Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?

Hi
I have been taking 1 mg Lorazepam for more than a year. Initially my psych prescribed it to help me sleep through the night due to AUD (alcoholism). But I’ve managed to cut drinking back significantly (only take a drink if out with friends - not often at all - about once every 3 weeks). My wife and I agreed to stop drinking alcohol at home and that’s been working well and I’m through the AUD withdrawal which wasn’t too bad.

Now comes the Lorazepam as the next challenge. How do I taper (titre) off 1 mg? I know it’s supposed to be done very slowly. I’ll ask my Dr of course but looking for similar experiences. I think the smallest dose marketed is 0.5 mg.

I’ve been on lorazepam for 15-20 yrs… from 1 mg down to current .5 mg. It’s the only thing that helps my RLS. Recently, I read on this forum that Magnesium glycinate helps with both RLS and sleep, so I tried it. I’m now down to .25 mg, and some nights 0…. Some nights are fitful, but trying to stay on track with this.
I’ve read that people “our age” shouldn’t be on lorazepam due to increased risk of dementia…. That scares me!
Not sure what is worse….. the risk or no sleep…..

Go very slow. I would only go 1/8 of a pill for a month then cut it by 1/8 again. By going very slowly you will have significantly less withdrawal. I am not a Dr but I had to try and taper off of klonopin after 30 yrs without any help from my Dr,(formerDr that is) going slow is the only way in my opinion. Good luck to you!

To Anyone:
How do you cut Ativan into eighths
Really curious as most drugs can only be cut in half.
IOW, how do you cut ANY drug into 1/8ths,
Thank you.

What I did with my .05 klonopin pill was cut it in half on the line that goes down the middle and then I cut it in half again. You maybe able to get it in the lower dose that you want if you contact your doctor and explain to him . Good luck to you. God Bless

Thank you. I think you have cut it into quarters.
I am not on Klonopin. I am on Ativan and have read that when you go below 3mgs a day (same as 1.5 mgs of Klonopin per day), you have to cut only by 5%. There seems to be no way to do this. The Ashton Manual (online free) is considered the worldwide Gold Standard on getting off benzodiazapines. She was a Psycho Pharmacologist. Anyway, she recommends changing over to Valium to do this. My doctor will not do this and I have no idea what to do now.

If it's a regular MD. who prescribed them and won't give you the valium I would make an appointment with a neurologist. That's what I ended up doing. They understand how your brain works.

Thank you. I am on Medicare and hope I can find someone. It's so hard finding doctors who take Medicare where I live.
Anyone else going through this issue with no doctors taking Medicare even with the supplement?

There is a natural supplement called Valarian root. It is suppose to be the natural version of Valium. I have tried it in liquid form and it seemed to take off the edge but with any supplement you have to be cautious. Allergies and what not. I'm really sorry you have to go through such a terrible thing. Our country does not help our seniors enough. 6 month wait is absurd. Just to make it clear I am not a Doctor. Just saying for safety sake.