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Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: 2 days ago | Replies (926)Comment receiving replies
@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!
Replies to "@gingerw Thank you for welcoming me to Mayo Clinic Connect and I'm very happy to be..."
@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?
@happytoseeyou I take a small dose of Mirtazapine for sleep every night for the past few months and sleep uninterrupted for 7 to 8 hrs. Also I no longer need the Xanax I used to take as I found a natural remedy called F'Anxiety. Just want you to know that once you get off the benzos, there is at least this one natural solution made up of herbs and amino acids that has completely solved my anxiety issues. Take your time getting off the benzos.
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@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.