advice needed

[zeus39]

I want to stop taking lorazepam. I have been on 3mg per day and now I am down to 2mg per day and trying very hard to take only 1mg per day, but I find it very hard. I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. How long will it take me to feel normal again. would be grateful for advice.

[Agora1]

snowdayze, great advice slow, safe and easy is the way.I was once a part of Benzo Buddies, a good support site.

Thanks for your input. xx

[Agora1]

zeus39, please heed "snowdayze" suggestion. I went through benzo weaning and know that the longer you have been on it as well as the strength of the dosage,

the slower you need to wean off in order to be safe.

It's not about cutting down quickly. 1mg at a time is too much of a cut.

Keep the weaning process at the same pace once you get what works for you.

Never stay on a cut dosage for over 2 weeks.

May I ask why you haven't gone through your prescribing physician?? xx

Good luck zeus

[zeus39 in reply to Agora1]

Thank you for your response. My Dr. cut me from 3mg to 2mg from one day to the next and I have been struggling with that and now I have trying to get though the day with only 1mg. Do you have any idea long the the detoxification will take. If I had a timeline, I might be able to stick with it. I want to see the end of the tunnel.

[Agora1 in reply to zeus39]

zeus, when I was weaning, my psychiatrist had me on the Dr. Heather Ashton methodof slow weaning off benzos. It was a miniscule cut every 2 weeks. I had been on Xanax

for 30 years, so it was a slow process that took 2 years. After being off the medication,

it took another year in allowing the brain to heal and start manufacturing the chemicals

needed on it's own. I can't tell you how amazing I began to feel being off those benzos.

I wish you the same. Keep in touch with your doctor letting him know if it gets too difficult. The last thing you want to do is go up and down with the dosage.

Better to go slower and more evenly distributed so you won't feel the effects as

badly. I wish you well zeus. xx

[zeus39 in reply to Agora1]

Altogether it took you three years to feel normal again? This is an awfully long time. Thank you for letting me know. I am not getting the medication from a psychiatrist, I am getting it from my internist. She told me that she could only prescribe 2 mg per day for me, if I needed more I would have to go to a psychiatrist. Apparently it is illegal for an internist to prescribe this medication been higher dosis. I realized that I am addicted and now I want to get off this medication and see if I can manage without it.I am glad you were successful and you feel great now. I admire that, more power to you.

[Agora1 in reply to zeus39]

Hi zeus, I happened to be fortunate in that my psychiatrist was a specialist inBenzo Weaning.. His method of choice "The Ashton Method" required a lengthy

weaning time because of the 30 yrs that I was on it even though it was only 0.25mg

once a day. My brain got dependent on that small amount.

The method is a slow meticulous process because it cuts your dosage down in 2 week

intervals a little cut at a time. (eventually switching over to Valium which is a longer

lasting benzo) then cutting down on valium slowly until you are completely off.

Once I was off, I noticed about 9 months or so of little momentary symptoms that

kept disappearing.

This process of weaning has nothing to do with being stronger or more powerful

but has to do with "staying positive" in going for your goal.

Everyone is different in how they respond to the weaning but for me, it was well

worth going forward. Xanax was once Heaven sent for me in getting me to cope

with my stresses. Once it ran it's course, it was time to move on.

I wish you luck in going forward. My weaning was so long ago that it might be done

differently now. It might not be a bad idea to see a psychiatrist.

In my case as well, it was my internist who put me on it and my psychiatrist who took

me off it. xx

[Zyxx in reply to Agora1]

Hey Agora, may I ask why you say “never stay on a cut dosage for over 2 weeks”? Or did you mean “never stay on a cut dosage for under 2 weeks”? Wouldn’t that make more sense?

[Agora1 in reply to Zyxx]

Hi Zyxx, actually, it was my psychiatrist who told me that we do the small cuts every 2 weeks. (and keep to that schedule in never going up once you cut back)

I guess it was to keep an even dosage without the spikes of up and down.

Always follow your doctor's instructions and ask questions. Stay positive, Stay safe xx

[Dolphin14]

Hi Zeus

Unfortunately primary care MD are not all well informed about these meds. They are taking people off too quickly and that's not good.

The advice you are reading here is 100% spot on.

I'm involved in a taper now myself. There is no projected time to be off.... if I even get that far. I'm going at a pace that works for me. My Dr gives me a certain parameter to work with. I work with the guidelines depending on symptoms.

Agora is correct. It can take a very long time to heal our brains.

I'm very aggressive with Drs. I wouldn't hesitate to bring some literature to your Dr. He/she obviously needs an education.

Best of luck, go slow and be safe

🐬

[zeus39 in reply to Dolphin14]

Thank you

[primrose81]

Hi Zeus39, I too am on Lorazapam, I was taking 2 a day but then went up to one and a half as getting panicky in the mornings ( before I just had a half mid afternoon and the same again before bedtime. My husband thinks they don’t have much effect anymore but dread the side effects of coming off them. I have found the comments in this post very helpful, thank you very much for bringing up the topic (I have been taking Lorazapam for 6 years now and was originally on Diazapam for 10 years and that was a nightmare to come off…good luck x

[zeus39 in reply to primrose81]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I have been down to 1 mg a day for a week now. I feel very jittery, but I will try to stick it out and stay on 1 mg a day, if I can manage. I read somewhere that it takes nine weeks for 1 mg to get out of your system. I suffer from anxiety and I wonder if the anxiety is now caused by my taking lorazepam. I just want to see what I will feel like if I stop the lorazepam. All my best to you.

[Balloffur2468]

I saw a separate post of someone saying you can't stop right away and should speak to your doctor first. I've never taken this medication but please double check.

[primrose81]

Thank you Zeus39 for your reply, I think you are doing very well on taking 1 Lorazapam a day - I would like to go down to one a day but still continue to take three halves daily. It is more a matter of routine for me rather than taking as and when…I know I am addicted and it is not good but so much going on at the moment I don’t think it is the right time to cut down….Good for you though, it is great you are so positive about it. Know all about that jittery feeling and now I too am wondering if Lorazapam is contributing to it…

[zeus39 in reply to primrose81]

Yes, I am affected by all turmoil everywhere. It’s so bad for everybody’s health. When will we finally see the end of the tunnel? I don’t want to fall off the wagon, but it’s hard.

[primrose81]

I know but keep positive if you can and above all don’t beat yourself up. You have come so far already and should be proud of yourself.