Getting off ativan cold turkey?

[hi darrin]

Darrin wrote:

Hi Janet,
I have had to take .5mg per day for the last couple of days (even though I thought I was done). The aches and pains are so bad I have had no choice. I think I'm almost done.
How long have you been on ativan? And if you don't mind, why was it prescribed to u? Are you wanting to get off it?

aw sorry to hear that, i have been on ativan for 13 yrs!! and have copd and i think its effecting my breathing taking for anxiety, but dont think its working anymore..yes i would like to get off, goin to dr on mon.......we will see, you take care and feel better janet

[Nic]

I have had extreme anxiety for about a year now with an underlying anxiety/depression before that. I am taking 1mg of Ativan 3 times daily for panic attacks. it has the side affect of making me very constipated and dry but otherwise I am calm on it but i have to take the pills within 4 hrs. of the other or I'll get irritable and dizzy. I recently discontinued the Ativan all at once because my doctor said he hated me being on them, so he prescribed me librax to be taken 3 times daily for my stomach and anxiety issues...the first day, I was fine but the next I didn't even realize the panic was coming until I was standing at work and got very dizzy finding it impossible to breathe and it felt like every vein in my body was throbbing. I guess these are extreme panic attacks and so I discontinued the librax immediately and started the ativan. I'm just starting back on it today I guess. I just want to live a "normal" and fulfilling life and find it very hard to do when I can not function without taking a tranquilizer like Ativan. I need some advice. Please.

[Darrin]

UPDATE: This will be the forth day without any Ativan! The aches and pains are almost all gone. It's taken me appx. 6 weeks to go from 6-8MG per day for over 2 solid years to NOTHING!

There is hope, it can be done......LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Don't make the weaning process harder than it is. Come down 1/2mg at a time, DR's say per week, but 2-3 days per 1/2mg drop will work. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

[Darrin]

Hey NIC,

I too have had sever anxiety for over 10 years. Panic attacks at work and the entire thing. I actually had to quit my job as a manager at GM.

Nevertheless, Ativan is a short term option. Too many Dr's use it as a long term tool and only end up increasing the dose as you WILL become dependant on it and build up a tolerance to it and just continue too need more and more to feel that it is being effective.

I found the more I took the less active I became and over the last two years never left the house unless I had to. I also have put on weight (due to my inactivness). It's simply a bad, bad deal all the way around.

I made a choice to get off of it all together! I'm excersising and eating right. I want my life pack. I owe it to myself and family.

Small steps, one day at a time! You can get your life back.

Hope this helps!

[janet]

Darrin wrote:

Hey NIC,
I too have had sever anxiety for over 10 years. Panic attacks at work and the entire thing. I actually had to quit my job as a manager at GM.
Nevertheless, Ativan is a short term option. Too many Dr's use it as a long term tool and only end up increasing the dose as you WILL become dependant on it and build up a tolerance to it and just continue too need more and more to feel that it is being effective.
I found the more I took the less active I became and over the last two years never left the house unless I had to. I also have put on weight (due to my inactivness). It's simply a bad, bad deal all the way around.
I made a choice to get off of it all together! I'm excersising and eating right. I want my life pack. I owe it to myself and family.
Small steps, one day at a time! You can get your life back.
Hope this helps!

hi darrin,glad your off the ativan and doin good, im still doing 3xday half pill...goin to dr.tomorrow will find out what i should be taking, good work, and feel better janet

[Darrin]

janet wrote:

<quoted text> hi darrin,glad your off the ativan and doin good, im still doing 3xday half pill...goin to dr.tomorrow will find out what i should be taking, good work, and feel better janet

Janet, Thank you! I have been off since 8/25. I feel better, more awake!! I still have a problem with anxiety......I'm just going to see how bad it really is before taking ANY meds.

What did you find out from your DR?

[janet]

Darrin wrote:

<quoted text>
Janet, Thank you! I have been off since 8/25. I feel better, more awake!! I still have a problem with anxiety......I'm just going to see how bad it really is before taking ANY meds.
What did you find out from your DR?

darrin,good for you, my doc.thinks i should stay on it only on lower dose as i have emphysema ,and i dont wanna try another pill. so today i only had half pill 2x good luck to you janet

[Darrin]

janet wrote:

<quoted text>darrin,good for you, my doc.thinks i should stay on it only on lower dose as i have emphysema ,and i dont wanna try another pill. so today i only had half pill 2x good luck to you janet

Sounds good Janet. Thank you and good luck to you also!!

