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Tapering off Ativan Support Thread


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im hoping by this time next summer we can pick a spot and all get together...  we need to take a stand against these doctors doing this..
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Kry123

 

I had the exact same experience. Was on cruise ship trapped. Given 30 1 mg Ativan to sleep. When I got home and tried to stop All h broke loose. I got my gp to prescribe .5 pills and tapered down to .1 by June and jumped. Have had some good windows since then but still some waves. Congratulations on getting off

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awesome..  who else in in..

 

here is my interview I did with Geraldine Burns in mid June of this year..  she is wonderful

 

 

Excellent interview, so glad you're helping raise awareness.

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Kry123

 

I had the exact same experience. Was on cruise ship trapped. Given 30 1 mg Ativan to sleep. When I got home and tried to stop All h broke loose. I got my gp to prescribe .5 pills and tapered down to .1 by June and jumped. Have had some good windows since then but still some waves. Congratulations on getting off

 

you were trapped on the Cruise Ship because of COVID?  don't tell me they were handing out Benzos to the passengers..  if so that is criminal..  like me I'm sure you had no clue about dependency 

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Well, sometimes we surprise even ourselves. Yesterday, I unknowingly took my last dose of lorazepam.  I had all three doses for the day ready, but I wanted to try to go to two. It got to be afternoon dose time, and I just let it pass. When it came time for the night time dose, I felt more tired than in need of my dose. So, I let it go too. I assumed I’d take my morning dose today. Another nope.

 

After holding awhile at .025, I ended up dropping to .02 a few days, .014 a day, and then ending on one day of .006mg.

 

Not the systematic ending I’d built up to, but here I am. I am 27 hours from my last dose, and I feel mostly fine. I have lingering skin burning, some intermittent air hunger, and morning cortisol rushes...all of which have been here since my antibiotic reaction.

 

Thank you all for your support. It’s a big day. 💙

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Congratualtions Beauty!  Benzo Free!

 

You made it. No more cutting, mixing or worrying about dose time.  You have had a taper by the book. You are an inspiration to all of us. Always giving support and caring about others even on your rough days. I know the last bit has been rough. That benzo just had to get that last bit in there but you beat it.  :boxer: Praying for days of peace and quick healing. :hug:  :smitten:

 

 

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After having such a rough few days, and more doubt about the accuracy of my pill cutting, I have decided to try DLMT, using a compounded liquid. My poor husband is probably sick of me running all of the options and alternatives, but I have overthought this for long enough and just need to be brave and try something new. I'm scared of the shift, but this wave really sucked and I just want to feel like I can function. I'm hoping like for a few of you, this will at least reduce my sx.

 

JuJuBi, I see that you started with the liquid at .8, and wonder if you just replaced your pills, or did you slowly replace doses as you introduced the liquid? My pharmacist suggested I do a .1mg/1ml concentration, which I thought sounded good considering I want to be able to dose all the way until the last drop. Do you think this will work? I plan to evenly reduce my 3 doses as I go.... any feedback on that?

 

Sorry for all of the questions, I know I've asked about this before, I'm just so unsure of myself and have reverted back to a lot of fear over these last few days.

 

I had to somewhat 'fake it' with my doctor today to get her to prescribe the liquid, as I don't think now is the right time to tell her how I really feel and switch physicians. She didn't even know about compounding liquid, I even had to tell her the dosage... I don't know why this shocked me, but it did. If she thought prescribing me Ativan was OK in the first place, she should understand how to help me get off of it! When I said 'these drugs are awful', she responded 'yes, for you they are'.... breathing through my anger today, because I don't want to carry any more angst. Grateful for this community and specifically, this group who has taught me so much.  xo

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Hi Marwegs-

I wanted to change to the DLMT when I got to .25 because that was a rough one for me..  My doctor did prescribed me liquid Ativan but was a 2x concentrate and i was too chicken to make the switch.  My fear was that my dry cuts were actually under what I thought due to the filler and the drug not evenly distributed and when switching over to the liquid Id be getting more..  so I chickened out and just dry cut to the end..  but everyone is very different.. do what's right for you..

