Starting Ativan Taper - Used daily for 4 years

Hi Everyone, I'm 27 and am trying to get off Lorazepam. I never really knew the dangers of lorazepam until recently when I decided to try to stop taking it.. I have been on lorazepam for 4 years ranging from 1-2 MG's a day. Currently I am down to 1mg but am having a lot of trouble maintaining this dosage/going lower. Hope this site can help!

A bit more detail. I have been trying to taper since about mid March. I started at 1.5(where I was at the time) and have been trying to go down since. I realized in the last few weeks that I am not even able to drink socially during this taper a few weeks ago. Each time I would have two drinks it made me want to take more and it would throw off the taper. I have now stopped drinking and am fully committed to getting off of Lorazepam. (Does everyone else give up drinking during their taper?)

-All tips/comments are welcome, thanks a lot!

symptoms: Chest pains, weird feeling in head, unable to sleep, anxiety, feelings of terror

Hello LetsGetThisDone and Welcome to BenzoBuddies!

Congratulations on trying to get off Lorazepam.  I'm sorry you're dealing with some difficult symptoms.  Can you tell us more about how you got down to 1mg?  Was it a gradual taper?  We typically suggest cutting your dose by about 5-10% every week or two to minimize symptoms in order to remain functional.

Please explore the site.  You will find good information about tapering and you'll receive support to help you along the way.  I'll give you some links to help you get started.  When you're ready feel free to post with questions.

Here is a link to our taper board.

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

You can reach out to other members going through withdrawal during their taper here:

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

The Ashton Manual is a great resource written by a leading researcher in benzo withdrawal, Dr. Heather Ashton.

Other members who want to reply to your posts find it helpful to know where you are in the process, so here’s how to add your benzo info automatically to your posts: go to Profile, then Forum Profile, write your info (which benzo, dose, taper history) in the text box and save. Thanks! Let us know if you need help with this.

We're glad you found us!

Brighterday