elavil withdrawal

[Mitch5483]

  I have been taking elavil for IBS for 8 years - in late 2007 I went up from 35 mg to 50 mg. After a bout of constipation which I never had, a few months later I started to experience a thick sticky gooey saliva with a rancid horrible taste. I was misdiagnosed with silent reflux and put on prevacid. One of my doctors suggested xerostomia caused by elavil but I did not take seriously since I ahd been on the medicine without any issues for 8 years and had little problems. but over 3 months I went down from 50 mg to 25 mg. with great discomfort.
   A few weeks ago I went to the Cleveland Clinic and a neurologist there said he has seen this result many times from elavil.  He suggested that I go down by 2.5 mg per week and that I should take ativan or clonazepan to help offset the wicked side effects from elavil withdrawal. I am down to 17.5 mg of elavil - I take .25 mg of ativan at night amd .125 mg. of ativan 2- 3 times per day. I am hypersensitive to medications. The ativan helps the thickness in my mouth and the taste. When the ativan wears off, the taste comes back. However, when I take the ativan during the day, I get woozy, light headed, foggy - if I don't take the ativan by 10 - 10:30 in the morning, I start to get very shaky. Are these side effects the result of elavil withdrawal or is this a side effect of taking ativan? When I go down each week from the elavil - the first or second day I am really nauseous and feeling horrible. Any other suggestions on how to get off elavil or what other meds to take to help with the side effects?