 

best thing I did was switch doctors but I got lucky because my new Doc is a good friend and Benzo wise..  to me it would have been impossible to find a new doctor out of the blue especially during the COVID shutdown..  but my original doctor for 20 years made the same snarky remarks to me.. when I was going through my Benzo withdraws and wanted to give me Paxil he said its no different than putting on reading glasses to see.. come on really?  He did not believe me that I was going through withdrawals..  so I feel your pain..  its not just the doctors but its family and friends that have a hard time understanding what is going on..

 

Stay strong we are all here supporting each other

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Hi Marwegs, I think you’ll be so much happier with liquid. I switched to water titration at the end, and I wish I’d done it sooner. It takes all the worry about perfect cutting and measuring away. I’d make my three doses for the next day the night before...then just drink them down at the right time. After only one day, I noticed a marked improvement in my anxiety about tapering.

 

The fear you have is understandable, but please try to remember that obsessive fear is probably the benzos talking. You’re a smart, capable, worthy person and not at all defined by this wave you’re in...you can try this switch with confidence that you will be okay. If, for some reason, you don’t tolerate it well...switch back.

 

If you do decide to try, my only advice would be to make the switch from a place of stability, and do not reduce your dose again until you feel stable on the liquid. For some, it happens same-day. For me, it took about a week of holding before I felt comfortable moving down again. Listen to your body!

 

Keep us posted, friend!

 

Beauty

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Kry - I get why you didn’t switch to the liquid Ativan... I too have heard that it’s quite concentrated! I’m in Canada, and as far as I know, here on the Westcoast, we don’t have that liquid Ativan. My pharmacist is actually just making me a compound using oil (coconut?) and dissolved pills, so it’s just saving me doing the titration at home. I felt it was less risky, but nonetheless, I’m very nervous. The analogy about reading glasses is wild.... reading glasses don’t paralyze your life and put you through hell! What BS. I am feeling grateful today, on my 19th wedding anniversary, to have an incredibly supportive husband, reminding me that I am not crazy, but that I am injured by this medication!

 

Beauty - thank you for affirming my decision to switch. I will keep you posted on how it goes! I’m not feeling great, but I haven’t since I started this poison. What would you consider stable before moving forward? I hear this term so much, but I never quite feel ok.... today was better, but I still have a mild headache and air hunger, which comes and goes....

 

Hoping you two check back... you will be missed and are great mentors 💗

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JuJuBi, I see that you started with the liquid at .8, and wonder if you just replaced your pills, or did you slowly replace doses as you introduced the liquid? My pharmacist suggested I do a .1mg/1ml concentration, which I thought sounded good considering I want to be able to dose all the way until the last drop. Do you think this will work? I plan to evenly reduce my 3 doses as I go.... any feedback on that?

 

Sorry for all of the questions, I know I've asked about this before, I'm just so unsure of myself and have reverted back to a lot of fear over these last few days.

 

I had to somewhat 'fake it' with my doctor today to get her to prescribe the liquid, as I don't think now is the right time to tell her how I really feel and switch physicians. She didn't even know about compounding liquid, I even had to tell her the dosage... I don't know why this shocked me, but it did. If she thought prescribing me Ativan was OK in the first place, she should understand how to help me get off of it! When I said 'these drugs are awful', she responded 'yes, for you they are'.... breathing through my anger today, because I don't want to carry any more angst. Grateful for this community and specifically, this group who has taught me so much.  xo

 

Marwegs-The fear of changing anything is understandable. I get the hubby and running options.  I know mine had to be tired of it. 

I went straight to the liquid. For me that was the right choice. No longer cutting pills relieved a lot of stress. And not having my kitchen as a lab is also a relief.  Mine as well is .1mg/1ml concentration. The only challenge I run into with the compound, I am limited in reductions if keeping 3 doses exactly even. The lines on the syringes limit this some. It is easy for me to reduce .001, .002 etc… on each dose but nothing in between. So reducing .003, .006, .009 a day is straight forward. Anything in between requires a “rotation” of sorts or skipping days. I have worked through this by creating a spreadsheet to accommodate it. Something like the below.

