Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?

After 5 years, I'd drop down to 0.75mg for a while, not down to 0.5mg. I've not been on lorazepam steadily for more than a year at a time, but it's such a powerful Rx that I'd be very leery of dropping by 50%, esp. after 5 years.

What does your doctor recommend? ****It's really important to have their input when tapering off a controlled substance.****

Also, what are your dr.'s thoughts on OTC helpers such as Calms Forte or ashwagandha? (I'm not urging you to try either of those -- just noting that both have been helpful for me on the nights that I don't take lorazepam. You and I might take lorz. for different reasons; I take it bc I have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep.)

Wishing you well with this -- and pls do talk to your dr.

I must disagree a bit....5 mg Atavan or Lorazepam can be quite problematic if you've taken it once every day for years like I have. I got on it after heart problems put me in the hospital and I've been taking it for 15 years. So it's a matter of time, dosage, and frequency. Taking .5 every day for sleep has become a habit that I can't kick easily. It's part psychological and part physiological. What seems like a small dose to some is a bigger problem for others. I appreciate any advice I can get on this blog. Thanks.

I agree with you, some people don’t have a very addictive nature and they are often able to use things that others can’t do. I’ve known people who can smoke randomly and inhale as well but they just stop when they want…I think it’s like we all vary from one another and this is just another example of this. I also take Ativan daily for over 20 years and I struggle to reduce my dose which is 0.5 twice daily, a low dosage but a long time. I know someone who has been on Ativan over 40 years and I don’t think he will ever stop but he doesn’t worry about it…I told him that it’s a controlled substance and I also mentioned what is happening in the US where its stricter and it’s just a matter of time we will get the same thing…

It’s best to consult with your doctor before trying to taper off by yourself

Totally disagree. Everyone handles these benzos differently. I was on .5 mg and I had to do a very low taper to get off it. It stopped working for sleep and I was feeling horrible. I was able to cut in halves and quarters with a pill cutter and after 6 months, I was off it. Have been free of it since June.

Absolutely agree with you. See my response above.

Agreed - I took 1 mg at bedtime (Klonopin) for many years and when I started my taper off, the steps down to .75, .5 and .375mg were easy and I stayed at each dose for about 6 weeks. When I got to .25mg, my withdrawals started to show up, which were insomnia, jitters, startling easily, irritability. That was the hardest and when I went to .125mg, it was like taking nothing, so I stopped. Your body recognizes it when you don't have this drug in your system. I'm slowly feeling better after 1 month completely off. Insomnia is a problem but not every night, and I find that a CBD/THC gummy for sleep is very helpful. I also take 7.5mg of Remeron, but I don't think it does much for my sleep. I can still have a completely sleepless night on the Remeron. Good luck to you!

Thanks for the comments and advice. Just trying to get a handle on stopping at this time. Working on a taper schedule but it's hard to start. Worried if my doctor knows how meds affect the body/mind long term. I want to taper, will try to start after consulting with him. Hope he understands and doesn't tell me to just quit. I've heard horror stories about that.

Do not just quit! A taper will allow your brain to slowly adjust. If you abruptly stop benzos, you could have a seizure and the withdrawal can be really bad. Tell your doctor about this forum and any information you could provide for your case.

Six months sounds reasonable. I've been on 2 mg for quite a long time--decades, actually. Now, at 73 with Parkinson's, I'm not sure I even want to stop taking Benzos. My health's not good, although my psychotherapist gave me a homework assignment to work on updating my identity --surfer, tennis player, and martial arts expert and going over my state of health. Now, I'm afraid to leave the house, although being with others/socializing gives me all I need in life. When I don't exercise, my PD grows steadily worse. I feel better taking no anti-anxiety meds, but feel as if I need to have them handy to reduce my tremors which get much worse due to social anxiety while playing havoc with Bipolar mood disorder. My wife is concerned about me--says I appear to be sad most of the time; and my main reason to be is staying healthy enough to take care of her. Find myself wishing she wasn't around so that I could choose to make a hasty, radical move to exit this nightmare, having accomplished just about all I'd wanted from life and feeling as if eighty years old would be an appropriate age to check out. Overcoming depression, a mood disorder, PTSD (VN and USMC vet), drug withdrawal, and wanting to be left alone is an insurmountable, overwhelming group of tasks
to deal with. I'm not even able to walk without assistence--suffer falls several times/week, and can't journal or write out how I feel due to major tremors and arthritis. What's the point? I bounce from one issue to another and it's exhausting. At this point, I'd like to have at least some Benzos on hand to help me cope. My neurologist, pcp, and the VA offer little or no support. I did so much better when living oversease where healthcare is not simply a horrible, for profit business, and I was able to get the care and support I needed. I'm a disabled Vietnam vet who has no allegiance to this fascist theocracy here in the U.S. I just want Veteran's Evaluation Services to address my diagnosis, pay me the money I lost by coming back to th U.S.,--Social Security took out 10% of my Medicare money for each year I live abroad, didn't pay me for a full year after coming back here, and saving enough to move out of here--the U.S., where healthcare for profit means the working people in this county do not receive the care they deserve. I'm often angry and frustrated--not a good way to go through the final years of life.