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Suggest Ways To Wean Off Ativan

Posted on Wed, 4 Feb 2015

Question: I have been off and on ativan for 17 years and average .50 when i take it. I usually take it 1 x every two weeks. On xmas eve i had to go to the hospital for itregular heartbeat and they injected me in my IV with 1.5 mg of ativan. Since then i am having horrible feelings of anxiety, tingling, high heartrate and insomnia. Can you recomend how i can ween off of it? I took .75 mg last evening to sleep. Help!

Answered by Dr. Shubham Mehta (43 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Drug change/dose reduction is needed.

Detailed Answer:
Hello
Welcome here.
I can understand your concerns

There are two ways to wean off from ativan.
1. Reduce the dose by 20% every week.
Or
2. Replace ativan with equivalent doses of long acting drug from similar class.
Once stabilized on equivalent dose, then the other drug can be reduced gradually by 20% every week.
Valium 5mg is equivalent to 0.5mg of ativan.

I usually prefer the second option as it causes less discomfort to my patients.

Please make these dose changes/reductions under your doctor's guidance.

Practice relaxation exercises like deep breathing and mediation to reduce your anxiety and improve your sleep.

Hope this helps.

Feel free to ask further questions.
Kindly close the discussion if you have no more queries and give your valuable feedback.

Thanks.
Dr. Shubham Mehta, M.D.

Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Bhagyalaxmi Nalaparaju