kst7488 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 has anyone quit a benzo they were on long term cold turkey? i have been trying to wean myself off of ativan slowly. i can only manage to get down .25 mg to 1 mg. if i get down one mg i get really bad feeling. ive tried a slow taper and then i feel sick and go back up. i almost want to just run out of my script and just let the WD's run their course. i cold turkeyed paxil before and it sucked but i managed. it may end up being a real possibility anyway becuase my first appt with my p doc is the 3rd and thats the day i run out. i have heard mixed things that he does and doesnt prescribe benzos. i guess im just preparing for the worst.. help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimpmaster Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 has anyone quit a benzo they were on long term cold turkey? i have been trying to wean myself off of ativan slowly. i can only manage to get down .25 mg to 1 mg. if i get down one mg i get really bad feeling. ive tried a slow taper and then i feel sick and go back up. i almost want to just run out of my script and just let the WD's run their course. i cold turkeyed paxil before and it sucked but i managed. it may end up being a real possibility anyway becuase my first appt with my p doc is the 3rd and thats the day i run out. i have heard mixed things that he does and doesnt prescribe benzos. i guess im just preparing for the worst.. help? Hi there, I have successfully quit xanax cold turkey with a fast taper in the past. I now use valium but not everyday. Quitting xanax was a nightmare - hot and cold sweats, classic migraines and a general sicky feeling. Something that may help you is to switch to valium and taper down off that. Its longer half life and more gentle action makes it easier to either quit or use intermittently. Talk to your dr about your options. There are easier ways to quit such as using valium. Best wishes Chimp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippy Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Yes, many times. I just experience the same anxiety I had in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanne Posted March 24, 2008 Share Posted March 24, 2008 has anyone quit a benzo they were on long term cold turkey? i have been trying to wean myself off of ativan slowly. i can only manage to get down .25 mg to 1 mg. if i get down one mg i get really bad feeling. ive tried a slow taper and then i feel sick and go back up. i almost want to just run out of my script and just let the WD's run their course. i cold turkeyed paxil before and it sucked but i managed. it may end up being a real possibility anyway becuase my first appt with my p doc is the 3rd and thats the day i run out. i have heard mixed things that he does and doesnt prescribe benzos. i guess im just preparing for the worst.. help? I weaned myself off of Ativan about five years ago. It was quite an undertaking because I had been taking a large dose for a long time. My doctor was great, though. He really helped me with his support and understanding, and he got in touch with my pharmacist who would prescribe small amounts as I weaned off of it. The support I got from both my doctor and my pharmacist was very important in my success. Every time I'd go pick up a little script of about ten pills, my pharmacist would ask me how I was feeling and encourage me to go on. I wouldn't recommend doing it all by yourself. It really takes a little help to get through. Best of luck. You can do it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I want to go cold turkey on Xanax. I've been on 1 mg XR daily for about three years. I know the risk is seizure, but if I have no history of seizures, how big of a risk is it really? I've tried tapering several times and that in and of itself is hell. I never make it past the first drop in dose (.25 mg). It seems like it would just be easier to go cold turkey - kind of like ripping a band aid off. I've even considered asking my pdoc about going in-patient (something I've never had to even consider in the past) if he'd agree to a cold turkey approach. For those of you that have done it (cold turkey), how long did it take (withdrawal)? Are we talking days or weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kst7488 Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 i have no history of siezures but when my old doc switched me to librium cold turkey i had a siezure and could not form simple sentances. it was terrifying. luckily it only lasted 3 days of that and i found my hidden stash of 5 emergency pills. I want to go cold turkey on Xanax. I've been on 1 mg XR daily for about three years. I know the risk is seizure, but if I have no history of seizures, how big of a risk is it really? I've tried tapering several times and that in and of itself is hell. I never make it past the first drop in dose (.25 mg). It seems like it would just be easier to go cold turkey - kind of like ripping a band aid off. I've even considered asking my pdoc about going in-patient (something I've never had to even consider in the past) if he'd agree to a cold turkey approach. For those of you that have done it (cold turkey), how long did it take (withdrawal)? Are we talking days or weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pixie_b Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I have accidently gone cold turkey off xanax (I forget to get my refills sometimes) The headache was unbearable, the anxiety was worse than I had before I started taking xanax. I sat curled up in a little ball and just cried until somebody gave me a xanax, then I was fine. The following week I started tapering off with instructions from my doctor (after he scolded me for forgetting my refill). I do have a history of seizure disorder but, had no seizures, just the aura. