Seizures.

I have been taking Ativan for about 7 years ago for sleep related issues w epilepsy. Lack of sleep can cause me to have seizures and I am out of epilepsy meds to try.

Until a year ago, I was in 1 mg. Then following a seizure last year, we went up to 2.

2 mos ago, I began a taper from 2 mg to 1.75 for a month and then to 1.5.

About 2 weeks later I had a seizure. I still plan on tapering. Perhaps switching to a liquid. And 10 percent.

My dr wants me to wait to be 1 month seizure-free before I taper further. I have switched the dose to .5 3x a day and this seems better

I am looking for support. And to learn. And maybe connect w others w epilepsy and weaning.

Hello GardenGirl11, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

I am glad you are here!  It is good to hear that your doctor is being cautious with your taper.  And of course, tapering slowly like you are is the best way to go to minimize withdrawl issues.  Are you having any withdrawl symptoms?  Dosing more frequently with the shorter-acting benzos like Ativan can make things more tolerable.  We can connect you up with others who are tapering on this link:

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

You will find information about taper plans here, including liquid tapers:

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

Take a bit to get comfy here and when you are ready, you can start a thread.  Please let us know how we can help.

Best and again, welcome

Kate

Welcome Garden Girl, let us know if you have more questions~hope you will find resources and connection here.

Cheers, Kachina

hi GardenGirl11,

I'm in a very similar situation.  I was given Ativan to help to stop seizures when I could feel them coming on.  It has been incredibly effective and luckily I haven't had a seizure for 10 years as as result.  Unfortunately, I found out they can be very useful in highly-pressured work and social situations too so I've been using them for these purposes and now I would like to stop and keep them only as a genuine rescue med. 

As you had a seizure very recently, you should be super careful about reducing the use and I agree that Ativan can be a good short acting alternative if you ever feel a seizure coming on.  What other epilepsy meds are you on? 

Good luck with the tapering anyway - it's scary but now knowing what I do now about benzos I would really like to find a different way to cope with anxiety!