Getting off ativan cold turkey?

[Tamera]

I have been on ativan for 5 almost 6 years and now my doctor says i need to stop taing it, hes giving me a week left and says i have to taper off the pills by that time. But I have heard horrible thing about doing that and how bad the withdrawls can be????

[betty]

I also have taken ativan for a long time and now my Dr. said i'm addicted and won't give me another prescription.He wants me to taper off but I find I have anxiety and can't breathe.I'm so scared.

[wayne]

betty wrote:

I also have taken ativan for a long time and now my Dr. said i'm addicted and won't give me another prescription.He wants me to taper off but I find I have anxiety and can't b
reathe.I'm so scared.

BETTY find another doctor quick because you will not be able to get off without tapering over months or even years depending on your dosage. I have been there and tried to taper quick and went psychotic. You md must not know this drug is more addicting than heroin. I will be praying for you. I am still on 6mg a day and my doctor says it will take a year to get off. Get the book Your drug may be your problem.
by Peter Breggin

[also sick from ativan]

Wayne,please take at least 6 months or a year to taper off and then you need the help of a person to get you off. The problem is that you can't get into Canadian Hospitals to do it because they are so overcrowded. The doctors will help you on these horrible drugs but won't help you get off. They need a special clinics in Manitoba anyway to help the accidental benzo victims to get off so lobby your politicians.Use ATARAX OR HYDROXAZINE to get off .But get help...you can;t do it alone. The withdrwl can take months or years but it is worth it when youget your life back. Good luck.

[betty]

wayne wrote:

<quoted text>
BETTY find another doctor quick because you will not be able to get off without tapering over months or even years depending on your dosage. I have been there and tried to taper quick and went psychotic. You md must not know this drug is more addicting than heroin. I will be praying for you. I am still on 6mg a day and my doctor says it will take a year to get off. Get the book Your drug may be your problem.
by Peter Breggin

Thank You,I'm getting more anxious and nervous everyday.I feel I might end up in a mental ward

[BENZO SURVIVOR]

Dear Betty,
Get ATARAX from your DODTOR This pill is used for anxiety and has very few side effects. It is a pill used to nasel congestion. You can't take it If you have asthma or glacoma but otherwise it is used for getting off serious drugs...but so far it is not a famous thing but it works. It makes you sleep and is used in the weening processes and all during the withdrawl which can take a lon while but is worth it. Keep praying. It is that important .Don't be alone...get a sponser when you go to AA.this is important..AA is wonderful..it is not only for alcohalics. Get a councellor to help you if you can.The symptoms seem to last forever...as soon as one goes the other ones come...go on the internet to BENZO WITHDRAWL ORGANIZATIONS like TRANX or go online and try to get the book ADDDIDENTAL ADDICT...!am not sure it is in print but keep writing to this blog and people will give you tips. The sweats are something to expect and the body seems so heavy but Heather Ashtons(a british Professor) website(her hints are fabulous and she tells you what to expect ) but ween down very slowly even a quarter pill every two weeks or month even if you take a year. THe body reacts badly to a fast withdrwl.And believe in God but it takes time....DO NOT DO THIS FAST...GOOD LUCK FOR NOW ...I WILL BE LISTENING SO WRITE.AND FOR SURE TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR REGULARLY SO YOU CAN BE MONITORED FOR YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE.IT IS WORTH IT AND YOU WILL
GET YOUR LIFE BACK. ANY ADDICTIVE DRUGS ARE BAD...THEY TAKE OVER YOUR LIFE...THEY RUIN YOUR HEALTH.AND REMENBER THE ATARAX OR HYDROXAZINE WORKS...THE TEN MG.ONES ARE GOOD ENOUGH..AND THEY ARE NOT ADDICTIVE SO IF YOU NEED ONE OR TWO A WEEK AFTER THE WHOLE THING IS OVER THEY ARE GOOD FOR ANXIETY.Remember Benzos(clonazapam) especailly are antipsycotics and are not harmless little pink pills.I will Pray for your recovery.It takes time and work but recovery does come.Be Patient..everything in life that is good takes time

[BENZO SURVIVOR]

PS....MAKE SURE WHEN YOU GOTO THE DOCTOR GET A LIVER FUNTION TEST EVERY SO OFTEN...THESE PILLS AFFECT THE LIVER...WHEN YOU ARE OFTEN THE LIVER WILL GET BACK TO NORMAL USUALLY.

