Benzos Benzo withdrawal question - very scared, please help

[ninja89]

ok ive been prescribed 60 lorazepam a month, 1mg in the morning and 1mg at night.

i took it normally then started talking 3-5 a day like its candy and sometimes with alcohol

this went on for a short period of time (no more than 2 months)

i know lots of people going through serious withdrawal have been doing this for years but 24 hours after i stopped taking it my lower back feels like its infinitely cramping (similar to lactic acid feeling) and i cant stay in one place, constant anxiety and random panic attacks, sweaty palms and my body is shaking/vibrating.

this is definitely some sort of withdrawal because when i take lorazepam it goes away, i just want to know how long this lasts as ive not taken it for a long period of time. the symptoms arent severe as someone whos been on this for years but its extremely uncomfortable and i am very scared. is it even worth tapering? how minor of withdrawals do i have?

thanks for your help

Note: i take nexium everyday and its said to potentiate benzos

EDIT: im thinking about asking my doctor for gabapentin or something similar, but i will not take it if it also gives withdrawals

 

[twotoomany]

What size lorazepam? .5? 1mg? I'd taper either way. It will help. Benzo withdrawal can be hell and last a long time.

 

[ninja89]

What size lorazepam? .5? 1mg? I'd taper either way. It will help. Benzo withdrawal can be hell and last a long time.

1mg

im just not sure if tapering is the way to go, im scared of this drug i never want to touch it again but at the same time it fixes the withdrawals

whats the best way to taper?

 

[twotoomany]

You should google the Ashton manual. And try to obtain a longer acting benzo. Valium would be a best choice, if you have a choice. Are you still taking 3-5 mg a day? If do, stick with three for two weeks, then cut to 2.5. This is likely too fast of a taper, but look at Ashton and tinker with the doses. NEVER go up in dosage if you can help it.

DO NOT go cold turkey and just quit. Benzo WD is no joke. It can cause seizures and death. You NEED to taper.

 

[ninja89]

You should google the Ashton manual. And try to obtain a longer acting benzo. Valium would be a best choice, if you have a choice. Are you still taking 3-5 mg a day? If do, stick with three for two weeks, then cut to 2.5. This is likely too fast of a taper, but look at Ashton and tinker with the doses. NEVER go up in dosage if you can help it.

DO NOT go cold turkey and just quit. Benzo WD is no joke. It can cause seizures and death. You NEED to taper.

its been 24 hours + since my last 1mg dose, i feel very shaky and anxious but have not yet experienced severe symptoms

3-5 mg daily wasnt consistent, i would take it randonmly then go back to my normal dosage of 1mg. i really hope im just going through minor withdrawals

 

[twotoomany]

Even minor WD can cause seizures. Take .5 today. Also, it can take a while to really hit and can take months to fully get through. Its a nasty class of drugs. Very effective at what it does, but with a nasty wd profile. Read up on Benzo WD so you'll know what you're in for. Rebound anxiety sucks, and it seems like that's what you might be experiencing now.

 

[TooOldForThis]

I was on 1mg Klonopin for a year, and the withdrawals were horrible, even when I tapered. I started off tapering too fast, and multiple times ended up (always 3 days after dropping my dose), laying on the bathroom floor vomiting for hours. And compared to seizures, that is not so bad. I can't say strongly enough... Please taper! The withdrawals from benzos are way worse (in my experience) than the withdrawals from oxy.

 

[ninja89]

I was on 1mg Klonopin for a year, and the withdrawals were horrible, even when I tapered. I started off tapering too fast, and multiple times ended up (always 3 days after dropping my dose), laying on the bathroom floor vomiting for hours. And compared to seizures, that is not so bad. I can't say strongly enough... Please taper! The withdrawals from benzos are way worse (in my experience) than the withdrawals from oxy.

will i get through this faster if i dont taper? the withdrawal symptoms dont feel life threatening right now but very uncomfortable, id rather avoid taking it all together

 

[twotoomany]

No. Not easily. Probably gonna be weeks either way. And you could have a seizure, which is no joke. They take your license for that shit in some states. Chances ate you will never feel a seizure coming too. You could be driving when it happens. Please please please taper. You're looking at a long WD process anyway. Why not do it as safe as possible.

 

[KarlMySuitcase]

EDIT: im thinking about asking my doctor for gabapentin or something similar, but i will not take it if it also gives withdrawals

Yes if you can get Gabapentin or Pregabalin (Lyrica) they are GOLD against WD's Ive actually heard and read that Lyrica WD's is even waaay worse than benzos but the guy was using ridicolous amounst for a long time.

I mean i personally used 450mgs lyrica daily for one month at a time taking a 3 day break befor picking up another package. All the WD's i can report is ichyness restlessness a poor sleep the first day. I mean i have a hard time calling whats only mildy unplesant a day for WD's.

Anyhow if you really consider not to taper, GET a lot of Gabapentin/pregablin as they are anticonvulsant. And may prevent you from getting seizures, wich very easily can get you injured(or worse). They are also good against anxiety. But if i were you, i would taper and use the Gaba's to help me taper faster/safer and more comfertable.

I know Gabapentin was a great help for a friend of mine wich was on a 32mg(not kidding) klonopin daily routine. And Lyrica has been really great in all the GHB WD's I have had........

