Help Taper from Lorazepam

Hey! I need help on how to taper from Ativan please. I’ve only been on it for 4 weeks and it’s a small dose .25 a day but still want to be careful so I don’t feel withdrawals. I just don’t know how to start.

Welcome Cali91,

 

For a first reduction I think it's best to take a cut in the range of 5-10% your current dose and hold for 1-2 weeks. During your taper I suggest keeping a daily tapering journal with at a minimum the date, your dose, withdrawal symptoms and their severity. I think it's unlikely to avoid withdrawal symptoms entirely, but I like the method of minimize the severity of these symptoms by controlling the reduction rate (by percent) and thus remain high functioning; this is called symptom-based, patient-led benzo tapering.

 

If you follow my suggestion, your first reduction will teach you about how your unique neurology responds to reductions in the 5-10% range, and you can fine tune going forward. Unfortunately I think taking a 5-10% reduction with a tablet, especially from a dose of 0.25mg, is impossible to do reliably with pill splitting. There are some dry by weight methods using scales, and I've heard of dry by volume methods, but I think that the best option might be to start with a commercially manufactured liquid.

 

I suggest calling local pharmacies and see if any will supply a commercial liquid form of lorazepam. I believe it's available in the US and other countries, but I'm not sure. Once you get some information if this is available and at what concentration, then let us know!

 

Do you have a doctor that will write you a prescription for a liquid form of lorazepam?

Either way, can you tell us more about your tablet size and your history with benzos?