Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?

@happytoseeyou Please let me offer you a late welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! I see that @bajjerfan, @ashleyharris728, @berekann, @laughlin1947 have all been able to give you their experiences and thoughts, which is awesome!

I don't use any medication for insomnia because it interferes with my other meds for end stage renal disease and cancer. What has worked for me includes the following:
-limit screen time late in the evening
-don't exercise too late in the day [it gets your entire system in an "up and get going" mode, and may not let you relax!
-no caffeine after 5pm, but perhaps chamomile tea?
-try a relaxing hobby [reading, crochet, artwork, etc.] to calm your mind down
-create a comforting environment [dark room, cool temperature so you cuddle under the covers] with as noise-free as possible
-journal your thoughts to get them outta your head!

Do you think any of these ideas might help you?
Ginger

@gingerw thank you!actually I do pretty much all of those things, including listening to a sleep meditation, which helps to relax me. Then I take 1 mg melatonin ; my sleep meds are not working as well as they used to. I have restless nights so I will try and focus on your ideas and just save the sleep meds for times really needed.

I was on five milligrams , and I took half of that two point five , which they said was okay

I understand. Been on Xanax since 1992 for panic attacks and have weaned down very slowly. Does Ativan come in a liquid? There’s a documentary called Xanax and a chemist was weaning off it drop by drop. They don’t have liquid Xanax in USA. Can he pinch off a teeny bit to very slowly get off it? Part of it is the negative opinions of others if on a drug like these. Just take his time & give himself time. Meanwhile, good for you, The healthy food will help. I’d love to get off it too but honestly, so many people are on these drugs, it blows my mind. Good luck to him (and me too)

@gingerw Thank you for welcoming me to Mayo Clinic Connect and I'm very happy to be in this wonderful place and so appreciate your input and all of the input from @diverdown1 @ashleyharris728 laughlin1947 @berekann and @bajjerfan and everyone!

I'm sorry to hear about why you cannot take medication for insomnia and I so appreciate your kind and thoughtful suggestions and am sending support, love and light your way.
Yes, I do all of the above and will continue to and have lived with severe primary insomnia without meds for decades, but then tried a few over the past few months due to several nights of no sleep at all, and am currently tapering off of Ativan after taking 1mg nightly for 5 weeks, have just completed 1st week of taper to .75mg and now scared to make the next cut, to .5mg and wondering if I should stay at .75mg longer before cutting to .5mg? Withdrawl has been overall manageable, but significant and have been able to get a few hours sleep, except last night, none at all and my Nurse Practitioner suggested Depakote or Mirtazapine, not sure what to do and if either would be helpful or negative value added, paradoxical effect, etc.

Thanks so much again and any input is greatly appreciated!

@happytoseeyou thanks for sharing your experiences so far. Can I ask if you have primary insomnia, or a secondary diagnosis?
Honestly I am a little worried that your nurse practitioner seems to not be following standard guidelines for primary insomnia and I hate to hear that you have been going on zero sleep. I would seriously stop tapering and hold at a dose where you can get sleep, until you find a different medicine that helps you.
Here is an article from Mayo Clinic about sleep meds for primary insomnia.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/in-depth/sleeping-pills/art-20043959
I also really like to follow Chris Aiken MD (you can find him online or on Facebook. He also has a podcast although it’s geared toward healthcare professionals) but he’s a very straight shooter. He’s a bipolar specialist so that is initially what drew me to him but he also has great info on reputable supplements if that is of interest to you.

Good luck and please keep us updated.

@happytoseeyou extending your taper at .75mg for another week should be fine; just don’t ever go backwards. But the quicker you move on, the quicker you will be done! I don’t think I’d take anything else while on the tapering schedule. Have you tried 1mg an hour before bed?

@berekann Thanks so much and I'm on day 10 at .75mg, which was the first dose reduction from the 1mg I took for 5 weeks, and yes I was taking it an hour before bedtime and will continue taking at that time as I taper. I agree about never going backwards and want to be done with this asap! However, I had quite a rough time for a few days cutting from 1mg to .75mg, ( they say everyone is different and it's impossible to know how a person will do when tapering), so what if the withdrawl symptoms are unmanageable when I cut to .5mg? I'm thinking about doing so within the next day or 2 instead of staying at this dose for an entire second week, but am afraid because I believe it's a 33% cut from the .75mg that I'm at now as opposed to a 25% cut when I went from 1mg to .75mg. I know both are .25mg, but in my travels researching this, benzo tapering, how to do it safely, etc, I keep seeing that cuts should be 5 -10% to keep things safe and comfortable, little to no withdrawl symptoms. I know I haven't been on it for years, but have read about very bad outcomes, including severe and protracted withdrawls, with people that were also short term, and took a low dose if they made significant cuts in dose and also tapered too quickly. Hope this all makes sense, don't mean to sound negative at all, just want to stay healthy and safe, and I really had no idea this would be this way, and I wish I would have just used this med for a few days and then found another way so I wouldn't have to be doing this. Ok, sorry, that was long, and I appreciate all of your input!

@ashleyharris728 Thanks so much and I did try both Hydroxizine and Trazadone which my NP suggested, but both worked only for a short time even with increase in doses. Then I asked for the Ativan , which she really cautioned me about saying it's not a long term safe option, which I understand now although I know some have taken it for many years and there are 2 schools of thought regarding benzos long term, etc. I asked for it because I was desperate for sleep and it worked for me when I went to the ER after days with no sleep. I've been able to get a few hrs sleep at .75mg, which is my first cut, from 1mg, and have been at .75mg for 10 days now and thinking of going to .5mg, but am afraid as it was a bit rough for a few days, making the first cut. Thanks for the link and I've tried several of those meds, but they did not work and I'll look into the others and Chris Aiken too. The question is, what's safe to take alongside tapering Ativan that will help with sleep and anxiety or is it just something we have to go through. I actually prefer the idea of not adding anything while tapering for several reasons, (for example, trying a med and it does not work or even has a paradoxical effect) or using supplements, natural stuff, etc. Hope this makes sense, thanks again, hope you're well and good luck to you too always.

@happytoseeyou
Like you, I did too much reading about tapering! And it made me very anxious. But each reduction I made was .25 mg and I never had a horrible reaction. Although I did have some nights without much sleep, but we survive! My doctor said I could take Benadryl at midnight which did help, but it’s not really recommended and then that stopped working for me too. If you get anxious during the day, maybe try calm’s Forte. It’s homeopathic and it does help me.