 

0.172 0.172 0.172 = 0.516   

0.171 0.171 0.171 = 0.513    Reduce .003

0.17   0.169  0.17   = 0.509    Reduce .004

0.169 0.168 0.168  = 0.505    Reduce .004

0.167 0.167 0.167 = 0.501    Reduce .004

 

(Those mixing their own can reduce any daily amount and just split the day up into 3 equal portions.) My pharmacist did not support me diluting or changing the compound.  I hope this makes sense. You are welcome to pm.

 

If I had any advice it would be to hold for a few days after the switch and when you reduce start very slow. My bottle now sits in a cabinet next to the toothpaste. I only think about it when my timer goes off. This has been a game changer for me. 

 

And on the doctor front I have to fake it a bit too. My doc is not truly Benzo wise and I rely more on the pharmacist for info on all this and told my doctor what I wanted.  I actually am happy to run that train. He is understanding but really just a scrip writer in all this.

 

Never feel bad for asking. We are all here to support one another.

 

JuJuBi

 

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FYI about this documentary being filmed "As Prescribed"

 

As Prescribed: a documentary film by Holly Hardman

For over fifty years, doctors have been prescribing benzodiazepines. The drugs bear well-known names: Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan. They are commonly thought of as safe, helping to take the edge off or give a better night's sleep. As Prescribed, however, documents a strikingly different narrative. Through personal accounts and investigating mounting evidence, the film reveals the errant medical culture that promotes them. The result is the story of an epidemic that is devastating lives globally.

 

www.asprescribedfilm.com

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FYI about this documentary being filmed "As Prescribed"

 

As Prescribed: a documentary film by Holly Hardman

For over fifty years, doctors have been prescribing benzodiazepines. The drugs bear well-known names: Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan. They are commonly thought of as safe, helping to take the edge off or give a better night's sleep. As Prescribed, however, documents a strikingly different narrative. Through personal accounts and investigating mounting evidence, the film reveals the errant medical culture that promotes them. The result is the story of an epidemic that is devastating lives globally.

 

www.asprescribedfilm.com

 

I think "Medicating Normal" is a new movie floating around out there too. I don't know much about it, but I've heard really good things.

 

Bless all of you all!

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Thanks JuJuBi - this is so helpful to see your process. I spent the morning creating a plan, a little slower than I've been currently moving at. I will adjust if I need to, trying to really separate myself from a schedule, but it's so hard when I feel like crying every time I have to take a dose! Hoping this liquid makes a big difference.... pharmacist just called to say it's ready. Wish me luck!

 

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Thanks JuJuBi - this is so helpful to see your process. I spent the morning creating a plan, a little slower than I've been currently moving at. I will adjust if I need to, trying to really separate myself from a schedule, but it's so hard when I feel like crying every time I have to take a dose! Hoping this liquid makes a big difference.... pharmacist just called to say it's ready. Wish me luck!

 

Marwegs

 

Acceptance was the hardest for me but that and the liquid changed everything. Accepting I am in this mess, I have to take this every day, I will take as long as it takes. I still work at it when that urge to speed up kicks in.  I may speed up but at very small amounts and wait it out and watch carefully.  I understand the crying. I hated taking it from day one. I've made peace with it and now it takes more of a back seat. I know that no matter how slow I go I am taking less of it everyday.  Too many times that Benzo has snuck up on me and smacked me in the back of the head. It is my turn to sneak up on the Benzo and quietly win this battle.  :boxer:

 

You don't need luck you got this!

 

JuJuBi

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Congratulations to Beauty and Kry!

 

This is a huge accomplishment. I look forward to the day that I can join you - it could be right around the corner. No more carrying pills. No more refilling prescriptions for a controlled substance. No more cutting pills. No more worrying about pills. No more schedules.

 

I am praying that you continue to heal and heal rapidly.

 

Bibs Jo

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awesome..  who else in in..

 

here is my interview I did with Geraldine Burns in mid June of this year..  she is wonderful

 

 

Excellent Interview! Curious as to what problems you had with supplements. I take a lot of them - mostly for sleep, and I am still not sleeping. I'm wondering if they could be interfering.

