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Hi buddies, I'm glad I stumbled on this site while trying to find help coming off benzodiazepines. I am a 60 year old woman who was prescribed 1 mg Ativan a night for sleep as needed. At first I only took them occasionally and soon progressed to every night. I started having dizzy spells during the day and my n/p gave me a prescription for meclizine. When I went to the pharmacy the pharmacist told me that the dizziness was from the Ativan and I should stop taking it and I should not take the meclizine. That's when I decided to look it up and I was shocked! I can't believe I was so stupid as to let myself get addicted to this garbage. I am really scared of what I'm going to have to go through to withdraw.
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Hello, Seemefly - Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

 

I'm so glad you decided to join the forum - you'll find plenty of information and support here. Our members have gone through all aspects of benzodiazepine use and withdrawal, so you'll be able to connect with others who understand what you're going through and can tell you what has worked for them.

 

Please do not be frightened of the tapering process.  Many many people get through it without significant symptoms.  But it is best to taper off slowly if you have been taking them for more than a few months. 

 

Please feel free to post to any of the specialized boards, which can all be accessed from the BenzoBuddies Community Forum homepage. Based on the information provided in your introduction, the following links may be a good starting place for you:

 

 

Withdrawal Support During Your Taper

 

Planning Your Taper:

 

General Taper Plans   

 

Substitution Taper Plans   

 

Titration Taper Plans     

 

 

When you have a chance, I highly recommend that you take a look at The Ashton Manual, if you have not already done so, which is an authoritative source on what to expect during withdrawal and recovery, authored by Dr. C. Heather Ashton, who is an expert in the field. It provides a great deal of information that can be very reassuring during any stage of this process, including a list of common symptoms with helpful explanations on the reasons for their existence.

 

For those who are currently tapering, we suggest reducing no faster than 5-10% every 10-14 days, and some taper even slower than that.

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature. This will allow members to see where you are in the process, so that they can better support you.

 

Again, welcome!  You are going to be okay!!

 

:smitten:

 

Carol Jean

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Welcome to the forum, Seemefly :)

 

I was also scared about what might happen during withdrawal. I don't know if you've read any other posts on the forum, but some of them can be a little scary. Don't let that stop you from coming off Ativan, if that's what you want to do. There is a lot of support here. I was lucky to find others who helped me with a taper plan and also gave me support when I had rough patches during my taper, and I'm sure you will find that too. Please keep in mind this process is non-linear and is different for everyone. What one person experiences might not be what you experience.

 

Good luck on your journey!

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Thank you all for your welcoming words and encouragement. I haven't really started having any symptoms yet and I've been off cold turkey for 8 days. Waiting for the storm to begin.
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Cross your fingers but it you have been symptom free for this long there is a chance you will not have symptoms or at least not very bad w/d symptoms.

 

:smitten:

Carol

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As Carol Jean said earlier, if you've been off for 8 days without symptoms, its likely you're going to be the lucky ones and won't experience anything too bad. We wish you well and hope that this is the case. We're all cheering for you!
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Oh thank you two for posting that I may not have symptoms. I have been so worried that they would come all of a sudden. I am feeling a little apathetic and moody but I quit tobacco at the same time. I'm going to hope for the best and I will keep posting until I'm sure I'm home free.
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Well it's been 11 days since I went cold turkey. I haven't had any problems at all. I guess I will be posting my cold turkey experience in a few days. I guess I'm just lucky or maybe there is an unknown reason that I didn't have withdrawal symptoms. I actually feel a lot better since I quit. I'm not getting dizzy spells and I feel happier than I have in months. I'm sleeping well too. I would be willing to bet that quitting nicotine at the same time had a lot to do with it but I'm a little amazed that I'm not having nicotine cravings either. Thanks again for the encouragement.  :thumbsup:
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That's so great!  It's good to hear that not everyone has to suffer when they quit!  Also nice to hear that you feel better now that you are off of Ativan.  :thumbsup:
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So happy for you! There are a lot of people who come here who want to get off the benzos and get scared when they see all the talk about the issues some have during withdrawal....nice to see your story is ending so well.
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