Need to quit dexedrine, lorazepam and caffeine - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

invisible7 · 07-22-2007, 10:13 AM

I am trying to quit taking dexedrine and lorazepam and want to do it with the current medication I have and not get any more refills. I have 21 more dexedrine left and I only take 10 mg and I have 62 lorazepam and take 3 pills at night to help me sleep.

I was thinking that I would take the dexedrine every other day for 10 days and then throw the rest out and the lorazepam taper down to 2 pills for 5 days then 1 pill for 5days and then throw the rest out.

As far as quitting caffeine, I am going to drink sprite and diet sprite and see what happens.

My doctor put me on a drug called lamactil and I don't want to take 3 different drugs that affect my moods.

Please let me know if anyone here quit dexedrine and/or lorazepam and if there were any side affects.

Thanks!

Buzz Kilowatt · 07-22-2007, 10:35 AM

Tapering from Lorazepam (Ativan) needs to be done under a doctor's supervision. Tapering from benzos is a gradual process, and too rapid a taper can be life threatening . . . convulsions are a risk.

No doubt getting off the the speed will make it easier to fall asleep. I know of no risks to tapering off of dexedrine but I am not a physician. It is very important that you consult with a qualified physician about all of this.

Buzz

northbelle · 07-22-2007, 10:53 AM

SOunds like your on a kinda mellow speedball!! You CAN get off of them but it should be a real slow taper from the benzos...I had to do a medical taper 3 times trying to get off them suckers...the slower the better...in my personal unqualified opinion....you are going to miss the zip of the dexedrine and probably be real tired for a bit...BUT YOU CAN DO IT!!!! Ask you doctor though PLEEZ..
love north

northbelle · 07-22-2007, 10:54 AM

Oh and YES QUITTING lorazepam will certainly have side effects...

invisible7 · 07-22-2007, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buzz Kilowatt

Tapering from Lorazepam (Ativan) needs to be done under a doctor's supervision. Tapering from benzos is a gradual process, and too rapid a taper can be life threatening . . . convulsions are a risk.

No doubt getting off the the speed will make it easier to fall asleep. I know of no risks to tapering off of dexedrine but I am not a physician. It is very important that you consult with a qualified physician about all of this.

Buzz

I will consult the doctor who prescribed lamactil about tapering off lorazepam. I didn't know it could be life threatening.

Thanks

invisible7 · 07-22-2007, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by northbelle

SOunds like your on a kinda mellow speedball!! You CAN get off of them but it should be a real slow taper from the benzos...I had to do a medical taper 3 times trying to get off them suckers...the slower the better...in my personal unqualified opinion....you are going to miss the zip of the dexedrine and probably be real tired for a bit...BUT YOU CAN DO IT!!!! Ask you doctor though PLEEZ..
love north

I don't think the dexedrine is doing anything for me...maybe psychologically, but not physically. Anyway, as I am typing this, I am having weird dizzy sensations and since I am starting a new drug, lamactil, I guess I should stay on the others to see what is causing the symptoms because I didn't take the dexedrine this morning.

Thanks for replying, it helps to get someone else's opinion before I do anything crazy. Ugh...I hate to be dependent on anything

Christian · 07-23-2007, 09:11 PM

drinking sodas, regular or diet is certainly going to be disastrous for your health.

regular is loaded with High Fructose Corn SYrup, and diet has tons of chemicals and artificial sweeteners that certainly should be avoided.

Try drinking water instead

invisible7 · 08-19-2007, 07:39 AM

Under my doctor's advice, I am almost off dexedrine! I have had no side affects at all which I am not surprised because it wasn't doing anything anyway. I only have 4 more pills to take and should be done. I'm also down to 2 lorazepam's per night instead of 3 with no problem. My only problem now is that I am taking 1 lorazepam during the day which I wasn't doing before. It helps with my anxiety and "shakiness".

Also, I think the hardest drug to quit and most addictive is caffeine. I can't stop drinking mt. dew. I have about 4 a day. I am psycholigically addicted to it and probably physically.

