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Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?
Has anybody successfully managed to successfully wean off of Lorazepam?
If so how was it done?
And if it was by way of switching to other drugs, were you then able to taper off of those entirely under a doctor's guidance?
My husband has been on Lorazepam for 16 years
He did well for 14 years, but dragged his feet about trying to withdraw while he was feeling better.
In May he had a relapse of anxiety, and insomnia, with brain fog, heart palpitations, and more.
Currently he's doing better, thinking better, but still feels like crap a large part of the time, can't sleep without the drug, can't nap.and still struggles with anxiety.
At this point, I believe it's the drug that is actually causing the problem. Currently he's doing 1 mg at bedtime and 3/4 mg when he wakes up at 2:30 am.
I know it takes 2 years for the brains GABA receptors to normalize after taking Benzodiazepines.
Also know it's really hard to withdraw, has to be done extremely slowly, and the side effects are exactly the same as the symptoms it is meant to help.
My goal is to eventually wean him off of all drugs as functional health tests show they block his nutritional absorption and may be damaging his intestinal lining. I would like to be able to repair his health using nutrition, supplements, and neurotransmitter amino acids.
All feedback is welcomed!
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Curious about where you got your info on DEA and CDC.
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.
I took lorazapam for 10 years 2 mg at bed time I am down to 1 my mind is foggy and I am forgetful. Can some one tell me if I will get my mind back. Please help me
I got my mind back, but it took about 10 months before I noticed a difference. It takes time an does not happen overnight, for me, for sure. I suggest being kind to yourself. The fogginess is part of the withdrawal process. Good for you cutting down. Hang in there. Your life will get better, I know this from experience and by talking to others that were experiencing the same thing as me.
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2 ReactionsI have been on Ativan for 28 years now I am on .5mg one day and haf of that the next. I'm really getting scared about tapering more. Any encouraging words?
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1 ReactionI was put on 1mg of ativan a day back in 1995 when I was hospitalized for anxiety and depression.
My Dr told me
a few years ago that they have found it can cause cognitive problems (which I have been having) A couple years ago I tapered to
.5mg a day. I am trying to taper off. I would love any support I can get.
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1 ReactionHow is it going for you? I am currently on .5 MG every other half of that on the other days. I'm thinking about going down to .25 every day in another week.
I am finally off Ativan after a very slow wean. If you’ve been ok with .5, .25, .5, .25…, what worked for me after that was .25, .25, .5, .25, .25, .5….for two weeks, then .25 every day for two weeks.
See how you feel doing that.
Then I cut the pill into quarters…..25, .125, .25, .125….
I realize that this sounds very slow, but it worked for me!
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1 ReactionThank you so much...how is it being off?
I have been taking 7.5 mg mirtazapine during the wean for sleep and I feel better than I have for years. I’ve been off ativan for over three weeks now and feel fine. I believe the very slow wean made a difference this time (I tried a faster wean suggested by my doctor about a year ago but started up on it again)
If you’d like my complete weaning schedule let me know.