I need help getting off lorazepam!!

Hi my name is Amanda. I have been taking Lorazepam for 1 month and I can't get off of it, the withdrwals are horrible. My heart is racing, chest pains, shaky body  and alot more. Mydocter tells me just to wean off and I can't! I am not mentally addicted just physically. OI am going crazy! Can someone please help!!!

Hi Amanda,

 

Yes, we can help you! I need to know what your daily dose is and what dosage size your pills are.

It's possible to come off the pills directly, and probably in your case more so, since it's only been a month. But if not, there other methods available.

The most important thing about direct tapering by cutting your pill is to get the smallest dose pill. For lorazepam, this would be 0.5mg. You would be cutting your pill in quarters and reducing by 1/4 pill (0.125mg) every 1 to 2 weeks. Here are some other methods  http://www.benzobuddies.org/buddiesguide/methods 

 

Welcome! 

the pills are 1mg, I have been taking half a pill, but a have all the side effects, chest pains etc.  SO How would I go about tapering off ? Thank you for answering so fast!!

The doctor prescribed me prednisone for migraines, which caused anxiety, and now the Lorazepam! I am ready to give up! :'(

Hi mandy,

 

first thing, try to relax a bit. We can help you with this. There are some very smart people here.

 

ok, just so everyone is clear on your dosage, you say you have 1mg pills..ok, have you always cut them in half, or were you at any point taking the whole 1mg pill?

the pills are 1mg, I have been taking half a pill, but a have all the side effects, chest pains etc.  SO How would I go about tapering off ? Thank you for answering so fast!!

 

Was half a pill your original dose? Is that what you have been taking for a month? Or were you talking  a whole one and recently cut to half? If so, go back to a whole one.

If you always took only a half, and recently stopped, restart it for now.

In other words, whatever you have been taking for this last month since you started, you should continue to take for the time being. Until you stablize. Then you can begin a taper. As I mentioned above, you would need to obtain 0.5mg pills to directly taper off the ativan.

Otherwise we can help you with the alternative methods I provided in the above link.     

Hi mandy,

 

first thing, try to relax a bit. We can help you with this. There are some very smart people here.

 

ok, just so everyone is clear on your dosage, you say you have 1mg pills..ok, have you always cut them in half, or were you at any point taking the whole 1mg pill?

 

Sorry Scott, didn't see this!

Yes I always have cut them in half. I went from never taking medicine to taking it and getting every side effect of them all.

Hi mandy,

 

ok so you have been and currently are on 0.5mg's. have you tried to come off recently, I ask because you say you can't, so I'm guessing you tried? 

If you did try, when was that, and how did you try?

 

I'm trying to see if we can get you stable on the 0.5. and if you have recently tried to taper down to fast that will explain some of your symptoms right now. Sometimes even after you go back to your normal dose after trying to wean down too fast, it can take a bit for you to stabilize again. Once you are mostly stable we can help you get a taper plan going. I know for me , it took me around 2 or 3 weeks to stabilize and begin my titration.

 

I know you feel hopeless and scared right now, but you CAN do this. Things feel impossible right now too you, I understand that. I felt the exact same way. But WE will make it through this ok?

 

take care,

 

-Scott

 

 

Hi Amanda! My name's Amanda also. I'm also on ativan lol. We have somethings in common here lol.

Anyway so you've also taken .5mg a day? That would be 1/2 of 1mg. Can you ask your doctor for .50mg pills and try cutting them into quarters and taking off 1/4 a week/2 weeks. That way you can see how you do, I always think dry cutting and seeing how you do is the first choice especially for someone on them for a short period of time. If that does not work, which it may not, you can go to titration. Which involves crushing your pill with a bowl and spoon, mixing it with a certain amount of milk and taking out a little more everyday.

 

If you need anything, we;re always here. Just give a shout!

 

Amanda  

yes I am going to make an appointment and see if I can get that. I called them today and they are telling me to take .5 in the morning and then at night?

So the .50 I would cut in half everyday?

Hi Amanda,

 

It is important that we know what I asked you previously in the thread about when did you try to come off, and how much did you taper by?

 

I am just trying to figure out if your symptoms you are having now are from your previous attempt of tapering. If so, we need to get you stable before you begin tapering again.

 

And your Doc wants you to take 0.5 in the am, and ANOTHER 0.5 in the PM??  or does he want you to take 0.5 total in a day (.25 in the am and .25 in the pm)?

if it's the later, then yes you can possibly cut the 0.5 in half (I'm not sure how small those pills are) and take one dose of 0.25 in the pm and one dose of 0.25 in the am.

EDIT- forgot to add, if you are going to split your dose like that am and pm  you might want to do it slowly, a little at a time, just to ensure you dont have anymore problems with it.

Take care

-Scott

Hi my name is Amanda. I have been taking Lorazepam for 1 month and I can't get off of it, the withdrwals are horrible. My heart is racing, chest pains, shaky body  and alot more. Mydocter tells me just to wean off and I can't! I am not mentally addicted just physically. OI am going crazy! Can someone please help!!!

