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ativan withdrawals?

Posted , 4 users are following.

emilia47047
emilia47047

Hello, 

sometimes I have this symptom that really scares me and I don' t know what's really causing it, neither can I put it to words but I will try my best here because I want to hear if you guys experiance or have experianced something like this. 

First let me start by saying I take .25mg of ativan twice a day (12pm and 6pm) this is half to  what I was prescribed last december because the doctors advised me to cut it down slowly and for about 3 months now I am stuck at .5mg daily with no success of getting it lower (but thats a different story). 

This symptom I'm getting occurs about an hour before it's time to take my .25mg and will last until after I take it and rest a bit. Sometimes I start to feel really shaky like a bad drug addiction. But what I'm most concerded about is a sensation on my muscles that feels really jumpy/jittery. It's almost like I won't be able to control my own muscles and they will twitch or something. This sensation also gets worse if I stay hours in front of the computer screen with no break. It starts with the arms and if I don't rest it will carry on to the rest of the body and it is really scary. It somewhat feels like my brain is effected too because my thoughts get really out of control and all over the place! 

Can this really be Ativan withdrawal? I feel like I can remember having similar symptoms prior to starting my Ativan but this keeps crossing my mind. I do still take ativan daily but maybe my body is asking for a larger dose? Maybe this dosage isn't effective anymore?  It scares me to death thinking it's some sort of seizure or something really devestating.  [sad]  

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • donna_k
    donna_k emilia47047

    Posted

    Hello! Sorry to hear your having these problems, Ativan withdraw really really sucks! It sounds like you need to see your Dr. ( good luck with that !) so your dosage can be adjusted because it does sound like withdraw ! May I ask what you are on them for? I have MS and my dosage is a little different.
    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 donna_k

      Posted

      Hi and ty for your reply, I am on ativan for my panic/anxiety and depression. My doctor wants me off the med and to start an antidepression instead. 
  • la12
    la12 emilia47047

    Posted

    there is a lot of negative stories about benzodiazapine type drugs, but in my experiience it is in so many ways a miracle drug. i got sick with unexplained chronic fatigue two years ago was mostly bed bound on and off from august to january this year.

    it takes away  anxiety, back pain and just ½ mg a day is all i need to get me up and about. i am more than happy to take it until i decide i no longer want it, but my dr does not agree as like many others.

    i am in the process off reducing it and have been given diazepam as a substitute and told to take 5-10 mg a day instead of the lorazepam slowly replacing the lorazepam over a few weeks. i actually find about 3 mg is enough and i only take the lpam  about 3 days a week now, i try two days next week.

    i'm really not happy about this and am moving soon so i will try and find a dr that will prescribe it to me.

     

  • la12
    la12 emilia47047

    Posted

    i think you are on such a low dose i wouldnt worry about the pre-dose anxiety its probabvly largely psychological. i have similar symptoms if i spend to much time at a computer, i find going for a walk somewhere quiet like a park, countryside or river and woodland hepls if you can rise above any anxiety and agorophobia.

    its a personal choice it depends on if and how it helps you or not. do you want to stay on it at this very low dose or do you want to stop taking it, only you can make that decision,

     as long as it is used sensibly i dont think this drug is any where near as bad as some people think and all the other storys and videos on the internet. only you can make this choice.

    p.s i found that taking grapefruit with the diazepam boosts the effect so only need 3 mg . also make sure your eating well loyts of fruit and veg and wouldnt do any harm to t take a multivitamin and mineral from the chemist 2-3 days a week and perhaps extra b vitamins as marmite or 2 pills a week to male sure your getting all the vits and minerals

    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 la12

      Posted

      Hi La and ty for your detailed replies. Sorry I haven't had time to get back to you until now, I have been really busy with summer school. I did try going out for a walk when I had these symptoms and it made them dissapear almost immediately. Do you find that for yourself these symptoms are psychological (ie: your brain is just immagining them) rather then anything serious? 
    • la12
      la12 emilia47047

      Posted

      there is physical dependence as the research on benzos has discovered as occurs with alcohol. but quarter milligram twice a day is nearly the lowest dose you can take so there is a psychological element too, its the fear of not taking something that you have come to rely on and gets you through the day and seems to make life easier.

      how about trying to do with just the ½ a couple days a week for a week or two then just the ½ for 4 days a week for a week or two and see how you get on. then your on a ½ a day and can taper from there over the next feww weeks.

