Short Term (4 weeks) Lorazepam Taper

My name is Andrea. I began experiencing medical issues in October 2020, including a serious back injury and the discovery of a tumor. This resulted in severe anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and insomnia. At first the insomnia was causing me only to be able to sleep for 2-4 hours a night, I would wake to a panic attack, racing heart,.etc. I was put on Zopiclone 3.75mg for 2 weeks, which turned into a month and did not help. I was also started on Sertraline (Zoloft) at this time, scaling up weekly to now 125mg/day. This is not helping at all either, and just made everything worse. Lorazepam was administered during several emergency visits during Nov/Dec, and I was given a dozen 1mg pills to take home for occasional use during a panic attack. I took about 3 or 4 1mg pills during Nov and early Dec. By mid-December the insomnia progressed to being unable to fall asleep at all, not for days at a time. At the worst, I did not sleep at all for 4 consecutive days, which ultimately resulted in a overnight hospital admission. 

On Dec 18 I was started on Lorazepam 2.0 mg at bedtime, supposed to be for only as needed (I.e. not daily) for up to 4 weeks only. For the first week, it knocked me out for 6-8 hours. On the one night I tried not to take it I didn't sleep at all, so I kept taking it every night. After the first week it stopped being so effective, and I began waking up after only 2-3 hours and not able to fall back asleep. So, I started to split the dose 1mg to fall asleep for 2-3 hours, then wake up and take another 1mg for another 2-3 hours. My GP refilled for another 2 weeks, and the sleep time from 1mg went down to only 1 hour, so my body is wanting more and more. The anxiety and depression are so bad that I started having intrusive thoughts and had to go off work. I did my own research and now realize that Lorazepam is the devil and may actually be causing me to stay in this state of anxiety and depression, maybe why the Sertraline isn't helping. So my duration of use was 4 weeks at 2.0mg/night, from Dec 18-Jan 14.

My GP advised a taper as follows:

Week 1: drop from 2.0mg to 1.0mg

Week 2: drop from 1.0mg to 0.5mg

Weeks 3: drop from 0.5mg to 0.0mg

What do people think about this taper schedule? I know about the manual, read it, but I've only been on it for a short time and don't want to compound my duration of use and withdrawal symptoms by a sloooow taper.

So, today is day 3 (two tapered doses gone by) following the taper plan above. I dropped from 2.0 to 1.5 on the first night (jan 15) then to 1.0 the second night (jan 16). Today on Jan 17, I am definitely experiencing withdrawal symptoms: severe anxiety, depression, headache, nausea, stomach burning, loss of appetite, and acid reflux, mild chest pain, mild sweating, and mild visual disturbance like floaters and delayed tracking.

I have a family member staying with me, so that's good, but we're both really scared. I am scared that I'm going to die from all the stories online, scared that I can't sleep without it, scared that I'm going to end up in a psychiatric hospital if i can't get a grip, scared that I'll reach for a pill if the withdrawal is too much, and scared to stay on it for another 2 weeks of taper. I just want this drug out of my life right now, but I know that after only short term use I have become physically dependent. I've got enough medical and mental health problems to deal with, and this drug is harming not helping, so I'm pulling the plug on it and could really use the support of the community.

Edited to add:

Also, I am wondering if anyone could comment on my theory that the use of Lorazepam could be why the Sertraline (Zoloft) 125mg isn't helping at all after being on it around 6 weeks.

And finally, I am also wondering if anyone could speculate as to how many days I can expect to experience acute withdrawal? I dont think anyone can say with any certainty, but any general or vague timelines would be helpful. Based on my duration of use, dosage, and taper schedule, I'm expecting acute withdrawal-type symptoms for a about 5-7 days following each taper.

Maybe I will be one of the unlucky that gets long lasting and severe withdrawals, or maybe I will be one of the lucky few that has a week or two of withdrawal thats awful but survivable, and then is free of it.

Sincerely,

Andrea

Hello AndreaB, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

I'm so sorry to hear that your medical issues and trauma have now been compounded by becoming dependent on Ativan.  I understand you only took it for a 'short' time but your body is acting like you've been on it for a lot longer and unfortunately, you'll need to listen to your body now, not the timeline.  Your taper sounds too fast and I know you want to be off the drug but getting the drug out of your body is only the first step, you need to heal once you do.

We stress doing symptom based tapers and suggest a starting reduction of around 5-10% of your dose every week or two.  I don't want to go against your Dr's plan but I'm sure you need to remain functional and the only way to do that is to go slowly.  Your symptoms look quite harsh and they're telling you what you need to do, I hope you'll listen with the support of your Dr.

You aren't going to die, but I won't kid you, this is a painful process and the only way out is through but we do recover and you can too.  I wish I could give you a timeline, from my time here I've seen some who took the drug for a short time recover fairly quickly but we don't have any way of knowing how it will go, there are too many variables.

I'll give you some links to help you find your way around the forum, I hope you'll take a look at our taper board to get some suggestions for a slower taper.

Planning your taper (Taper Plans)

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

The Ashton Manual

Keep talking to us, we'll help you through this.

