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Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?

Posted by healthlady22 @healthlady22, Feb 5, 2019

Has anybody successfully managed to successfully wean off of Lorazepam?
If so how was it done?
And if it was by way of switching to other drugs, were you then able to taper off of those entirely under a doctor's guidance?
My husband has been on Lorazepam for 16 years
He did well for 14 years, but dragged his feet about trying to withdraw while he was feeling better.
In May he had a relapse of anxiety, and insomnia, with brain fog, heart palpitations, and more.
Currently he's doing better, thinking better, but still feels like crap a large part of the time, can't sleep without the drug, can't nap.and still struggles with anxiety.
At this point, I believe it's the drug that is actually causing the problem. Currently he's doing 1 mg at bedtime and 3/4 mg when he wakes up at 2:30 am.
I know it takes 2 years for the brains GABA receptors to normalize after taking Benzodiazepines.
Also know it's really hard to withdraw, has to be done extremely slowly, and the side effects are exactly the same as the symptoms it is meant to help.
My goal is to eventually wean him off of all drugs as functional health tests show they block his nutritional absorption and may be damaging his intestinal lining. I would like to be able to repair his health using nutrition, supplements, and neurotransmitter amino acids.
All feedback is welcomed!
.

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sears | @sears | Dec 5, 2023
In reply to @gmamrj "I am 81 years old. Have been taking Ativan for 5 years for PTSD after open..." + (show)
Profile picture for gmamrj @gmamrj

I am 81 years old. Have been taking Ativan for 5 years for PTSD after open heart surgery. Started off with 1mg a day and have reduced it to .5 mg per day for about 4 years now.
I am now feeling anxious, jittery and dealing with insomnia. Do not want to increase dosage. I want off Ativan My
PCP prescribed Lexapro (small dosage) to take along with Ativan to start withdrawal. That was the worse 2weeks of my life. Insomnia, climbing the wall. Quit the lexapro. Still on .5 mg of Ativan.
Feel terrible. Any help would be appreciated.

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So your Ativan has stopped working? You’ve hit tolerance?

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1 reply
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gmamrj | @gmamrj | Dec 5, 2023
In reply to @sears "So your Ativan has stopped working? You’ve hit tolerance?" + (show)
Profile picture for sears @sears

So your Ativan has stopped working? You’ve hit tolerance?

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That is what I thought. Don’t want to put my dosage. Just want to quit taking it !

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cherawgirl | @cherawgirl | Dec 5, 2023
In reply to @brandman48 "Been taking 2mg of Ativan for about 12 years and want to quit. Been reading about..." + (show)
Profile picture for brandman48 @brandman48

Been taking 2mg of Ativan for about 12 years and want to quit. Been reading about the withdrawal symptoms and now afraid to get off. I just started tapering yesterday. Is it possible to get off this stuff without the suffering I have been reading about.

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I took 1 mg of Ativan every day for 15 years. I never had a problem stopping. If anything, sleep was not as good. I quit multiple times over those years, cold turkey, with no issues. Quit now again for 6 months and no issues. I guess for some people it’s hard. It can be done, just stick with your plan. I think switching to a similar medicine could help, my Doctor said this, but no need for me.

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gmamrj | @gmamrj | Jan 4, 2024
In reply to @gmamrj "I am 81 years old. Have been taking Ativan for 5 years for PTSD after open..." + (show)
Profile picture for gmamrj @gmamrj

I am 81 years old. Have been taking Ativan for 5 years for PTSD after open heart surgery. Started off with 1mg a day and have reduced it to .5 mg per day for about 4 years now.
I am now feeling anxious, jittery and dealing with insomnia. Do not want to increase dosage. I want off Ativan My
PCP prescribed Lexapro (small dosage) to take along with Ativan to start withdrawal. That was the worse 2weeks of my life. Insomnia, climbing the wall. Quit the lexapro. Still on .5 mg of Ativan.
Feel terrible. Any help would be appreciated.

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Can’t describe this feeling. I have seen ‘brain zings ‘ mentioned.

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mitz000 | @mitz000 | Mar 6, 2024
In reply to @grumpypants "Hi. I know it may sound like I'm questioning my doctors decision, but it's not that...." + (show)
Profile picture for grumpypants @grumpypants

Hi. I know it may sound like I'm questioning my doctors decision, but it's not that. Long story short I've been on 0.5 ativan for 1 year. During this year I've also taken 0.5 in the morning 2 times and tapered down 2 times also.Now I've started tapering the 0.5 i was taking in the evening (for 1 year), following my doctors tapering schedule. It consists of skipping 1 day 6 times(that means 1 day i take it, 1 day i don't for 6 times). Then i move to skipping it for 2 days x 6 times and so on.I'm wondering if it's not to fast? What should i expect? If anyone has been in a similar situation.Thank you all.

