![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by janejj on January 9, 2003, at 14:46:49
Hello,
I am on day 5 of my Lorazepam withdrawal. I didn't sleep at all well for 3 nights, but last night I actually slept for quite a long time and woke up feeling refreshed.
I don't actually feel any other withdrawal symptoms. I was taking 1mg a night to sleep.
The thing is I have been reading some 'benzo' recovery sites and they scare the hell out of me. Is it likely that I am 'in for a really bad fall' ? As one member told me ? Am I going to get protracted withdrawal symptoms in a week ? I know its silly to stop cold turkey, but its not like I was taking it all day, only at night.
Am I not going to sleep properly for 6 months ? i mean thats enough to make me want to start taking it again !
Thanks
Janejj
Posted by Guy on January 9, 2003, at 22:58:48
In reply to Lorazepam withdrawal...., posted by janejj on January 9, 2003, at 14:46:49
I find that my state of mind is probably the factor that influences my sleep the most. Think positive thoughts and things will likely turn out OK, think negative thoughts and your fears may come true. My doctor always says, every fear is a hope and every hope a fear. Not sure if this is true, but the fact that you are already sleeping without meds is a VERY positive sign. Each individual is different...sounds to me like you're going to be just fine.
Posted by ArthurGibson on January 10, 2003, at 7:26:25
In reply to Lorazepam withdrawal...., posted by janejj on January 9, 2003, at 14:46:49
You are almost certainly over the worst and probably over 99% of the withdrawal.
OK there are scare stories, but its only a small minority of cases. By the time you read this you will have had another good night, maybe two more.
Remember being ON a sleeping tablet is often worse than the withdrawal. The sleep you get on sleeping tablets is like not getting any sleep when you wake. In other words its not refreshing. The true sleep you are now getting will make you feel great.
Posted by agencypanic on January 10, 2003, at 22:18:41
In reply to Re: Lorazepam withdrawal...., posted by ArthurGibson on January 10, 2003, at 7:26:25
The sleep you get on sleeping tablets is like not getting any sleep when you wake. In other words its not refreshing. The true sleep you are now getting will make you feel great.
Just to be argumentative, I don't completely agree. I've found that I get decent sleep with .5-1.5mg of ativan and it can even be refreshing-- especially when getting no sleep w/o it. There does seem to be a difference
in 'quality'-- it's not the _same_ kind of sleep as w/o drugs, but not necessarily worse. I get some pretty interesting dreams with it too. My message isn't intended to belittle the difficulty of withdrawal-- I've dealt with that too.
I found that I was able to get over it in a few week's time. The problem that I've found with ativan is that I disregarded the prescribed dosage. If .5mg/before bed was good, then 1,2,3,4mg should be better right? And if you're depressed
to begin with, you really don't care about the difficulties you'll face when you want to stop taking it. Once I got a grip on my depression, then my sleep problems sorted themselves out.
Posted by HIBA on January 11, 2003, at 0:57:30
In reply to Lorazepam withdrawal...., posted by janejj on January 9, 2003, at 14:46:49
Oh Dear,"What we have to fear is fear itself"
Just remember those great words. And those horrible stories you hear from others especially benzophobics do never worth a consideration. Anybody can have a bad reaction on a medication and fabricate a horror story. Protracted withdrawal is still alien to clinical settings. So don't worry. The real motive of benzophobics is "If you can't convince them, confuse them"
Don't get trapped. Don't get confused. You are going to be alright.
HIBA
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.