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Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?
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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We are victims of our doctors poor choice of meds especially when they have better options, we are the patients and we trust our health care providers. Now there’s so many people in the same dilemma and struggling to find help, the help is out there from what I have learned but you also need the strength of mind and body to get you there, I pray daily for such strength and this is where Hope comes in to help us cope, without hope there’s nothing to strive for.
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4 ReactionsI appreciate how you feel, I hate being a benzodiazepine user and I’m about 23 into using this medication. I really don’t have any side effects from my dosage which is currently 0.5 mg. usually once or twice a day as needed. I’ve found this drug makes my anxiety and panic attacks stop quick probably 10-15 minutes after taking it…I always struggled to stay on the same dose but sometimes when my health problems come back, it’s a lot harder to leave them alone. I truly had no idea what was going on with benzos in the US until I came here and read the nightmare people were going through and it messed me up, I realize that it’s coming to Canada where it’s a controlled substance so you’re monitored on your usage. I do feel that if you’re taking this drug it would be helpful if you also take a antidepressant, i.e. if you can find one that agrees with you and is tolerable. I’m currently going to try a new antidepressant because the one I take now for many years is deemed to be bad for my over rapid heartbeats which started with covid 2 years ago. I also think that it’s much harder today to find the right meds and doctors than years ago, perhaps we might have too many choices today and they’re not all very good, no matter what you take for your health it usually comes with a number of side effects or other problems, there’s really no such thing as a perfect medication so if you can do without it you’re a very blessed person.
So far I’m 5 weeks into tapering.
2 weeks .375 a night
2 weeks .25 a night.
The last 5 days I have felt more myself than I have in a long time.
I have also been sleeping better the last 5 days. I won’t deny that I have had some rough days and nights
Tomorrow I tapper to .125 for 2 weeks. 🙏🙏🙏🙏
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2 ReactionsMeant ‘4’ weeks
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1 ReactionI love my Lorazepam for anxiety & sleep. I have used it for years & don't seem to have any side effects. I am 80+ & if it is affecting my brain, I can't tell so far, so do not intend to stop something that helps me. Forget what other people say as they are not you! I also take an anti- depressant= maybe that is why I am usually a happy person. My husband just died in June & without these helps I would be a MESS!
Good luck with whatever you decide. KayR
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6 ReactionsI have ended a 10+ year Ativan prescription 9 days ago after a 12 month taper. I had been taking 1mg at bedtime only and a year ago with guidance from my doctor I began to alternate 1mg & .05mg nightly. It took me about 4 months to get down to .05mg nightly.Since then, I’ve been steady holding at .05 until about a month ago. I went down to .25mg using a pill cutter for about a week and then stopped it altogether.Today has been the worst day so far, I have a persistent headache and fairly frequent brain “zaps”. I’ve had a couple of sweating episodes and have a general feeling of anxiety.I really just wanted to hear from people that might have some experience and to give me an idea of when the worst of the symptoms are likely to pass.For context, I have suffered from chronic insomnia and periodic mild to moderate anxiety. I was seeing a psychiatrist for 10 years who had me taking the 1mg nightly and sublingually for anxiety “as needed”, that was pretty infrequent. She retired almost two years ago and when I went to my PCP for a new referral he encouraged me to try to taper due to the side effects and he scared the crap out of me frankly. He has basically said that I am pretty much guaranteed to develop dementia from the long term use. He does not advocate for anxiety medication at all, his perspective is that anxiety and stress are natural and adults should learn to cope. I’m trying my best but it feels like I’m quite a bit more anxious than I’ve felt in years. I attribute this to my body adjusting to being without the Ativan.Any and all advice, experience or opinions are welcome.Thanks in advance
Try Traadone. Far less addictive.
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1 ReactionI’m sorry that you’re dealing with such an awful situation, I too take Ativan for over 20 years, fortunately I have maintained a low dose for the most part but when health issues come up I can increase at times. I don’t agree with what your doctor said, he clearly has no clue what he’s saying to you, unfortunately your psychiatrist retired because she was doing a slow taper which obviously was working for you. My advice would be to leave this doctor because he could cause you to relapse with the undue pressure, frankly I don’t know of any medication that doesn’t cause problems after long term usage, they all have nasty side effects one way or another. It sounds like he’s cold and unsympathetic to your needs and is clearly using scare tactics. I think you have done a great job getting down to where you’re at now, please don’t let this heartless doctor get to you because you’re in a vulnerable situation and it’s not worth it.
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4 ReactionsI want to say thank you @frouke for your kind words.
I’ve hesitated to speak ill of my doctor, despite the way he has handed this. I do feel that he doesn’t take me seriously and that didn’t have the level of expertise in this particular issue that I need. The one thing that we do agree on though is the benefit of getting off of this medication. I really want to be rid of it but I’m not sure I have the sheer “willpower” that he believes I should.
I am in Canada and it’s not so easy to find a new family doctor where I am specifically. I’m trying to and have met with someone recently who seems promising. Fingers crossed!
I’m a little bit stuck right now in terms of my immediate future. I’ve been without any med for 10 days now and I’ve read in a few forums that you should never go “backwards” in terms of increasing the dose. That said, I’m quite full of worry about how I’m feeling and if I should jump back up to .25 for another month and try to get down to .125 for a month beyond before I am off completely.
If I’m going to have the same symptoms that I’m having today eventually, a part of me just wants to power through it and remain optimistic that the worst is “nearly” over.
I probably should have tried harder to find resources like this one before I stopped taking it, I’ve learned so much over the past few days reading posts and similar experiences. I’ve read it can take people months to feel better but also stories of people that have very mild symptoms that pass pretty quickly. I feel very confused!
Thanks again for your reply and support. 😊
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2 ReactionsAt least your Dr “tried to help you taper. Unfortunately, most don’t have an any idea on how to do this you should not have been tapering any more than 3 to 10% a month Per the new FDA guidelines. Ativan is one of the worst to get off of and should be tapered SLOWLY. I was on the same thing 0.5 for only four months and it’s taking me almost a year to taper off of this with very few side effects because you have to go slow and you have to listen to your body. I got help from a man in UK that has treated thousands of people because I couldn’t find a doctor anywhere here to help me or knew what they were doing. I suggest you go on Beating Benzos website On Facebook where there’s a man called David , The same one that helped me. There’s a wealth of information on this site. I was ready to call it quits until I found out about this man who has helped so many people. Wish you luck
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4 Reactions