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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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Im on 0.35 of ativan at night. I was taking 0.5 mg and have tapered down to 0.35mg. I started taking 0.5 to help with a trazdone taper/ withdrawl. That was horrible. Ive been on it for 2 and half months. I only take for help with sleep. What kinda of symptoms should I expect on such a low dose? Scared after the trazdo e to go lower
I’ve been taking Ativan for over 20 years, I somehow managed to stop in the early days and now it’s a different thing. I take 0.5mg. daily and haven’t tried to reduce any more at this point, I wish to stay on them because they work for me, I don’t respond well to antidepressants and have tried many to no avail. I read that you’re taking 0.35 mg. and you want to know what to expect at this point in time, it’s very difficult to say because they effect everyone differently, even though you’re dosage is low it’s still in your system and affecting you without really feeling anything, I’m sure you will feel it if you stop taking them. I think that if you decide to stop taking them then you must still go very slowly to do so, there’s lots of people who have managed to get off Ativan so it’s hopeful to do so, best wishes.
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2 ReactionsTalk to your doctor. I’ve never taken it but I know you need to wean off of most medications. (I take carbamazepine and it’s one of those that has horrible side effects of stopped too quickly.)
I know with mine, when I couldn’t afford the office visit to get renewed (😢), she was going to taper me off 1 pill a week. I bit the bullet and spent the $250-300 the office (discounted) visit PLUS almost $200 for the labs. The alternative is I’m not a very nice person.
Our (US) American health care/insurance system is so behind most countries.
As I have said before if it isn’t broke why fix it.
Klonopin is part of my daily regimen to fight depression and anxiety. That is along with eating right and exercising regularly.
My PCP said if I am not accelerating my usage or combining it with alcohol and have no adverse effects why would I stop and become not a nice person.
Just expressing my opinion. I hope it helps someone out there.
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4 ReactionsYou’re right about that but it really depends on your doctor, I’ve read so many stories from people who are going through horrible withdrawal due to their doctors not wanting to prescribe this medication for fear of losing their license. It’s an even bigger tragedy that many of these people are seniors who have never misused their medication, they are forced to go through a rapid withdrawal and then get cut off.
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1 ReactionWhy would you want to? If you feel better taking it, why torture yourself trying to wean off it?
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1 ReactionI don’t think they want to give up the medication, their right to choose has been taken away, of course there are people who want to stop because it’s not working for them or they are worried about the addiction to drugs, it’s a very long road to recovery and going slowly is the only way to go but they also need a medical professional to help them do so. In many cases they can’t find the right doctor or nurse to help them stop the meds,
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1 ReactionIt seems the question is why do you want to stop taking it, or maybe take less? Is it not working for you? Are you afraid you need more? Is it insurance related?
I think more info is needed for any of us to really comment on it, but I do stand by what I said about weaning off slowly. Suddenly stopping a mental health med is unpleasant and can be dangerous.
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1 ReactionI’ve made numerous posts on the subject of benzodiazepines and I became very anxious about the horrid stories that told about the struggle to find help from doctors who might help them get their medication. I’ve had nightmares about possibly having to go through this too, I live in Canada and these drugs are labeled Controlled Substances so some doctors are doing the same thing to their patients, forcing short withdrawals or just dropping them as patients since most are close to retirement. I can’t understand why there’s people here saying why do you want to stop taking the medication if it’s working for you? All you need to do is look back on all the people who have posted their experiences with benzodiazepines here, you can actually find years of information about why they want to stop this drug.
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