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Has anybody successfully tapered off of lorazepam (Ativan)?
Has anybody successfully managed to successfully wean off of Lorazepam?
If so how was it done?
And if it was by way of switching to other drugs, were you then able to taper off of those entirely under a doctor's guidance?
My husband has been on Lorazepam for 16 years
He did well for 14 years, but dragged his feet about trying to withdraw while he was feeling better.
In May he had a relapse of anxiety, and insomnia, with brain fog, heart palpitations, and more.
Currently he's doing better, thinking better, but still feels like crap a large part of the time, can't sleep without the drug, can't nap.and still struggles with anxiety.
At this point, I believe it's the drug that is actually causing the problem. Currently he's doing 1 mg at bedtime and 3/4 mg when he wakes up at 2:30 am.
I know it takes 2 years for the brains GABA receptors to normalize after taking Benzodiazepines.
Also know it's really hard to withdraw, has to be done extremely slowly, and the side effects are exactly the same as the symptoms it is meant to help.
My goal is to eventually wean him off of all drugs as functional health tests show they block his nutritional absorption and may be damaging his intestinal lining. I would like to be able to repair his health using nutrition, supplements, and neurotransmitter amino acids.
All feedback is welcomed!
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I, Albert, am a user of lorazepam 0.5 mg every night before going to bed. May I know how to get rid of this drug addiction? I am now 79 years old. Thank you for your attention.
Being polite is free too
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2 ReactionsIf your doctor is much younger than you are and you don’t have to worry about him retiring I’d just stay on that .5 if I were you. It can be hard finding a new doctor to prescribe Benzos.
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1 ReactionLet’s not turn this helpful site into Facebook.
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3 ReactionsThank you very much for your concern for my question and your very supportive suggestions for gradual withdrawal or reduction to a safe dose to stop. I have been on Ativan 0.5 mg for a week and have tried a small reduction of 0.175 mg from 0.5 mg for 4 days and this 0.375 mg dose seems to work. I will try it for 1 week and then reduce it to half of 0.5 mg for a week and half of 0.25 mg for another week and then stop. Hopefully my plan will work.
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2 ReactionsNo as I'm on pregablin..I feel nasty,uptight.I am switching doctors.
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1 ReactionI followed my doctor's advice and dropped from .5 mg to .25 mg in the morning and has insomnia for 6 weeks. I am trying to taper the afternoon dose from .475 to .45 using a scale and weighing 10 tablets at .60 grams weight and then reducing it by 5% or .95, then 5% more every 3 weeks until I can jump at .05 mg in about 360 days. It will be the happiest day of my life. The benzos make you into a walking zombie. They drain all of the energy out of you and cause insomnia at night.
The vast majority of people have been very successful using diazepam to taper off their benzo. I’m sure there are exceptions. There always is.
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1 ReactionAgree with all your statements about Lorazepam/Ativan. I have a scale and weigh the pills. I am tapering from .75 to 0 from now until December using a scale. Currently at .25 morning at 7 am and .45 at 11 am. I am cutting 5% on the afternoon dose every 20 days. I purchased a scale on Amazon and weigh 10 pills at .60 grams so I am currently at .54 grams or .45 mg. Maxus milligram scale to
.001 gram scale. Once both are equal to .25 I use a razor blade once to cut 10 pills in half and then shave 5% off every 20 days .