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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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It takes about two weeks for dependancy to Ativan to start, I’m not surprised that you’re feeling some anxiety but it shouldn’t be too difficult to get off them being only six weeks, however going slowly still applies. I’m appalled that your doctor started reducing both your meds at the same time, some doctors either have no clue what they’re doing or they don’t care, honestly find a new doctor if possible.
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1 ReactionMy PCP actually increased my Cymbalta dosage from 30 mg daily to two weeks of 40mg and finally the
60mg.daily. At the same time she directed me to taper down Ativan to the amount that I stated in my original post.
Nonetheless I certainly appreciate your response and I thank you
@ch2232 hello.So glad you were able to go down on lorazapam .Im on 0.5 2 times a day of lorazapam.Im trying to taper this but its going bad .Im in tolerance it seems .very bad vertigo.I guess I should go over to Valium and see if that works..the symptoms are terrible. Ever time I take the pill.
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1 ReactionI was taking 0.5 mg. twice daily and started on Peroxitine for depression, the side effects were profound and totally intolerable, after about six weeks my doctor weened me off them too fast and I had serotonin withdrawal which is just easing a little, my Ativan was increased by .05 mg. to help me cope. I remained on.5 mg. 3 times a day for a while and then I noticed that my last dose at bedtime was making me feel sick, it just felt too strong and worried me, I was advised to reduce it by.25 mg. and after a week it started getting better, I hope to reduce the other .25 mg. but I’m still not ready. It’s very frustrating and scary when your meds aren’t working the same as before and can cause a lot of anxiety.
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1 ReactionI had been on Ativan for about a year and a half- .5mg, often less at the beginning. So at first, I just took it when I felt I needed it which was maybe every couple days. Then after a while – this was during the pandemic – I ended up taking it every single morning. And for many months that was OK and it was when in the late afternoon, I could tell I was in need of something for anxiety, I realized that I had developed a tolerance finally. After a few more months of twice a day dosing, I decided it was time to try to wean off of it. And I did it what many people would consider agonizingly, ridiculously slowly. I started with spacing out the doses to eliminate the evening dose, like I would wait till 10 PM when I had been taking it at five or 6 PM, if I could. Meantime, breaking the pills, slightly smaller each time. And if I had a bad day, I would take a little more. It probably took me about a month to a month and a half to eliminate the evening dose, and then I just started taking smaller and smaller pieces until at the end I would skip days or take them every day and a half instead of every day. And the whole process took about three months and it was fairly painless for me. I understand it’s not the same for everybody for sure.
But anybody who has a doctor advising them, or they’re feeling internal pressure to go fast, I say why? There’s no point in suffering, why not just take as long as it takes?
And I definitely agree with those who are saying, best not to mess with other meds that you’re on and their dosages unless it’s absolutely necessary to try. Otherwise, you don’t know what’s causing what!
I hope this helps someone,
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3 Reactions@kawanhee yes im on 0.5 ativan and the new psychiatrist i have told me to taper my ativan the 4.00 pm dose and the 8.00 am dose in three days this shows you she has no clue what she is doing im not going to go that fast .but we are doing a crossover to Valium 3 mgs 2x a day .to me its unheard of.
What do you think ? I agree with you
I tried could not do it.Had to go over to Valium Im going to go my sleep no matter how fast the psychiatrist wants to do the ativan in 3 days thats nonsense to me
Hi. I'm using Ativan 0.5 MG in the evening for the last 10 years. I want to withdraw from it. What is the best way? I'm scared of seizures and other withdrawal symptoms.
If you taper very slowly to achieve your goal then you don’t have to worry about seizures or very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, do you have a plan set up with your doctor or are you going to try it out yourself?
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