Ativan withdrawal.. help

I have been taking ativan to help with tinnitus for 6 months stopping and starting and stopping.. each time going back..

I want off these for good as I was getting withdrawal between doses..and needing more and more to feel an effect each every day.taking  up to  2-3 mgs per day..

I am down to a .5 tablet broken into tiny pieces. I am having horrible, horrible anxiety and my tinnitus seems worse. Please tell me this can get better. I am soo depressed. I cannot sleep. I think I might be stopping too fast as I went down from 1 mg to a .5 table broken to pieces in one day. Wake  up many times during night scared to death , my anxiety over tinnitus seems a million times worse. I am barely able to enjoy anything.

Please help!

thanks!

Lisa

Hello seoreh,

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

 

What you have described is pretty common around here. Of course if you were taking Ativan to treat tinnitus, it is not surprising that you would experience an increase in symptoms as you withdraw. In fact, many of our members, even though they do not suffer from true tinnitus, suffer from tinnitus symptoms during withdrawal. Have you discussed alternative treatments with your doctor?

 

Some of members "titrate" their benzodiazepine (make a liquid from their tablets) - this allows them to make smaller cuts than is achievable by pill-cutting.

 

You might discuss with your doctor about the possibility of switching to a long half-life benzodiazepine - this will help prevent the interdose withdrawal effects you have described. Members that switch usually substitute with diazepam (Valium), as it has a long half-life, and it is comes relatively low dose (low potency) pills which make it easier to gradually reduce dose. You will find many members using one of these methods as an aid to benzodiazepine withdrawal.

 

 

Edit: typos.

Hi and Welcome

I a tapering Ativan and what you described ,those are inter dosage w/d's , Colin is giving you good advice in how to switch to a longer lasting benzo and the ween yourself off. Other people here use the titration method and have excellent results with . I am dry cutting the dose and I am in a very similar situation to yours . Dry cutting could be very stressful to your CNS since there is no exact science on how to do it. You are supposed to reduce 10 % of your dose every 10 days or 2 weeks. In any case , you should discuss it with your Doctor and whatever route you take all of here will give you the support you need.

Tino

I have been taking ativan to help with tinnitus for 6 months stopping and starting and stopping.. each time going back..

I want off these for good as I was getting withdrawal between doses..and needing more and more to feel an effect each every day.taking  up to  2-3 mgs per day..

I am down to a .5 tablet broken into tiny pieces. I am having horrible, horrible anxiety and my tinnitus seems worse. Please tell me this can get better. I am soo depressed. I cannot sleep. I think I might be stopping too fast as I went down from 1 mg to a .5 table broken to pieces in one day. Wake  up many times during night scared to death , my anxiety over tinnitus seems a million times worse. I am barely able to enjoy anything.

Please help!

thanks!

Lisa

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies, Lisa.  

 

Your story is kind of ironic to me; I developed tinnitus after tapering off of ativan (lorazepam).    Sometimes I despair of ever getting permanent relief from it but most of the time, I just live with it.  A friend sent me a link to a great website for white noise that I have on while I'm at or near the computer, for examplte.  It's called simplynoise.com.  There are several threads about tinnitus under General Withdrawal Support; maybe you will find some helpful suggestions by searching the forum.  There are also some great threads on the Anxiety board.  I used several of the suggestions there and learning to lower my anxiety without a pill was crucial to my success.

 

How much ativan were you taking the last time you felt okay (except for the tinnitus) reducing your dose?  Depending on  how long ago you dropped to .5mg/day, you might get some relief by returning to that dose and then tapering off more slowly using titration.  The short acting benzos, such as xanax and ativan, can be difficult to taper off of directly, although several of us (me included) have done it that way.  When you say the .5mg is in several (4?) pieces, does that mean you spread your dose out evenly throughout the day?  Sometimes that will help with interdose withdrawal.

I am taking 1/4 of a 1/4 piece of a .5 tablet per day....

I am having horrible withdrawal anxiety.. I was taking 1 mg when I felt okay..

I do not want to go back on that much.

But I cut down reallly quickly, from 1mg to .5 to half .5 to quarter .5 in a few days...

I am scared to go back to take more, but I am severely anxious.

I have been on and off and on ativan or xanax for 6 months. goign cold turkey each time.

I do not want to be tempted back on these meds ..

But I am taking a tiny amount.do I have to go back and cut down?

My CNS was a mess before taking benzos.

If this tooo fast a taper? I want OFF

I was a VERY nervous person before taking any of these horrible things..

