Stress Center Peer Support

are there really with drawls from ativan? I take it when needed and have needed one everyday for the past month. mostly at night before bad to help me fall asleep. . . so im not on a planned schedule with it but someone on this site said its harder to get off than heroin!! i took it last year (not as much as this yr) but got off it with no with drawls and didn't feel addicted to it at all. just took it when i needed it. . I have been experiencing bad pms and Ativan works good for that so during pms i take it during the day as well. I am only on session 3 of the program and still experiencing anxiety and it was hard for me to sleep. had sleepless panicy nights and the ativan helped alot. . . so anyone here get off ativan with no withdrwls??

Hi Holly!
First off, I know exactly how you feel since i've been there (except to a greater extreme). I'm no longer taking ativan, since my psych. switched me to klono instead- I've had pretty severe anxiety for nearly 9 years.

Here's what I can tell you about ativan and ALL benzos:
There is NO need to suffer withdrawl symptoms if you taper gradually. This is a little different for you because you're on an "as needed" dosage. Unfortuantely, much of mainstream med. only recognizes the physical taper of a benzo (ativan is completely out of the body within a couple days [even less depending on the length of usage and dosage]) and not the psychological aspects of the Rx. This is a really big deal considering anxiety is a psychological response to our perceptions of reality.

Bottom line- GO SLOW! If you need to continue with the dosage you're on in order to feel comfortable enough continuing the program, do so. While I'm certainly no MD, if I was in your position I might consider taking your ativan on a schedule, like .5 mg 3x daily- this will keep the drug in your system, consequently keeping your anxiety at a minimum. It's also MUCH easier to create a taper schedule. For instance, once you begin to learn more of the program's coping skills, determine when you anxiety is at its lowest, (maybe in the mid-afternoon) then you can taper that dosage to .25 but continue on the .5 in the am and pm.

There are some really great tapering schedules out there- check out <A HREF="http://www.theroadback.org;" TARGET=_blank>www.theroadback.org;</A> this is the program I'm using. Naturally, it's imperative that you find a dr. who will work with you on YOUR plan (after all, it's your body... and sanity!).

I might also recomend some vitamin supplements. Though I have the supplements from theroadback, I'm not currently using them (except the passionflower) because i've developed acid reflux. However, my pharmacist has recommended a good multivitamin, and b-complex (the b vitamins are CRUCIAL to the nervous system. If fact, i just learned it's not uncommon for people suffering MILD depression to have bi-monthly b vitamin shots instead of taking an ssri! Kind of funny what the big pharmaceudical (sp?) co. don't want us to know!)

I also drink a supplement called NaturalCalm (found at local health food stores) before bed that has both calcium and magnesium (two more vitamins frequently deficient in people suffering anxiety/depression). I think it tastes good, and helps to make me sleepy; and no, there is not an interaction between this an if you cont. to take ativan before bed (already asked <span class="ev_code_PINK">;*)</span>!).

If you have any more q's, don't hesitate to pm me. Best wishes to you!
Emily

Oh, about the heroin thing... don't know much about street drugs, only a little grass in college and hash on a visit to Amsterdam well over a decade ago, but, in my humble opinion, this is OVEREXAGGERATION! I can see where this comment is coming from because I've been through sheer hell with benzos, but if you have a trustworthy Dr. helping you, you're working on the coping skills and have support, and you're fully aware of and informed about a drug and still need to take it, don't feel guilty/scared- do so. That's why they exist.

thanks....ii found this interesting. i have been on ativan for a month.....trying to taper off but it seems to be the thing that works the best...afraid of the addiction aspect though.

marc.

ME TOO marcE!!!! Benn on it everyday for a month and SOOO scared to become addicted or am addicted to this drug. It makes me very sleepy and i mostly have been taking .25 at night to help sleep last night i was trying to not take one and felt my body twitching and had a weird rising and falling sensation in my head. . I don't know if this is because i didn't take an ativan or something else. . Sometimes when i use progesterone cream i get that feeling and i used it last night (weird i know) but when i started feeling that way i took an ativan and slept soo good with out those feelings. Thankyou sooooo much fischee!! i will def PM you after work today! i appreciate your positive feedback because i feel like anything negative ight now would freak me out

I find this posts very interesting to read, as I've been telling myself I'll get off of Ativan for years now. I've been on it for about 8 years, with doses varying from .25 "as needed" to what I currently was taking: 1 mg, 3x a day (quite a bit, I think). I finally committed to weaning myself off the drug a month ago. It's VERY slow going, so it's easy to get discouraged, but the side effects are not as bad as I expected (I, too, had heard the heroin thing, so I was scared!). I have tapered two of my doses down to .75 mg, meaning I have to take the liquid form for those doses. I did one dose first for about two weeks, then the second for about two weeks. I plan to alternate going down .25 on an alternating schedule until my afternoon and evening pills are unnecessary . . .I've VERY scared to mess with my morning dose because I experience extreme anxiety/nausea in the morning, so that will be my last step.

I would appreciate giving/receiving any encouragement for this process!

Teacher, Do the Ativan help you with your nausea??

Yes, Ativan helps tremendously with my nausea. That's pretty much why I started taking it and got hooked so seriously. Since I'm deathly afraid of throwing up, I thought I had found my panacea and that everything would go away after that. Too bad I didn't think about addiction . . .I can't tell you how sad it makes me to feel that I need Ativan to simply get through the day now.

i understand, teacher!