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel1 Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 I'm about to be experiencing w/d from klonopin cold turkey because 4 days after i called the nurse for a new script, the pdoc tells her who tells my phone that i have to have an appt. w/ her before i can get anymore. It takes a few weeks to get an appt. so i guess i'm fucked. so i'll be right there with you experiencing the w/d. probably going to lose my job because as it is wiht the klonopin i am having so much stress and anxiety i'm abouat ready to quit. not looking forward to this. 2 pills left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kst7488 Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 i have 4 pills left. i hate when i get down this low... im going to make it a dire point at my first t doc appointment today that i want to taper off this ativan with valium or something else, and hopefully she will stress that to my p doc. gahhh. the whole job thing is scary. thats why i consider myself lucky that i work when i want and call offs are not a big deal. i dont think i could handle med switching if i had a regular job, im so sensitive to little changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunshineOutside Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 Not cold turkey. I've tried reducing and found it almost intolerable. Not good, even gradually reducing it. I asked my Pdoc. about that the other day and she said that it would be very unpleasant and she would not recommend that. That's just me though. I'm still experiencing moderate anxiety that is not being controlled. I think you could speak with someone professional that knows your level of anxiety and other meds to obtain the most accurate information. I don't want you to feel bad... Concerned, but I know you'll take care of yourself. You're a strong woman. Sunshine Outside p.s. I hope I didn't repeat posts too many times. I read them yesterday but can't remember what they said and I was too exhausted to type anymore then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 i have no history of siezures but when my old doc switched me to librium cold turkey i had a siezure and could not form simple sentances. it was terrifying You NOW have a history of seizures. Therefore, you need to do everything possible to avoid triggering another. Don't take them lightly since they each cause brain damage, and increase your chances of having the next one (kindling effect). Do NOT go cold turkey off the atavan without direction from your doctor! Be careful about playing your therapist against the psychiatrist for meds. The Pdoc is the expert. I would be surprised to see the pdoc give you valium, since it is more addictive than atavan. It would seem more logical to get you on an Antidepressant, rather than continuing with the bandaid benzo approach. Good luck, its tough making the transitions. Let us know how you are doing! best, a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kst7488 Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 have you heard of the ashton method, it basically weans you onto valium slowely and then you wean off of the valium slowely? everywhere online seems to think this is the best way to go about things. i dont think i need a antidepressant im not depressed. not only that but every antidepressent that i have ever been on had bad side effects and just made me blend as one with the couch for months on end. not what i want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 "Antidepressants, they're not just for depression anymore!" heh. Sorry American Cattleman Association. GAD, social phobia, anxiety, these are all things antidepressants treat. And other drugs too. I'll check out the Ashton method. Thanks! am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faroutwest Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 A few weeks ago, my Pdcoc decided to take me off Klonapin cold Turkey. AAUUUGGGHHH!!!! Whats she thinking!! it was pure hell...stomach craps, vomiting, cold sweats, anger issues, extreme anxiety, you name it! She must havelosther own mind to do this to me. Now our patient doctor relationship is totally in the crapper. I hate her for this. At the same time, I also have recently ruptured two discs in my lower lumbar. She put me on Neurontin for anxiety because she was positive the the Klonapin couldn't possibly be working for me any more, and the Nuerontin also being a nerve pain medication helped my back pain emensely. So she also desided that I should step down off the Lortab and the Somas ( since I was getting a bit down from these) all at the same time as going cold turkey off the Klonapin. Geeze! I'm not super woman here! it was waaaay to much to ask. I was practically delerious. So I decided to step off the Lortab slowly and the Soma slowly after