I'm Ready To Withdrawal!

Hello,

Frank here, pleasure to make your acquaintance. I experienced a severe anxiety breakdown / attack which landed me in the E.R. with a 209+ BP in a state of convulsions. I had never experienced this level of anxiety or panic before in my 39 years. I am however Bipolar for which I take Lithium, and Zoloft. I also take Clonidine for the Hypertension.

I was given Ativan right out of the gate and given permission to take it at will, which ended up being 3MG per day since May. I'm now ready to get the hell off this god forsaken pill at any cost. Last week I tried a quick taper of 1/2 a dose and all hell broke lose within a couple hours, it's that bad for me. Had I known I was going to experience such severe withdrawal from taking it for such a short period of time, I would have never started.

Anyhow, I'm ready and I have some questions.

Thanks much

Hello TallCan, and welcome to BenzoBuddies!  You'll find a lot of information and support here.  Most of our members are glad to share their tapering and withdrawal experiences.  As you have found, tapering it the best way to get off Ativan.  Here are some links to get you started:

As you know the best way to get off benzos is to taper off if you've used them for any length of time.  The suggested taper rate is 5/10% every 10/14 days.  Some taper faster and some slower than that, and the rate can be adjusted to meet your needs.  You can learn more about tapering on our General Taper Plans Board.  The second pink-highlighted post explains the three accepted taper methods.  Also:

The Ashton Manual is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field.  She describes and explains withdrawal symptoms, and there is also a section with withdrawal/taper schedules.

Members discuss their symptoms on The Withdrawal and Recovery Support Board.

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

Again, welcome!

Thank you very much for the warm welcome. It feels great knowing you're out there

I assume a Substitution Plan is the best way to go if at all possible. In my case I think it will be possible as I have a very supportive Doctor. It will be at our next Appointment (this week) when I tell him I'm ready to start the taper. I believe he will agree to the Substitution Plan so I'd like to have a schedule ready before hand, just so he can give it a once over. I've just finished reading the Ashton Manual but it pertains to a 6MG taper of Ativan, rather than the 3MG per day I'm currently dealing with. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best with numbers nor even semi-complicated instructions. I was hoping someone had a simplified version for my current dosage lying around? I'd simply print it out and bring it along to the Appointment.

Thank you

Professor Ashton suggests crossovers when a taper from the original benzo fails.  It is quite doable to taper directly from Ativan and avoid the possible complications that can come from a crossover to a longer acting benzo.

Before making the decision, you may want to post to the larger forum and run this by the general membership for more info.  There are many informed and supportive members here to help.

Challis