Getting off of Ativan after 14 years

My name is Lisa F. I've been taking klonopin, ativan and valium on and off for 14 years. I have dibilitating anxiety and am bipolar. I am currently on 3 mg of Ativan a day. I am trying to wean down and get off of it with my psychiatrist's help. The past two months I have been lowered to 2.5 mg a day. It is so hard. I am having diarrhea, nausea, body pains, insomnia, vomiting, panic attacks and I can't function some days. Next month we are going down to 2 mg a day. I really want to get off these benzos.

Hello lisafulde, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

 

Wow, your taper is very rapid, I'm concerned about how quickly you're reducing, this won't allow your brain to make the necessary repairs as you reduce which can lead to increased symptom severity.  We typically suggest reducing by about 5-10% every couple of weeks but what seems to work better is to let your symptoms guide you, this will hopefully keep you functioning.

 

Tapering quickly will not aid in recovery, it only makes you hurt more, recovery will take what it takes and its often longer than the taper, so please consider slowing down.  I hope you'll take a look at the deprescribing link I've posted and print it up for your doctor, its a good guide.

 

I'll provide some links to help you get started but please let us know how we can help you.

 

Pamster

 

Colorado  Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidance

 

Planning  Your Withdrawal (Taper)

 

Withdrawal  Support (during your taper)

 

Ashton  Manual symptom list

Agree with Pamster -- seems very rapid. Print the Colorado Consortium document and read the Ashton Manual. Learn how to reference it and ask your provider if they would be willing to research it. Discuss the highlights of Dr. Ashton's career... ie., one of the few psychiatrists to run a benzo-specific withdrawal clinic, her 40+ years of experience and research, and her authoring of that guide. Discussing her professional credentials may make her more credible.

I also agree.  This taper is very rapid.  I hope your provider would be willing to consider a more gentle approach.