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How did you successfully taper off of 0.5 lorazepam (Ativan)?
Depression & Anxiety | Last Active: Aug 11 4:46pm | Replies (113)Comment receiving replies
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.
Replies to "Have taken small doses ~ under 2.0 since 1992 ~ Now on 0.5 at night and..."
It sounds like you are on the right path.
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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.