tapering benzodiazepine

[jothenurse]

I've been taking Ativan for the last few months and have been tapering it.
I have always been on a fairly low dose and my doctor and the pharmacist says I can actually stop it anytime I want to and just use it prn.
I am presently taking .5mg in the morning and .25mg at noon. I really want to get off of this stuff. I always seem to wake up really anxious.
Has anyone else gotten off of this stuff before? 30 years ago when I had my panic disorder I was taking Serax (a different benzodiazepine) and back then I really didn't even taper much. My doctor says to do it anyway I want to. That at this dose I shouldn't have any rebound/withdrawal. I usually feel beter as the day goes on, so am wondering if I should try discontinuing the noon dose. Otherwise I was thinking about decreasing the morning dose to .25mg and then down the road d/c the noon dose and then d/c the am dose. Any ideas?

[Alabasterlyn]

I would try and taper it as slowly as you can. Although it seems like a low dose, if the figures on the equivalence tables are correct, then .75mgs of Ativan is the same as 7.5mgs of Valium. Perhaps if you just cut down by half of your afternoon pill and see how you feel you can take it from there. You may be absolutely fine as not everyone does have withdrawal and you haven't been taking it for a long time, but I just think with any benzos it's best to taper at a pace that feels right for you

[jothenurse]

It's just so hard to know what to do. When the psychiatrist and the pharmacist state there is no way I'll have withdrawal (also not only because it is a low dose but because I don't take any ativan after the noon dose until the following morning). I still have the anxiey/panic but I just think I would feel better getting off the ativan and just using it prn.

[Belfry1973]

I took a very long time to get off diazepam, in the end the doctor said what I was on was really having no effect, just a theuraputic dose. But it was the thought of not having it at all that worried me! Eventually I took the plunge and stopped it, been 21 months clean now, so it can be done and congrats to you for doing it as well!

[BubbleBonce]

Try this link:http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm

It's all well and good the doc and pharmacist saying you will have no withdrawals but its not them doing it! We are all different and you need to take the time you need. Took me a long time to get off of huge amounts of valium.


Bubble

[jothenurse]

How much valium were you taking?

[BubbleBonce]

How much valium were you taking?

Well, was the equivalent of 90mg! Yes i know - daft. Anyways I got there in the end.

[jothenurse]

Thanks for your replies.