I have a question....has anyone had a saliva hormone drug test? I have had one recently and my DHEAS, testosterone and cortisol were all very high and out of range. I am a 39 year old female. I wonder is dexedrine can cause this?

ccgirl · 08-19-2007, 08:01 AM

I have two points to make. Take the benzo w/d slowly. Withdrawals can be disastrous. check out ala's thread on that one.

Secondly for mood disorders, lamictal (i take it 300 mg per day for bipolar) has very few if any side effects and has been a godsend to me. That's my personal experience.

2ala2 · 08-19-2007, 08:04 AM

Hey Invisible,
I wouldn't worry about the Caffeine at this point.
Yes, Benzo withdrawal can be tragic. It was hell for me! Tell your doctor about your daytime use.
Good luck!

Barto · 08-19-2007, 08:13 AM

Don’t get frightened. If you can quit the caffeine, your benzo withdrawal will be much, much smoother – at least that’s the way it works for me (and most others). You will probably still need to go slow and under a doctor's care, but caffeine and benzo recovery do not mix (for most).

It is likely you haven’t yet experienced insomnia because you have not cut down your benzo dose. You are just spreading them out over the day. Good luck.

Barto · 08-19-2007, 08:28 AM

I haven’t been able to stay off for more than 30 days in quite some time, and most cannot even do that, but I keep trying. Hey, what else can you do?

emmer · 08-19-2007, 08:43 AM

I'm not sure about your other meds but as others have mentioned don't whatever you do detox your self of any benzo. Too damn dangerous!
Let your doctor know you want off it ...... he/she will detox you off slowly.

Barto · 08-19-2007, 11:30 AM

It appears your meds are doctor prescribed. Do you mind me asking why you feel you need to quit them? Did your doctor say you should get off? I’m curious because it has been suggested to me that I may have to stay on mine for a while, possibly even the rest of my life. I’ll know more as I resume tapering. If your reasons are personal, I understand. Or, if you prefer, you can PM me.

BTW, my plan is to taper by about .125 mg every week or so once I am off caffeine for about two weeks. Getting off and staying off the caffeine, continuing to exercise, continuing to work the steps, etc. are the tools I believe will allow me to make an intelligent decision, along with my doctor’s guidance of course.

Again, the one bit of medical advice I can give you is to talk to your doctor before you implement any taper plan. Going too fast, even off of a prescribed and relatively low dose, can be ugly. Going off doesn’t have to be ugly, but it sure can be.

invisible7 · 08-19-2007, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barto

It appears your meds are doctor prescribed. Do you mind me asking why you feel you need to quit them? Did your doctor say you should get off? I’m curious because it has been suggested to me that I may have to stay on mine for a while, possibly even the rest of my life. I’ll know more as I resume tapering. If your reasons are personal, I understand. Or, if you prefer, you can PM me.

BTW, my plan is to taper by about .125 mg every week or so once I am off caffeine for about two weeks. Getting off and staying off the caffeine, continuing to exercise, continuing to work the steps, etc. are the tools I believe will allow me to make an intelligent decision, along with my doctor’s guidance of course.

Again, the one bit of medical advice I can give you is to talk to your doctor before you implement any taper plan. Going too fast, even off of a prescribed and relatively low dose, can be ugly. Going off doesn’t have to be ugly, but it sure can be.

Hi Barto,

My primary physician wasn't comfortable with the fact that on my own I upped the lorazepam to 3 pills a night instead of 1-2 and he made a comment like I was doing no different than somebody buying these drugs on the street.....upper in the morning and downer in the evening. So another doctor prescribed both. But the dexedrine did not even take the edge off of my fatigue so that's why I don't want to be on it and I don't think my doc will up the dexedrine dose, so it's worthless to take it.

I really don't like taking drugs and worry about the affect on my liver and I guess I am always thinking if I was diagnosed correctly that I wouldn't have to be taking drugs that affect my mood. I have a feeling though that I will probably stay on lorazepam for awhile because it helps me sleep and helps anxiety. But if I start to act different, more hyper or more depressed, my husband and kids will all comment that the "drugs" are affecting me. Or if I'm really happy and silly, my husband will say, let me have what you are taking. So it's like I can't just be "me" because I am on mood controlling drugs. I went through a spell for a few months of crying when someone would say just about anything about me that I didn't like, I saw a psychiatrist and guess what...he prescribed even more drugs. I took them for 10 days and then quit. I don't want to be dependent on a drug to control my moods, so this is the main reason I don't want to be on anything. If a drug was actually "curing" a disease rather than controlling symptoms, then I wouldn't feel uncomfortable taking it.

