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1mg Lorazepam Taper Help- Doctor Switched me to 1mg Klon


[Du...]

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Hey Everyone,

 

So I’ve finally stabilized on 1 mg of lorazepam at night and my 10mg Lexapro. (I can finally sleep and no more panic attacks in the morning). My GI issues, anxiety has calmed-headaches are touch and go throughout the day... just a nuisance, not debilitating.

 

I am planning to start my lorazepam taper Friday night. Two years ago, I purchased a jewelers scale and planned to taper my Lexapro, but had an unexpected job change, so the scale and taper plans got put away.

 

My question is around how I should taper... should I use the scale for the lorazepam? It looks like the average gram weight of a 1mg pill is .120g. Can I use this to taper? Shave off 20% (.24g) of a pill and go from there? My doctor said just cut a corner off for a week, .5 for a week, .25 for a week, then jump.... I’ve tried this rapid taper my first go around and almost lost my marriage/job because the withdrawals were so debilitating...

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks  :)

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[f8...]

We recommend taper rates of no greater than 10% (every couple of weeks).  A lot of doctors suggest the 0.25 mg cuts, but many people can't handle doing it that fast.  10% is a lot safer.  Since lorazepam has a short half-life, you might be able to cut weekly if you're feeling good.

 

Yeah, your pill weight approach is a fine way to calculate the reductions.

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Just a quick update:

 

The scale has been beneficial. I was able to shave my 1mg of lorazepam down 20% by weight and have had mild symptoms: GI issues, headache off and on; sleeping was harder-not horrible.

 

I plan to cut another 20% by weight tonight to .6mg at night (easier going into Friday and a weekend, learned this the hard way last time. If you are an anxious person, don’t plan your cut and taper on Sunday nights heading into the workweek.)

 

Hopefully, this cut will go well. When I approach .5mg, my body starts to get out of sync, and the withdrawal symptoms come on full force.... will update in a week.

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Well that failed miserably to put it lightly...

 

Going from .8mg to .6mg was to much for my body/mind and I experienced horrible withdrawal. The larges symptoms being extremely anxious and have 2 zero sleep

Nights (Thursday night. Friday night)  I bumped back up .8mg to try and stabilize and restart tape only shaving 8-10. Last night was going to be my third 0-1 hour sleep night.... I took a rescue dose of 1mg at 3

 

Does this mess every thing is

Messed up now? I had been sleep “okay” on the .8mg and as soon a i lowered it to .6 it was all hell broke loose.

 

Any advice-help would be appreciated, currently in the trenches fighting everyday.sorry for the grammar. Typing is hard right now...

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[f8...]
I'm sorry your last cut went south.  We generally recommend reductions of no greater than 10%.  Your last cut was 25%.
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Yeah. It’s tough. I would like to get off this as quick as I can but understand the value of a slow taper....more so now. Thank you for the reminder badsocref.  Do you think going to 1mg would be my best option even though I was able to sleep/stabilize at .8 from 1mg?

 

I hope to stabilize and taper at 10% or less every 2 weeks depending on symptoms. I would like to go faster, but this last cut was a hard lesson for how bad things can turn out if you don’t go slow....I’m ranting... but thanks for the reply. My first go around with benzos I didn’t have this....

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[f8...]
If you decide to updose, I'd suggest updosing to the lowest level possible to achieve some degree of relief from your symptoms.  Maybe 0.7 will do it??  Maybe 0.8??
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.8 could do it, but I tried that last night and had to get a 1mg rescue dose at 3am... 1mg I almost certain would stable me out this week.

 

Also, Man, being new to the forum and seeing what everyone has gone through/been through... I know everyone is different and will handle withdrawal different,  but in your experience on here and helping others, do you think it’s possible to do a slow taper and have mild and moderate symptoms and not severe the whole time!?

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[f8...]

Is it possible?  Sure.  Listen to your body as you slowly taper down, and get the support you need. 

 

Lorazepam is one of those quicker-acting benzos that works well with micro-tapering.  There are some big discussion groups on micro tapering lorazepam.  Basically, you cut a tiny amount each day instead of doing 10% cuts every few weeks.  Ideally, you base the size of your daily micro-cut on how well/poorly you're feeling.  Realistically, I think you might want to plan for six months or more to slowly taper off from 0.8 mg lorazepam. 

 

I think it'll be useful to reach some sort of inner peace with whatever factors have played into you taking lorazepam in the past.  Underlying causes have a way of re-appearing (it was sleep for me).  Many people develop new acceptances and/or coping skills during their withdrawal experience that help them later in life.  While that's useful, I think that it's better to go into the withdrawal experience with those skills already developed if possible.  It's a good discussion to have with your therapist or p-doc (or even a good Zen instructor).