Pamster

Hi Andrea, and welcome to BB

The good news is that you have realized that the benzos have to go.  And you have begun to make that happen.  Now it is one month from that first dose.  And you can get away from benzos. 

It is strongly suggested to taper once you are dependent.  It seems you are dependent.  I think your taper is a bit too fast.  Can you speak to your doctor and ask to taper slower?  It is okay not to go super slow if that seems unreasonable.  Can you taper not more than 10% each 10 days or so?  I understand you want it gone.  But going too fast can cause such uncomfortable symptoms.  And you will still need to heal after the pills are gone.

As Pamster says, you will not die.  You will not feel good, but you will recover.  You may very well struggle with sleep.  Try to accept these symptoms.  Living in fear of them is not going to make them easier.  Acceptance, focus on healing, and slow down that taper if you can.

Day 4 today since the big drop from the starting dose of 2.0mg down to 1.0mg. I am supposed to stay at this dose for another 4 days, then drop down to 0.5mg for another week, then jump after that. It's a rapid taper, but my GP says that it was a short period of use and wants me off this drug fast. I want that too, I just don't know that I have the strength to bear this on top of my other medical issues going on. I feel so sick that I can't get out of bed and am off work.

Last night was rough, I was only able to sleep for 2 hours and this morning I can't seem to open my eyes or find the strength to stand up and its afternoon here. I can't bear to eat or drink anything, and am experiencing worsening anxiety, depression, headache, sweating, intrusive thoughts, disorientation, and continuous stomach burning. Worst of all is the insomnia, which was the reason I started Lorezepam in the first place.

I think much of this is my baseline mental health issue (MDD, GAD) being intensified 5x by the Lorazepam wd. God help me.

Any words of advice or encouragement would be appreciated.

Andrea

You're right, benzo withdrawal caused anxiety is much, much worse than normal anxiety.  Many of our members who have recovered have found out that what they once thought was bad anxiety before benzo's is nothing compared to this stuff and are living happily ever after drug free.

I would love to give you some encouragement but I'm afraid my advice has to take center stage.  I'm concerned about the rapid nature of your plan, I feel its setting you up to experience more intense symptoms during and after your taper is complete.

If you'd like to hear from other members you can start a thread on the  Withdrawal Support (during your taper) board since not many hang out on the introductions board. 

One thing, if you're suffering interdose withdrawal you might try dosing 3 or 4 times a day.

AndreaB,

I am so sorry you are dealing with all of this, and just wanted to offer some advice and urge you to please reconsider the fast taper.  I was first prescribed Xanax for a very short time use that was then switched to Ativan—during which time I had a strong feeling the benzo was creating problems for me but had a Dr who insisted it couldn’t possibly be.  My husband and I finally got him to listen and taper me off but it was WAY too fast and I ended up in a bad spot.  I was so scared of what was happening and although I finally found this forum, the fear and primal need to stop the med propelled me to still continue tapering too fast.  Although I am now, thankfully, off the benzo train, slowly healing and feeling much more closer to being myself again almost 4 months later, I regret coming off so fast as it could have been a less nightmarish experience and much more of a smoother ride.  Please listen to your body.  I unknowingly suffered from interdose withdrawal before the taper began and didn’t really feel okay on the benzo until I had a consistent dosage (3xs a day).  The half-life of Ativan is very fast.  However, although my dosage finally was evenly spaced, the fast taper eventually caught up with me as I was dropping too fast. 

Pamster has given some excellent guidance/advice and I would also suggest the Tapering off Ativan Support Thread in the Support Groups. I was guided there by another member during my initial days on BenzoBuddies and found them to be a wonderful support group of caring individuals during my taper. 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?topic=44903.0

Take care. 

Hi friends,

Today is day 6 since the big drop from 2.0mg to 1.0 mg per night, and I am feeling o.k. today.

From tomorrow night I am going from 1.0mg to 0.5mg per night for another week. After that depending on how I am feeling I may jump, or might reduce to 0.25mg for another week. I am listening to my body, and it's handling it ok today. 

The psychiatrist and I also agreed that the SSRI i am on is not the right one for me, so as of 2 days ago I am also doing a fast taper from that. I was scaling up Sertraline from 25mg up to 125mg per day over 6 weeks, and now I've been given a 10 day taper plan to get off of that. I will switch to another SSRI after that and pray that it helps more.

Anyways, so now I'm tapering down from both lorazepam AND Sertraline at the same time! It's intense stuff, but I have a supportive family member with me and am off work dealing with the medical stuff, so this is the time to do it.

I have begun to substitute the Lorazepam at night with Mirtazapine 15mg instead, as needed. So far I've been taking it for 3 nights, and its helped weening off the Lorazepam, but it only gives me a couple of hours of sleep and I don't want to replace one dependency with another. I've ordered some melatonin from Amazon, going to try that once I am clear of the Lorazepam in case of any interaction.

Just wanted to drop in and say that I'm still here plugging away, and thanks to those who replied to my post, if I need to slow down my plan I will.

