"i took .5mg ativan 2 times a day for 14 days.  i noticed i wasn&#039;t getting the same anti anxiety effect so i decided to stop taking it.  i figured it had only been 2 weeks so stopping should not have been a problem.  i then proceeded into 11 days of hell.  the first 2 days were not to bad  but every day progressively got worse.  the insomnia was the worst.  i got to the point where i would dread the night.  and then the night mares started.  they were horribly dark. i thought i was going to die.  i finally would take .5mg every other or every third night just to get some sleep.  it took me months to find a doctor who understood how to get off the ativan.  i&#039;m now on a 2 1/2% taper (40 weeks) i&#039;m on week 9, not fun.  do not take it"