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Hi. I’m on 1mg of lorazepam but want to titrate slowly. My Dr said to cut the pills but they are next to impossible to cut in an 1/8 or 1/4 as you they are small and long. He also said it’s the hardest one to come off of.

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4 replies
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beracha | @beracha | Mar 6, 2024
In reply to @mitz000 "Hi. I’m on 1mg of lorazepam but want to titrate slowly. My Dr said to cut..." + (show)
Profile picture for mitz000 @mitz000

Hi. I’m on 1mg of lorazepam but want to titrate slowly. My Dr said to cut the pills but they are next to impossible to cut in an 1/8 or 1/4 as you they are small and long. He also said it’s the hardest one to come off of.

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Hi I recently started weaning off med by .25 mg every two weeks. It helped when dr called in different dose pills that could easily be split. 1/4 I can do. Never tried 1/8.

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lauralouisenelson | @lauralouisenelson | Mar 7, 2024
In reply to @mitz000 "Hi. I’m on 1mg of lorazepam but want to titrate slowly. My Dr said to cut..." + (show)
Profile picture for mitz000 @mitz000

Hi. I’m on 1mg of lorazepam but want to titrate slowly. My Dr said to cut the pills but they are next to impossible to cut in an 1/8 or 1/4 as you they are small and long. He also said it’s the hardest one to come off of.

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Get a nice heavy duty mortar and pestle, and a digital scale for weighing meds. Crush and weigh the pill. Remove the percentage you want to taper.
For example, if your pill weighs 100 mg and you want to reduce by 5%, remove 5 mg, take the remaining 95. The next time you reduce the dose, take 5% away from 95 - 4.75 round up to 5), remove 5 mg again and take 90. And so on.
You can also do a liquid taper, I'm not as familiar but same concept, you can reduce by very small amounts. See Ashton Manual

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1 reply
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kawanhee | @kawanhee | Mar 7, 2024
In reply to @mitz000 "Hi. I’m on 1mg of lorazepam but want to titrate slowly. My Dr said to cut..." + (show)
Profile picture for mitz000 @mitz000

Hi. I’m on 1mg of lorazepam but want to titrate slowly. My Dr said to cut the pills but they are next to impossible to cut in an 1/8 or 1/4 as you they are small and long. He also said it’s the hardest one to come off of.

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I weaned from .5 mg of lorazepam very slowly. It took six months and below is the schedule I followed. I didn’t want to try the Ashton method because it seemed too complicated. I used a pill cutter and did the best I could.

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mitz000 | @mitz000 | Mar 7, 2024
In reply to @lauralouisenelson "Get a nice heavy duty mortar and pestle, and a digital scale for weighing meds. Crush..." + (show)
Profile picture for lauralouisenelson @lauralouisenelson

Get a nice heavy duty mortar and pestle, and a digital scale for weighing meds. Crush and weigh the pill. Remove the percentage you want to taper.
For example, if your pill weighs 100 mg and you want to reduce by 5%, remove 5 mg, take the remaining 95. The next time you reduce the dose, take 5% away from 95 - 4.75 round up to 5), remove 5 mg again and take 90. And so on.
You can also do a liquid taper, I'm not as familiar but same concept, you can reduce by very small amounts. See Ashton Manual

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Thank you 🙂 I will try this.

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benzossuck | @benzossuck | Mar 8, 2024
In reply to @mitz000 "Hi. I’m on 1mg of lorazepam but want to titrate slowly. My Dr said to cut..." + (show)
Profile picture for mitz000 @mitz000

Hi. I’m on 1mg of lorazepam but want to titrate slowly. My Dr said to cut the pills but they are next to impossible to cut in an 1/8 or 1/4 as you they are small and long. He also said it’s the hardest one to come off of.

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I will be finished with my Ativan taper on April 8. I started in February of 2023 at 1.5 mg per day. I have been seeing a doctor that was willing to prescribe liquid suspension Ativan. No guessing with the cutting although it does require math skills (that the pharmacist should be able to help you with). I have decreased 10 percent every two weeks. A slow process but I am down to 0.25 and next 0.125 and I will be finished. With such small dose reductions I am not feeling any side effects. She also prescribed a low dose of Mirtazapine to help with my sleep. Smallest dose is 7.5mg but I am only on 2 mg that I get at a compounding pharmacy made in liquid. It is not easy but slow and steady is the answer. Best of luck to you.

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