Can I drink alcohol while tapering on ativan?

I am currently on 0,5 mg of ativan every evening and was on 1 mg for a month. I believe i tapered too quickly as I went down from 1 mg to 0,25 mg daily over a period of 6 days. I was getting so many withdrawal symptoms that I had to increase to 0,5. I have been on 0,5 for a few days and most of my symtoms have gone. However, I still have mild muscle twitching and parasthesias ( pins and needles and formication). My friends at uni are going out tonight, and that usually involves drinking. Would a few drinks increase my symptoms? or is it ok as far as I dont abuse on alcohol and just have 2 or 3 drinks?

I think that the best answer is to just listen to your body.  Some people (such as myself) have absolutely no problems with moderate amounts of alcohol, whereas other people say it worsened their symptoms the next day.  The Ashton Manual advocates moderate alcohol use with the simple warning of using alcohol as a benzo substitute (by either getting really hammered or drinking nightly).

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

Hi adrifont, Ill take a crack at this one.

Technically..NO (it says so on the bottle)

but in ashton manual says:

DIET, FLUIDS AND EXERCISE

 

There has been increasing interest in the question of diet in benzodiazepine withdrawal, particularly in North America. What food/drinks should be excluded? What supplements should be added? These are frequent questions. In my opinion there is no need to be over-obsessive about diet. Some people advise that caffeine and alcohol should be completely ruled out. However, the point about gradual dosage tapering at home is that people should get used to living a normal lifestyle without drugs. In my experience, coffee or tea in moderation (about two cups a day), or reasonable amounts of cocoa, chocolate or coca cola, are perfectly compatible with benzodiazepine withdrawal - except in the few individuals who are exquisitely sensitive to caffeine or those with very high anxiety levels. Clearly one should not take caffeine late in the evening or drink cups of tea/coffee (unless decaffeinated) in the middle of the night if insomniac, but to prohibit a cup of tea/coffee at breakfast is in general unduly restrictive. One is, after all, striving to be normal and sociable, not fussy.

 

I think that what shes saying here is that its OK, just dont get sloshed.

 

I have heard others say that alcohol makes their symptoms worse and as far as for myself I have had to completely (sigh) stop drinking at all because the benzos have damaged me so that alcohol only makes me very sick.

 

Whatever you do dont drive a car

 

If I remember correctly .5mg ativan is equivalent to the same dose of clonazepam, and when I was taking .5 clonazepam I had to be careful how much alcohol I consumed because benzo's and alcohol intensify the effects of each other. At 1mg of clonazepam....forget it......if I had more than a couple of drinks and 1mg it was like chugging a 750ml bottle of vodka, minus the nausea. No point in going out to have a good time when you can't remember it the next day. Not to mention it's dangerous.

I was drinking a lot in 2010 and quit because my wife was threatening to go.  We went to therapy and the therapist sent me to a doctor who gave me Librium but I started drinking again and then they put me on Ativan.  Tried to quit but get the shakes (it reminds me a lot of alcohol wd). I would not mix them at all. Like what2do said about diet, fluids, and exercise. 

So far I have been lucky. I have had some alcohol, but I do NOT drink to the point to where I get intoxicated. If I have a drink, it's usually at least an hour or two before I have another and the alcohol has worn off.

 

I have a problem with anxiety wakening me anywhere from 2:30 to 3:30 a.m. One night I was awakened at 2:30 and by 4 a.m. I was really getting upset about not being able to doze at all, which, of course, only increased my anxiety. I finally got up and had a large shot of vodka with diet ginger ale, followed by a second large shot of vodka with diet ginger ale. Between the two shots it was enough to make me relaxed enough to go back to sleep, but the next day I was totally "out of sorts" and my anxiety was, if anything, even worse. I won't make that mistake again.

 

As someone said earlier, you know yourself better than anyone else. If you really, absolutely feel safe about drinking, then please do so in moderation. I won't touch alcohol during the day because, even though my drinks are few and far between, I really do not want to swap an addiction to benzos for one that is alcohol-related. Everything in moderation is my motto...

 

I hope this helps.

 

Tucson

 

Me as Day 62 of my final c/t winds to an end: 

I wouldn't recommend it.

A little may not hurt.

Ashton says it is okay to have a couple of glasses.

 

I know here in New York I have friends who have drank over Benzo's and they have blacked out.

I, myself drank on Klonopin (Didn't know any better) and I never felt anything other than drunk, and can still remember it!

 

But while tapering, No I have not drank any alcohol.

 

Billy.