noran Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 I take Ativan 3 times a week at 2 mgs. I want to stop now. I am just gonna go cold turkey cause I don't take it every day. How long would it take for withdrawals to start if they do? What are the chances of going through withdrawal. I had my last dose last night at 10:00 pm. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooster Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Ativan reaches it's highest concentration in your blood about 2 hours after you take it at about 20 nanograms per liter. The half life of the part that is active for anxiety relief is about 12 hours. This means that at about 12 hours you will have about 10 nanograms per liter left. At 24 hours you will have about 5 nanograms per liter left. At 36 hours you will have 2.5 nanograms per liter left. At 48 hours, 1.25 ng/L, etc. (http://www.rxlist.com/ativan-drug/clinical-pharmacology.htm) How that translates into withdrawals is difficult to predict because it kind of depends on how long you've been taking it, how habituated your body is to the drug, and how quickly you metabolize it. One of the risks of stopping any benzodiazepine cold turkey is that you increase your chances of having a seizure. You also increase having rebound anxiety. Is there a particular reason you want to stop immediately rather than taper under instructions from your prescriber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noran Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 Because I only take it 3 times a week I thought I may not have to taper. My doctor knows I only take it 3 times a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooster Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 If you are going to change how you take any prescribed drug, the safest thing is to talk to the person who prescribed it for you. Another good idea would be to talk to a pharmacist. It's literally their job to know things like, "how long would it take to see withdrawals if they were going to happen?" Just remember they aren't prescribers, so they may not be able to tell you how to safely taper. Generally speaking, from what I've heard, is that if you haven't had any withdrawal symptoms in 24 hours you're probably not going to get any. But remember I'm just a random nutter on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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