Need help for my mom

Hello I'm new to this site, I'm trying to figure out what is my mom going through, she is 76 was diagnose with UTI was in the hospital for 3 days on IV antibiotics, she got mentally confused very bad, she is been taking Lorazepam for at least 10 years 1mg at bed time, it helps her to sleep, at the hospital they did not give it to her & the doctor said to stop it as it will make her even more confused.

It has been two weeks now she is not taking it, sleeping well but sweating a lot & shaking at night, she is still confused at times, I'm afraid at her age to go cold turkey, how long will it take to withdraw? I'm very worried for her, any suggestions on how to proceed? she keeps taking the Cymbalta every evening.

Thank you!

Hi I Love Life and welcome.

 

I'm so sorry for what your mom is going through.  She has gone two weeks without the Lorazepam (Ativan) and though it does sound like she's going through withdrawal, I believe she should be past the danger of seizures at this point.  She has essentially gone cold turkey since it was stopped abruptly. 

 

Benzodiazepines are known to cause confusion in the elderly and it is best for her to be stopping the Lorazepam.  As far as how long her symptoms will last, no one knows for sure because everyone is different.  Lorazepam is short-acting and is long out of her system by now.  At this point, if it were me, I would continue to monitor her symptoms.  There is the option to have her go back on her dose and taper off, but if she's handling it with just sweating, shaking and confusion she's actually doing okay. 

 

Here's a link to the Cold Turkey and Rapid Withdrawal section of the forum:  Cold Turkey Detox & Rapid Withdrawal Board  There are orange sticky notes at the top of the board that you may want to read and you may also post questions to the general membership there.

 

Please let us know if you need any help navigating the site.  If you will, please add a 'signature' so other members can see what's going on and better answer your questions.  To add a signature (which is actually a history of the Lorazepam dose and number of years on it) choose 'Profile' above, then 'Forum Profile' where you can type in the text box and save your changes. 

 

Hang in there.  Your mom will be okay, it's just not a pleasant process.

 

Challis 

Wow! thank you for the quick reply, I have been going crazy reading about the Lorazepam I had no idea what it does to you! I feel so bad not knowing or being more involved in my mom's medications, she used to complain of burning feeling in her body/legs & it was the Lorazepam all this time, I'm glad she is off it now for two weeks & pray she will get back to her base line.I will keep posting how she is doing.

 

Happy

I know…we all have gone through that same shock of learning what these meds have done to us.  I'm sorry your mom was cold turkeyed off… we really need to get our medical profession educated about tapering benzodiazepines! 

 

Will look forward to hearing how your mom is doing.  I went through a somewhat similar experience with my own elderly mom at the hospital.  In my mom's case the hospital did make sure to give it to her.

hi happy,

10 years on Lorazepam is a long time and it will take many months for your Mum

to be ok again i think. these pills are serious buisness and most doctors don't have a clue

at all.

there are 2 links at my signature which will make it easier for you to understand the

whole process. i think its very important for you to get as much information as you can,

so you can help and look after your mum.

i am glad you have joined us

and all the best to both of you

from claudia

Is your Mom able to communicate clearly with you, how she is feeling?  That is my main concern so that you may know what is happening with her symptoms.  Hopefully she is not an Alzheimer's patient.  The fact that she is sleeping is a darn good sign.  I sure hope she makes it out of this alright, some people do, even with a cold turkey.

Yes she communicates & makes eye contact, at times she is in & out, confused & hallucinating, before she got the UTI she had a short memory problem but with the UTI it accelerate it, also she wakes up at least 3 to 4 times at night to urine & than goes right back to sleep, is this also a withdrawal symptoms? 

Looking back two weeks ago & today I can tell there is definitely an improvement, I feel so bad for her to go through this at her age, I do not understand why her doctor keeps prescribing it to her!

Thank you for the links I will defiantly educate myself as I can not trust her doctor.

 

Happy 

She's in the window of opportunity to reinstate the Lorazepam if you want to try to make this a little easier on her.  Up to two weeks is thought to be the best time to successfully go back on the dose, stabilize the symptoms and then slowly taper off.  If she's hallucinating you might want to keep that in mind as a possibility.  The worsened memory issues you're seeing now may be due to the withdrawal rather than the UTI.  Just my guess.

 

Most of us can't sleep.  Thank goodness your mom can.  Sleep, rest and good nutrition are the best things for healing from this.

 

Challis 

Yes she communicates & makes eye contact, at times she is in & out, confused & hallucinating, before she got the UTI she had a short memory problem but with the UTI it accelerate it, also she wakes up at least 3 to 4 times at night to urine & than goes right back to sleep, is this also a withdrawal symptoms? 

Looking back two weeks ago & today I can tell there is definitely an improvement, I feel so bad for her to go through this at her age, I do not understand why her doctor keeps prescribing it to her!

Thank you for the links I will defiantly educate myself as I can not trust her doctor.

