Is there any reason why you need to taper both medications at the same time? Could you complete your taper from lorazepam first? Or has your doctor suggested discontinuing both?
Is there any reason why you need to taper both medications at the same time? Could you complete your taper from lorazepam first? Or has your doctor suggested discontinuing both?
I am concerned that the pantoprazole may have an affect on how the benzoyl is working since they both are metabolized in the liver. I'm having a hard time with my lorazepam taper and .my GI track really gives me a lot of trouble.
I am concerned that the pantoprazole may have an affect on how the benzoyl is working since they both are metabolized in the liver. I'm having a hard time with my lorazepam taper and .my GI track really gives me a lot of trouble.
How much lorazepam are you taking each day? There are a lot of tapering schedules. Slower is better, but eventually you'll have to take a jump that will be uncomfortable for about a month (I think). But it's important to know your current dose to make meaningful recommendations. Also, how long have you been taking it? All the best. Joe
How much lorazepam are you taking each day? There are a lot of tapering schedules. Slower is better, but eventually you'll have to take a jump that will be uncomfortable for about a month (I think). But it's important to know your current dose to make meaningful recommendations. Also, how long have you been taking it? All the best. Joe
I think that's considered a pretty low dose, but I'd check with your Dr as we are all different. If you want to taper from there, you might need to have the pills compounded at a pharmacy that does that. Basically allows you to slowly lower the dose by liquefying the drug. Again, best to have your Dr. supervise that.
I’m just saw this and realize it is over a year old, but I am wondering if you had any success with the discontinuation of these two? Or were you able to determine if being on both simultaneously was a bad thing? I am currently taking both and wondering About some side effects the doctor is finding curious. There’s nothing like talking to someone who’s gone through it!
Hi Carolina
I just saw your question. Sadly I am still tapering the Vatican and trying to taper the pantoprazole. It is such a hard journey! I have tried transitioning from the PPI to famotidine several times. I am in the process of trying again. Its hard to tell what is causing me issues.
Have you had any luck? You mentioned some curious symptoms, could you tell me what they are?
Maybe we can compare symptoms.
Hi Carolina
I just saw your question. Sadly I am still tapering the Vatican and trying to taper the pantoprazole. It is such a hard journey! I have tried transitioning from the PPI to famotidine several times. I am in the process of trying again. Its hard to tell what is causing me issues.
Have you had any luck? You mentioned some curious symptoms, could you tell me what they are?
Maybe we can compare symptoms.
If this is the message you are referencing, I can tell you I did stop taking pantoprazole. Because it’s a coated tablet and can’t be broken in half, I took one every other day for about a week. Then one every three or four days and after a month, I just stopped. The symptoms I was having were very low belly pains, especially on the left side of my body. My doctor said that is where the sigmoid colon is. He was totally expecting to find a problem there during my colonoscopy, but there was nothing. When I stopped, the pantoprazole, the pains went away within a week. I also realized my body didn’t even need this type of medication anymore. Symptoms of Gerd and reflux have hardly returned at all. Also, the doctor tried to get me to take omeprazole before I stopped PPI’s altogether, but I had no luck with that one either. Same awful stomach pain. All PPI’s gave me the same trouble. I did try famotidine. This is possibly going to sound weird. I did Pepcid AC and got horrible stomach aches every time I tried it. I found generic famotidine at the grocery store in a 20 mg dose. I can take it without any problems. Just the Pepcid made my stomach go crazy. 🤷♀️ the problem with taking stuff like this every single day is you don’t even know if you need it anymore because you take it out of habit. I don’t know if you have missed days of your pantoprazole and felt horribly because of it. That would be a different story than mine. my body did not miss it at all. Also, pantoprazole is supposed to help heal ulcers in conjunction with other medication. I got my first stomach ulcer in March of this year while I was still taking pantoprazole. That makes no sense to me. So, onto the benzos. This one would depend on how much you are taking. I take .5 mg daily. When I talked to my doctor right before my back injury, he said stopping alprazolam should not be difficult at all because it is such a low-dose. I am using the time while I’m stuck in bed to half the pill and am taking .25 in the morning and .25 in the afternoon. I am not supplementing with pain pills or muscle relaxers as he suggested. He said that would make stopping the benzo even easier. I don’t want to trade one for the other and I really hate pain pills. so for the last three days, I have still taken the same amount daily but think over the next few days. I will stop the afternoon .25 and possibly by next week. Start to skip every other day with the morning. I don’t know if this is helping you at all and I’m dragging on and on. I can say that even splitting my small dose into two separate ones, the quivering I had in one of my hands has stopped already. I was starting to feel like after taking this medication for so many years, even at a low-dose that my body was begging me for more and I refuse to go there. I would rather feel slightly bad stopping, but right now I’ve got bigger things to worry about. if there’s any questions you have or anything specific I might be able to help with, please feel free to message. I’ll be on the lookout!