Help?

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

 

I can tell you're very anxious about what's happening to you, and you're not quite sure what to do about it.  You have two choices before you, you can continue to taper this drug and be done with it, or you can go up in dose to get a little more stable and then taper slower.

 

Both of these choices will involve many of the same unpleasant symptoms you've been feeling and perhaps a few more.  Whatever you decide to do, you'll heal.  I quit cold turkey and felt horrible for quite some time, but I healed 100% and so will you, however you decide to do this.

 

Let us know what you'd like to do and we'll help you.  If you'd like to go back up to say .50 or .75 a day and taper from there, we'll help you.  If you think you'd like to ask your Dr about switching to a longer acting benzo, we'll help you.  If you'd like to consider titration, we'll help you.  If you'd like to be done and stop taking the drug, we'll help you. 

 

 

Thank you SOOOO MUCH!

I am reallly scared.

I am afraid I have done serious damage to myself , as I had severe anxiety before benzos.

I am reallly worried that this fast taper was sort of like cold turkey and my CNS is messed for good. ( I know I am thinking negative thoughts)

I really don't want to go back to .1 ( I was actually up to 2 mgs a day , then tapered to 1 mg in a week)

I am shaking and nervous and cannot sleep.

I also think that the tinnitus was from anxiety before the ativan... not noise- nerves...

I want to stay on 1/4 of 1/4 piece of .5 ativan.. but bad anxiety.

How do you sleep?

Cannot take benedryl.. tried melatonin.

Please keep in touch - I don't want to go back up.

I was freaked by tinnitus before the ativan, I am more scared now...

 

 

thanks!

Lisa

Seoreh

I think the senior moderators are giving you very good advice. I have had to go back up during different tapers because my body needed to readjust , to the cuts. I do believe your cutting could have been to fast, and I don't believe there is permanent damage to your CNS, just the shock of less drug in your body. Maybe going back up and then using one of the suggested methods might help u stabilize and start a more slow and steady taper plan . Ask me or any of the other users of Ativan about our experience ,and ask the senior members for taper tips. We are all here to help you

Tino

Lisa,

 

If you don't want to go back up, then you'll have to make the best of where you are and continue to taper.  To do that you must educate yourself as much as possible about what's happening to you by reading the Ashton Manual.  The other thing you can do is read the Success Stories on the forum to know that you will heal from this. 

 

You'll find that a good attitude can take you a long way on this journey.  Have you decided if you want to continue your taper as you're doing then?  Just let us know so we know how to help you.

 

Pam

gonna stay where I am and continue.

VERY Nervous.. I was already a super nervous person. this doesn't make it better!

took 1/4 of 1/4 of .5 tablet..

not going back..

it's just a real internal anxiety, adrenal feeling that is not fun. Not having slept  for a week doesn't help. How do people sleep here getting off benzos? Goign to the insomnia forum

ACtually scared that this is NOT from benzos and my OWN anxiety.. through my own never felt this harsh.. very bad though.

THANKS!

STill dont; sleep too well, and still have worries that this has messed me up MORE than I was before. As nervous as I was before, I feel liek I am kind of worse. I am hoping it will get better. I feel VERY volatile.. like I am up and down and crying and changing. wasn't so bad before I tooks benzos.

waaah.. crying.

Lisa

Good for you, you're going to keep on tapering!  Could we talk about your current dose?  You say you're taking 1/4 or 1/4 of a .5 tablet.  Does this mean that you're cutting a .5 pill in fourths which would be .125 mg then dividing that by fourths again?  This would mean you're taking .003125.  I'm probably not understanding you correctly because I can't figure out how you're doing this. 

 

You might want to consider titration, we have a video which is very helpful in understanding how it's done.

 

Not many people can sleep during this process, so it's a good idea for you to check out the insomnia board.  Not sure it'll help you sleep, but you'll know you're not alone. 

that's exactly what I am doing... Cutting a .5 tablet in four pieces, and cutting that 1/4 in four pieces and taking that tiny quarter piece.. I know I tapered too fast..

I am hypervigilant to listening out for head sounds...

scared..

 

Lisa

Wow, those are little pieces!  How long have you been at this dose and how often are you cutting it down?

I"ve been on 1/4 of 1/4 of .5 for   few days.. I tapered verrry quickly. from 2mgs ( two weeks ago)

to 1mg in a matter of days,

Then

'to .5 for a few days,

then  to 1/4 of a .5,

then to 1/4 of a 1/4 ,

I am on a tiny amount compared to a couple of weeks ago.. almost nothing.. only ONCE a day a tiny 1/4 of 1/4 ( am I making sense?)..

