Pharmacological interventions for benzodiazepine discontinuation in chronic benzodiazepine users
If I want to come off lorazepam later, what taper schedule would you use, and over how many weeks or months?
Well-supported by good-quality research. how we score evidence
Across 38 randomized trials (2,543 people trying to stop long-term benzodiazepines), no add-on medication reliably improved discontinuation success, leaving gradual dose tapering as the mainstay of coming off drugs like lorazepam.
Worth asking
If I want to come off lorazepam later, what taper schedule would you use, and over how many weeks or months?
What it is FDA approved for
Read off the label. Trial duration and approval year are shown only where they were recorded — never inferred.
- Anxiety disorders
- Short-term relief of anxiety symptoms, including anxiety associated with depressive symptoms
Source
Pharmacological interventions for benzodiazepine discontinuation in chronic benzodiazepine users — Baandrup L, et al. (2018)
Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
Read the source: https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011481.pub2
DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD011481.pub2
How this was scored
- Study design
- Meta-analysis of randomised trials
- Funding
- Funding not disclosed
- Published in
- Top-tier peer-reviewed journal
- Sample size
- 2,543
- Preregistered
- Yes
- Conflicts disclosed
- No
- Independent of proponent
- not recorded
- Retracted
- No
Read the full scoring rubric, including what it can't tell you.
Published August 19, 2026.
Questions
How strong is the evidence behind this?
Resolv rates this source "strong evidence". Well-supported by good-quality research. It scores 77 out of 100 on our published rubric. The score is calculated from recorded facts about the source — study design, funding, publication venue, sample size, preregistration — not typed in by an editor.
What is the source for this?
Pharmacological interventions for benzodiazepine discontinuation in chronic benzodiazepine users — Baandrup L, et al. (2018). Published in: Top-tier peer-reviewed journal. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD011481.pub2. The full source is linked on this page so you can read it yourself.
Who paid for this research, and does that matter?
Study design: Meta-analysis of randomised trials. Funding: Funding not disclosed. Independence from the proponent is not recorded. Industry sponsorship is one of the most reliably measured biases in medicine, which is why funding carries real weight in the score rather than sitting in a footnote.
Is lorazepam (Ativan), ativan FDA approved?
Yes — FDA approved for Anxiety disorders, Short-term relief of anxiety symptoms, including anxiety associated with depressive symptoms. Approval is for a specific indication, not for everything the drug is prescribed for.
Is this medical advice?
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.
This is information to bring to your prescriber, not medical advice and not a reason to change anything on your own. Nothing here is an instruction to stop or reduce a medication. If you are in crisis, call or text 988.