So what are you taking benzos for? Did a doctor tell you that you might have to stay on them for awhile? Are you taking anything else?

Barto · 08-19-2007, 02:47 PM

I was diagnosed with panic disorder. All I take is Klonopin. I am tapering down to see if I can manage without the medication because, like you, I don’t like being dependant on anything. However, if it doesn’t work, I’ll stay on a comfortable dose. I won’t try to brave panic attacks, raging tinnitus, and brain fog when the meds will help, but that’s just me. Additionally, the doctor did say there is chance that I might need to me on the meds for an extended period of time.

I was on Klonopin before, but went off way too fast, and AMA. It was not pretty. Last time I quite caffeine I was able to taper Xanax relatively easily though. But I started with the caffeine again, and, while going on and off caffeine and crossing over to Klonopin (which is supposed to be easier to taper from), I wound up on a slightly higher dose (3mg).

There is also this dilemma in the benzo world: is it withdrawal or the underlying condition(s) re-emerging that is causing the symptoms? It is confusing because the withdrawal symptoms mimic the symptoms of anxiety, panic, and depression.

If you do taper off, it is strongly recommended you do it under a doctor’s care. Although I’ve heard that some experience no symptoms, or relatively mild symptoms, others go through hell. I was hoping to be among one of the former categories, but no such luck, not last time anyway.

I am trying to chronicle my taper experience in my "caffeine and tapering" thread, but so far, I haven’t had much luck staying off the caffeine.

I think the upper downer scenario your doctor called you on is probably right. Like North said, it sounds like a little mild speed ball action.

I hope you keep posting because we are all here to learn from and support each other. Sometimes we disagree, but I think most of the time everyone means well.

invisible7 · 08-25-2007, 01:50 PM

I am feeling like crap !!!!!! I tapered off of dexedrine and was just taking 5 mg every other day and took 1 yesterday just because i thought i needed it and now I know why I started taking it. I had energy and felt good even on 5 mg. Today I feel like I have the flu and I'm weak and ready to cry (I am crying) because this disease I have is not going away. When I tell my mom or husband or whoever will listen to me how I feel, they will say they have a headache too or they don't feel good either and totally dismissing my symptoms. I think they are just so tired of me complaining. I was taking dexedrine for energy and when 10 mg didn't do the job, I thought it would be better to not take it than to take 10 mg and not have it do any good. I don't think I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms, but I am experience symptoms from this authoimmune disease I have and they won't go away and I keep thinking why am I taking medicine and I still feel this way and I keep going in circles thinking that I should just quit taking everything and then thinking well I need to take more until I feel normal. This is a physical illness that consumes all of my energy and there is never a time that I have my energy back. Some of my family went on a hike today and I couldn't go because I'm suffering from flu symptoms today. I know this is a sober recovery forum, but I have to vent and talk to people who feel like I do, because my family doesn't understand.....

07-22-2007, 10:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
invisible7 invisible7 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: CO Posts: 22	Need to quit dexedrine, lorazepam and caffeine I am trying to quit taking dexedrine and lorazepam and want to do it with the current medication I have and not get any more refills. I have 21 more dexedrine left and I only take 10 mg and I have 62 lorazepam and take 3 pills at night to help me sleep. I was thinking that I would take the dexedrine every other day for 10 days and then throw the rest out and the lorazepam taper down to 2 pills for 5 days then 1 pill for 5days and then throw the rest out. As far as quitting caffeine, I am going to drink sprite and diet sprite and see what happens. My doctor put me on a drug called lamactil and I don't want to take 3 different drugs that affect my moods. Please let me know if anyone here quit dexedrine and/or lorazepam and if there were any side affects. Thanks!