If this is the message you are referencing, I can tell you I did stop taking pantoprazole. Because it’s a coated tablet and can’t be broken in half, I took one every other day for about a week. Then one every three or four days and after a month, I just stopped. The symptoms I was having were very low belly pains, especially on the left side of my body. My doctor said that is where the sigmoid colon is. He was totally expecting to find a problem there during my colonoscopy, but there was nothing. When I stopped, the pantoprazole, the pains went away within a week. I also realized my body didn’t even need this type of medication anymore. Symptoms of Gerd and reflux have hardly returned at all. Also, the doctor tried to get me to take omeprazole before I stopped PPI’s altogether, but I had no luck with that one either. Same awful stomach pain. All PPI’s gave me the same trouble. I did try famotidine. This is possibly going to sound weird. I did Pepcid AC and got horrible stomach aches every time I tried it. I found generic famotidine at the grocery store in a 20 mg dose. I can take it without any problems. Just the Pepcid made my stomach go crazy. 🤷♀️ the problem with taking stuff like this every single day is you don’t even know if you need it anymore because you take it out of habit. I don’t know if you have missed days of your pantoprazole and felt horribly because of it. That would be a different story than mine. my body did not miss it at all. Also, pantoprazole is supposed to help heal ulcers in conjunction with other medication. I got my first stomach ulcer in March of this year while I was still taking pantoprazole. That makes no sense to me. So, onto the benzos. This one would depend on how much you are taking. I take .5 mg daily. When I talked to my doctor right before my back injury, he said stopping alprazolam should not be difficult at all because it is such a low-dose. I am using the time while I’m stuck in bed to half the pill and am taking .25 in the morning and .25 in the afternoon. I am not supplementing with pain pills or muscle relaxers as he suggested. He said that would make stopping the benzo even easier. I don’t want to trade one for the other and I really hate pain pills. so for the last three days, I have still taken the same amount daily but think over the next few days. I will stop the afternoon .25 and possibly by next week. Start to skip every other day with the morning. I don’t know if this is helping you at all and I’m dragging on and on. I can say that even splitting my small dose into two separate ones, the quivering I had in one of my hands has stopped already. I was starting to feel like after taking this medication for so many years, even at a low-dose that my body was begging me for more and I refuse to go there. I would rather feel slightly bad stopping, but right now I’ve got bigger things to worry about. if there’s any questions you have or anything specific I might be able to help with, please feel free to message. I’ll be on the lookout!
Hi Carolin,
I saw your reply to my private message then I found the reply here. OMG Vatican...I don't like auto correct.
I am so sorry to hear about your compression fracture, I hope you heal quickly.
Thank you for all of the info. I have had heartburn/reflux since I was a child and been on all kinds of medications. First of all congratulations for getting off of pantoprazole! I have suffered so much trying to get rid of the benzos it is ridiculous. It is the most horrible thing I have ever been through. I am at .287 mg and have been tapering for 4 yrs from 1.5 mg. During the beginning of covid my BP acted up and the new doctor I had gave me a BP med that blew up my CNS then she added Lorazepam which just added fuel to the fire. She would not listen to me when I kept telling her that I was having anxiety, plus several other symptoms from the BP med. I started researching on my own and figured out what was happening. Doctors are too quick to prescribe benzos, you can become dependent in as little as 10 days...it is so sad. Unfortunately about 50% of people suffer terribly from taking benzos and don't have a clue what is going on. Most doctors are under informed and uneducated on the affects of benzos then to make matters worse they don't want to take the time to learn. I guess you can tell this is one of my soap boxes. I commend you for taking the time to taper off of the benzos and I hope it will go smoothly for you.
I hope that I can keep going with the transition from the PPI to famotidine. Since famotidine and lorazepam are both metabolized by the liver it can make the withdrawal affects harder from the benzo. That is so awesome the quivering in your hand has stopped. Benzos can cause so many symptoms...some are very strange. I am so glad for you that you did not increase your dose. My dose is such an odd number because I switched from pill form to liquid lorazepam intensol. I did that so I could dilute it with water and be able to make small reductions.
Thank you for talking to me and I wish you the best with your taper and recovery from the fracture. If I can help you with questions about the benzos taper please let me know. Slow is good but just keep going.
Sincerely, Debbie
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Hi @sunflower1956, welcome.
You might be interested in these 2 related discussions:
- Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tapering-off-of-lorazepam-ativan/
- PPI Pantoprozole: Can't tolerate side effects with Stomach Ulcer: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ppi-pantoprozole-40mg-for-stomach-ulcer-side-effects/
Is there any reason why you need to taper both medications at the same time? Could you complete your taper from lorazepam first? Or has your doctor suggested discontinuing both?
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1 ReactionI am concerned that the pantoprazole may have an affect on how the benzoyl is working since they both are metabolized in the liver. I'm having a hard time with my lorazepam taper and .my GI track really gives me a lot of trouble.
Also my doctor is not benzo wise so I am pretty much on my own trying to figure things out.
Thank you for the links.
How much lorazepam are you taking each day? There are a lot of tapering schedules. Slower is better, but eventually you'll have to take a jump that will be uncomfortable for about a month (I think). But it's important to know your current dose to make meaningful recommendations. Also, how long have you been taking it? All the best. Joe
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1 ReactionI am taking .385 mg each day. I was put on lorazepam June 2020.
