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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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@kawanhee thanks. How long had you been taking it? My doctor seemed to think this would be fine, but I am a bit worried.
@berekann and, my plan worked well - took a Calm's Forte at 8:15pm as i was feeling much less than calm! Took .5mg Lorazepam at 8:50pm and was asleep shortly thereafter. Woke up several times and always went back to sleep. About midnight, I took .125mg Lorazepam and at 3am took 1 Calm's Forte. Slept until 5:30am. Had been waking up at 4 or 4:30am. Feel rested, but maybe a bit off-balance. Definitely a more restful sleep - more core and deep sleep, according to my smartwatch.
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1 Reaction@berekann I was taking it for about two years. My pcp put me on a similar weaning schedule but it was too fast. My sleep doctor suggested the plan I sent and I dragged it out longer as you can see. I had tried getting off it before, but this schedule worked for me. If you haven’t been on it as long as I was, you could just do it faster
@kawanhee thanks - I’ve only been on it for 6 weeks with a 5-day break in the middle - different doctor in the same office (my pcp was on vacation) said to taper 1/2 dose for 2 nights, then 1/4 dose one night then start Doxepin. Which, when I read about it, opted not to, and went back to Ambien to use up my 5 tablets. That didn’t work well, so my pcp put me back on lorazepam - .5 mg with an extra .5mg if needed. But after 3 weeks of very erratic sleep & lethargic days, he put me on that taper schedule. Just talked with my local pharmacist, who knows me, and she agrees that his plan is a good one. 🤞
@berekann that makes sense! You weren’t on it very long at all! Best wishes!
@kawanhee thanks! I can see from several of your posts that you’ve had quite a journey thru tapering;; thanks for being willing to share. I’d been taking 1mg several nights last week - last night just .5mg and I think the same tonight and none tomorrow. Mainly because I’ve had upset stomach all day & muscle aches. Will try to sleep without, but that’s my backup plan.
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1 Reaction@contentandwell yes, many prescribed sleep meds are controlled substances and supposedly only for short term use. But my doctors kept renewing my Ambien prescription. Just a quarter to a half of a 5 mg tablet would get me to sleep. Because I re-ordered every month and they renewed it, at one time I had six bottles.
Then, this summer it stopped working - Possibly being due to taking Flagyl and Cipro (and no alcohol), So I upped the amount of Ambien that I used. And since then, it didn’t work well - Put me to sleep within 10 minutes for maybe 2 to 3 hours, then I’d take more and sleep another 2 to 3 hours and feel miserable the next day. So my doctor tried me on lorazepam for insomnia anxiety. But he didn’t explain that it was addictive and after not quite six weeks, I’m now having to wean myself off .5 mg. He has me taking one tablet one night and nothing the next for a week, then next week skip two nights between doses and then be done. Learning to sleep again is challenging, but will be worth it in the end.
And tonight is an off night so I plan to try melatonin; Hopefully, it helps a little bit.
Reading about others experiences is so helpful on our journey through life. Thank you
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1 Reaction@kawanhee How would this chart apply to tapering from 1mg daily?
I am taking .5 mg ambilify, One of thr side effects is weight gain amd tremors. The weight gain has upset me. I spend some time on my bed and have developed a shoulder fteeze on my left side. I am 64. I take viibryd at night fordepression. I would like to stop ambilify. Has anyone tried to stop this medication?
@nanagizer I would adjust it similarly following the same pattern.
1, 1, .5, 1, 1, .5…
Etc