[betty]

BENZO SURVIVOR wrote:

Dear Betty,
Get ATARAX from your DODTOR This pill is used for anxiety and has very few side effects. It is a pill used to nasel congestion. You can't take it If you have asthma or glacoma but otherwise it is used for getting off serious drugs...but so far it is not a famous thing but it works. It makes you sleep and is used in the weening processes and all during the withdrawl which can take a lon while but is worth it. Keep praying. It is that

important .Don't be alone...get a sponser when

you go to AA.this is important..AA is

wonderful..it is not only for alcohalics. Get a councellor to help you if you can.The symptoms seem to last forever...as soon as one goes the other ones come...go on the internet to BENZO WITHDRAWL ORGANIZATIONS like TRANX or go online and try to get the book ADDDIDENTAL ADDICT...!am not sure it is in print but keep writing to this blog and people will give you tips. The sweats are something to expect and the body seems so heavy but Heather Ashtons(a british Professor) website(her hints are fabulous and she tells you what to expect ) but ween down very slowly even a quarter pill every two weeks or month even if you take a year. THe body reacts badly to a fast withdrwl.And believe in God but it takes time....DO NOT DO THIS FAST...GOOD LUCK FOR NOW ...I WILL BE LISTENING SO WRITE.AND FOR SURE TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR REGULARLY SO YOU CAN BE MONITORED FOR YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE.IT IS WORTH IT AND YOU WILL
GET YOUR LIFE BACK. ANY ADDICTIVE DRUGS ARE BAD...THEY TAKE OVER YOUR LIFE...THEY RUIN YOUR HEALTH.AND REMENBER THE ATARAX OR HYDROXAZINE WORKS...THE TEN MG.ONES ARE GOOD ENOUGH..AND THEY ARE NOT ADDICTIVE SO IF YOU NEED ONE OR TWO A WEEK AFTER THE WHOLE THING IS OVER THEY ARE GOOD FOR ANXIETY.Remember Benzos(clonazapam) especailly are antipsycotics and are not harmless little pink pills.I will Pray for your recovery.It takes time and work but recovery does come.Be Patient..everything in life that is good takes time

Thank You very much for trying to help me.I am a Diabetic,on Insulin.I have Asthma so won't be able to take the pill you mentioned.I'm now trying to take a half of Paxil but it gives me anxiety and I can't breathe.I'm going to talk to someone at Mental Health to see why my Dr. insists I take Paxil before he will give me ativan to wean me off.It doesn't make sense to me.

[benzo survivor]

Why are you taking Paxil? Is it for depression. Or you already on Paxil or are you trying to get off it as one can be addicted to it.Please Explain!!I need to know more.
Walking outside in the fresh air is the best cure for depression that I know.And for controlling Panic and anxiety attacks. But you have Asthma and Diabetes so I can't interfere with your Doctor But cuttng down on the caffeine for most people is the most important thing to curb anxiety meaning chocolate too. So there is no need for you to have ativan ...it will make things worse for your breathing and everything else as well as it is terribly addictive and almost impossible to get off. Please take the natural ways ..but there are other antidepressants beside Paxil. Ask your doctor if Paxil does not agree woth you. In my expierience the walking in the fresh air two times a day did wonders for my depression so I don't take them any more. But I needed to work my way off since they were addictive.Always read everything and use your own intuition about drugs because doctors throw Benzos ( ativan and clonazapam) at people especailly woman to shut them up. If you have trouble sleeping do that walk before bed. It works but sleep with your window open even a little. Fresh air works wonders.It regulates breathing and walking will definitely help the diabetes. Also seeing a trained councellor to help you learn breathing excercises. I also find that yoga is great.There is a book that is called the accidental addict ..which I think it is available online. It has accounts of what happens to people who have been addicted to Benzos. Also Benzowithdrawl.org is great and Profeesor Heather Ashton is someone to look up for scientific accounts on what can happen to people who take Benzos. Good luck and keep writing...I hope I can help. Bye for now.

