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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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@berekann
I so appreciate your reassurance and suggestions! I was thinking about Benadryl, and used it here and there decades ago and sometimes it helped and others it didn't and actually made things worse. I tried Calm's Forte years ago too and sometimes helped and love that it's homeopathic , thanks again. If you don't mind me asking, and I think you mentioned it in an earlier message, how long did you take Ativan, and what dose and did you stay a week or longer each time you cut .25mg and how long did the whole taper take? If that's too much to go into, no problem and I appreciate your encouragement!
@happytoseeyou I was on Ativan for nine months and it wasn’t working as well after about three months, so my doctor upped my dose and then he upped it again so I was taking 1.5 mg and I cut it back about 2 weeks each taper. Then I moved from Arizona to California and had to find a new Doctor who was not very helpful, But I got through it pretty much on my own. My nephew is a nurse and he even said that 1.5 mg is a low-dose. I really wish I had started when I was at .5 mg cause it would’ve been much easier. Good luck!
@happytoseeyou and the whole taper probably took a little over a month. And at the higher doses, I think it was only a week for each reduction. And I went from .75 mg to .625 mg approximately and Then to .5mg. Sometimes at those lower doses, I went a few days more than two weeks. No hard and fast rule just when I felt ready
@berekann Ok, so you went from .75mg to .625mg, and then to .5mg,.. which I would like to do and am terrified of going from .75mg to .5mg, or do you think I'll be ok? How did you do it, since the tablets only come in 1mg and .5mg? I'm splitting the .5mg tab and taking it with another .5mg tab to get .75mg. I asked my Nurse Pract about splitting the half of the half of the .5mg tab so I can do .625mg, and she said really not viable and it's standard procedure to go from .75mg to .5mg. Ok and you stayed at the lower doses for more than two weeks, so the whole taper was maybe longer than a month? And I agree about no hard and fast rule, just when you're ready!
@berekann Ok, got it and glad you have your nephew that is a nurse and I agree that it would've been much easier starting at .5mg! Thanks again and All the Best!