07-23-2007, 09:11 PM	#7 (permalink)
Christian Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: san diego, ca Posts: 203	dont drink the soda drinking sodas, regular or diet is certainly going to be disastrous for your health. regular is loaded with High Fructose Corn SYrup, and diet has tons of chemicals and artificial sweeteners that certainly should be avoided. Try drinking water instead
	__________________ I am not a qualified medical professional or doctor, and I only offer my best opinion and knowledge on areas.

08-19-2007, 08:04 AM	#10 (permalink)
2ala2 Affiliate Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Cairo Posts: 709	Hey Invisible, I wouldn't worry about the Caffeine at this point. Yes, Benzo withdrawal can be tragic. It was hell for me! Tell your doctor about your daytime use. Good luck!
	__________________ It's all about today!

08-19-2007, 08:13 AM	#11 (permalink)
Barto Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Righthere, Rightnow Posts: 1,418	Benzo withdrawal can also be fairly easy, too; if done properly. Don’t get frightened. If you can quit the caffeine, your benzo withdrawal will be much, much smoother – at least that’s the way it works for me (and most others). You will probably still need to go slow and under a doctor's care, but caffeine and benzo recovery do not mix (for most). It is likely you haven’t yet experienced insomnia because you have not cut down your benzo dose. You are just spreading them out over the day. Good luck.

08-19-2007, 08:28 AM	#12 (permalink)
Barto Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Righthere, Rightnow Posts: 1,418	And I agree that quitting caffeine is the toughest. I haven’t been able to stay off for more than 30 days in quite some time, and most cannot even do that, but I keep trying. Hey, what else can you do?

07-22-2007, 10:35 AM	#2 (permalink)
Buzz Kilowatt Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Terminus, GA Posts: 474	Tapering from Lorazepam (Ativan) needs to be done under a doctor's supervision. Tapering from benzos is a gradual process, and too rapid a taper can be life threatening . . . convulsions are a risk. No doubt getting off the the speed will make it easier to fall asleep. I know of no risks to tapering off of dexedrine but I am not a physician. It is very important that you consult with a qualified physician about all of this. Buzz

07-22-2007, 10:53 AM	#3 (permalink)
northbelle Dopeless Hope Fiend Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: anchorage Alaska Posts: 1,462	SOunds like your on a kinda mellow speedball!! You CAN get off of them but it should be a real slow taper from the benzos...I had to do a medical taper 3 times trying to get off them suckers...the slower the better...in my personal unqualified opinion....you are going to miss the zip of the dexedrine and probably be real tired for a bit...BUT YOU CAN DO IT!!!! Ask you doctor though PLEEZ.. love north

07-22-2007, 10:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
northbelle Dopeless Hope Fiend Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: anchorage Alaska Posts: 1,462	Oh and YES QUITTING lorazepam will certainly have side effects...

08-19-2007, 07:39 AM	#8 (permalink)
invisible7 invisible7 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: CO Posts: 22	Under my doctor's advice, I am almost off dexedrine! I have had no side affects at all which I am not surprised because it wasn't doing anything anyway. I only have 4 more pills to take and should be done. I'm also down to 2 lorazepam's per night instead of 3 with no problem. My only problem now is that I am taking 1 lorazepam during the day which I wasn't doing before. It helps with my anxiety and "shakiness". Also, I think the hardest drug to quit and most addictive is caffeine. I can't stop drinking mt. dew. I have about 4 a day. I am psycholigically addicted to it and probably physically. I have a question....has anyone had a saliva hormone drug test? I have had one recently and my DHEAS, testosterone and cortisol were all very high and out of range. I am a 39 year old female. I wonder is dexedrine can cause this?

08-19-2007, 08:01 AM	#9 (permalink)
ccgirl Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Harwich, MA Posts: 2,593	I have two points to make. Take the benzo w/d slowly. Withdrawals can be disastrous. check out ala's thread on that one. Secondly for mood disorders, lamictal (i take it 300 mg per day for bipolar) has very few if any side effects and has been a godsend to me. That's my personal experience.