[ativan is awful]

ps.Never get off ativan, or clonazapam cold tukey...that can be so dangerous and cause a seizure for sure. It should never be given for anything like sleeplessness...it gives you severe depression. I can't figure out why somse ignorant doctors give a depressant to someone who has already has depreesion.And then you need an antidepressant.Ativan causes leg pain from hell and rib cage pain...it sets people off on a life of pill after pill.Most people start off with Ativan and end up running to doctor after doctor who then tells the patient that they have fibromyalgia because they don't want to tell them that it is really the pain from the pills that they gave them in the first place .And of course the Doctors don't want to get sued.

[sandyj]

Hello all i have been taken ativan for 2 years now i ws tired of feeling the way i was feeling everyday and was wondering why my doctor kept given them to me, so I switched doctors, I asked my new doctor if i had to be on this drug for the rest of my life and he said no so he lowered my dosage from 1.0 mg to .5mg. then he told me that in a month or so he wanted me to try to wing myself off of it. Im trien to wing myself off of it now cold turkey , it has been 2days since i have not taken the pill, I feel the the pressure of trien to get off of it , i have been dizzy but im trien really hard, because I know if i go back right now then i would be given up. If there is someone out there that knows and has been through this please write back and let me know if im doing the right thing.

[kjohnson]

I think Ativan is best used short term and low dosage. I think a lot of doctors give you too many Rxs and too high a dose. I worked with a DO for 21 years and he always said the least drugs you need the better and I agree. Of course you need drugs from time to time. I am taking .25 mg Ativan 2-3 times daily and some days I miss 2 doses but I will say on the second or third day if I try to stop I get depressed and have an anxiety attack. My spouse passed last year and when he was diagnosed with cancer I had my first attack, did not really know what it was but had to go to ER. I know all people are different in how they recuperate from grief but I hope after 12 to 18 months to wean off permanently. Pray for me as I will pray for all suffering from depression

[sandra]

I have been taking lorazapam for about 5 years and the tolerance built up so that I was using 4, 2mg at least 4 times a day. I had to go to a medical detox because i was also coming off of percocet. Betty I dont suggest atarax even though it can be used for anxiety it is mostly an antihistamine I have used it for hives for at least 10 yrs. I'am getting weaned off of the lorazapam with .5 clonazapam 4 times a day and even with that I can hardly hold a drink for the shakes, anyways my prays are with all of u.

[gina]

i have been taking lorazapam 2mg twice a day for a couple months how long do the shakes last? i havent taken it in a few days.

[Lisa brooklyn]

this programmme I heard is great I am going to try it out my self .http://www.pointofreturn.com/ benzodiazepine_withdrawal.html It is a at home withdrawal programme specially design for geting off ativan and those adictitive medication.god bless you all .good luck

[Sandy]

Hi, I was prescribed Lorazapam because of high anxiety. I was told they were addictive but it did not sink in. I was taking a low dosage but the time went by quickly and it was three years on them.
Now three years later taking 1mg every day,
I decided I didn't want them anymore was having other health issues and decided that might be one of the problems. Tried for two days to just stop on my own and Couldn't sleep and was having werse panic attacks. Took one the following morning and then tried to get off the follow two days. Now I am having hallusinations and was told by a doctor have to get them back into my system so I can be taken off gradually. I wish I would have known all this at the beginning. Like having the doctor go into a little more detail on the affects comming off of this drug. I am hoping and praying that the hallucinations go away after I get the right amount back into me. Please if you are having anxiety attacks let this be your last option. I'd rather have my panic attacks

[PAUL]

