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[CLKD]

Make the appt. before you need it, it can be cancelled if necessary? 

   Taz

[Pollie]

I am a sorry I have no experience but this may or may not be of interest to you.

I found it made interesting reading anyway

www.benzosupport.org

Pollie
X

[theresalou]

Thank you ladies for all your advice. Newbeginnings- how were you coming off Lorazepam? symptoms etc, how did you manage in between doses as I am finding it really hard- strange sensation in my body, bit jittery, restless and the early morning is horrendous! going to take your advice and reduce two weekly from now on. when you got to the lowest dose did you do 1/4 pill? sorry for all the questions.
T.

[Taz2]

theresalou - would you consider the Diazepam instead - this seems to be the usual way of withdrawing from lorazepam as it is easier to cut the dose?  It is one of the harder ones to come off and can take months rather than weeks so try to be patient. There is info about the Lorezapam here http://mentalhealthdaily.com/2014/06/17/ativan-lorazepam-withdrawal-symptoms-duration/   which might help you to see if your symptoms are due to the withdrawal.


Taz x

[debby]

Hello. I hope you see this as I haven't been on here for some time.
I'm on Diazepam and have been reducing extremely slowly. Have been on benzos for over ten years, I originally started with 4mg Lorazepam daily, a high dose. I have spent years researching how to come off benzos,I have been very frightened for most of it, this is what they do. I suggest you buy Prof Ashtons Manual 'Benzodiazepines How they work and how to withdraw'. I have read it and seems to be universally accepted as the best source of info. Please switch from Lorazepam to Diazepam which is a long acting benzo, in simple terms these stay in the body longer and help to eliminate some of the craving between doses. I found out during the first 2 years of benzos that I had high antibodies to my thyroid and have gone on to develop Hypothyroidism, B12 deficiency, menieres and now osteoarthritis. I am post meno for the last 3 years and have been totally against any form of HRT, though I am willing to consider it whilst I'm coming off benzos,suggested by my gp while I am in withdrawal. I am going to post a thread asking some advice myself about this. Good luck with your taper, I am feeling all the things you feel, it's horrible, but I am hopeful that I will succeed. I am going very slowly with the taper as I've been on these awful drugs for so long. It's important you are in charge and don't feel as though you have to rush the process.

[coldethyl]

Prof Ashton was at the forefront of developing a benzo withdrawal programme long before it was accepted that those meds caused such bad side effects. My Mum was under her care and says she was wonderful and that she owes her life to her. She was told that withdrawal from this class of drugs was worse than coming off heroin and I remember her being in hospital for some of the stages. x

[theresalou]

Hi Debby, thank you for your advice. Do you switch straight away from one to the other or introduce the diazepam slowly? I so wish I hadn't needed the lorazepam and wish gp had told me of the consequences!! they dish them out to you when you are in a very vulnerable state and not in a position to think of asking questions!!
Theresa

[debby]

Hi Theresa. Your gp can switch you straight over to Diazepam in an equivalent dose of Lorazepam (the dose per day you are at the moment). You can then go to the next stage of tapering when due. I am going very very slowly,I stay on a dosage for a month even 6-8 weeks. probably doesn't really fit with whats advised by prof Ashton, but it's the only way I can cope. I think you said you had been on them for 8 weeks, so hopefully won't take you too long. Don't let anyone rush you, be your own boss. The only way I can handle tapering is to be in control. I have been on them for nearly 11 years, so I have got used to them being the centre of my attention.I try to walk as much as possible, though I have chronic fatigue and have to pace myself. I keep telling myself I will get there in the end, one day at a time, and so important that people support you. There is a site called Benzobuddies who can offer you support, just beware that you will see lots of different views on benzo withdrwal. As the Diazepam stays in the body longer, hopefully you will see an improvement. I've been advised by my gp to think about HRT while I am tapering, but I am against him controlling the withdrawal rate. I really have been against any form of tablets all my life and finding this so difficult. Keep in touch and if I can help you along the way you will be helping me too.

[Taz2]

Link to Benzo Buddies http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/

You have got lots of support on here theresalou.

