Need help with protracted withdrawal - Biscotaki

[Sheila]

Aww, thanks, Bisco.

I did a quick Google on Vital Choice. Are you taking the one that also contains Vitamins D and A? If so, you might need to switch to a capsule that has nothing added, because you may be going up to a dose that’s high, and it would not be good to take too much D and A.

However, you should take 400 IU of E and you should be taking some Vit. C. But, *if* you switch, we have to remember to replace the A & D so you make as few changes as possible.

I also see Vital Choice is expensive. Trader Joe’s is cheap.

If it’s the pill I saw, each one has 1000 mg of fish oil, which is not the same thing as Omega-3. Omega-3 is just the amount of EPA + DHA in the pill, which looks like it’s 240 + 220 = 460 per pill. Is that right? Can you double check that?

If so, you’ve been taking 460 x 6 = 2760 per day for years which is a great start, but not enough to address the neurological chaos from the meds. But, it’s great news you tolerate it and are already started on it. Once we figure out how much you’re taking and which brand to take, you can go up by about 500 at a time.

Re Ativan – My usual advice in your situation would be to *not* taper off the Ativan right now. However, you are having strong intuition that you need to get off it, and I take that seriously, so let me ask a couple of questions.

You are someone who has reacted badly to every AD you were put on. Did you also react badly at the start up of the Ativan?

You just changed your dosing to half the amount twice as often. That’s a change your system has to adjust to. We could give it a couple of days and see what you notice. Do you notice interdose w/d?

What do you mean by mouth weakness? Are you saying it started when you switched dosing?

I really don’t know anything about this method of helping benzo interdose w/d. Were you able to find any more information on it? Have you Googled it?

Why do you think you need to get off the Ativan now despite being already in bad shape? What makes you think that?

[stan]

hello Biscotaki,

(my english is bad)
i think as Parox, not decreasing ativan actually, and as Sheila says, reinstating a little lexapro(but not 2 mg in one time, 1 mg during 1 week, look how you feel, and then 2 mg, gradually);
the other possibility to stop all meds and suffer and wait seem too hard and risky in your situation, you are already in chaos since a while;
the danger of these toxics is when moving drug, reinstating, updosing, stopping brutally; therefore all has to be very slowly and on long time to minimize suffering and risks

[biscotaki]

Aww, dear Stan :) Your English is wonderful ..I understood perfectly ..:)
Thank you for your wise words ..I think I should go easy too ..
..I worry about the Ativan causing me problems ..I notice issues after I take the 10 am dose, and the 2pm dose ..
But I will take your words to heart ..
Thank you for your support, and encouragement ..:)
Wishing you a blessed day ..xx

[Joy]

Hi Biscotaki,
I use to take Ativan for a limited time and ran across my information pamphlet that the pharmacy gave me when I got the prescription. I am going to write below what it says..and it directly refers to the withdrawl from it.

"This medication may cause withdrawal reactions, especially if it has been used regularly for a long time or in high doses(more than 1-4weeks) or if you have a history of alcooholism, drug abuse, or personality disorder. Withdrawal symptoms(such as seizures, trouble sleeping, mental/mood changes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, stomach pain, hallucinations, numbness/tingling of arms and legs, muscle pain, fast heartbeat, short-term memory loss, very high fever, and increased reactions to noise/touch/light) may occur if you suddenly stop using this medication. To prevent withdrawl reactions, your doctor may reduce your dose gradually."

I hope you feel better Biscotaki.
Joy

[biscotaki]

