I have been taking .25 mg of ativan daily for 14 days to help with my nerves during high stakes plo live game. I am wanting to stop taking it but keep reading terrible things online about ativan and withdraws. Is .25 mg for 14 days so much that I need to taper or can I quit with no withdraws since only a couple weeks and half a normal dosage.

Dont worry about it. A lot of people have taken more and much more dangerous drugs than you and are fine.

Why even take it?

If you have to drug up to compete, how much of a competitor are you?

I think he mentioned it was to calm his nerves.

Then don't play.

Be careful up there on that high horse of yours.

I work collaboratively with a psychiatrist and therapists at a mental health facility and am very familiar with Ativan. From what I know, that's a pretty small dose you're taking, and it seems you're not taking it multiple times a day nor have you been taking it for an extended period of time. I think, unless your body chemistry is very unique, that you're perfectly fine stopping cold turkey.

I would agree. You are at a good stage to quit. If you do not, your body will build up tolerance to that dosage and you will need a higher dosage for any effectiveness and thats when you will have problems of withdrawal.
Good luck!

It's just my opinion. If you have to drug up to feel like you can compete at a certain level, then in my mind it's cheating. I look at it like the steroid situation in baseball. It's a moral issue to me. I didn't say he shouldn't do it or that it was illegal. I just spoke my mind and you apparently think I ride horses. I'm not even going to bring up the issue of why asking for medical advice on a poker forum about a psychotropic drug is silly. That's just a given.

Plus, what have you added to the discussion?

To those who added to the thread thanks, to those who criticized thats just a dumb theory on steroids vs mood stabalizer. I know tons of high stakes pros who are on SSRI and on adderall all the time. Most of the final table of wsop will have some chemical helping them get through life...thats just reality kid.

.25 a day for 14 days should under normal circumstances produce little to no withdrawal effects. 1mg a day for 14 def might. 1 mg a day for 30 should.

I'm no expert but I do have some hands on experience with benzos. I would avoid them if I was you and I'm make this statement to be dramatic or whatnot but all in all...Highly addictive and something to avoid if you can.

I'm not a Docter, but I'll tell you my experience.

I've taken Lorazapam (Ativan) off and on (but mostly on) for over 5 years. The highest dosage I've taken has been 2mg. I don't take them for any other purpose other than racing thoughts and anxiety when I try to fall asleep. I've stopped off and on several times but I've never quit cold turkey from 2mg dosage or 1mg 2x daily dosage. When I feel like trying life without them, I reduce my dosage by .5mg a week until I'm at .5mg 1x per day, then quit for several months. I've never had a problem doing this.

If I was on .25mg 2xday and wanted to stop, I would quit cold turkey and not even bother weening myself down. If I wanted to be ultra safe, I would reduce down to .25mg 1xday for a week then quit.

Oh, don't drink or take opiates while on Lorazapam. You may end up like Heath Ledger. Seriously, opiates and alcohol and lorazapam cocktail will turn you into a drooling idiot for a day.

Beta and Alpha blockers are much better. But I only take them for medical reasons. They will inhibit adrenal rushes for all but the most surprising and stressful situations.

You would have to be suicidal to play high stakes PLO on ativan. I have taken this stuff before, and it seriously messed me up. I would always wake up the next day really groggy. The most typical ativan side effects are nausea and addiction, but overdosing is possible as well. Simply put, no sane person should risk the addiction for any reason. Ativan is mainly used for sleep aid, so unless it is really benefiting your PLO play for anxiety reasons, I just do not see any use.

I myself wouldn't take it just to play poker, but it's useful when taken under Doctors orders for an underlying anxiety problem unrelated to gambling. If you happen to be on Beta blockers too, well that's even better. Again, only do this if you have the underlying medical condition.

As I said in another response, Lorazapam + Opiates is a very bad combo to be on when making critical decisions. Lorazapam and excess alcohol isn't any better. Lorazapam + modest amount of Marijuana is okay because you're just not going to feel like gambling. **ck, when they kick in you'll probably just turn around and go back home and watch cartoons or contemplate how degenerate gambling is on society.