 

Because you are suffering what sounds like withdrawal symptoms but have been on lorazepam only a month, I wonder if you aren't having an adverse reaction to the drug itself.  If so, you should start feeling better once the drug is out of your system.  I was also on lorazepam and after about a month of tapering, I started to feel better.  Everyone recovers differently but I think you have every reason to be hopeful. I'm so glad you are going to ask for the .5mg tablets.  It will make things easier although there are other ways to do it if your doc refuses.  We will work it out with you. 

Hi scott. I never new that this medicine was addictive or so horrible so I just ddin't take it and then all of a sudden felt horrible!!

.5 is what I take. I just need to stabalize my body feels like a train wreck!

Hi, Mandy.

 

I don't think anyone here knew benzos were so horrible.  Can't imagine that anyone would take them if they did.

 

When did you just stop taking it and for how long?  Did you go back to the .5mg within a few days? How long have you been taking the .5mg on a steady basis recently?  It helps if you stabilize on your current dose for about 2 weeks before tapering.  Stabilizing is kind of subjective but basically means that your symptoms are manageable and you are able to function.

 

I came here frantic about having to quit ativan and ended up doing a successful taper.  You can expect to do the same and never have to think about it again. 

So the .50 I would cut in half everyday?

 

No, you would cut it in quarters, and reduce by a quarter (0.125mg) every one to two weeks. 

 

Once you are stable. 

ok so my doctors were not working with me so I decided to ask a pharmacist. She told me to take 1/2 pill twice a day for atleast 2 weeks to stabalizt then the following week cut down to once a day, then half of that afterwards?

ok so my doctors were not working with me so I decided to ask a pharmacist. She told me to take 1/2 pill twice a day for atleast 2 weeks to stabalizt then the following week cut down to once a day, then half of that afterwards?

 

well, doubling your dose to stabilize is IMO not a good idea. You were never on more that 0.5mg in the first place. You are probably in tolerence wd, and if you increase, you will only end up in tolerence wd again. And as for her suggested taper, its' way too fast. Not a good idea at all. Please consider our suggestions. 

ok I know this is going to sound so dumb, but I don't understand how to taper off.  My doctor won't prescribe me .5 she says just to cut the 1mg in half. So that would give me .5. So now how do I taper? I took .5 this morning because the wd were so bad yesterday and this morning. The anxiety is horrible!! and because that's what the doctor told me to do. I swear I am staying away from doctors and medicine!!

Not dumb at all, Mandy. There are several ways to taper.  Since your doc won't give you a script for the .5mg, maybe titration is the way to go.  Here's an introduction to some of the methods people here have used.  If you chose titration, someone will make out a schedule for you so you know how much to take every day.  It gets easier.

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/buddiesguide/methods

Hi Amanda, I agree with the titration taper. IT is up to you though. I did both ways, dry cutting and titration, and Personally I find titration a smoother withdrawal. Some people perfer dry cutting though. So it's really a personal choice.

 

 

 

I know all these terms are confusing (titration, dry cut etc etc) but just a very quick overview as to what titration is: you would take your normal dose and crush it up into a powder and then mix it with milk in a 100ml cylinder and then draw out 1ml or whatever your redcution rate (this can be drawn up for you with a complete schedule on how mu to remove each day) is and dispose of that and drink the rest. Many people including myself find the titration method a lot smoother of a withdrawal. If you do decide to use the titration route, you will need to purchase a couple of items. (a 100ml graduated cylinder, a syrenge body) and some people even get a mortar and petstal to crush the pills with. I personally use a coffe cup and a spoon to crush the pill.

 

The 100ml graduated cylinder can be purchased online. I am not sure if pharmacies carry them. None around me do, So I had to order it online.

 

Titration sounds confusing, do not let it scare you. It is very easy once you get your supplies, and we can walk you through it step by step.

 

Listen, don't be hard on yourself right now. You listened to the doctors like we all did. Many docs do not understand how difficult it is to come off of these drugs. And many of them want us to come off way too fast. Also, a lot of them do not tell you about the addictive nature of these drugs.

 

Like I said before, you are going to make it Amanda! Just let us know once you get stable which route you want to go with tapering and we will help you through it until the end!

-Scott

 

 

Thank you so much Scott. I am going to go with titration. So technically I am going to say I am taking .5 in the morning and .5 at night to keep me stable. So if you can help me with the titration from there? I am so happy I found this website!!

 

 

Amanda,

 

Are you sure about doubling your dose right now? I don't want to confuse you anymore, but as it was pointed out before, that may not be the best option right now. It could, and I stress the word could make things worse for you in the long run. I know you want relief, but If I were in your shoes I would think long and hard about not doubling the dose.

 

Listen, how long ago did you try to stop the benzo all together? Was it recent?

yes it was recent. Yesterday I only took .5 in the morning  and then at 11 it was unbearable, like trembles... What do you think?

I'm with eljay and scott about not doubling your dose but you do what you think is best.  Just know that it may not make you feel better and you will have to take twice as long to come off of it.  Eventually you would have to get down to .5mg again. 

 

When you know for sure the starting dose, the day you want to start tapering and how much of a cut you want to make (eg 10% every 10 days), you can post a request for a taper schedule on the Titration Taper board:

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?board=62.0

 

You'll want to get a 100ml cylinder with 1 ml markings and a 10ml syringe ahead of time.  I think most everyone gets their cylinders online but your pharmacist should be able to help you with a syringe. (I remember someone saying they'd gotten theirs from their vet!)