Good Luck, Be strong! Addiction just gets less and less fun as time goes, and it is allready lame to start with. That I promise

 

[ninja89]

Yes if you can get Gabapentin or Pregabalin (Lyrica) they are GOLD against WD's Ive actually heard and read that Lyrica WD's is even waaay worse than benzos but the guy was using ridicolous amounst for a long time.

I mean i personally used 450mgs lyrica daily for one month at a time taking a 3 day break befor picking up another package. All the WD's i can report is ichyness restlessness a poor sleep the first day. I mean i have a hard time calling whats only mildy unplesant a day for WD's.

Anyhow if you really consider not to taper, GET a lot of Gabapentin/pregablin as they are anticonvulsant. And may prevent you from getting seizures, wich very easily can get you injured(or worse). They are also good against anxiety. But if i were you, i would taper and use the Gaba's to help me taper faster/safer and more comfertable.

I know Gabapentin was a great help for a friend of mine wich was on a 32mg(not kidding) klonopin daily routine. And Lyrica has been really great in all the GHB WD's I have had........

Good Luck, Be strong! Addiction just gets less and less fun as time goes, and it is allready lame to start with. That I promise

36 mg's of Klonopin (Clonazepam) is approximately equal to 72 mg's of Ativan (Lorazepam).

Jesus Christ.... I've only used 1-2mg of lorazepam consistently for a month or so and I'm feeling like shit. I really hope your friend is ok now, I cannot imagine what hell he has went through. Whats the deal with doctors not warning people about this before hand? this has to be some kind of sick joke

 

[KarlMySuitcase]

Yes he was actually prescribed it by his doctor, wich should have been murdered(almost). It was over a year ago, luckily he was in a clinc. I remeber when he was tapered off the benz' he had like a gabapentin dose of 1900mg's (or 2900mg's) wich is waaay past theraputical doses. Only allowed in a hospital setting in my country i think.

But he is fine now, Not saying he didn't go through hell. Also he dosen't respond to pain, he could hold this electro shock device in his hands and be like: "What?!" looking completly normal. And everybody else who had tried it was "Are you human?!"

Luckilly detox is free in my country....

 

[5StarSquatHotel]

not being on it long will work in your favour -try only taking a tab when you feel you really need to and as long as you are honest with yourself i think you will be suprised. unless you are seziure prone i would not really worry about them as such but it maybe worth asking your doc for lyrica although it made my wd worse. if you experience wicked head aches and lights seem bright and things have a odd aura then you are about to have a seziure so lay down quick. i am willing to bet you wont have such issues though.

 

[KarlMySuitcase]

not being on it long will work in your favour -try only taking a tab when you feel you really need to and as long as you are honest with yourself i think you will be suprised. unless you are seziure prone i would not really worry about them as such but it maybe worth asking your doc for lyrica although it made my wd worse. if you experience wicked head aches and lights seem bright and things have a odd aura then you are about to have a seziure so lay down quick. i am willing to bet you wont have such issues though.

Think you are onto something, I mean I was prescribed 3mgs xanx for a bit over a month and i din't taper at all. I was just REALLY apathic the first day off. Try not to let the horror stories from year long useres affect you too much. I know my brain can psyche myself out so badly it manifest itself physically.

Anyhow since we all have diffrent bodychemistry i still recomend using Gabapen/Pregaba to let you taper faster just in case.

 

[Cyanoide]

Lorazepam is a short-acting benzo so the first step would be to switch it to a long-acting, like diazepam. Switching from one benzo to another is a quite painless process, I've switched from several benzos to others (a few times even "cold turkey", one time just straight from clonazepam to diazepam without any problems). Diazepam has several benefits, the main two being the extremely long half life and low potency, making it possible to lower the dose in much smaller increments than many other drugs.

Yes, I agree Lyrica is GOLD for WD but only for a limited time, a few months maximum. You develop a rapid tolerance to Lyrica and it causes (minor) withdrawal too. My first (unsuccessful) attempt to quit benzos was from alprazolam, and Lyrica worked wonders, but after a week or two it stopped working. The dose had to be increased. So in the end I was eating 600 mg Lyrica / day (the highest amount a doctor can prescribe), and my benzo taper was unsuccessful. So I was hooked on both. Quitting Lyrica wasn't that bad though. If you use Lyrica, try taking it every now and then, when you feel really bad, not every day. That way you will avoid the rapid tolerance build up.

The two worst WD symptoms I've had from benzos are the extreme anxiety and panic attacks, and heart palpitations. Fortunately heart palpitations are quite easy to keep under control with beta blockers. Especially propranolol is quite effective for benzo WD, as it is a non-selective beta blocker, working on the sympathetic nervous system, easing tension around the body, while selective or cardio-specific beta blockers mainly affect the heart but have little anxiolytic effects. So definitely ask for propranolol, I've talked to many benzo addicts who've said they wouldn't have made it without propranolol. It prevents your heart from racing, and prevents tremors and shaking, which are a big and scary part of benzo WD. When I was at the detox clinic, I always started getting panic attacks in the "dining room" (probably sounds silly but I don't know a better term), full of people, and it always started with my hands shaking. To the point where I coulnd't control the fork and knife anymore. Once I was put on 3 x 40 mg (high dose) daily the shaking hands were gone, and while it still was unpleasant to eat with the others, I had no panic attacks or such anymore.

Edit: For some reason Atarax is prescribed for those going through benzo WD here routinely, I had 100 mg daily but felt nothing (other than a dry mouth). Still, Atarax may help with some symptoms