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Well, I spent about 6 hours yesterday... probably more deciding if I should try .8mg again or go to 1mg... I finally came to the conclusion that my wife couldn’t do any more no sleep days and instability , I also have a big meeting at work today and need to be at least “present”... as much as I wanted to try .8 again, I couldn’t put her through that and risk not stabilizing.. So I went back to 1mg. It sucks. But this is my journey, and if I want to get stable and have a baseline i need to start here and go slower... I slept great, 10 hours, and just have a slight headache when I woke up and feel “rested”

 

-Summerfun: Lexapro does help my anxiety, it’s not a cure, but helps me not spiral as far or go so deep into depression. 5 years ago, I suffered from some medical GI issues that brought my anxiety out and after being tossed around from specialist to specialist  for a year and a half and given 30+ different pills and supplements for H.pylor, c-diff, the list goes on and on and eventually told I have ibs-m and to take a high dose of gabapentin... I couldn’t take it anymore... my trust in doctors was shattered and I was depressed, couldn’t eat, sleep, or function and had unbearable anxiety about all of it... the only doctor who saw that anxiety was a huge factor to my lingering symptoms was my original p-doc whose still family friend with my parents. He prescribed me lexapro 10mg and lorazepam 1mg for sleep... 4 years latter I am thankful he did. It saved my life. It was hell coming of the lorazepam then, but fought the medicine and didn’t understand how to taper, I would take 50% cuts then go back up because it didn’t work then take rescue doses... and eventually went cold turkey unstable after 2 months of use. I made it because of the support from my family, lexapro was working, and the fear of losing it all..... so long story to your question... yes the Lexapro helps my anxiety. Doesn’t cure it, anxiety is chronic and still trying to find out how to help it day by day.

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[f8...]
Duke - I'm glad you slept well last night.  Get stable for a while then consider a slower taper moving forward.  No more 25% cuts.
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Honestly, I would get to a point were you are stable on as low of a dose of lorazepam as possible and then consider taking Zoloft. It’s not a cure all, and doesn’t take effect for awhile, so it’s a big commitment.... but looking back I am so glad I stuck with it because at that point and when it started working, it helped keep me alive... sounds dramatic but with how sporadic my taper plan for lorazapam was, and how deep a hole I was in. I needed extra help to get out.
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I really think I may start it this week if this small does to stabilize keeps working.  I took .125 at 5am, 5 hours ago, and still functional.  Such a relief from the relentless W/D after my failed quick taper attempt.
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Thank you for the follow up badsocref. That is the plan and I will stick to it.

 

I will probably reach out once I feel stable enough to start my taper and the percentage cut if that’s okay?

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[f8...]

Thank you for the follow up badsocref. That is the plan and I will stick to it.

 

I will probably reach out once I feel stable enough to start my taper and the percentage cut if that’s okay?

 

You're welcome to reach out anytime.  If I don't see a post in the main forum that you want me to see, send me a PM with the link to the thread.

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I really think I may start it this week if this small does to stabilize keeps working.  I took .125 at 5am, 5 hours ago, and still functional.  Such a relief from the relentless W/D after my failed quick taper attempt.

 

The best advice I can give based on reading your posts here and other boards  and experience with anxiety is work with your doctor, stabilize on lorazepam, and start the Zoloft. Again, everyone is different, but for me it took a long time for me to accept that being on lexapro to help manage my anxiety does not make me a weaker person....you are not a victim of the mind, but need to work with it and help it.

 

I fought both of the medications lexapro and lorazepam and paid the price but made it out on the other side and have had a wonderful three years since I recovered from the sporadic/cold turkey taper of the lorazepam... I tried tapering my lexapro thinking I didn’t need it and am now back dealing with the lorazepam because I didn’t have the tools in my tool box to manage the anxiety that came from having an ibs-flare up.... so I am back dealing with the lorazepam.... sorry for the long response.

 

Wish you the best summerfun.

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Thank you for the follow up badsocref. That is the plan and I will stick to it.

 

I will probably reach out once I feel stable enough to start my taper and the percentage cut if that’s okay?

 

You're welcome to reach out anytime.  If I don't see a post in the main forum that you want me to see, send me a PM with the link to the thread.

 

Thank you. I won’t be on here until I’m ready to taper, I need to clear my mind and focus on my family as best I can and will be putting the phone away as much as I can.

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Phew. That was a roller coaster... it took about 2 1/2 days for me to stabilize on 1mg of lorazepam. When I reduced to .6mg, I had the most debilitating W/D symptoms. Most symptoms have subsided and lessened.

 

Reading back on my posts, the grammar and language used is a good indicator for how debilitating a rapid taper can leave you...

 

It sucks; I am a “short term” user and how quickly my body became dependent on the benzo is frightening.

 

With how well my symptoms have subsided, what is the suggested hold time before starting a slow taper?

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[f8...]

I think a week should be long enough - maybe 3-4 days is enough.  You'll know.

 

Yeah, some people get hooked on these drugs very quickly while some take them for decades and can quit without any issue.  Really need for some gene expression (chip) data to be collected about this tendency so that doctors can avoid giving benzos to people who will quickly become dependent.

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I agree. My body will tell me.

 

I want to shave 10% of my .120g pill .108g, correct? Then hold for 1-2 weeks.

 

 

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[f8...]

I agree. My body will tell me.

 

I want to shave 10% of my .120g pill .108g, correct? Then hold for 1-2 weeks.

 

Yep!  Good luck!

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