One other thought I want to share about ATIVAN or any type of benzo for that matter....I actually think they work and can be very helpful depending on the person, dosage and condition.....just beware they are for short term usage (6 months or less) are VERY addicitive and you can/will become dependant on them! Factor in my already addicitive personality and it is bad news!

Just becareful and safe! M.JAKSON (I'm not a big fan) nevertheless, ATIVAN was a contributing and I only said contributing factor in his death...the benzo effect.

[Darrin]

Okay I'm off the Ativan but really struggling with my anxiety. I'm now on 30mg of Buspar, which is comparable and non habit forming!! Might be something worth checking out as an alternative to ativan or any benzo, google it!

[cheryl]

i too was on wellibutrin and ativan cause i was having anxiety and panic attacks..i should have never been on wellibutrin cause it causes more anxiety and panic so the psyc took me off of them...then he slowly took me off of ativan ...ativan does help but only for a short while i was on .05 mg...he said you have to wean yourself off of them ..i had only been on them for about 6 weeks ...he had me take 3 halfs for 3 days then 2 halfs for 3 days then off completely..while i was going off them he gave me clonazapem ...i am now off ativan and having no side effects and on clonazepem .05 mg i am taking 1 and a half pills twice a day ..they are helping with my anxiety and panic though i just started taking them...they are far better than ativan...i think taking them is far better than living with panic and anxiety attacks and hopefully you only have to take them for a couple months and then can get off them and feel better...after i feel less panicky and anxious i will start yoga or something..... i hope this helps some of you ...just don't go off cold turkey ...go slowly like i did...my psychiatrist is great ..most gps don't know as much about them as psychs...

[cheryl from medicine hat]

i have been on ativan and wellibutrin..my gp put me on both due to major anxiety and panic attacks..i started going to a psychiatrist and he took me off wellibutrin right away because they cause more anxiety and panic... ativan worked alright for me but it doesn''t last very long ..i was taking 3 .05 mg a day....for 2 months..my psychiatrist weaned me off slowly i had to take 3 halfs for 3 days then 2 halfs for 3 days then come off cause they can cause seizures...he put me on clonazepam cause it is way better for panic and anxiety then ativan....i am on .05 i take one and a half pills twice daily and it is starting to help me ..have only been on for 4 days.. i would rather be on them then to live with this kind of anxiety and panic i am having ...i don't plan on staying on for long just until i am feeling better ...i wasn't able to drive and now the past two days i have been driving ....i plan on going to talk to a therapist and taking yoga or something....i think if you just stay on low dosages you will be fine...its alot better than living with panic and anxiety..i have a great psychiatrist most gps don't know as much about them...hope i helped someone on here....god bless

[Jeff]

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 breathe.I'm so scared.

You're doctor is a quack. I have been on ativan for 3 years. I couldn't imagine him cutting me off without a proper taper. I've tried to quit several time. The longest I made it was 3 days. By the 3rd day, I suffered tremers, hallucinations, nightmares, insomnia and severe fear of just about everything. I think the rebound effects of coming off of ativan was worse than the initial symptoms of which it was prescribed. I don't take nearly as much as I used to. Just enough to keep the withdrawal symptoms away. 1 mill twice a day does the trick for me. i used to take 4 at a time because it stopped working. Little did I know, I was physically addicted

[Jeff]

Darrin wrote:

UPDATE: This will be the forth day without any Ativan! The aches and pains are almost all gone. It's taken me appx. 6 weeks to go from 6-8MG per day for over 2 solid years to NOTHING!
There is hope, it can be done......LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Don't make the weaning process harder than it is. Come down 1/2mg at a time, DR's say per week, but 2-3 days per 1/2mg drop will work. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

I have been prescribed 1 mill, 3 times a day for 3 years. I tried to wean myself off and thought I was gonna die. I made it 4 days once, but had bad rebound affects and ended up taking 3 all at once and the habit started back up. I do believe doctors sell addictions. He tried anti-depressants, but they just don't agree with me. Ativan works wonderfull...as long as I don't stop taking it. I feel like a slave of it and i am scared when the day comes when he takes me off or when i have to switch doctors.