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How to manage side effects from 30 years use of Lorazepam
I have been given this drug for over 30 years. My dr does nothing to help me get off of it so after I did my own research I thought I could tapper myself off. I’m 5 months in and side effects have only gotten worse. I’m hoping someone on here has had these same issues but found a way through. I need guidance. I don’t trust anyone who hasn’t dealt with this personally. Each day I suffer from panic attacks and depression. Taking anti depressants gives me horrific night terrors which only fuels my anxiety. Recently I wake up to panic attacks in the middle of the night. My depression grows every day which is affecting my work and personal life.
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Guided by my psychiatrist, I have tapered off 2 mg to 1 mg over the past two months. I am now on 1 mg.
She proposes that I go down by .25 mg every 2 weeks and see what that feels like.
I have treatment resistant depression and have tried every treatment except psilocybin. In order to do that effectively I have to be off all sedatives for at least 5 days. Lorazepam blunts the effects the treatment.
The lorazepam is the hardest for me to taper. I am so anxious and depressed and don't have any medication to help me sleep the days away.
Goodrx on Ativan and brain fog;
Brain fog from Ativan is usually temporary. It often improves once your body adjusts to the dose. If you stop taking the medication under a doctor's guidance, these cognitive effects generally go away. Never stop taking Ativan suddenly without talking to your healthcare provider first.
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3 Reactions@ceciford What your heard is true about the last stages of tapering. However, if you do it using a hyperbolic curve, a comfortable percentage of the last dose you took, rather than a straight linear cut f the same amount each time, your taper towards the end will be more gentle. It will take longer, but for me it is worth it instead of suffering so much. I am just beginning my taper off klonopin .5 mg at a two percent reduction. I have a neurodivergent brain and I am 82 and highly sensitive to changes in the drug, so I just say, "Better be safe than sorry.'
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2 ReactionsAnother doctor might be the answer. I have been on this medication for many years too.
@gunshy
Thank you.
I don't know how to cut lorazepam in such low increments. The pill is so small and crumbly. Even cutting it in half, it crumbles a lot.
I dont know what klonopin pills are like. How do you measure a 2 percent reduction?
Ideas?
@joetex it’s not a “low dose” and it can certainly be the cause.
@rosebookay The typical dosage is 2-3 mg a day and she said she is on 1mg a day. What do you consider low?
@ceciford
Hi,
After exploring all the options available -- liquid suspensions, weighting on a scale, I decided the best option for me was compounded capsules. Yes, they are pricey, but the are a way to have 100 percent accuracy. I decided I was worth it and could not do any more suffering. I could not divide a .5 mg solid tablet with exactly so my life was a rollercoaster of misery. I also finally found a provider who was willing to do a patient-lead taper,
so I could hold as long as I needed to before dropping the dose again.
@gunshy - so, when you talk about a patient-led taper, you mean that the physician was open to suggestions from you about how it was going along the way and to adjusting accordingly?
Yes, but i had to go through 20 other practitioners until I found one. They are notoriously bad about one size fits all and it doesn't. Have you checked out the Ashton Manual?
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