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I am (was) a bodybuilder before this nightmare began in April and always took many supplements..  things like D3, magnesium even protein powders reved me up.. when I went to neuropath she gave me a bunch of stuff for sleep and for my adrenals..  stuff like GABA, Melatonin, L Theanine, chamomile tea, there was more but this is off the top of my head..  I had no idea this was the wrong thing to do until I joined BB.. there are a ton of posts about supplements…  I cut out all supplement and protein powders and was the best thing I did..  the supplements and powders have all sorts of fillers and artificial sweeteners which is not good in withdrawals..  I'm now wondering if I can ever use them again..  I just eat all whole foods and get all the nutrients that way..
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Hi buddies,

  I just wanted to come by and say hello to all of you this morning. I am doing well since the walk-off, but I remind myself often that these are early days in the journey. I have mild symptoms (and most began with antibiotics, not with the last day of loraz) so far. One noticeable improvement since 5 days ago is that my body doesn’t crave my dose at dosing time at all. I no longer watch the clock to see how much longer until I can get some relief from interdose, and...I’ve slept until 8:00am or later every day after 5 months of waking up by 6:30a in full cortisol tremor. My body does feel tired. So, so tired. I know that fatigue is a symptom of wd...it’s also a symptom of being finished with a very stressful process. I’m honoring it and resting as much as I can. My husband and I have also been walking every day to keep these legs moving. I’m not as fast or strong as I was before the infection/antibiotics, but I’m fighting to gain it back.

  I am praying for each one of you...easy tapers, rapid healing, and overall wellness. You’ve been such light to me in this journey. Tech, I’m thinking of you often as I know it’s got to be close to time for you.

 

Love,

Beauty

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Beauty, I have been wondering how you are doing.... so glad to hear that you are only experiencing mild symptoms! You are healing, and my prayer for you is that it happens quickly!

 

I am on day 4 of liquid, and at first I found it really hard, but seem to be stabilizing. It's so much easier than the pills, and I'm happy I made the switch. I have little to no physical symptoms, but the fear and anxiety is quietly plaguing my mind, just enough to make me spend a lot of time crying and confined to the couch. The alternative is that I feel emotional flat. I don't know why this is paralyzing me, but it is. I'm afraid to keep going with the taper.... but there's no other solution. So I've started to reduce by a tiny amount, and will work my way up.

 

Buddies, is this normal? For those that have succeeded, when did you start to feel like you could at least face day to day life? My brain is telling me this is impossible. Having a hard time forgiving myself today, that I took these pills in the first place.... :'(

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Hello Everyone,

 

I logged on to respond to a private message and thought I'd stop by.  I'm still feeling good and enjoying life two weeks post taper.

 

Beauty, again so sorry to hear about your reaction to the antibiotics.  I can relate;  one time I took Cipro and it made me feel terrible!  If it was me, I would stop taking the small dose of .025mg.  I think its too small of an amount to have any effect.  Unfortunately you still might be recovering from the antibiotic set back for a while.  I firmly believe you are going to recover and feel better starting soon.

 

Phoenix, The people in this group know I have a strong bias towards daily liquid micro tapering (DLMT) as the most accurate way to micro-taper and minimize withdrawal symptoms.  I just successfully tapered from 6mg. to zero in 19 months.  I suffered doing dry cuts until I slowed down and switched to DLMT.  Here' a computer app. designed from a Swiss BB Jim Hawk.  His ReadMeFirst section gives the best overview I've seen of micro-tapering.  If you decide to do DLMT, I can give you a simple formula for doing your own calculations.  Maybe send me a pm and let me know to post here as I am on BB much less now.

 

http://benzo.alwaysdata.net/

 

Good wishes to all!

 

Luey

 

Luey,

 

If you happen to stop by....

I am currently at 0.25mg and have been planning the last phase of my taper. I have scoured through this thread looking at signatures for people who have dry cut to the end, which is what I hope to do. I was thinking that .125 was the lowest dry cut that I could do. However, it looks like it is really .0625. This would be 1/8th of a 0.5mg pill. What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks!

Bibs Jo

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