[HALLIEBETH87]

Do you take benzos regularly or prn? Or does your dr Not even prescribe them?

[Victoria'smom]

My dr usually doesn't prescribe benzo's but for me he feels I can take 2 as needed. Lately I've used as needed for when I have psychotic symptoms.

[SingDanceRunLife]

I take 1mg of klonopin every night for sleep and I also taking it PRN during the day.

[pirilin]

To sleep every night .5 mg and .25 when I wake up at night.
New P doc does not prescribe them. I haven't burn the bridges with old Pdoc.

[Fuzzybear]

Prn is probably more helpful or they do become less effective..

But the more respectful doctors have agreed to prescribe these for my severe symptoms..

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I know a lot of doctors are 100% opposed to benzos. I honestly don't know how my own feels; she has been prescribing them for me for many years and is definitely fine with that but I also had an IP doctor allow me to take them and he is well-known for hating them. He felt that I needed them and since he always was in touch with my pdoc when I was IP I assume she is why he let me have them.

I want to find out more about whether replacing my klonopin with gabapentin is possible once I am stabilized but since my pdoc just said something about limiting the gabapentin (and I didn't ask why' could be that last time I was on gabapentin I did not do well on normal doses) that may not be an option.

For now I am just not worried about it because if my pdoc thought it was an issue at all she would have brought it up. I am still going to as but right now it seems that it is better for me to take them than not. And I know my pdoc knows what she is doing so that's even less room to worry.

[gina_re]

I've actually experienced all three of these.
Currently I take Restoril for sleep every night, and I have yet to try and fall asleep without it even though I said I will. So it's possible I don't need it anymore anyway..
My first benzo prescription was for Xanax prn and one other time about 4 or 5 years later.
My last pdoc was against prescribing them which is why he gave me Vistaril prn for anxiety. He did prescribe me klonopin strictly for 30 days because I had such a hard time after the death of my grandmother, I couldn't get anything done. But as soon as those 30 days were up, I was on my own.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I take gabapentin for anxiety but it doesn't help enough. While ip my dr had vistaril prn but it knocked me out and my blood pressure was as high as 144/113 from anxiety! Now I'm on 1 mg Ativan twice daily but really if i feel ok I don't take it twice. The day after he put me in it my bp went back down to normal. He's my new dr!

[Nammu]

There's no option for do not use them. I refuse to take them because ultimately they cause more anxiety than they help.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I think my pdoc probably is opposed to the gabapentin because it hasn't helped enough in the past and I've never tolerated enough for it to work. I was on quite a bit while IP and it did help then but I still had to take hydroxyzine at least daily and all the changes I was going through made it hard to know what was what. The hospital dr seemed willing to give me a ton of it and like I said I had bad issues with it before.

I'm glad the ativan is helping. I was on it for several years and then changed to klonopin when I was IP the first time for a reason I do not recall. I know that there is a lot of opposition to benzos but I think like nearly any treatment there are times when they are just needed and nothing else will do it. I really hope to try not being on benzos sometime but it's not a priority.

I do have the advantage of going to a big hospital for psychiatry and so when my pdoc decides to retire she would refer me to someone who isn't opposed and will have had a discussion with my current dr about why I have been using them. I also have a long-time relationship with my pdoc and know she wouldn't prescribe it unless she felt it was necessary so I just trust that it is what I need even though sometimes I feel pretty anxious about it after reading things online.

[pearlys]

I take them prn. When I am too restless or really cant sleep. Not everyday though and not even every week.

[1278]

I try to avoid them, as usually when I have unmanageable anxiety its a side effect of another medication, in this case geodon.

[violetgreen]

I'm taking .25mg of Ativan 3 times a day, prescribed by my pdoc. Before I saw him, my family dr prescribed 2mg 3 times a day! That was too much and was stupidly combined with Zoloft. I'd rather not take a benzo, but I trust my pdoc, and I'm taking them for now.

[Blue_Bird]

I used to be on Klonopin as needed but got a new doctor that wasn't so keen on the idea of benzos and got prescribed hydroxyzine as needed. Honestly it helps a lot when I use it even though it's much milder, it's just a prescription antihistamine. I rarely take it because I've learned to manage my anxiety a lot better through coping skills but if I'm having a really rough time it helps take the edge off. My opinion is if you can avoid benzos then do so

Honestly nothing kills anxiety like a benzo. Nothing I have taken (vistaril, kava kava, buspar, gabapentin) even comes close. Except maybe weed.
Unfortunately they really screw with my memory, and it's very tempting to abuse them. I take it PRN but a lot of times I save it up and keep it for some weekend enjoyment.

PRN xanax for a number of years (7? 8?). Current psych (of 5 1/2 years) totally knows I wouldn't abuse them, and I appreciate that. I'm leary of doctors who are rabidly against (or rabidly for!) any med catagorically. We're not all the same.

The doctors who refuse to prescribe them at all perplex me, because, sorry, but that's tantamount to saying that everyone is the same!

There are patronizing assumptions at play with that. Rant or no?
Nah.
Not at the moment anyway.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

I try to only take my ativan as a PRN because like others said, they seem to lose their effectiveness ( for me at least). I'll admit that if I take it two days in a row I have to take two. I swear I have the tolerance of a horse. But there's times when I've taken it only once a wk. it all depends on what's going on in my life at the time. I saw this new pdoc during a crisis last wk and he said he wanted to take my benzo away so needless to say I probably won't go back to him!



I don't get msgs unless the other person using tapatalk app!

I take ativan less than one pill a month. Very sparingly. I took on a few days ago because I had insomnia for a few days in a row.

[raspberrytorte]

Benzos are great... until you have to go off of them. What a nightmare.

I can take up to 20 mg oxazepam PRN for anxiety, panic or restlessness, and 1 mg lorazepam as a 'knock-out drug'. If I'm doing really badly in the evening, I'll take lorazepam and go to bed - even if it is 18.30 or 19.00.

(Pdoc told me I'm allowed to take another mg of lorazepam if the first doesn't knock me out and the need is great)

[OctobersBlackRose]

I believe mine won't prescribe them even though they would be helpful, I'm not going to ask as I don't want to look like a "drug seeker". It does suck because my anxiety/panic attacks can and do mimic heart attacks, and I have ended up having full blown panic/anxiety attacks that last a day or two, where I'm not able to get to sleep, or really move very much. I even had a panic attack in front of my GP, but my pdoc has yet to see me in a full on anxiety/panic attack, so yeah very fun (not).

[Ocean Swimmer]

I take them as directed.
Can't wait till I have an anxiety attack per my Pdoc.
2 mgs each day. I'm actually really afraid of whenever I need to wean off Effexor. I've read that's a nasty hellish journey.

[pearlys]

Originally Posted by raspberrytorte

Benzos are great... until you have to go off of them. What a nightmare.

I may take 25-50mg oxazepam per day. I did that for about a week or 2, even added some temazepam 20mg. I was lucky enough I didn't got hooked. No problems. Still use them every now and then PRN. But I cant say I really need them. They make me drowsy but dont do anything against anxiety.

[HALLIEBETH87]

I haven't been taking my Ativan 2 times a day like ip dr prescribed them but when I'm feeling particularly anxious I do. I don't want to use it as a crutch or get addicted but honestly sometimes I just need help

[pearlys]

is there any difference between al thosse different benzos anyway, apart from halflife?