Lorazepam withdrawal

Mental health
1

My cousin is 44 and has a severe learning disability as well as cerebral palsy and epilepsy. She  went into residential care over a year ago and was recently moved to a new bungalow where the staff decided to stop her 1mg Lorazepam that she has taken every night for many years because the new GP mistakenly wrote 'Take one at night when needed' and staff are now following PRN policy. 

After I expressed my concern an emergency appointment was made to see a (new) psychiatrist who stated that because she had been on the Lorazepam for so long it would probably have no effect on her and to continue it as PRN.

We would rather she was tapered off it than given randomly. They administer 1mg if unsettled 20 minutes before bed -  or administer 1mg if awake and anxious over a 20 minute period during the night.

Although family disagreed we gave the staff the benefit of the doubt but was shocked when we visited my cousin after 5 weeks to see she is ripping her hair out, is screaming and screching for much longer periods and has lost almost a stone in weight.

We know her well and the sad thing is she has no voice and relies on the kindness and understanding of the staff who unfortunately did not give themselves time to get to know her or allow her to settle in before they withdrew the drug and the decision to give or not to give is left to support workers.

I know 1mg is a low dose but I do believe she is having withdrawal symptoms because it was suddenly stopped and then only given now and again, sometimes at 4am and then not for a few days or even a week and then given again.

We feel that nobody understands our concern and they think we are being over protective.

I'd be interested in anybody's thoughts on this. We just want her to be happy and well looked after but I am wondering if it is too much to expect.

 

2

Hi hun I worked as a support worker for yrs and the fam doctors nurse and social worker have to have meeting to discuss the best possible for her it's wrong to stop abruptly the new doc should av looked at her pcp to elevate her needs she should be on what ever medication that keeps her happy you have to do what's in her best interest no one should be woken early hours of the morning to be given sedative have word with the doctor explain your concerns xx

3

Hi Veronica,

Many thanks for your comments.

Your are so right about decision making and best interest. That the decision to stop abruptly was taken on pharmacist advice and then an unhelpful GP who refused to alter the 'Take one at night if needed' instructions, despite the fact that he'd been prescribing 30 Lorazepam a month for over 14 months. 

Her speech is very limited and her new mantra is 'Stop crying. Lie down' which speaks volumes about what's really happening, although we are told she sleeps through the night.

The psychiatrist, who met her for the first time, said it was fine to stop. Again, she is too severely brain damaged to contribute to the discussion, and to me, they treat her like she has no feelings.

Policies come first, people, second.

'There is none so blind as those who will not see'

Take care,

Charlotte