that. Then my back went out really bad. I saw my spine doctor and he tod me to go back on the Soma at least for now( Thank God) and that really helped. He also told me that since Klonapin is also a Muscle relaxer that going off it cold turkey ( which he couldn't believe) was part of the reason I reinjured my back. My Pdoc gave me Seroquel to use for bedtime 100mg ( which gave me only about 4 hours of sleep) and I would wake up with my face, eyes and lips swollen so bad I ended up sleeing sitting up in bed ( try that one!) to lessen the swelling and I also started using a nasel decongestant every morning also to help with the facial swelling. If I used the Seroquel during the day as a PRN the swelling would happen again, so I stopped that. By this time I was practially paralized with anxiety. I would pace around the house talking to myself ( out loud. Geeze!!!) or just sit on the couch in back spasms and pain and anxiety with my hands over my face all day. After a month of this ( I was surely over the Klonapin withdrawal by then, but back on the soma and the Lortab PRN and still having back pain in spite of the Neutontin and having screaming painic attacks.) That's about when I desided enough was enough. I filled my Klonapin script after all I'd been through to get off of it and started on it again. Whew! She'll probably kill me, but I'm sleeping like a baby, I've dropped the Seroquel instead, able to drop the Somas and the Lortab PRN, eliminated the nasal decongestant and the tons of Ibuprophen. Apparently when we decided that the Klonapin couldn't be helping me anymore ( been on it 8 years) we were so wrong. It was doing everything for me, for anxiety, for sleeping, for a PRN, and as a plus, as a muscle relaxer for my back pain. So what am I to do here? I'm always allowed to decrease addicitve medications on my own, and I'm off of a lot of stuff now. But I'm back on the Klonapin which has totally saved the day. So what's the harm here? What if she won't let me go back on this and stops it again? I'm determined to have to get a new doctor, or to have my spine doctor prescribe Klonapin as a muscle relaxer instead of the Somas ( no pain at all now with no Somas, no Lortabs and no Ibuprphin) and get the added effect of the antianxiety effect plus the sleeping aide effect as a bonus and totally bypass her if I need to. What about all this crazyness? What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kst7488 Posted April 3, 2008 Author Share Posted April 3, 2008 i think you threadjacked me haha nah, that is crazy. i wonder that too like what if even though i feel like the ativan isnt working for me what if it really is and i just dont realize becuase i have been on it so long? gaaah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angry_girl Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 When I was first diagnosed with MI (major anxiety being part of it), my pdoc prescribed 1 mg of Klonopin, which I would take three times a day. After about a year, it seemed to have stopped working. He switched me over to 1 mg of Ativan three times a day and it kicked in like a charm. I was very nervous to take benzos because I didn't like the risk of dependency, so, with the pdoc's ok, I started taking less and less. At first, I just stopped taking the midday dose, and that was fine. Then a few months later, I stopped the morning dose, too. By this point, my pdoc was prescribing it only as a PRN. I'd take it before bed to help me calm down enough to get to sleep. I started needing it less and less and now I haven't taken any in the last six months. I don't remember having any sort of withdrawal at any point. Now I'm not on any benzos at all. I still have anxiety issues, just not quite as bad as it was, and I just deal with it as it comes. If it means I don't drive today, then so be it. I wish you the best of luck with your meds and your anxiety. AG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted April 9, 2008 Share Posted April 9, 2008 Yes, I tried to taper off Klonopin in 1 week. Big mistake.. I started having suicidal thoughts and felt like I was in a fog and losing my mind. Be careful and go slow.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kst7488 Posted April 10, 2008 Author Share Posted April 10, 2008 my doc switched me to k-pin since the ativan pooed out and i hate it. im takign this opportunity to wean off for good. i wouldnt mind taking something as needed, but thats far down the road if ever. ive already cut down my 2 mg of k-pin down to 1.5 a day, in under a week that i have been on it. im getting migranes and dizzy a bit but thats really the worst of it. the rest will be smaller cuts, over longer time if needed. good to know some people dont have nasty withdrawls. i beat coke cold turkey, and that was horribly hard im sure i can do this with just a bit of tapering. the worst part is i cant drink on k-pin, im having a hard time with that, but so far so good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkle_motion14 Posted April 21, 2008 Share Posted April 21, 2008 quitting benzos are a BITCH! i am currently out and can't refill until 5/3 and i literally feel like i am dying. i have been throwing up and shaky and my body temp is all out of wack. not fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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