Long Term Ativan User

Hello...I have been on this site for the past year or so, and have been so grateful for the amazing information and guidance. It is why I have been able to taper down to half my dose. I started taking name brand Ativan in my late 20's for a bout of insomnia. I never knew the type of drug it was.  I am now 63. I took .5 at night, every single  night, never any more. My dr kept prescribing and refilling. So I have been on it about 35 years. I started to notice a few years ago issue with memory, word recall, reading..nothing huge but definitely odd. My dr started saying a few years ago, pretty nonchalantly "you know, the older you get you might think about cutting back." That's it, nothing more. In Oct of 2019, I thought that I would cut my dose in half...bad mistake, but i got back on my regular dose very quick, thanks to some advice here. Then I started learning about how I should have never been on this for as long as I have and I could reach tolerance at any time.  I started my dry taper, March 2020 with the help of this site.  I am now down to .28. I have not told my dr of 40 years as I don't think it will benefit me. He is retiring.  I wanted to have enough pills to do a long slow taper and I will. I joined this group as I think it is an educated, supportive and caring group with its mission to help others and help with tools to be successful in a taper.

Hello Going places,

 

Welcome to Benzo Buddies. I'm very glad  that the forum provided good information to you as you sought to find out the cause of the issues you were having as well as aiding you with your taper. You've done really well thus far!  I'm happy you decided to join, you'll find a lot of good support from caring individuals who will share their collective knowledge and experience. Together you'll reach your goal of being benzo free.

 

It looks like you've done it the right way, a slow and sensible taper. I'll give you a link to the Planning Your Withdrawal Board in case you have any questions about the final part of your taper.

 

I'll also provide a link to the Withdrawal Support Board. You can post there and receive feedback and encouragement. It really helps to know you are not alone in this process.

 

Many of us were left in the dark about the potential problems due to long term use of benzos.  The good thing is that you are being proactive about your heath and moving forward towards benzo freedom. Please let us know how we can help.

 

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

 

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

 

pianogirl 

Thank you for your reply. I plan to ask some questions on the planning your withdrawal support board, as I want to try to stay ahead of things as much as possible. Again, thank you.

Thank you for your reply. I plan to ask some questions on the planning your withdrawal support board, as I want to try to stay ahead of things as much as possible. Again, thank you.

 

You are very welcome!