Time to get a life

I'm a 58 year male and have been on Ativan 2.5mg for at least the last 5 years. I was prescribed Ativan by my GP for insomnia and mild anxiety. I take the full dose at night before bed.

I have recently been feeling more anxious and worried about the onset of depression - my father was prone to serious depression. Up until 6 months ago I was also taking Lexamil 20mg daily in the morning. I decided to go cold turkey with the Lexamil and to be honest I cant say that I felt much different.

My journey now is to get off the Ativan and replace it with CBD for a better quality of life. My personal research has indicated the benefit of CBD as helping with anxiety and depression hence my desire to get off the chemicals.

I have looked at a number of medical sites about the benefits of CBD and weaning off the Ativan at the same time.

My thought process would be as follows:

week 1-2 Ativan 2.5mg / CBD 15mg

week 2-4 Ativan 2.0mg / CBD 30 mg

week 4-6 Ativan 1.5mg / CBD 45mg

week 6-8 Ativan 1.0mg / CBD 60mg

week 8-10 Ativan 0.5mg / CBD 70mg

week 10+ Ativan 0mg / CBD 70mg

The above would also be supplemented by CBD oral drops of 8mg as and when needed.

Has anyone else done the switch from Ativan to CBD and how did it work for you? I realise that we are all wired in different ways and that no one solution would work for the next person.

I have recently purchased the CBD needed and will be starting my switch from today.

Hello kubunights, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

We have members who are using CBD as an adjunct supplement to minimize withdrawal symptoms, I'm unaware of them using it as a replacement since we can't really compare apples to oranges in terms of chemical composition.

I will say that we support a patient led symptom based taper from benzodiazepines which may translate to your taper being a bit too rapid but if your symptoms allow you to proceed at that pace then we'll of course support your efforts.  We generally suggest reducing your dose by about 5-10% every couple of weeks but as I mentioned, your symptoms should guide you in order to stay functional.

You may find as you reduce that you may need to dose more than once a day since Ativan has a fairly short half life, just keep this in mind if you begin to feel interdose withdrawal.

I'll provide some resources for you to take a look at plus a link to our alternate therapies board so you can discuss your method of withdrawal using CBD.

Pamster

Colorado Consortium Benzodiazepine Deprescribing Guidelines

Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper)

Withdrawal Support (during your taper)

The Ashton Manual

Alternative Therapies & Supplements