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Is Lorazepam Safe To Stop Abruptly?
Question: I am on .5 - 1 mg of lorazepam for sleep and experiencing dizziness, lightheadedness, blurred vision and am trying to taper off of it. Last night I only slept 1.5 hours when I took only .25 so I ended up taking another .5. But still did not sleep any more. What is the best way to taper off it. Can I just go cold turkey? I have only been taking it a short time and find I react to all similar medications including buspar, trazadone and the amitripiline in the same way. YYYY@YYYY
Brief Answer:
You can go down by 20% every week or every alternative week
Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXX,
Thanks for using Healthcaremagic.
I think it will be better if you taper down it gradually. Cold turkey is option but it have more chance of rebound insomnia and probably increase in dose in compare to slow withdrawal.
To have minimal withdrawal symptoms you can go by 15-20 % reduction every one to two weeks depending on the response and problems encountered. If no problem at all than every week reduction can be practiced. IF there are mild withdrawal symptoms it is better to reduce further only after two weeks.
I understand that we do not have option to get very accurate dose after 15-20% reduction but the same tablet can be crushed and divided appropriately and can be taken along with water.
Hope I am able to answer your concerns.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for my future patients.
In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:
http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-ashok-kumar/67386
Thanks and regards.
You can go down by 20% every week or every alternative week
Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXX,
Thanks for using Healthcaremagic.
I think it will be better if you taper down it gradually. Cold turkey is option but it have more chance of rebound insomnia and probably increase in dose in compare to slow withdrawal.
To have minimal withdrawal symptoms you can go by 15-20 % reduction every one to two weeks depending on the response and problems encountered. If no problem at all than every week reduction can be practiced. IF there are mild withdrawal symptoms it is better to reduce further only after two weeks.
I understand that we do not have option to get very accurate dose after 15-20% reduction but the same tablet can be crushed and divided appropriately and can be taken along with water.
Hope I am able to answer your concerns.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for my future patients.
In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:
http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-ashok-kumar/67386
Thanks and regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Yes but could only split the pills into quarters as they were too small but that seems to be working. I have reduced by 25%.
Brief Answer:
That is acceptable
Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXXXX
Thanks for reverting back to me.
What I mentioned over the last query was ideal and some deviation is acceptable.
Still in first week take the somewhat larger part and than next week take the smaller part. I know this is not perfect but better to follow rough estimation when precise estimation not possible.
Hope I am able to answer your concerns.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for my future patients.
In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:
http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-ashok-kumar/67386
Thanks and regards.
That is acceptable
Detailed Answer:
Dear XXXXXXX
Thanks for reverting back to me.
What I mentioned over the last query was ideal and some deviation is acceptable.
Still in first week take the somewhat larger part and than next week take the smaller part. I know this is not perfect but better to follow rough estimation when precise estimation not possible.
Hope I am able to answer your concerns.
If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you.
If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for my future patients.
In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link:
http://doctor.healthcaremagic.com/doctors/dr-ashok-kumar/67386
Thanks and regards.
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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