Sheila, Thank you for doing all this work :) You are an angel. ..:) I am sorry being late responding ..I am constantly weeping ..about anything. ..I think it is some sort of withdrawal ..I pray it passes soon ..:(
Looking at the Vital choice, it does not have vitamins D or A ..
It is called High Potency Omega -3 Therapy ..Here are the supplemental facts :
EPA IS 670 Mg
DHA IS 350 mg
WILD ALASKAN POLLOCK OIL 1680 mg
TOTAL OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS 1180 Mg.
I take 3 in the morning, and 3 in the evening ..
I will get vitamin E and C as you say ..
RE : ATIVAN
Yes, I was ill while on AD 'S, all of them ..I was not on Ativan ...But I started taking 2 Mg last year, when I got really ill while on Zoloft ..
Oooh about cutting the Ativan and taking it more frequently, I read yesterday that this is s bad idea, because it can cause rapid interdose problems .!! This frightenrd me, so today I went back to the old schedule, of 4 a day ..
Besides the crying, my head is in distress being heavy and dizzy ..It prevents me from walking ..
Also, I still suffer from anxiety, nervessness, heart palpitations, .. Whether on halves or whole tablets.
This is why I would love to taper it .. It gives me nothing but suffering ..:(
Besides the issues above, who knows which other symptoms I suffer, can be attributed to the Ativan.
As for my mouth, it is weakness that causes this problem, to where I am feeling frightened that if I open my mouth to speak, the words will come out scrambled ..:(
Thank you for your patience in reading all this ..I am overwhelmed with your kindness, that a simple thank you, sounds so inadequate ..
So. I will just say may God bless you always. ..Bis

[biscotaki]

I forgot to calculate the total Omega -3 I take per day ..It is 3,540 ..
What you think? Blessings ..Bis

[Sheila]

That is a good idea, Stan. 1 mg of Lexapro may be sufficient. And, if it is not, then it might be better to go up slowly on the Lexapro, since bisco does not tolerate ADs well.

[Sheila]

Omega-3 –

That’s good your Vital Choice pill doesn’t have A and D added. And that’s a nice high-potency pill.

I think it’s this one? –

http://www.vitalchoice.com/shop/pc/v...idcategory=784

If so, then it is 670 EPA and 340 DHA per “serving,” which is two pills.

That means you’re taking 670 + 350 = 1010. And you’re taking 6 pills, which equals 3 of their “servings” – 2 pills x 3 = 6 pills.

So, that means you’re taking 3030 mg / day.

I don’t know why their Omega-3 amount is higher than the sum of the EPA and DHA, so I’m going to ignore it. :) It might be a marketting fib or they might be including another form of Omega-3 which is less bio-available.

Can you confirm this? That the serving size is two pills?

=============


Ativan –

Where did you read that about more interdose w/d if you take half as much twice as frequently?

Have you made contact with a benzo board yet? I think this is a priority. I’m hoping someone who knows more about benzos may have an idea about how to lessen your interdose w/d without adding to or subtracting from the total dose.

From what you say, it is not clear that the Ativan is causing you problems. I am listening to your intuition, but I know for a fact that all your symptoms can be accounted for by AD w/d.

So far, I cannot see that it would help you start tapering the Ativan yet. I promise you *will* be able to get off it later.

One option will be for you to cross-taper from Ativan to a longer half-life Valium and then taper off the Valium. But, I know nothing about this. You have to talk to people with benzo expertise. And you’re not stable enough to do this yet.

==============


Plan –

So, what do you think about raising your Omega-3 for a week or two, and then maybe going up to 1 mg of Lexapro?

[biscotaki]

Sheila it was at one of those boards, where there was a discussion about my cutting the Ativan ..This person persuaded me that I should stay at 4 a day as before ..Because he felt that if there are interdosing problems, I need to start tapering, instead of suffering ..Or updose ..updosing I would not do ..
I like the plan ..:) How up should I take the Omegas do you think?
How I wish my head issues would just disappear :( They are acting up today. ..my anxiety has too ..:(
God bless all of you, at your wonderful site ..
And God bless all people who are hurting .. Bis

[Luc]

The symptoms you're experiencing right now is SSRI WD, Biscotaki. If you now started tapering Ativan, those would only get worse. Getting on a low dose of Lexapro would help you alleviate these terrible WD symptoms. Even a tiny amount of the drug may activate neurotransmitters enough to relieve your suffering.

Meanwhile, of course, you could try contacting a benzo board and learn more about benzo taper. And when you are ready (in the future), you will start slowly lowering the dose of Ativan.

Are you experiencing any moments of relief these days? We call those "windows" (as opposite to "waves" = bad symptoms).

All is going to be ok, just take it step by step.