Ativan taper advice please. I think i messed up

I think I really messed up. I have/had bad cog fog because of tolerance and thought I was doing this ok, but after some other reminders from other buddies, I think I've been doing this way too fast which is why I ended up feeling sooo horrible.

 

I'd been holding at 1.5mg ativan for years now: .5mg pills x 3 a day. and so then I 'thought' I read a slow taper would be of  .125mg the dose every 2 weeks. So this is what I did. starting in November 2014.

 

 

.5  .5  .5

.5  .375 .5 (two weeks)

.375 .375 .5 (two weeks)

.375 .375 .375 (two weeks)

.375 .25  .375 (two weeks)

.25  .25  .375 (two weeks)

.25  .25  .25  (holding)

 

 

and then I've been holding at .25mg x 3 a day for weeks because I feel so horrible. I was trying to cut down  .125mg of my dose every 2 weeks, which is what I thought was super slow. but I guess i didnt take into consideration the lower the dose, also means the lower each cut should be % wise.

 

did I do this wrong? and how should I proceed now? any advice would be soo welcome because Im so out of it with brain fog and I can barely think about what to do. I am feeling really bad with dizziness, nausea, panic. Should i continue to cut? or should I updose back? i don't seem to be stabilzing from these cuts. so Im not sure what to do. they sorta just suck up on me. I was feeling ok, which is why I kept cutting and then BAM I got hit with severe symptoms, that are not stabilizing no matter how many weeks I wait.  I think I've held this dose for  8-9 weeks now.

 

thank you so much for your time. this community is my life line right now.

 

WeCan16

 

I started my ativan taper at the same place as you did, and had gotten down to half of that in 8 weeks. Then the walls caved in.

 

If it was me I'd go back to the .375, .375, .5 dose for a while. Bad things can happen when you taper ativan too fast, so it's really not worth the risk.

 

See if you can stabilize back on 1.25mg a day, then taper slowly from there. As you've discovered, this crap packs a real wallop a couple of weeks after a too fast taper. I don't think that just holding where you are now is worth the risk.

did your updose help your symptoms? I would just hate it if I updosed and still felt as crappy.

 

It's so tricky with these darn benzos. I was feeling so good, I was actually surprised. So I kept cutting, and then BAM. It's so weird how that can happen. thanks for your reply, Im sorry for your suffering but its nice to know I;m not alone 

did your updose help your symptoms? I would just hate it if I updosed and still felt as crappy.

 

 

Pretty much, except for the tinnitus which I believe is permanent. That's something you really don't want, trust me.

well hopefully its not permanent. I've read so many stories on here that people suffered horrible withdrawl symptoms that they didn't think would ever go away, but they finally did. Hang in there. if it came about during withdrawl, I bet it will heal over time.

 

its so annoying how benzos kill the ears. Im having huge ear problems now, too. uggg.

 

how are you tapering..dry cuts?

 

 

well hopefully its not permanent. I've read so many stories on here that people suffered horrible withdrawl symptoms that they didn't think would ever go away, but they finally did. Hang in there. if it came about during withdrawl, I bet it will heal over time.

 

its so annoying how benzos kill the ears. Im having huge ear problems now, too. uggg.

 

how are you tapering..dry cuts?

 

At the moment I'm not tapering at all.  I got down to .75mg, then hit the wall as soon as I tried to go lower. I up dosed back to .75mg to no avail, then to 1mg, and finally back to my original dose of 1.5mg where I finally feel somewhat like my old self again.

 

I'm convinced, at least in my case, that cutting too fast at the beginning creates a benzo deficit that just can't be overcome by holding; I have to start over. 

 

I'm waiting to see my doc about getting a script for liquid A so I can start over with a micro taper. I found that worrying about whether my cuts were accurate created so much anxiety that it was almost as bad as the withdrawal symptoms. I can probably dry cut down to 1mg safely, but beyond that it's going to be a micro taper or nothing.

ok ..thank you so much for your reply. I think I may have to do the same thing. im pretty sick right now. I wish u so much luck with this.