Andrea

Thanks for checking in, I'm glad to hear things are going okay, I'm concerned about subtracting and adding antidepressants while tapering the Lorazepam though.  Its so difficult to know what is causing what in order to make adjustments if symptoms become too intense, something to keep in mind.  Plus, our bodies seem to react differently to medications, supplements and even foods so be on the lookout for new symptoms just in case.

I like that you're open to slowing things down if symptoms get too intense and I agree, developing a dependence on another drug is a worry.

Hello friends,

I wanted to write a brief update on my progress. I am 2 days away from the planned 'jump' off of Lorezepam following 4 weeks of continuous use plus 2 weeks of taper.

Though I had quite scary withdrawal symptoms during the first few days of taper (from 2.0mg/night down to 1.0mg/night), things have levelled off quite a bit to where I am not having many withdrawal symptoms now. I am now into week two and down to 0.5mg/night. I had planned, along with my doctor, to jump from 0.5mg/night down to 0 at the end of this week, but I am thinking to do another week with a further reduction down to 0.25mg/night, just out of an abundance of caution.

My health situation is still quite acute and things are still pretty horrible on that front unfortunately, but I am relieved that, at least thus far, my own experience with withdrawal from Lorazepam hasn't been too bad. YMMV.

I have also been able to withdraw from the Sertraline over a 10 day rapid taper, again as advised by my doctor, and I had the last dose of that today. I didn't perceive many withdrawal symptoms from that taper, which I am also relieved about.

Instead of taking Lorazepam for insomnia, I am now taking 15mg Mirtazapine and 3mg melatonin each night. I am now able to fall asleep and stay asleep for about 8 hours with this combo. Of course insomnia is an issue that may have periods of recession and flare up based on circumstances, so I cant say that my insomnia problem is cured, but at least this last week or two I have been able to sleep quite well.

I am not naive to think that I am done with recovery from benzos necessarily, it could hit like a train a week from now or even after that... but at least so far I am relieved to be able to say that my tapering period has really not been that bad. Everyone's experience is going to be different, and I know that many people have unimaginable struggles freeing themselves from benzos. But, I also think it is helpful especially for other short term users like me who come to this forum to know that detoxing from benzos may or may not be as scary and horrific for you as it can seem from reading many of the stories others have posted. Everyone's history with a benzo is different, just as we are all different. As I approach the end of it I hope that my taper continues to go relatively smoothly.

Andrea

Thank you Andrea, so many short time users need to read what you write.  I'm pleased you've done so well and especially glad you're going to taper just a bit lower before jumping off, that's smart in my opinion.

Please keep coming back if you can to let us know your progress and if you could write a success story when you feel recovered, that would be wonderful. 

Andrea:

You are one of the lucky ones.  Tapering a benzo and an AD at the same time is tough, but it sounds like you will be fine.  For the most part this forum is frequented by the minority cohort of benzo users that are acutely sensitive to these drugs, and coming off of them; or long-term high dosage users.  I think we need more success stories like yours that show that for some the process of withdrawal is not THAT bad.  I was able to C/T Ambien after using it every night for 4 months, and had relatively few problems.  I am doing a Valium taper now using the Ashton protocol (starting at 5mg) and hope I am as lucky as you.

Hello Andrea,

I was also a short term Ativan user, and u can see my tapering schedule below for 4 weeks which worked decent for me. I jumped from 0.125mg though, not 0.5, even though I couldn’t wait to be off these poisonous pills, the doctor recommended to not jump from a higher dose.

Unfortunately, even if u are on the pills for 4 weeks or 4 years, the damage is done, and it’s a long journey to recovery 

I started having good days from week 1 of tapering, and got slowly better each week. However, I am now 31 days post jump, and still experiencing awful waves, about 2 times per week. Listen to your body, do not stress over the symptoms that unfortunately do not want to go away sooner than probably a few months...

When I initially read stories of recovery that took months, I could not believe it, but I am entering month #2 post jump, and still having symptoms on and off. I really am staying positive and hoping to be 100% within 3 months, but it might not be that simple.

I took no other pills during the taper or after the jump, except intermittent Melatonin 3mg for sleep, for approx 2 weeks, and then I decided to sleep on my own. You will see that eventually u will be able to sleep on your own, especially after 1 or 2 bad nights in a row.

All I can say is that the intensity of the symptoms lessen as time passes, and for me I also noticed a shift of symptoms from certain symptoms during taper to other symptoms post jump... please read my post and let me know if u are experiencing any similar symptoms to mine...

I am posting every 2 weeks just to keep others informed, and to give hope that we may be able to heal faster... I jumped on Jan 1, so I will probably be about 6 weeks ahead of your jump, if u want to read my progress, I hope it helps 

Hang in there, we will get through this!

Hi Andrea

Not everyone struggles or is as damaged from benzo use as everyone else.  Some use short term and struggle a lot, others longer term and can taper and stop without such a struggle.  So the damage is not always 'done' no matter whether 4 weeks or 4 years.  This is very individual.  It seems that you are doing well and have a realistic idea that it may hit you later.  But it may not, and you could just sail away from this all well.  No matter which way it turns, you will continue to heal.