Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?

Benzodiazepines has an unpopular reputation due to them being so addictive. I was given them over twenty years ago and no one anywhere warned me about the way they work. I still believe that they were dragged into the opioid crisis..people who are addicted to opiates are at great risk if they use benzodiazepines at the same time…they are a lethal cocktail and so it’s easier for them to try and get rid of both. I honestly never had any issues with Ativan, I always stayed on the same dose and they work very fast and bring relief to me in about 10 minutes, of course I tried a bunch of so called better meds but they never helped me much and they came with a bunch of side effects. I started to get messed up when the prescribing doctor was trying to push me to quit benzodiazepines but not offering me any help or support, in fact he started reducing the amount without discussing it with me…well you can imagine the emotional turmoil that caused me. I am now hearing about the struggles of other people in a similar situation and it saddens me because you have so much anxiety and are suffering unduly because of this injustice… I don’t think that there’s a med out there that doesn’t have some adverse effect and nothing is ever perfect when it comes to our health but it’s just harassment for us and we don’t need it..perhaps doctors should do more research before they involve innocent people. We have to take more control of our lives and health and not place too much in the doctor’s hands, it will give you back some well needed control over your health issues and although most doctors don’t take favourably to this, it’s just too bad because it’s your life and taking care of yourself too is going to have a positive effect on you and make you feel stronger for it.

I had to spend 20 days in the hospital. I gave the rescue EMS a list of all my meds to give to the triage nurse and between them they lost it. So when it came to med time I got a 3 year dose of meds from their laptop when I went to that hospital 3 years prior. An old list was all they had on file so that’s what they went by.
I was not on Clonazapan 3 years ago so they didn’t me any klomopin effectively cutting me off abruptly.

I’m hooked on that med and to stop it cold turkey was a nightmare. When I pleaded for my klonopin the nurse said she would ask the doctor. She came back it seemed like hours although it was probably 15 minutes.

She said the doctor wouldn’t give me klonopin but adavan 1 mg in the morning only. The next morning I told her that 1mg of Adavan every 24 hours was not acceptable. The doctor upped it to 1mg every 12 hours which was still not enough.

I still was not on klonopin and I had bad withdrawal symptoms. When I got home (assisted living facility) they gave me a klonopin and adavan. I told them to take me off adavan and just keep the knonopin . I felt relieved. Taking away my adavan was not a problem since I had klonopin to ease any adavan withdrawal.
Adavan was a piece of cake but klonopin withdrawal was horrendous so I had to go back on it. I was a maniac without it.

To me, klonopin is a dangerously bad drug. It shouldn’t be available to anyone. It’s like getting off heroin (not that I ever took heroin). I seen how bad heroin is due to my law enforcement career seeing heroin withdrawal from addicts.

It’s great for my extreme anxiety disorder but I should have never been forced to quit cold turkey. Doctor should have known better. Anyways I’m doing pretty good now with my anxiety but I’m a walking zombie and I only take 2,5 in the morning and one mg at 4.00.

Thank you. Ativan works for sure. I still ended up in hospital so I understand the self care now. I’ll just keep with meditation and yoga and in emergency tiled the meds. I never imagined people getting addicted to these meds. I know now of all the controversy here on this site. I’ll be careful. Thanks again.

I totally agree with you. I have been taking Ativan for years with great results and no side effects. I am trying to get off of it on my own. I take a half of my lowest dose now. It is 2 months and I am still having withdrawal symptoms. I never knew this drug could be so powerful. Be care and be safe!

I’ve read a few stories about people who did stop them successfully but it always took a number of years to do so. I made the mistake of taking this drug for many years and even though I stopped twice, I went back to them. To be honest they do work well for me and I can’t say the same for other ones I have tried with no success. I don’t think I even have the available years to do so. I was never pressured about my meds until the last few years and I truly felt that it was unfair because I have more to stress about than ever and all the well intended pressure is making me feel worse. I think you’re wise to get away from them and not wait too long because it’s harder the longer you wait. It sounds like you have a good control over your meds and don’t get discouraged from the symptoms because they do get less over time, good luck with your health, amen.

I took Ativan last week, and this week I’m getting tension in my shoulders, neck and headaches! I do not like Ativan, not the after effects.

Sorry. I had NO side effects; just wonderful sleep at night.

Have taken small doses ~ under 2.0 since 1992 ~ Now on 0.5 at night and .25 at noon time ~ I can not seem to get past the 0.5 at night and the .25 at noon ~I am now thinking about tapering off that dosage. I work with a Nurse Practitioner while trying to cope with this very slow taper and starting to feel I need to stop taking current dosage but it is very difficult to do so. At a loss at the moment but would like to be drug free ~ It is the only medication I take ~ Am almost 76 years old and want to get back to feeling good again ~ Medication causing blurry vision, anxiety at times, my gait is off and overall malaise ~
I also meditate in the am, do yoga and a balance exercise and meditation readings.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have tried the Ashton method and may go back to it ~ Thank you.

I did it with the Ashton method up to a point and it worked very well for me up until the end. I took the recommendation of exchanging lorazepam to valium. At the end of my taper of valium, I was taking 1mg at night (for sleep). I did this for about 5 months. Reason I took so long to stop was because the end was the most difficult for me. I also had self-imposed anxiety about giving up my crutch I had been using for sleep for decades. I love the fact you are using meditation. That is extremely helpful to get and remain in the 'right state of mind' for detoxing. It doesn't work for everyone and I congratulation you on perseverance and you are blessed to be able to use this. My thought process was probably the biggest threshold to overcome. I had been taking benzos for so long I did not know if I could live without them! After 5 months, I self-talked into stopping. Just stopping and I had resigned myself to go through any discomfort that would happen. And there was none! Like any habit, it can be hard to break.

It sounds like you are on the right path.