Hello everyone !

I am joining with hope that I can help my mom. She has been on Ativan for over a decade, and has recently been having hallucinations and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s or dementia, and I believe it is due to her being elderly and taking Ativan. It’s a long story, which I could get into later, but there is absolutely NO history of Alzheimer’s or dementia in our family. My mom was fine up till a few months ago, when she had pneumonia, then found out she has copd, afib and congestive heart failure (she is 81). They put her on a few different meds, and I’m fairly certain her Ativan rx was increased (for anxiety). I am hoping to find information that can help her to wean off the benzo and ways tjat I can help. I am the only family member that cares enough about hervto take care of her so it’s a lot for one person.. I am a person that used to take an antidepressant, but eventually stopped and learned natural ways to deal with depression and S.A.D. I’m an herbalist and have been studying nutrition and natural health alternatives for the past 15 years, I believe there are always alternatives we just have to figure out what they are.

  I hope it is ok for me to be here, even though it is to help my mother and not me that needs help. :-)

Hello Plantlady,

Welcome to Benzo Buddies and thank you for being here on behalf of your mom. We have several members who are care givers/ supporters of family members.  We can offer information and support to you as well as to your mom.

I'm sorry your mom has encountered some health problems.  It's true that benzos can contribute to cognitive decline and memory issues. The hallucinations and other issues could be from the ativan, especially if they increased the dose. It also might not.  My very elderly mother in law recently started having hallucinations and she is not taking a benzodiazepine.

Does your mom want to come off ativan? Due to her health problems, it would be wise to have a doctor on board should you decide to help her taper off.  The taper would need to be very slow, again, due to her health. Generally, a reduction of no more than 5-10% every 10-14 days is suggested. I'll give you a link to the General Taper Plans for additional information.

I'll also give you a link to the Ashton Manual. It is an excellent resource about these types of drugs and how to withdraw. The manual was written by Dr. Heather Ashton, an expert in the field.

Yes, it takes a lot of time and effort to care for an elderly parent. You are a good daughter.  Let us know how we can help, please do ask questions.

General Taper Plans   

The Ashton Manual

pianogirl 

I am joining with hope that I can help my mom. She has been on Ativan for over a decade, and has recently been having hallucinations and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s or dementia, and I believe it is due to her being elderly and taking Ativan. It’s a long story, which I could get into later, but there is absolutely NO history of Alzheimer’s or dementia in our family. My mom was fine up till a few months ago, when she had pneumonia, then found out she has copd, afib and congestive heart failure (she is 81). They put her on a few different meds, and I’m fairly certain her Ativan rx was increased (for anxiety). I am hoping to find information that can help her to wean off the benzo and ways tjat I can help. I am the only family member that cares enough about hervto take care of her so it’s a lot for one person.. I am a person that used to take an antidepressant, but eventually stopped and learned natural ways to deal with depression and S.A.D. I’m an herbalist and have been studying nutrition and natural health alternatives for the past 15 years, I believe there are always alternatives we just have to figure out what they are.

  I hope it is ok for me to be here, even though it is to help my mother and not me that needs help. :-)

If you are a registered herbalist why did you and your mother take psychotropic drugs and not use natural herbs?. I also have years experience with herbs and have good knowledge with them but i am not a registered herbalist i am self taught. I learned this after i was on drugs and did not know i could heal emotional problems with herbs. If i knew this before i would have never in my lifetime taken these neurotoxic drugs.

I am joining with hope that I can help my mom. She has been on Ativan for over a decade, and has recently been having hallucinations and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s or dementia, and I believe it is due to her being elderly and taking Ativan. It’s a long story, which I could get into later, but there is absolutely NO history of Alzheimer’s or dementia in our family. My mom was fine up till a few months ago, when she had pneumonia, then found out she has copd, afib and congestive heart failure (she is 81). They put her on a few different meds, and I’m fairly certain her Ativan rx was increased (for anxiety). I am hoping to find information that can help her to wean off the benzo and ways tjat I can help. I am the only family member that cares enough about hervto take care of her so it’s a lot for one person.. I am a person that used to take an antidepressant, but eventually stopped and learned natural ways to deal with depression and S.A.D. I’m an herbalist and have been studying nutrition and natural health alternatives for the past 15 years, I believe there are always alternatives we just have to figure out what they are.

  I hope it is ok for me to be here, even though it is to help my mother and not me that needs help. :-)

 

If you are a registered herbalist why did you and your mother take psychotropic drugs and not use natural herbs?. I also have years experience with herbs and have good knowledge with them but i am not a registered herbalist i am self taught. I learned this after i was on drugs and did not know i could heal emotional problems with herbs. If i knew this before i would have never in my lifetime taken these neurotoxic drugs.

Scooby99,

This person made one post in 2019 and hasn't returned, I'm not sure why you would revive a thread this old but I've noticed you doing it a lot lately.  I doubt you'll get a response.

Pamster