End of Taper WD symptoms - Dr. is surprised?

Hi All,

 

I am nearing the end of my taper off of Lorazepam (Ativan), and my Addiction Psych is surprised that I am still having intense withdrawal symptoms. I recently stepped down from .25 mg lorazepam to .187 mg lorazepam (.25 mg lorazepam is equivalent to approx. 2 mg diazepam).

 

I have been slow tapering since 12/2018 and am very close to the ending dose on the taper plan. My wd symptoms have consistently ramped up after each cut and stabilized after each hold, and nothing has changed at the ending lower doses.

 

The good news is that I am doing so much better than I was when I was drugged at higher doses!                       

 

I am surprised that my Dr. is surprised with the intensity of my wd symptoms during the final stages. I notice that a lot of us in this forum microdose down to the very end which makes me suspect that intense wd symptoms at the end are not uncommon.

 

I am curious what the consensus is here among our members - is this really that uncommon?

 

Thank you all so much!

Bibs jo

 

 

 

 

Some people do better the lower they get, many however get worse symptoms the lower they get. It's not uncommon at all.

Bibs, my rotten s/x were just the same the lower I got. Dosage did not seem to affect them. But the good news is that once I discontinued the drug completely, they all ebbed away.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Katz

Katz - Yes, that does help. It's encouraging too!

 

Pacenik - thank you!

 

Thanks,

You are a great inspiration, muscle through and be done with it!! 

Thanks Seasalt! I have a lot of people praying me through this.

Hoping more people see this thread and comment:)

I am at .125 mg and have really been struggling at the smaller doses.  I barely even notice my physical symptoms anymore because my mood is so terrible.  Hope it all ends soon.

I'm below 1 mg Valium and symptom free but it may be because I held for 2 years while I addressed my health. From what I heard cut and hold can be rough. Can you do a daily micro taper on Lorazepam?

 

Even though you're having symptoms , it seems like they're manageable so maybe it's best to keep doing what you're doing. Good job!

Congratulations Bibsjo, you are doing great and interested to hear what you decide to do.  How did you find a Benzo wise doctor?  Elise

Tiki, you are at such a low dose, also great job.  I was wondering how you are managing the cuts.  Is it a dry cut?  I am still using a knife and I may weigh the cuts to get

More accurate.  Not sure that it makes it any better. The liquid is too confusing fir some reason.  Elise

Well, I'm not surprised the doctor is surprised but I am not surprised myself 

 

We don't exist according to the syllabus that they are educated from. There are plenty of us but because we don't exist, the doctors don't spot us, so they classify the symptoms as not withdrawal related and medicate for a new condition. This must happen all the time. You feel like something is wrong with you that needs fixing and the doctor thinks he has the trick. Neither doctor nor patient identify withdrawal as 90%+ of the problem.

 

You're doing the right thing to ask people who really know. I'm not saying don't listen to your doctor but challenge them if something doesn't make sense immediately. Ask here if you're being pressured to do something that seems like it might be a mistake.

Hang in there tiki hut!!  You are going quickly, I am sure this will pass!!!

Yes, that is totally normal. I'm going through it myself. I'm holding for a couple of months to stabilize a little more before I cut my dose again,.

I'm sorry your doctor is making you question what's going on.  It's perfectly normal that you're experiencing withdrawal symptoms! 

 

As others have said, people often see symptoms intensify as they get to lower doses.  It's a shame, but not surprising, that your doctor is knowledgeable about this.  It takes time for our systems to adjust even after the drug is out of our system.  A lot of us have felt invalidated by our doctors about the symptoms we experience. 

 

Unfortunately the medical profession needs a lot more education about benzo withdrawal.  It makes the validation you get here from members who understand even more valuable.