Ativan tolerance

I was on 1 mg of Ativan per day for anxiety/sleep and built tolerance after number of years. Fortunately, when I stopped cold turkey because I refused to increase the dose I did not have any withdrawal symptoms. I changed to a sleep aid instead of a benzo for sleep. Sleep aids like Ambien, Sonata, and Lunesta do not have the same tolerance, habit forming profile as Ativan. I have done well on Lunesta for sleep. The TCH/CBD/CBN gummies gave me anxiety, I can't take THC. If no anxiety, you might want to explore the sleep aids instead, there are many to choose from and Dr. usually prefer prescribing these instead of benzos. Another thing I noticed is that the gummies are MUCH MORE expensive than the prescribed medicines.

Thank you

Although some people have no problems stopping a benzo like Ativan, a slow taper is recommended most often. Definitely speak with your doctor before just stopping it. I also don't think just substituting with a cannabis gummy would prevent withdrawals. But you could maybe use that as a bridge as you taper off if you find difficulty sleeping.

I have been taking Ativan for over 20 years, my dose is 0.5 mg. in the morning and then the same dose at night. I have tried to cut back but my anxiety is so bad that I end up giving up. I had some problems with Ativan when I got long covid infection, I began to get palpitations and sweating along with trembling, it scares me a lot and even the Ativan didn’t fully help me with my symptoms so my anxiety was off the charts. It eventually calmed down but I still have flare ups. I also take gummies at night and I sleep more soundly and it also helps me with some appetite because I’m so thin. I think that the gummies interact with Ativan making it more effective, this being the case it has helped me to stay on my dosage with Ativan. I know my doctor will not increase my Ativan, I have a set amount I’m given for an allotted time and there’s no room for increasing it, I always hope that I will find the help I need to deal with my anxiety but nothing else has worked for me this far.

I have been taking lorazepam for 7 years from 1 mg/day to 2/day down to .5/day last couple years. I got sick of it, especially when I took more occasionally and ran out early before refills. A couple weeks ago I just stopped in disgust with myself and now am surprised at how everything in my life has improved. Less anxiety, fewer palpations, more energy and endurance with aerobic exercise, and far better sleep. I am 77 years old. I hope I’m not in some manic state that will end soon, but I haven’t felt this well in years so will not go back to that awful drug no matter what. Sometimes no meds is the best medicine, I think.

I agree with you, not being on any drugs would be wonderful, I applaud you for having the strength to rid yourself from these nasty meds, most medications come with a downside and they haven’t found another way to treat us in a more safe and less trouble with side effects but this isn’t happening anytime soon. It’s very encouraging to hear that some people have been able to quit these drugs but I know realistically that it’s a different struggle for everyone and many factors come into it, i.e. your general health, age and financial strength. I’m always interested in what other people are going through and what they have tried to do for help, it’s very frightening to read how many of us are struggling with medication, I hope they find a better solution one day.

A MD friend of mine put me in contact with a very knowledgeable Pharmacist.
She ordered a neurotransmitter test to see if there is a problem that is causing insomnia and anxiety. Hoping it will show an imbalance and can be treated with supplements

That is wonderful. I need off this too. Have been taking .5 mg of Ativan for 5 years. I know I have developed a tolerance for it.
My main issue is not sleeping.
Wonder what the worse thing would happen if I just quit cold turkey?

Yes, I nearly always took Ativan at night and actually took just .25 mg in the middle of the night several nights before I decided to stop. Over the years, I tried cold Turkey from .5 mg a few times and always had a terrible time and failed, but this time I actually didn’t care how terrible I might feel, I wanted off the stuff, period. Maybe that determined mindset is what has worked for me. On such a low dose of .5 and .25 mgs, I wasn’t concerned about having a seizure (though don’t know if that’s true for everybody), so going cold Turkey FOR ME hasn’t been a problem but rather an unexpected relief. I wake up a few times at night because of prostate issues, but I feel I sleep a lot better between wake ups than I did while taking the drug all those years.

Thank you. That is promising.
I hate this medicine.
Had trouble falling asleep last night after taking .5 mg of Ativan aroun 10:00 pm. That’s after only getting 3 hours of sleep the night before. I took one benedryl about midnight. Wow I slept so good. I know this is not advisable but I needed to sleep.