Taz x 

[CLKD]

Coldethyl - I have heard that said too ……..

[theresalou]

Thank you ladies for your advice. I have been to gp today and going to switch over to Diazepam- going to start on 5mg x3 a day and not starting til Thurs as not at work then just to see how I am on them! He wants me on them for 10 days  then see me again  before I start to taper- but will see how I get on after a week and may try a small reduction then. Really was trying to hold out on the Lorazepam but the body craving the drug was just too uncomfortable!
Theresa

[CLKD]

Let us know how you get on!  I wouldn't start reduction until your GP says it's OK 

[theresalou]

Well today first day switching to diazepam 5mgx3 per day, not good!! took 5mg at 6am and boy did it make me feel ill- spaced out very scarey! rang gp as soon as they opened got a call back, my gp not available but a registrar doc and he said prob too high a dose so now says 2.5mg x3 per day. So confused as this is half the lorazepam equivalent I was on (1.5mg per day). Its now midday and I still feel a bit off, bit scared to take any more! And not sure now if I have done the right thing by switching. Maybe should've gritted my teeth and stuck with Lorazepam!

[Pollie]

Therasalou - have you read the links that Taz and I gave ?

From the Ashton Manual ;-

http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha02.htm#13

(2) Switching to a long-acting benzodiazepine. With relatively short-acting benzodiazepines such as alprazolam (Xanax) and lorazepam (Ativan) (Table 1, Chapter I), it is not possible to achieve a smooth decline in blood and tissue concentrations. These drugs are eliminated fairly rapidly with the result that concentrations fluctuate with peaks and troughs between each dose. It is necessary to take the tablets several times a day and many people experience a "mini-withdrawal", sometimes a craving, between each dose.

For people withdrawing from these potent, short-acting drugs it is advisable to switch to a long-acting, slowly metabolised benzodiazepine such as diazepam. Diazepam (Valium) is one of the most slowly eliminated benzodiazepines. It has a half-life of up to 200 hours, which means that the blood level for each dose falls by only half in about 8.3 days. The only other benzodiazepines with similar half-lives are chlordiazepoxide (Librium), flunitrazepam (Rohypnol) and flurazepam (Dalmane), all of which are converted to a diazepam metabolite in the body. The slow elimination of diazepam allows a smooth, gradual fall in blood level, allowing the body to adjust slowly to a decreasing concentration of the benzodiazepines. The switch-over process needs to be carried out gradually, usually in stepwise fashion, substituting one dose at a time. There are several factors to consider. One is the difference in potency between different benzodiazepines. Many people have suffered because they have been switched suddenly to a different, less potent drug in inadequate dosage because the doctor has not adequately considered this factor. Equivalent potencies of benzodiazepines are shown in Table 1 (Chapter I), but these are only approximate and differ between individuals.

A second factor to bear in mind is that the various benzodiazepines, though broadly similar, have slightly different profiles of action. For example, lorazepam (Ativan) seems to have less hypnotic activity than diazepam (probably because it is shorter acting). Thus if someone on, say, 2mg Ativan three times a day is directly switched to 60mg diazepam (the equivalent dose for anxiety) he is liable to become extremely sleepy, but if he is switched suddenly onto a much smaller dose of diazepam, he will probably get withdrawal symptoms. Making the changeover one dose (or part of dose) at a time avoids this difficulty and also helps to find the equivalent dosage for that individual. It is also helpful to make the first substitution in the night-time dose, and the substitution may not always need to be complete. For example, if the evening dose was 2mg Ativan, this could in some cases be changed to 1 mg Ativan plus 8mg diazepam. A full substitution for the dropped 1 mg of Ativan would have been 10mg diazepam. However, the patient may actually sleep well on this combination and he will have already made a dosage reduction - a first step in withdrawal. (Examples of step-wise substitutions are given in the schedules at the end of this chapter.)

HTH but please have a look at the benzo site I am sure you will find it useful !

[theresalou]

Thankyou Polly, yes I did read them but gp said just switch over so did so- think if no better tomorrow will go back to him.
Thank you.