08-19-2007, 08:43 AM	#13 (permalink)
emmer The lion sleeps tonight Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 1,538	I'm not sure about your other meds but as others have mentioned don't whatever you do detox your self of any benzo. Too damn dangerous! Let your doctor know you want off it ...... he/she will detox you off slowly.

08-19-2007, 11:30 AM	#14 (permalink)
Barto Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Righthere, Rightnow Posts: 1,418	Hey Invisible, It appears your meds are doctor prescribed. Do you mind me asking why you feel you need to quit them? Did your doctor say you should get off? I’m curious because it has been suggested to me that I may have to stay on mine for a while, possibly even the rest of my life. I’ll know more as I resume tapering. If your reasons are personal, I understand. Or, if you prefer, you can PM me. BTW, my plan is to taper by about .125 mg every week or so once I am off caffeine for about two weeks. Getting off and staying off the caffeine, continuing to exercise, continuing to work the steps, etc. are the tools I believe will allow me to make an intelligent decision, along with my doctor’s guidance of course. Again, the one bit of medical advice I can give you is to talk to your doctor before you implement any taper plan. Going too fast, even off of a prescribed and relatively low dose, can be ugly. Going off doesn’t have to be ugly, but it sure can be.
	Last edited by Barto; 08-19-2007 at 11:46 AM.

08-19-2007, 02:47 PM	#16 (permalink)
Barto Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Righthere, Rightnow Posts: 1,418	Hey Invisable I was diagnosed with panic disorder. All I take is Klonopin. I am tapering down to see if I can manage without the medication because, like you, I don’t like being dependant on anything. However, if it doesn’t work, I’ll stay on a comfortable dose. I won’t try to brave panic attacks, raging tinnitus, and brain fog when the meds will help, but that’s just me. Additionally, the doctor did say there is chance that I might need to me on the meds for an extended period of time. I was on Klonopin before, but went off way too fast, and AMA. It was not pretty. Last time I quite caffeine I was able to taper Xanax relatively easily though. But I started with the caffeine again, and, while going on and off caffeine and crossing over to Klonopin (which is supposed to be easier to taper from), I wound up on a slightly higher dose (3mg). There is also this dilemma in the benzo world: is it withdrawal or the underlying condition(s) re-emerging that is causing the symptoms? It is confusing because the withdrawal symptoms mimic the symptoms of anxiety, panic, and depression. If you do taper off, it is strongly recommended you do it under a doctor’s care. Although I’ve heard that some experience no symptoms, or relatively mild symptoms, others go through hell. I was hoping to be among one of the former categories, but no such luck, not last time anyway. I am trying to chronicle my taper experience in my "caffeine and tapering" thread, but so far, I haven’t had much luck staying off the caffeine. I think the upper downer scenario your doctor called you on is probably right. Like North said, it sounds like a little mild speed ball action. I hope you keep posting because we are all here to learn from and support each other. Sometimes we disagree, but I think most of the time everyone means well.

08-25-2007, 01:50 PM	#17 (permalink)
invisible7 invisible7 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: CO Posts: 22	I am feeling like crap !!!!!! I tapered off of dexedrine and was just taking 5 mg every other day and took 1 yesterday just because i thought i needed it and now I know why I started taking it. I had energy and felt good even on 5 mg. Today I feel like I have the flu and I'm weak and ready to cry (I am crying) because this disease I have is not going away. When I tell my mom or husband or whoever will listen to me how I feel, they will say they have a headache too or they don't feel good either and totally dismissing my symptoms. I think they are just so tired of me complaining. I was taking dexedrine for energy and when 10 mg didn't do the job, I thought it would be better to not take it than to take 10 mg and not have it do any good. I don't think I am experiencing withdrawal symptoms, but I am experience symptoms from this authoimmune disease I have and they won't go away and I keep thinking why am I taking medicine and I still feel this way and I keep going in circles thinking that I should just quit taking everything and then thinking well I need to take more until I feel normal. This is a physical illness that consumes all of my energy and there is never a time that I have my energy back. Some of my family went on a hike today and I couldn't go because I'm suffering from flu symptoms today. I know this is a sober recovery forum, but I have to vent and talk to people who feel like I do, because my family doesn't understand.....