Quote:
Originally Posted by wishing.girl
I have been struggling with panic for 1.5 months. It started terribly & my doctor treated it with Ativan (.5 mg - 1 mg 3x daily). I took that as needed. They also recommended Citalopram, but I had a terrible reaction to it (night sweats, awful dreams, increased anxiety) so they took me off of it. After a week of not being on anything, my anxiety just went away.
I got a little cocky and thought I had beat it. I started drinking coffee again and quit doing yoga (I had been going 2-3 times a week). Well, last week panic hit with a vengeance. I have a LOT of stress at my work right now. I've lost 6 pounds in 2 weeks (a lot for me) because I'm rarely hungry. Mostly I'm nauseous and I have diarrhea all the time. I even wake up at 2-3 a.m. to have diarrhea, so I’m also really tired.
My doc prescribed Prozac and I’ve been on it for a week. She is really paranoid about people getting “hooked” on Ativan, but honestly, I’ve tried to go days without it & being anxious eats up my whole day. My body shakes, I can’t eat, I spend the entire day doing deep breathing and trying to calm myself. My fiancé is being a trooper but it is cutting into my time with him.
Has anyone had positive experiences on Ativan, or do you have positive thoughts to share? I have the prescription and would like to be taking it daily, as it is prescribed—at least until the Prozac kicks in. I know the doc has to warn about addiction potential, but I just don’t see that happening in me. My friends all say I’m one of the strongest people they know and are blown away that I’m even having all of this panic.
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i have experience with ativan. i first started taking it in 2005 after a er visit because of a panic attack. they gave me a 1 month prescribtion and its was just like your doses .5/3 times a day. well, i was idk either a coward or either way i was so frienghten of the panicks by then i just started taking them 3/day hoping this would cause the panicks never to come back(it was causing severe problems with my job that eventually had to quit because of panicks). anyways, after i run out i went to general practioner and he gave me 1 month but he said thats all cause he knows its addictive. well, i took the month meds everyday so this is like several months. i run out and i said ah the heck with it no more im tired of buggin doctors to give me meds, so i just stopped cold turkey after taking for several months daily. well, i had to miss the next 3 days of work including no sleep at night those days until i couldnt take it anymore i had to call the doctor and explain what going on and he refilled the prescribtion. so see here im already addicted. then i took them everyday till about jan07. i was entirely dependent on them and was using alcohol also which i was told is very dangerous. so by this time i got a new pyschaitrist and he said since i was drinking he was not going to give me no more. i said fine i just been in the er when i run out. he gave me some kind of med, i don't remember the name that would taper of the withdrawals as the doses slowly got smaller at the same time. i was taking 3-1mg a day at this time. to my shock it worked. i was off ativan almost entirely until dec of the same year i got another job that was stressing me out. i wasn't getting the full blown panicks yet, but it was lingering. so i actually happened to have 1 refill left that i never got refilt. so, i stupidly got it refilled and gradually got back to taking it daily again. so, this is 2011, now a little over 3 years ive been on it the second time, and the first time i was on it for almost 2 years. right now im prescribed for 1mg twice a day. but for most of the 3 years ive only been taking 1mg in the morning unless feeling more anxious then i take another towards night. but, the last 1 1/2 months my panicks have gotten idk 10 times worse, so ive been taking up to 3 and 4 doses a day sometims 2 at once during a severe panick. im extremely dependent on the medication. i have to take it everywhere i go in my truck or if im not with my truck its needs to be with me in my pocket. i wished when i first got it prescribed i would had attempted to avoid taking it daily unless i just couldn't manage otherwise. because yes for me it is extremely addictive. but also i was addicted to alcohol and ciggarettes and other thing real bad in the past too so it just might be my personality. thats my advice if you take it try your best to take it as little as possible. but i also feel bad for you cause i know how horrible this can feel. i heard and read that klonopin is a better medication and less addictive and less side-effects. i hope this helped and somehow didn't scare you away from getting help. i hope you get help, i know its out there. God bless you and God protect you during this desperate time
josh