Librium vs. Valium for Ativan Taper

[[Buddie]]

Hi I am new to this board. Have been on 2 - 3 mgs of Ativan since March. Am currently trying straight taper and it is awful. Wondering what the differences are between Librium and Valium for substitution tapering off of Ativan.

THanks.

[[Buddie]]

Hi I am new to this board. Have been on 2 - 3 mgs of Ativan since March. Am currently trying straight taper and it is awful. Wondering what the differences are between Librium and Ativan for substitution tapering.

THanks.

Hi [...],

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!!

We recommend cutting approximately 10% off your total daily dose every 7-14 days. If you don't have the .50mg tablets, we suggest you get those to enable you to cut them into smaller pieces making smaller reductions possible. How much have you been reducing by and how often? That could be why you are suffering withdrawal symptoms if you are cutting too much too fast. As far as substitution purposes, we generally recommend going to a longer acting benzo such as Klonopin or Valium from the shorter acting one, Ativan.

For equivalency/substitution purposes, you would need 25mg of Librium to equal 1mg of Ativan based on The Ashton Manual. You may want to take a look at Table 1 in The Ashton Manual found here... http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha01.htm#24

If you have any more questions, just ask.

T2

[[Buddie]]

Hi I am new to this board. Have been on 2 - 3 mgs of Ativan since March. Am currently trying straight taper and it is awful. Wondering what the differences are between Librium and Ativan for substitution tapering.

THanks.

Hello [...],

Welcome to BenzoBuddies!  Can you describe what you've been feeling?  If you've been trying to taper, it sounds like you've been doing some research.  Knowledge of this process is a good thing, plus it looks as if you haven't been taking it for too long. 

We're glad you found us, please feel free to look around the forum and to ask questions.  We're here to help!

[...]

[[Buddie]]

I'm wondering if one approach is better than the other. I've read alot about the Valium sub, not much about using Librium. I have an appt. to see a doctor who approaches withdrawal with Librium. Wondering if it's a good idea or not?

[[Buddie]]

I'm wondering if one approach is better than the other. I've read alot about the Valium sub, not much about using Librium. I have an appt. to see a doctor who approaches withdrawal with Librium. Wondering if it's a good idea or not?

As [...] mentioned, your usage has not been that long. What you stated did sound like you cut too much at one time. You may want to try and just cut .125mg (1/4 of .50mg pill) every week or two and see how that goes. We've had a few here that tapered off Librium, one current member is Pumpkinette here... http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=13648.0

The biggest problem with using Librium is the smallest dose available is a 5mg capsule and makes it impossible to make small reductions unless you use the titration method.