I am 46 year old male. I have been on ativan 1 mg (lorazepam) for some anxiety related issue. I have started it on 22nd june with 1 mg twice and on 23rd I had 1 mg once and today I had 1 mg again. It was purely self medication. I want to discontinue it. Pls help. How to taper it off. I already had it for 3 days. Should I have .5 mg for another 2 days and then withdraw. It may be noted that I started this on on 22nd june to get rid off some temporary anxiety issues and it was an one time matter. Now I am absolutely normal though feel a bit light headed at times.

Dr. Satheesh Nair SPsychologist30yrs exp

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It is a serious mistake to self medicate without even identifying the exact problem. Suppose you are having a stress or anxiety better to discuss with a psychologist or if not possible be with somebody you are comfortable and share. There are very good anxiety mamagement methods including cbt a good psychological intervention. You can make your tab half for 3 days and then stop. Bye.  

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Dr. Prof. Jagadeesan M.S.Psychiatrist15yrs exp

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Ativan is a benzodiazepine and is used for short term anxiety contry. On a longer run it is very dangerous. To get you out of the same you need to consult a psychiatrist and get alternate safer ones at the same time treat this withdrawal, so it can be done only in a clinic. All the best.  

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Dr. Sushil Kumar Sompur VPsychiatrist15yrs exp

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Ativan is not a medication that is available over the counter, which means that you would need a doctor's prescription to avail the medication. Moreover, these are medications that need to be taken under a doctor's supervision only. I wonder how you were able to avail the medication, however, to go off of it I advice you to consult us here online so that we can talk about the circumstances for which you started to take ativan i.e. Anxiety and how we can better treat you for the condition while at the same time get you off of medication ativan. Look forward to hearing from you. If you need help with booking an appointment online with me on this website either text, audio, or video appointment for a confidential and private consultation you may do so by contacting the help desk of Lybrate.  

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Withdrawl should be mange under doctors supervision only in future ativan withdrawal physical dependence occurs as a result of an individual taking certain types of drugs over rather lengthy periods of time. When an individual chronically uses or abuses certain classes of drugs, the individual?s system becomes acclimated to having the drug present and learns to function at a steady level only when the drug is present in the individual?s tissues. The system automatically adjusts its own release of chemical substances, such as neurotransmitters, hormones, and so forth, to account for the presence of the drug. Once the individual abruptly stops taking the particular drug, the system is thrown off balance, and this produces a number of physical symptoms known as withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal from a benzodiazepine like ativan can be potentially dangerous and even fatal due to the potential to develop seizures during the withdrawal process. Ativan withdrawal usually occurs in two stages: an acute stage and a prolonged stage. Ativan has a half-life of 10-12 hours on average, so withdrawal symptoms can start relatively quickly (within 24 hours) following the last dose. The average onset of withdrawal symptoms is 3-4 days. Acute withdrawal may begin with a rebound effects that consist of a rush of anxiety, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, and difficulty sleeping. Acute withdrawal phase symptoms may include: headache, sweating, tremors (especially in the hands), difficulty concentrating, and/or confusion increased blood pressure, heart palpitations, and a rapid heart rate nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting, and/or weight loss irritability, feelings of anxiety, mood swings, and/or even panic attacks seizures can occur in rare cases a protracted withdrawal syndrome (in some sources, this is just referred to as a withdrawal syndrome) occurs after the acute phase and typically lasts 10-14 days; however, in individuals who use very high doses of ativan, it could last even longer. In this stage, individuals will continue to experience symptoms of anxiety, drug cravings, nausea, vomiting, headache, general malaise, and may even to begin to develop depression.  

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