1. < Depression & Anxiety

Using cbd to wean off Ativan

Posted by angrae @angrae, Oct 4, 2018

I’ve been on Ativan for past 5 months. Initially I was taking 1mg-1.5mg daily down to 0.25mg -0.5mg for the past 3 weeks. My last dose was 2days ago when the doctor switched me to lexapro. Lexapro has been horrible for me, not able to sleep, feel wired, anxious. I won’t take it again. I want to get off the Ativan but should I have quit cold turkey or tapered? Have I been on the Ativan long enough to need tapering, and can I use cbd to deal with the withdrawal symptoms by itself or along with weaning? Help.

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karman | @karman | Jan 8 7:42pm
In reply to @doctorj "I have been takin 2mg of Ativan for several years, to help with sleep. Never in..." + (show)
@doctorj

I have been takin 2mg of Ativan for several years, to help with sleep. Never in the daytime, only at night.

I want to use CBD gummies to get off Ativan. I have 1500 mg CBD gummies and I want to take one at night in place of the 2mg ativan. Questions are, in this scenario, can I stop the Ativan immediately and go to the gummie?

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NO!!!!! YOU HAVE TO WEAN OFF OF ATIVAN!!!!!
Taking 2mg of Ativan and stopping cold can cause seizures and serious side effects.
Doctors recommend tapering off of Ativan rather than quitting cold turkey, as this can be dangerous. Those who stop taking Ativan without weaning themselves off the drug first may experience severe withdrawal symptoms, including seizures, hallucinations and psychotic reactions.

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karman | @karman | Jan 8 8:23pm
In reply to @karrie9999 "I have been taking Lorazepam for a decade, recently I found it is not effective for..." + (show)
@karrie9999

I have been taking Lorazepam for a decade, recently I found it is not effective for my sleep. I want to seek another alternative, due to my body pain, the doctor suggested < 1THC:20CBD oil for me. It seems to improve with my sleep as well. Recently, my doctor changed it to CBN oil based on the research study shows 10CBN:20CBD is recommended for sleep.

It has be very difficult in the past few days for me when I tried to tapering off Lorazepam by using CBN (It didn't work) and then I switched back to CBD oil. Now I can't get in sleeping mode.

Anyone whom has experience or any schedule to tapering off Ativan / Lorazepam. Please share your thought...

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Hi karrie999, I have been taking Ativan for about 15 years to help me sleep. I started taking it because I was taking high doses of Prednisone and couldn’t fall asleep. I’m now 70 and my PCP is adamant that I wean off the Ativan ASAP. It’s not a good drug for the elderly.
It can cause confusion, depression, memory loss, drowsiness, discoordination and unsteadiness. Also, Ativan may not relieve anxiety for some elderly people. Instead, it can result in agitation, confusion and increase the risk of falls. I have been weaning myself off of it for the past two months. I’m down to 0.25mg at bedtime. I’m shocked at how much clearer my brain is now, When I’m finally off of it I’m going to try 25mg of CBD Gummies, more than that causes me to have palpitations. I’m surprised that your doctor suggested using Ativan and CBD together.

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karman | @karman | Jan 8 8:28pm

Ired, try CBD topical. It helps my severe back and neck pain. Ativan doesn’t help with pain but CBD does!

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mikaylar | @mikaylar | Jan 9 2:22pm

You need a doctor's help to wean off Ativan. I have been on it for 10 years and love it - no side effects and it helps me sleep.

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peeteer22 | @peeteer22 | Jan 10 12:46pm

I've been using Ativan for about 2 years. It's not good but not bad either.
The moment I wake up I become EXTREMELY nauseous. I don't throw up,
but it's horrible. I always take 1mg of Ativan and in 15-20 minutes the nausea
is almost gone.

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