 

Happy 

 

Hi, yes, frequent urination is a withdrawal symptom.  You may want to familiarize yourself with all reported symptoms and watch for those.  I like this link for the list, just scroll down a ways to find it.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzodiazepine_withdrawal_syndrome

 

You are right to feel bad that she has to go through this, unfortunately most doctors are unaware of the terrible experience of coming off these drugs.  I think that a reinstatement is in order here and possibly a slow taper.  You'll have to be the judge of how bad it is for her because really, some people can get off these things without losing their minds.  Confusion is a mild term for it.  I'm really sorry this has happened.

I will consult with her geriatric doctor what is the best way for her to proceed, I know I'm so glad she can sleep & afraid of her going back on it again even if it to slowly taper it off, will monitor her closely & see how she is doing daily, I will check the link of the list of withdrawals.

This forum helps me so much! thank you!

 

Happy 

I will consult with her geriatric doctor what is the best way for her to proceed, I know I'm so glad she can sleep & afraid of her going back on it again even if it to slowly taper it off, will monitor her closely & see how she is doing daily, I will check the link of the list of withdrawals.

This forum helps me so much! thank you!

 

Happy 

 

I'm really glad you found Benzobuddies in your searching for an answer to the problem your Mom is encountering.  It's not your fault, none of us knew that what we were taking was so nasty.  I sure hope that the geriatric doctor knows something about this.  I wish you and your Mom the best.

hi i am also kinda new on this site. Your mom is going threw hard withdrawals . You said she went cold turkey she cant do that taper taper taper. i went threw the same thing cold turkey never knowing what could  happen to me. I got really sick just about what your moms going threw, now i am  15 months and  i am still sick probably cause i over stimulated my CNS and it takes longer to reverse. They do say it can take up to 2 years.

Hi Everyone my mom is almost 3 weeks since she started CT, she sleeps well & even takes a nap during the day, she still sweats, shakes at night, wakes up less to urinate at night, I have noticed she is more quite now, talks less & to herself and feels tired weak, I guess this is also one of the withdrew symptoms, she eats well my dad makes sure she eats & drink enough during the day.

Her geriatric doctor suggested to go back on Lorazepahm 1/2 pill for a week than 1/2 pill every other day, the family had decided not to do it.....

I'm very worried now with her being very quite.... what else can I do to help & make her feel better? she does not complain just saying " do not worry I'll be fine"

I'm still trying to educate myself this is all new to me the more I read the more I get depressed 

When are windows are giving? how does it works?

Thank you I'm so glad I found BenzoBuddies!

 

Happy 

Hello I love life

 

3 weeks is early days. It will take some time for the CNS to recover. The amount of time healing takes varies from person to person. Try not to worry, it will get better with a bit more time. It sounds like she is in good hands with you and Dad, listen to what mom says " do not worry I'll be fine" she has a great attitude

 

Warm regards

 

Magrita

 

 

Thank you Margarita! my mom is her nature is a strong lady I know she will pull through it just hurts to see her going through this.

We have to take it slowly one day at a time

Happy 

Thank you Margarita! my mom is her nature is a strong lady I know she will pull through it just hurts to see her going through this.

We have to take it slowly one day at a time

Happy 

 

I know Happy, it is tough to watch her going through it, its great that she has you supporting her. My hubby was out of his mind with me, he said he felt helpless. Keep her company when you can, make sure she eats. She will come through this.

 

Take care of you too Family Members/Partners you need support. We have some lovely members on this thread

 

Magrita

 

Hi ILoveLife ... thank you for coming back and reporting what is happening with your Mom.  You have been in my thoughts since you first posted here.

 

I do not want to alarm you unnecessarily but you need to continue to keep a close eye on your Mom.  She could get worse than she is now as that happens to some.  As long as she is eating, sleeping and talking, she could be alright under the circumstances.

 

This situation with your Mom behooves me to provide this PubMed link which is a short article entitled:  Catatonia after benzodiazepine withdrawal.  IF your Mom gets worse please show this article to her doctor to alert them to the issue and what needs to be done for your Mothers care.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8835707

 

I sincerely wish you, your family and above all your Mom, the best possible outcome.

Hi Woopsie

 

Thank you so much for the follow up & the care! I spoke with her today like 20 min on the phone she was completely focused & sounded well, earlier today my dad told me that for a min or so she tried to talk but couldn't, words did not come out, she could not move her face..... she closed her eyes set down & after an hour or so got up & she was fine, I'm so worried now was that a stroke? I never mentioned it I leave 4 hours away from my parents, if I was there I would have taking her to the ER, I'm going to see her this weekend and give her some LOVE.

I will check the link you gave me right now once again thank you for all the advise & info.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Happy 

It is a worrisome situation for sure.  Of course I can't say if she had a stroke but a seizure is a possibility as that can happen to cold turkey victims.  I think of your Mom several times a day and wonder how she is faring in this.  I'm glad you're going to go see her.  When I was early off I wouldn't have sounded focused or well in any way at all so that is a positive that she comes across that way.  I appreciate you reporting in.

 

Happy Thanksgiving. 

My sincerest best wishes for your mom. Please ask her (or do it yourself for her sake) to have unshakeable faith and pray god directly to help her out of lorazepam. It also helps to take L-Theanine, Brahmi and other ayurvedic supplements while tapering down or CTing off benzos although CTing is not recommended. Brahmi (Bacopa) was the best.