![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 2 of 2. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by mat54 on September 25, 2013, at 10:58:29
Hi - I've been taking oxazepam for a number of years, about 20 mg daily. I often split the 10 mg pills for a lesser but more prolonged effect (short-lived benzodiazepine). About 5 months ago I developed insomnia where I could fall asleep but awoke after 3 or 4 hours, increasingly with anxiety, and could not get back to sleep. Then my anxiety started getting worse during the day. My doctor increased my oxazepam dose to 30 mg daily. I had previously occasionally taken 0.5 to 1.0 mg Ativan for previously relatively rare panic attacks, but these suddenly increased necessitating more frequent Ativan. In addition, the only way I could sleep through the night was by taking at least 0.5 mg Ativan.
Wondering if withdrawal from the short-acting Oxazepam could be contributing to the situation (although never had before in all the years) I discussed with my doctor and yesterday started taking Diazepam 3 x 5 mg daily in the hope of substituting this for both the Oxazepam and the Ativan. However I was unable to sleep last night even after taking 5 mg Diazepam, and this morning I'm feeling considerable anxiety although I took 5 mg earlier.
I would appreciate any knowledge or experience that might be relevant and helpful. Thank you.
Posted by Hugh on September 25, 2013, at 18:11:35
In reply to Switching from Oxazepam to Diazepam? Withdrawal?, posted by mat54 on September 25, 2013, at 11:05:43
I took lorazepam for three years for insomnia. It worked very well for quite a while, though I had to increase my dosage twice because of tolerance. Then I started to experience inter-dose withdrawal, with considerable anxiety and lots of gastrointestinal problems. I decided to get off benzos altogether. I tapered lorazepam for two months, then did a crossover to diazepam, and tapered that for two months.
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.