How did you successfully taper off of 0.5 lorazepam (Ativan)?

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.

I have been taking 0.5 mg of Lorazepan for about four years. I only take one at bedtime to help me sleep. I would like to taper off of this nightly pill and only use it for stressful situations like a dental visit or doctor visit. My primary care doctor has told me to just break the pill in pieces and take smaller amounts each night until I am down to none. I am worried because I have been taking this for a long time and my doctor may be minimizing the adverse effects I could get by trying to stop the med too quickly. It really does not help me with my sleep anymore as I am sure my body has gotten used to this same nightly dose. Thank you for any help or advice you can give me.

I have been on Lorazapam for probably 10 years. I was taking .50 mg at night but now I take 1/2 a pill most nights, maybe 2x a week the full pill. It works for me and I'll never stop it. No side effect and I can sleep. I spent my whole life trying to find something to make me sleep w/o side effects. Visible ones, anyway, ha!!!

I needed to stop taking Clonazepam, 1mg BID, after taking it for 20 years, for reasons I won't go into right now. I had tried reducing the dosage by .5mg a couple of years ago, but after several nights of insomnia I decided to give up.

Last year, I started titrating again by 1/8mg. I reduced the morning dose for 2-3 weeks, then went down another 1/8mg for a few weeks. As I titrated I reduced morning and bedtime doses in rotation. It was a long, slow process, but by taking my time I was able to stop taking it after several months. Now I only take it as needed for stressful situations. I would like to be taking it still because of the benefits, but in the current culture of fear it's a hassle to get a doctor to prescribe it in conjunction with the Dilaudid I take for chronic intractable severe pain. I'm hoping that the day will come, after several pending surgeries are performed, when my pain will lessen, and I'll be able to find a non-narcotive solution. Right now I'm just kind of in waiting mode.

But to respond to the question, titrating off benzodiazepines is best done very slowly to avoid withdrawal. Don't feel pressured to cut back too quickly. Let your body be your guide.

Jim

Thank you so much for your response. It was definitely helpful and I will keep it in mind as I start this process. I have a few medical appointments coming up and I am worried about starting too soon as I might need the lorazepam before I go in for those appointments. I am thinking that during the summer when it's nice and bright and sunny outside, it might be a good time to start titrating down. I think the winter would not be a good time as the dreariness and weather might not help my mood at all and make it worse. I am thinking of going into my local pharmacy where I get my medication and asking the pharmacist if he thinks I should maybe bypass my primary care doctor and see a mental health physician who might be able to help me with this process. Again, thank you so very much.

I don't know what dosages Lorazepam is available in, but it makes it easier to reduce the dosage, the smaller the pill is. For example, cutting a .5mg pill in quarters is harder than cutting a .25mg in half. It was kind of a pain to cut the 1mg pills into quarters and eighths, and not very precise.

I agree with the idea of doing it in the pleasant summer months.

Jim

I am actually on the lowest dose of lorazepam and it is a very tiny pill. I only take it once a day before bed so I worry about the insomnia issues. I will have to find a way to cut the pill down and because it's so tiny it is going to be difficult. I have a pill cutter but it won't be precise. I am wondering how important that will be. I'm hoping a pharmacist at my CVS may be able to help me with that. Maybe he will have some recommendations. Thank you so much for your response.

Hey just curious if youre still on prozac? Im trying to taper off and could use
some guidance

Hi @briannaesiline, you might also wish to join this discussion:
- Fluoxetine (Prozac) _ How to get off it
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/fluoxetine-prosac-_-how-to-get-off-it/