Need Advice on Taper Schedule 1mg Ativan to Valium

Just convinced my doctor to let me try the Ashton method and c/o from Ativan to Valium. He is not helpful on the schedule though but I'll take what he has given me gladly. Been on a long journey (2mg Xanax for 8 months) to get to 1mg Ativan which I've been on for about 3 weeks. I'm doing fair on the 1mg Ativan daily - I have some sx primarily in mornings and wake every night around 4am to 5am but feel pretty good during the day. I'm hoping going to Valium will eliminate some of the between dose w/d issues I have in the mornings and maybe help me sleep. The .5mg Ativan pills I've been prescribed are generic and the pills are not scored so it is difficult to get accurate amounts. I'd like to make the transition quickly but not so quickly as to drive me crazy. My plan may be too aggressive but I'm all in and have been through the wringer when I tried to quit cold turkey for a few days so I know how bad it can get and am prepared to suffer some. I just don't want to do anything crazy.

My Plan:

4 to 7 days: .375mg Ativan + 1.25mg Valium 2x daily (morning/night)

4 to 7 days: .25mg Ativan + 2.5mg Valium 2x daily

4 to 7 days .125 Ativan + 3.75mg Valium 2x daily

After that I'll be at 5mg Valium 2x daily and plan to follow the Ashton schedule.

I know everyone is different but does this seem reasonable? I'm trying to minimize the amount of time spent in c/o as cutting these generic Ativan tablets is very imprecise and I am also anxious to eliminate these between dose w/d symptoms I've been having on the Ativan. Thanks!

So, I'm on my 3rd day now of my c/o. As mentioned, instead of taking .5mg Ativan 2 times daily, I'm taking .375mg Ativan and 1.25mg Valium 2x daily. I started this to get on the Ashton schedule and because I was having withdrawal between my Ativan doses. There is good news and bad so far and I'm confused on where to go. The good news is I'm sleeping a little better and feel very good for the first 10 hours after a dose. The bad news is that the 1 to 2 hours prior to my next dose are worse than what they were before I started the c/o. My question is, am I better off transitioning sooner to .25mg Ativan and 2.5mg Valium per dose so that I can start letting the Valium take more of the load or will that make matters worse and I should wait a bit. While on the Ativan alone I would have more extended periods between doses that I felt bad, and my sleep was terrible. Now the in between dose withdrawal is shorter but quite a bit more intense.

Hi Seemam3,

 

It sounds like your body is telling you to cross over to the Valium a little faster, but since I don't have experience with this, I'd like you to check in with the folks on the  Valium Support Group thread.  They're very helpful and since it's not a board, just a thread, you'll post your question to the group and someone with experience will chime in.

 

Pamster

Thank you! I’ve posted it there.