Having such bad anxiety. But I do not want to take enough to relax me because I know I will come down from that.

I do not even remember how I normally feel. I am normally nervous. But this is more..

tell me it gets better!

 

Lisa

 

 

Hi Lisa,

 

Thanks for telling me your story again, I write to so many people, I lose track sometimes.  I want you to know something okay?  The reason we take it slow is for our bodies to adjust to the absense of the drug.  When we go too fast, this doesn't happen.  Being done with the pill doesn't mean you're going to be done with the symptoms, they can continue for many months.  You will get better, but it's likely to take a long time.  I quit cold turkey and suffering for a long time, I just want you to understand that this isn't a race.

 

 

so am i tapering okay?  should I do it slower?

lisa

Seoreh

Pam is right this is not a race, listen to your body , is no problem to stay at certain dose for a little while or for a while and cut again . I do to get the Ativan jitters( these are inter dosage w/ds by the way )  , is like being wired to the max , and yes it decreases , but if it makes it so uncomfortable to you that your everyday life gets compromised , I would hold on to the dose that u feel Ok and then give your body a pause to catch up and continue. U are a master of dry cutting !!! I am very impressed.

Go at the pace that your body dictates

Tino

but  i am still going to go through withdrawal. no? I tried to read as much as I can. if i go back up to a .5 twice a day.. then cut it.. i did that- but you are saying i have to do it slower? sorry i've read it all. i am really nervous. all the time.. then i am goin gto go through all this again..

lisa

Hi Lisa,

 

I know it's hard to figure out what to do.  You're right, if you go back up in dose, you'll have to taper from it, it seems as if you'd be suffering for nothing to go back up then taper back down.  The difference is if you did go back up, there is a chance you could feel a bit better.  If you took very small cuts and did this nice and slow there is a chance that you'd feel better, that your life would be more manageable while doing it.

 

The problem is Lisa, is this isn't an exact science, we tell you these things because this is what we've seen and know that it works most of the time.  However, there are those who do this and still end up suffering. 

 

The only thing we can do is tell you what we've seen so you can make an informed decision about what you want to do.

 

Whatever you decide, we'll be here to help you understand what's happening and help you to cope with it. 

I am sorry about your nervousness is understandable , I  did go back up a little during this taper, I accommodate the dosage accordingly to how functional I can be. So I test my body  for that . At what dosage did u feel comfortable and not so anxious? 0.5 divided in various dosages , or less . U did a quick taper from 0.5 I understand ,no ?

So the point here is to stabilize and wait and then cut a little bit every 2 weeks or sometimes more.

I am trying to stabilize at 0.125  three times a day. I have never been able to avoid the w/d symptoms completely , your body is trying to adjust to the lower dosages , and it takes time. After that there are symptoms from what I understand but they can be minimize by doing a slow taper.

I am not sure if I am to clear here , so maybe one of the senior moderators will come back to the rescue and help again . Don't get nervous u are on the right track is just a matter of fixing it a little

Tino

at the dose i felt comfortable i still was withdrawing between doses,,

How often were you taking it?

1 mg twice a day.. NO  way I am goign back there...

 

Lisa

I don't think anyone's suggesting you go back to your peak dose, seoreh.  What I'm thinking is to not make any more reductions for at least a week to let your body catch up and to make sure you aren't going to be hit with a delayed reaction to that rapid taper gtom 2 mg/day.  I think if you can make it through the next week or so without feeling worse, you may do okay continuing to taper rather than increasing back up a bit to stabilize.  There are people who do not have a problem doing a rapid taper though they are rare.  We'll just hope you are one of them. 

gonna stay where I am and continue.

VERY Nervous.. I was already a super nervous person. this doesn't make it better!

took 1/4 of 1/4 of .5 tablet..

not going back..

it's just a real internal anxiety, adrenal feeling that is not fun. Not having slept  for a week doesn't help. How do people sleep here getting off benzos? Goign to the insomnia forum

ACtually scared that this is NOT from benzos and my OWN anxiety.. through my own never felt this harsh.. very bad though.

THANKS!

 

Lisa

 

 

I suffered through Ativan withdrawal 25 years ago. Fortunately, I was young and could withstand the side effects. I could not go through that again today.  Work with a psychiatrist or pain specialist, if you can, and try to switch to a comparable dose of Valium, and taper that, since it is a longer acting drug and maybe that will make it easier to taper.