      it is possible to come off lorazepam without the daizepam substitution but because lpam is a medium acting benzodiazapine ( 9-16 hour half life in the body ) it could be harder psychologically. i would talk to your dr about this but only you can make the choice go with what feels right and trust your instincts.

      after being nealy bedbound for six months with the chronic fatigue as well i found you just have to go for it and do the things that your afraid of.

      i'm practicaly off the lpam now and replaced with 4-6 mg valium (diazepam) a day now and that seems to help as its a longer acting benzodiazapine with longer half life in the body ( 1-2 days for the primary metabolites and 5 days for the seconday metabolites ). now dr wants me to taper the diazepam over a few weeks. i spoke to a psychologist yesterday and he said my dr is right about coming off the lorazepam as its a class 4 drug in the UK and really for hospitals or psych unit use only. one question are you in the US as we can only get 1 mg lorazepam here and you can break it in two for ½ mg smallest dose.

       

    • la12
      la12 emilia47047

      Posted

      i just realized i got the dose wrong as your on 2 x ¼ a day so that second paragraph should read as follows

      how about trying to do with just the ¼ a couple days a week for a week or two then just the ¼ for 4 days a week for a week or two and see how you get on. then your on a ¼ a day and can taper from there over the next few weeks.

    • la12
      la12

      Posted

      one other thing, if youve never had seizures/ epilepsy before coming off a ¼ mg is not going to create these symptoms, someone would have to be on a very high dose like 4-5 mg + a day for six months or longer or 60 mg diazepam for there to be any danger of this happening.
    • emilia47047
      emilia47047 la12

      Posted

      Ty again for all of your advice. No I have never had any seizures/epilepsy in my life. But I worry because I'm at about 7 months of lorazepam but it never was more then 1 mg daily. I'm trying to taper off but my anxiety has gotten a little worse lately and sometimes I go back to that 1mg or .75mg. I went to see my psychiatrist but he no longer works there and the new one was pretty rude to me and not helpful, so I'm on the look out for someone new. Yes, I am from the US. smile 
  • la12
    la12 emilia47047

    Posted

    there is a lot of negative stories about benzodiazapine type drugs, but in my experiience it is in so many ways a miracle drug. i got sick with unexplained chronic fatigue two years ago was mostly bed bound on and off from august to january this year.

    it takes away  anxiety, back pain and just ½ mg a day is all i need to get me up and about. i am more than happy to take it until i decide i no longer want it, but my dr does not agree as like many others.

    i am in the process off reducing it and have been given diazepam as a substitute and told to take 5-10 mg a day instead of the lorazepam slowly replacing the lorazepam over a few weeks. i actually find about 3 mg is enough and i only take the lpam  about 3 days a week now, i try two days next week.

    i'm really not happy about this and am moving soon so i will try and find a dr that will prescribe it to me.

     

  • la12
    la12 emilia47047

    Posted

    leave a longer gap between doses 8-10 hours that might help as well say 6:30 am and 3-5 pm that might help.
  • atlantagrl
    atlantagrl emilia47047

    Posted

    Hello I'd like to comment I took Ativan .5 mg a day for 10 years and then finally decided to withdraw from it I was scared to death of what would happen I have to give you some inspiration I'm going on week 2 now from Total withdrawal I weaned myself off by cutting back each week for about two and a half weeks until I finally stopped completely I've had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever I feel calmer than I did when I was taking Ativan and those Sensations that you mentioned I experienced while I was taking it and no longer have them at all I feel like a new person I hope that you'll consider doing the same good luck to you

  • shul
    shul emilia47047

    Posted

    Hi Emilia and all. I hope you are all doing well. I just came across this discussion while I was looking up withdrawal.

    Until a month ago, I was on lorazepam for about 18 years, for severe panic attacks. I was taking a small amount...5mg to 1 mg, at bedtime.

     I wanted to see if I could manage without them so I reduced the amount slowly over a period of 2 months, and had my last pill about a month ago.

    I have a few withdrawal symptoms, insomnia and the jittery feeling, but they are gradually lessening over time.

    I think that because this drug is addictive, unless you increase the dosage every so often, it becomes less effective over time.

    In my case, because I didn't increase the dosage, it wasn't doing much except keeping me addicted. I would feel jittery if I missed even one pill. That might be what is happening to you. 

    So you might need to either increase the dosage, or go off them completely.

    Best wishes.

     

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