I AM TAKING 20 MG PROZAC AND 3 QUARTERS OF A 1MG TABLET OF LORAZEPAM SINCE I GOT ILL DUE TO STRESS 8 MONTHS AGO.I WAS ORIGIONALLY ON 2 MG AND TAPERED QUITE QUICKLY TO 1 MG AND THEN 3/4.BEEN ON THAT DOSAGE FOR 6.5 MONTHS NOW.I HAVE BEEN OK ,NOT PERFECT BUT GOT ON WITH THINGS.2 WEEKS AGO I RAN OUT OF TABLETS AND HAVE BEEN USING THE TABLET BITS I HAVE IN MY CUPBOARD.I HAVE STARTED TO FEEL GRADUALLY OFF.I HAD FOUR CANS OF BEER ON SATURDAY TO SELF MED.1 CAN ON ON SUN.TWO PINTS TUE AND 2 WED.I HAVE FELT UP AND DOWN ALL WEEK.MOODY ,OK,POORLY,TEARFUL,OK AGAIN AND SCARED ALL ROLLED INTO ONE.AM I HAVING A RELAPSE?IS IT THE BEER OR IS IT THE TABLETS COULD BE NOT AS AFFECTIVE DUE TO BEING BITS THAT ARE OPENED AND SOME SIX MONTH OLD.IM A BIT SCARED.OR COULD I BE ADDICTED AND NEED AN HIGHER DOSE..CONFUSED

[kelly]

I was put on celexa and ativan in response to a bad situation in my life. I was having anxiety and panic attacks. When it seemed my symptoms were worse my physciatrist upped the celexa.....just got worse. Then she took me off it cold turkey and put me on Ativan 6mg per day for two weeks. Next we tried effexor.....no go. Ativan again for wash out period then we tried wellbutrin. in a low dose of 100mg I seemed better but not myself. the family doctor then upped the dose to 150mg. the ativan continued however doctors kept changing the dosing first 6mg, then 3mg, then prn. I finally figured out that because I didn't keep the ativan dose stable I was actually reacting to it, experiencing ativan withdrawal. My life has been in turmoil for 5 months now and currently I am not taking an antidepressant and am weaning/tapering the ativan. I am at 2.75mg per day. I still feel "cloudy" and can't sleep at night without benadryl or gravol. I have occasional anxiety and usually morning and early evening. I have heard that once I am completely off I should feel more like myself in 2 or 3 weeks benzo free. Hope so, with Gods help. take care out there

[Bob F]

I'm 83 and my wife who is 82 has beginning Alzheimer's. I've been off an on Ativan for about 3 months at the 1/2 to 3/4 mg level. My doctor said that at that low dose I could get off cold turkey usually once a day, but on several occasions, twice a day. He advised me to throw away all my ativan to avoid the temptation of returning. I threw them all into the toilet last night and because I still had some ativan in my system, was able to sleep for about 2 hours before I awoke to a trembling jaw and occasional sensations of a hot pin pricking my skin here and there every other minute.

If I'm able to tough this thing off, will the torture ever end? Is it ever possible to quit cold turkey?

[ybor]

Bob F wrote:

I'm 83 and my wife who is 82 has beginning Alzheimer's. I've been off an on Ativan for about 3 months at the 1/2 to 3/4 mg level. My doctor said that at that low dose I could get off cold turkey usually once a day, but on several occasions, twice a day. He advised me to throw away all my ativan to avoid the temptation of returning. I threw them all into the toilet last night and because I still had some ativan in my system, was able to sleep for about 2 hours before I awoke to a trembling jaw and occasional sensations of a hot pin pricking my skin here and there every other minute.
If I'm able to tough this thing off, will the torture ever end? Is it ever possible to quit cold turkey?

I feel very sad for you. Your doctor should not have told you to throw away your prescription. You need to wean yourself off gradually. You should be able to go to the hospital or another emergency care, and explain your situation. Hopefully a doctor who cares will be able to guide you to weaning yourself off gradually, maybe cutting the dose in half every week.
Good luck.