I think that's considered a pretty low dose, but I'd check with your Dr as we are all different. If you want to taper from there, you might need to have the pills compounded at a pharmacy that does that. Basically allows you to slowly lower the dose by liquefying the drug. Again, best to have your Dr. supervise that.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionI’m just saw this and realize it is over a year old, but I am wondering if you had any success with the discontinuation of these two? Or were you able to determine if being on both simultaneously was a bad thing? I am currently taking both and wondering About some side effects the doctor is finding curious. There’s nothing like talking to someone who’s gone through it!
Hi Carolina
I just saw your question. Sadly I am still tapering the Vatican and trying to taper the pantoprazole. It is such a hard journey! I have tried transitioning from the PPI to famotidine several times. I am in the process of trying again. Its hard to tell what is causing me issues.
Have you had any luck? You mentioned some curious symptoms, could you tell me what they are?
Maybe we can compare symptoms.
If this is the message you are referencing, I can tell you I did stop taking pantoprazole. Because it’s a coated tablet and can’t be broken in half, I took one every other day for about a week. Then one every three or four days and after a month, I just stopped. The symptoms I was having were very low belly pains, especially on the left side of my body. My doctor said that is where the sigmoid colon is. He was totally expecting to find a problem there during my colonoscopy, but there was nothing. When I stopped, the pantoprazole, the pains went away within a week. I also realized my body didn’t even need this type of medication anymore. Symptoms of Gerd and reflux have hardly returned at all. Also, the doctor tried to get me to take omeprazole before I stopped PPI’s altogether, but I had no luck with that one either. Same awful stomach pain. All PPI’s gave me the same trouble. I did try famotidine. This is possibly going to sound weird. I did Pepcid AC and got horrible stomach aches every time I tried it. I found generic famotidine at the grocery store in a 20 mg dose. I can take it without any problems. Just the Pepcid made my stomach go crazy. 🤷♀️ the problem with taking stuff like this every single day is you don’t even know if you need it anymore because you take it out of habit. I don’t know if you have missed days of your pantoprazole and felt horribly because of it. That would be a different story than mine. my body did not miss it at all. Also, pantoprazole is supposed to help heal ulcers in conjunction with other medication. I got my first stomach ulcer in March of this year while I was still taking pantoprazole. That makes no sense to me. So, onto the benzos. This one would depend on how much you are taking. I take .5 mg daily. When I talked to my doctor right before my back injury, he said stopping alprazolam should not be difficult at all because it is such a low-dose. I am using the time while I’m stuck in bed to half the pill and am taking .25 in the morning and .25 in the afternoon. I am not supplementing with pain pills or muscle relaxers as he suggested. He said that would make stopping the benzo even easier. I don’t want to trade one for the other and I really hate pain pills. so for the last three days, I have still taken the same amount daily but think over the next few days. I will stop the afternoon .25 and possibly by next week. Start to skip every other day with the morning. I don’t know if this is helping you at all and I’m dragging on and on. I can say that even splitting my small dose into two separate ones, the quivering I had in one of my hands has stopped already. I was starting to feel like after taking this medication for so many years, even at a low-dose that my body was begging me for more and I refuse to go there. I would rather feel slightly bad stopping, but right now I’ve got bigger things to worry about. if there’s any questions you have or anything specific I might be able to help with, please feel free to message. I’ll be on the lookout!
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionHi Carolin,
I saw your reply to my private message then I found the reply here. OMG Vatican...I don't like auto correct.
I am so sorry to hear about your compression fracture, I hope you heal quickly.
Thank you for all of the info. I have had heartburn/reflux since I was a child and been on all kinds of medications. First of all congratulations for getting off of pantoprazole! I have suffered so much trying to get rid of the benzos it is ridiculous. It is the most horrible thing I have ever been through. I am at .287 mg and have been tapering for 4 yrs from 1.5 mg. During the beginning of covid my BP acted up and the new doctor I had gave me a BP med that blew up my CNS then she added Lorazepam which just added fuel to the fire. She would not listen to me when I kept telling her that I was having anxiety, plus several other symptoms from the BP med. I started researching on my own and figured out what was happening. Doctors are too quick to prescribe benzos, you can become dependent in as little as 10 days...it is so sad. Unfortunately about 50% of people suffer terribly from taking benzos and don't have a clue what is going on. Most doctors are under informed and uneducated on the affects of benzos then to make matters worse they don't want to take the time to learn. I guess you can tell this is one of my soap boxes. I commend you for taking the time to taper off of the benzos and I hope it will go smoothly for you.
I hope that I can keep going with the transition from the PPI to famotidine. Since famotidine and lorazepam are both metabolized by the liver it can make the withdrawal affects harder from the benzo. That is so awesome the quivering in your hand has stopped. Benzos can cause so many symptoms...some are very strange. I am so glad for you that you did not increase your dose. My dose is such an odd number because I switched from pill form to liquid lorazepam intensol. I did that so I could dilute it with water and be able to make small reductions.
Thank you for talking to me and I wish you the best with your taper and recovery from the fracture. If I can help you with questions about the benzos taper please let me know. Slow is good but just keep going.
Sincerely, Debbie