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Thinking about tapering lorazepam


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Hello,

 

I have been taking 1 mg of lorazepam for a year or two. I also take 0.75 mg risperidone. In August 2022, I went off 37.5 mg effexor and 20 mg prozac. I was fine for a month but then withdrawal hit and it's been hell ever since. The depression I was experiencing decreased significantly over 4 weeks ago and has stayed at that lower level ever since. But I am still having really bad anxiety and sleep problems (which I think are a result of the anxiety). The admin at Surviving Antidepressants says the anxiety is a side effect of the lorazepam. I'm not sure I agree with her but I also don't think the lorazepam is helping the anxiety because it's still really bad. I also want to get off lorazepam as soon as possible because I feel like the longer I am on it, the harder it will be to get off of it. But I'm worried about risking benzo withdrawal on top of the antidepressant withdrawal I'm already going through.

 

I'd love to get thoughts on whether I should start the benzo taper now. I also welcome any other feedback or advice. Thank you

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SA is correct, when we become tolerant to our dose, it can begin to cause what we took it to address, insomnia, anxiety, restless legs, tinnitus, panic and many others.  I’m concerned as well about you tapering another medication, it would be better to wait until you’ve recovered.

 

Have you ever missed a dose of Ativan, it might be good to experiment to find out if your body is dependent.  This may help you determine if your anxiety is coming from the drug or being caused by your withdrawal from the Effexor and Prozac.  Anxiety caused by the benzo feels different than normal anxiety, some members have described it as chemical and its more intense than the anxiety we’ve felt before.  I know its a terrible thought to purposely inflict pain on yourself but tapering is all about experimenting on ourselves and this might be a way to find out if the Lorazepam is a problem or if it’s still having a therapeutic effect on you.

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In September 2022, I tried going CT off lorazepam. I was fine for two days but then got severe anxiety and went back on. I'm already having terrible anxiety (I think it's antidepressant withdrawal but others are saying it's a side effect from lorazepam). So I know what you mean about the anxiety from getting off meds being different from normal anxiety.

 

So anxiety is also a benzo withdrawal symptom? So if I taper and get more anxiety, it could be benzo withdrawal even if the benzo is causing the anxiety I have now. This is all so confusing I barely know how to pose my questions so sorry if I'm not making sense.

 

You say it would be better to wait until I've recovered from antidepressant withdrawal until I start the lorazepam taper but some are saying that, what I think is withdrawal, is a side effect from the lorazepam.

 

This experiment you're proposing wouldn't really work with me because I'm already having that abnormal "chemical/more intense" anxiety.

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It looks like you’re dosing twice a day, do you think you’re experiencing any interdose withdrawal, many of our members will dose Ativan 3 times a day.
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  • 2 weeks later...
I don't think I'm having interdose withdrawal. The anxiety is the worst in the morning. I feel terrible all morning and into the afternoon. I take it again at 2pm. The anxiety feels better as the night progresses. I think the anxiety is from antidepressant withdrawal. That's what makes the most sense. This problem started after I stopped the antidepressants.
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Most of our members notice anxiety worse in the mornings, they attribute it to high cortisol levels which dissipate as the day wears on.
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