[pbutton]

I've had PRN .5 MG Ativan since April 2011. I take maybe 1-2 pills a month. They definitely decrease my anxiety. However, pdoc said I could take them more often than I do. But they make me so tired that I usually put off taking them.

To try to combat the fatigue, he gave me a script for Xanax instead. I've taken 3 pills (on different occasions). It doesn't seem to eliminate the tight in my chest anxiety feeling like Ativan does. I figured they'd be quite similiar, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

What types of experiences have you had with different benzos? Thanks!

[BlessedRhiannon]

For me, Ativan did nothing more than make me so sleepy that I couldn't function. I don't remember the exact dosages, but on a low dose, it did nothing for me, and on the next dose up, I was barely functioning...I kept just falling asleep.

For me, Xanax works great! Sometimes, when my anxiety is really high, I need a slightly higher dose to combat that overall muscle tenseness. I've found that on a normal day, the effects last about 8 hours and on a high anxiety day, it lasts about 4-6 hours.

I think I basically had exactly the opposite experience to what you've had. Ativan did nothing to relive the internal tenseness that I always feel...just made me sleepy. Xanax does relieve that tenseness and doesn't make me feel sleepy at all. I did have to play with the dose and timing of the Xanax to figure out what will give me the best effect, though.

[Travelinglady]

I have been on Klonopin for years. I think it might be stronger than a lot of the other ones.

I know I have had Ativan shots before. I think it is more fast-acting than some of them. But I don't recall ever being prescribed Ativan on a longer-term basis.

It takes a lot to knock me out.