Lormetazepam Withdrawal

Lormetazepam is a drug commonly prescribed for the treatment of insomnia but when used for more than a couple of weeks tolerance and physical dependence typically develops. This means that the drug stops being effective but discontinuing it or lowering the dosage results in unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms from lormetazepam are the same for other drugs in the benzodiazepine class of drugs. There are a wide range of benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms which may be experienced when discontinuing or reducing the dosage of lormetazepam after long term use. Symptoms can range from severe insomnia and anxiety, agitation, paranoia and in severe cases psychosis and convulsions which may be life threatening.

Withdrawal

Withdrawing from lormetazepam must be done slowly. A slow withdrawal helps to minimise withdrawal symptoms and their intensity. Unfortunately lormetazepam is not available in low potency tablets and therefore withdrawing directly from it is likely to lead to complications such as significant withdrawal symptoms. The best way to withdraw from lormetazepam is to gradually cross over to an equivalent dose of diazepam. The reasons for using diazepam for tapering include its long half life and availability in low potency tablets which can be quartered and the fact that diazepam is in the same drug class as lormetazepam, the benzodiazepine family of drugs. These factors are why diazepam tapering is the preferred method of withdrawing from lormetazepam. Below is a chart for withdrawing from lormetazepam using diazepam. Aproximately 1.5 mg of lormetazepam is equivalent to 10 mg of diazepam. If you are on a different dosage simply adjust the diazepam equivalency and the chart to your own dosage. It is important to note that the chart below is only a rough guide. The rate that a person can taper at varies greatly from person to person with some people being able to taper faster or slower than others depending on many factors such as degree of physical dependence and addiction, dosage and length of time a person has taken the drug etc.

Withdrawing from Lormetazepam
Withdrawing from 1.5 mg of Lormetazepam using 2 mg Diazepam tablets.
Follow or Adapt Table From Your Starting or Current dose
Morning	Lunch Time	Evening	Before Bed	Total Daily Dose
			Lormetazepam 1.5 mg	Lormetazepam 1.5 mg
Cross over can be done in 4 stages instead of 2 stages or even more slowly if any difficulties are encountered during this suggested cross over to diazepam section.
			Lormetazepam 0.75 mg + Diazepam 5 mg	Lormetazepam 0.75 mg + Diazepam 5 mg
Stabalise for 2 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 10 mg	Diazepam 10 mg
Stabalise for 2 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 9 mg	Diazepam 9 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 8 mg	Diazepam 8 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 7 mg	Diazepam 7 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
See also NOTE below for additional information on withdrawing from 5 mg of diazepam
			Diazepam 6 mg	Diazepam 6 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 5 mg	Diazepam 5 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 4.5 mg	Diazepam 4.5 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 4 mg	Diazepam 4 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 3.5 mg	Diazepam 3.5 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 3 mg	Diazepam 3 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 2.5 mg	Diazepam 2.5 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 2 mg	Diazepam 2 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 1.5 mg	Diazepam 1.5 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 1 mg	Diazepam 1 mg
Hold reduction for 3 - 4 weeks
			Diazepam 0.5 mg	Diazepam 0.5 mg
Drop Last 0.5 mg dose of diazepam and Never Take Another Benzodiazepine Again
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gradual Diazepam Detox Complete

NOTE: Some people find it difficult in the final stages of withdrawal from 5 mg of diazepam to zero. If you are one of these people it may be of value asking your doctor to provide you with the 2 mg per 5 ml diazepam liquid suspension, and obtaining a 1 ml syringe from your local pharmacy/drug store/chemist. Users can then obtain smaller dose reductions than the 0.5 mg sized cuts using tablets. See this page on SLOW WITHDRAWAL FROM DIAZEPAM using liquid suspension diazepam.