiety but worsening depression. Then I went to prison and they took the Ativan away. You can guess how that went.

Then I started to exercise vigorously every day and the anxiety went away but not the depression.

Then when I got out they put me back on Ativan and the depression got worse. So they stopped it again.

I stopped sleeping and both the depression and anxiety came roaring back. Now I’m on new antidepressants and .50mg of Ativan twice a day.

The depression is in full flower, anxiety hits me out of the blue and I don’t sleep.

Up next, Lunesta for sleep. We’ll see if that helps. Though I read it can make depression worse.

I know that an indica strain of THC lets me sleep soundly through the night and calms my anxiety. However, I am on parole and my State requires an act of God to get a medical marijuana card, so that’s out.

Two things that I know work both for depression and anxiety are exercise and a healthy diet. I can control those so I do. In the meantime I serve as a lab rat for the pharmaceutical companies and their enablers.

If you want off Ativan, eat healthfully and exercise. It’s how I went from 3mg a day to zero in two weeks. In my case I didn’t have a choice the prison doc just stopped it.

If exercise can work in that environment it can work anywhere.

Good luck to all of use. May we all find the peace we deserve.

Bless you and thanks so much.
Prayers that we will get better

Exercise and healthy eating are good for our health but it is not the only answer to getting off Ativan. I know you were forced off due to your circumstances, but please don't lead folks that are Ativan dependent to believe that will be the only answer to getting off. I am surprised you survived the abrupt discontinuation of that high dose of Ativan. The only safe way is a very slow taper that can take a year or more. The trick and hard part is to find a doctor that knows how to taper you and is willing to do it. Too many doctors tell you to just stop, obviously they have not experienced the hell of abruptly stopping benzos. I did a cold turkey from only .05 of Ativan and thought I would die. I stopped sleeping and got severe gastric issues (benzo belly, a real thing). After 3 weeks of suffering my primary care doctor was willing to reinstate me on the drug until I got stable. She had me go up to 1.25 mg to get stable (increasing the dose was a bad idea as I just had a higher dose to taper from.) I was then able to find a psychiatrist that specialized in Benzo withdrawal. I started at 1.25 in February 2023 and will be finished with my taper in April 2024. This is a long time but the gradual taper has allowed my body to get use to not having this poison in my body. The psychiatrist also put me on a low does of Mirtazapine to help with sleep issues. I found the doctor through the Benzodiazepine Coalition. She prescribed a liquid Ativan that allowed me to easily taper with out cutting and dissolving tablets. It takes a smart doctor or pharmacist to figure out your dosing but I was lucky. Good luck to everyone that wishes to get out of benzo hell, I finally feel like I am back to my old self with out this drug.

Forgive me if I made it seem that getting off benzodiazepines was easy and could be done cold turkey with diet and exercise. Benzodiazepines and psyche meds in general can be a nightmare to discontinue believe me I’ve know.

I offer my story as my story only. Just like medication affects everyone differently, so to do the discontinuation effects.

Dropping from 3mg a day to zero in two weeks, surrounded by less than sympathetic inmates is not something I would recommend to anyone. The only thing that kept me from doing something that would make my situation worse was the two hours a day I spent exercising. I was fifty seven at the time.

Three years latter I stopped a number of psychiatric medications, including benzodiazepines, all together. I did tapper them more slowly but ended up in the hospital for three days anyway.

There are no easy answers to dealing with the side effects or the discontinuation effects of psychiatric medications. What works for one is a disaster for someone else. Such is the state of mental health care.

Good nutrition and exercise are the only universally accepted interventions that always help. Everyone knows it but it isn’t easy to do. I was forced into exercising and found the benefits because I had to. I now exercise two hours a day and am very careful with my diet. My doctors attribute these changes to my being able to stopped the medication I have stopped.

I never tell anyone what to do. We each have to make our own decisions. I share my story to offer hope where I can and caution when I think it might be helpful.

With that in mind, I agree with you a slow tapper is always preferable and a healthful diet and daily exercise will make whatever course of action one takes easier.

Thank you for pointing out my mistake.

I wish you peace and good health all of your days.

My story is similar to yours except I did a very slow taper from .5 mg. I just kept cutting the tablets smaller and smaller. I now take 7.5 g of mirtazapine which has made a wonderful change in that I’m sleeping now.