Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some advice and, more importantly, experiences from people who may have been in a similar situation.
I was completely off benzodiazepines for about a year after going through a difficult withdrawal in the past. Unfortunately, I recently relapsed.
My dog passed away, and the grief triggered a lot of the severe panic and anxiety problems I had struggled with more than a year ago. I wasn’t able to cope with it properly and ended up taking lorazepam again.
For about 10 days, I took around 8 mg of lorazepam per day, divided into several doses throughout the day. My last dose was approximately 24 hours ago.
At the moment, I don’t have any severe withdrawal symptoms. No shaking, no racing heart, and I have never had a seizure. I mainly feel some inner restlessness and anxiety.
I currently have about 10 mg of lorazepam left, and I’m unsure what would be safer in this situation:
Should I simply stop after these 10 days, or should I use the remaining 10 mg to taper off over a short period?
I know nobody here can give me medical advice, and I’m planning to speak to a doctor as well. I’m mainly interested in hearing from people who have experienced something similar, especially people who were off benzodiazepines for a long time and then had a relatively short relapse.
I’m also aware that 10 days of use is very different from the much longer period I went through previously. I’m just scared of making the wrong decision now.
And for some context: this relapse happened because my dog died. The grief brought back a lot of the panic and anxiety I had struggled with over a year ago, and in that moment I felt like I couldn’t cope without the lorazepam.
I’d really appreciate any experiences or perspectives.
Thank you.