Please Google and read The Ashton Manual. This is the gold standard (at least in the UK where their NHI isn’t controlled by Big Pharma) for benzodiazepine drug discontinuation practices. US and Canadian doctors wean dangerously fast.

Do not chance a rapid taper. It’s serious stuff. If you fail and reinstate, each consecutive attempt will be harder for your body to adjust to causing major problems. Benzodiazepines now come with an FDA Black Box warning, of course doctors don’t read these, but benzodiazepines should NEVER be prescribed long term (over 4 weeks) and should be very slowly discontinued.

Also look at https://www.benzoinfo.com/
You will find all the info you need here, including the Ashton Manual.

There are some who are lucky and can just jump off these drugs fairly easily, but it’s a crap shoot. Better to start slowly and see how you feel. Do not bother telling your doctor about it. They know very little and you do not want to be ripped off these drugs rapidly by a nervous doctor.

If you doubt this, look at some of the online forums: Benzo Warriors on FB or BenzoBuddies.org and see what’s going on in the real world where people have been gaslighted by the medical profession simply because the medical profession doesn’t have time or money to research these very dangerous drugs. It’s not their fault, but most certainty aren’t bothering to learn anything new. You will see horror stories beyond belief, but also tremendous support. It’s all they have. Not for the faint of heart and, trust me, you do not want to become one of the rapid taper persons. Slow tapers can be bad enough. BTW, dosing every other or few days doesn’t make tapering off easier. The body needs a steady stream of the drug to alleviate interdose withdrawal while tapering. Ativan has a very short half-life so one would feel the withdrawal effects more quickly.

If you choose to stay on these drugs, they most likely will eventually stop working and your prescriber will suggest a higher dose when the SANE thing to do is to slowly taper off and use CBT and other coping techniques. Benzodiazepines are NOT recommended for anxiety or insomnia anymore. They never should have been. There is no research on long-term use (past 4 months). NONE! ZERO! ZILCH! That should make anyone worry.

Best of luck to anyone reading this on a benzodiazepine.

This is a brutal benzo to get off. I'm down from 0.50 mg to 0.25 mg since January. My doctor said he would help me but he just retired. Hang in there and go slowly. If you have issues, your primary doctor can give you a substitute med.