@colleenyoung thank you very much for the warm welcome, and directing me towards this thread. I will certainly take your advice, and speak with my pharmacist. My goal is to eventually get off of Lorazepam all together. I’m concerned about the amount of time I’ve been on it, and worry about my proclivity for addiction.

@frouke thank you very much for the words of encouragement. I’ve read too much about the negative long-term consequences of being on this drug, and it adds considerable to my anxiety. My system is very sensitive, and do have a GAD diagnosis. I’m back to taking the 0.5 as prescribed, and after a day, am feeling more like myself. When I’ve spoken to my pcp in the past, he’s advised to go every other day for a week, but feel as if he lacks expertise as to how to best guide me. I’m going to continue to seek support. In hindsight, stopping this abruptly while going through another serious health condition was a perfect storm for more problems. I’m happy to have found this group, and it gives me some solace to know others have been down this path. Thank you very much again for responding.

@2cents thank you for sharing the story about your acquaintance. I've read similar stories of people needing rehab, but I recall them being on much higher dosages. I feel lucky to have a primary care who knows me so well, and refused to go beyond 0.5mg despite asking him in the past. In addition to the lorazepam, I take 40mg of Prozac, which I've been on for almost 20 years. Was your acquaintance on 0.5mg for many years like me? I'm at a point in my life where I need to find a good psychiatrist who has experience with taking these medications long term. I won't make the mistake of overtaking the lorazepam, or changing course without proper guidance. It was hell for the 6 days I was off it.

Hi @kawanhee! Congratulations on successfully weaning yourself off this drug. Your story gives me some much needed hope. I will look up the other discussion thread now. Thanks so much for replying. Can I ask: did your doctor prescribe you anything else (like valium) to help with the weaning process? All the best with your continued abstinence, and taming the mental tiger of anxiety.

@cmck I also use meditation, yoga (am a certified instructor), walking, and other forms of exercise to keep my anxiety in check. We have to use every tool at our disposal to function with bad anxiety. In the past, when I've been what I consider to be my best, I wasn't taking any lorazepam, and was doing yoga several times per week. There's hope to get back there. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Somebody please tell me I will be okay when get done weaning off Ativan. I am at .3 MG going down to .25 in a few days.

@greenville we’re here for you, and you’re going to get through this. Getting down to 0.25mg is a huge accomplishment. Continue to follow the advice of your doctor, and you’ll be fine. What are you most worried about at this point?

I quit Xanax cold turkey. Not a good idea.
Hope you picked up your rx and are doing okay.

I am down from 3 mg a day to nothing or up to 1mg a day, as needed,

It has been difficult but I found that Lorazepam was adding to my depression.

I stopped drinking a lot of coffee ( from 6 cups to 3 a day) stopped eating sugar, wherever possible. And I exercise 2 hours a day six days a week.

All of my bipolar symptoms have improved markedly. I still take a lot of other meds, but at least I can function,

I started this after reading a book Brain Energy by Dr. Palmer (Harvard an Mclane). It has changed my life.

Good luck on your journey🌅

Is it possible to have withdrawal after using .25-.5 mg 4-5 times a week for sleep for a month or so? I can't tell if what's happening to me now is a symptom of the ativan or HRT. My psychiatrist said the dosage is so low to start and the time frame wasn't long I shouldn't have a problem stopping it, but I'm not so sure about that. How do you even taper off .25mg???