Ativan

Does anyone else *love* taking Ativan? I take it once a week so I can go to group...It really works wonders.:-)

I can't say I 'love' taking Ativan, but I have been taking it for about 5-6 years. Right now my dose is 2mg at bedtime. At one point I was taking up to 7mg a day. Now it's really rare that I need it outside of my bedtime dose. Although with the holiday season here I have taken 1 or 2 off schedule.

I loved it so much that I became addicted to it, and was abusing it. I'm off it now - but still miss the hit it gave me.

--splitimage

I used to be on Ativan... quite some time ago. It find it very similar to the other benzos I have been on-- So I can relate with Klonopin, which is what I take now. I definitely like taking it, but who wouldn't? Why wouldn't someone enjoy taking a medication that calms your anxiety almost immediately? But that's why you have to be super-careful with these drugs.

I don't love taking it, but I love the way it allows me to cope with the situations that I know I am going to be uncomfortable with. In that way I concider it a miracle drug.

I am concerned about splitimage saying that it became an addiction. I do not have any type of euphoric feeling, I am just less anxious. Does this mean that I am less at risk to becoming addicted? I do not take it very often, I'm a horder, part of the ocd. It's so wonderful that I want to be sure that I have it when I absolutely need it. I'm supposed to take 2mg at bedtime to help me sleep and 1mg as needed to cope with anxiety. It does help me sleep, but I don't want to waste it like that, I much rather have extra in case I need it.

Re the addiction - i'm an alcoholic and we're really not supposed to be prescribed benzos, but I was. What I found was that I needed higher and higher doses to get the same calming effect and then I started using it to basically numb myself out, instead of drinking. If you're taking it as prescribed and only using it occassionally - you shouldn't have any problem.

--splitimage

I required Ativan only when giving a public lecture. I will soon be finishing my university program and I already feel anxiety coming on about having to face employers and interviews. I might request Ativan for that moment if the new doctor agrees with it.

I am looking for doctors in this new area but they won't speak to my until my new provincial health care card arrives sometime this month. Even after that, finding a permanent family physician and the specialists I need for my son will not be easy.

Otherwise, I have to flub through the interviews IF I even make it into the office without an attack.

I never used Ativan. When I use to have interviews
for jobs or important meetings, I would use the Bach Flower Remedy for stress, shock. It calms you down, and
I felt more confident. It is called Rescue Remedy,spray.
You can buy it at a health food store.


Good luck, stay cool.

That sounds great! Does it require prescriptions from a Naturopathic doctor?

No - the Rescue Remedy idoesn't require an Rx from a Dr. - if you have a Whole Foods near you, it's there.
Re: the Ativan. There is a difference between addiction and dependence:
Addiction is like abuse. If you find yourself having to take/use the drug to live life--and you take it more than prescribed, or take it when not indicated, that's addiction.
When you have taken it for a long time, that's dependence. Two different problems.
I've experienced them both, unfortunately - not fun.

When I was down, Ativan gave me a high, it made my heart race, so I can't say it helped the anxiety.

I have only taken Ativan for about five days. The doctor wouldn't allow me more than that. It was the first time in my life that my kids could carry on in the house and make noise without me jumping down their throats about it lol. I think it was the first time I felt "calm" in my whole life.

It's wonderful isn't it Ingridave2! What happens after you've used up all of the medication that you have? That's my biggest fear, that now I have something that works, when I use it, it'll be gone. It would ALMOST be better not to have something that works so well. I will truly miss it when it's gone.

I understand the difference between abuse and addicted. I am a little paranoid when it comes this type of thing, I come from a long line of alcoholics, I do not drink so I avoid that situation.

Since I only need ativan for specific fears, like public speaking, I do not have to take it all the time. When I have finished the anxiety causing activity, I relax on my own. It was an interesting moment though, when I saw my two sons carrying on like typical teens and it did not bother me lol.

I started Ativan about 6 months ago, for general anxiety (1 mg x 3-4 per day). It definitely works in the short term, but as I became more dependent on it, my anxiety became worse between doses! Now I am trying to wean myself off... down to 0.5 mg x 3 max per day. Terribly addictive drugs... I wish there were safe effective alternatives.

I love Ativan almost more than I love my therapist. Almost.

hi all. i'm on klonopin...a cousin to ativan and with a 17 hour half life you don't get the anxiety in between doses. I've been fortunate that i've never built a tolerance and remain on a low dose but it's been a lifesaver!! the best drug i've been on in terms of treating my symptoms. for those people with constant anxiety, it's recommended because ativan only has a half life of 3-4 hours and can make you feel very anxious after it wears off. has anyone else tried the klonopin as an alternative?

hi i have a couple questions about ativan... my anxiety is really extreme right now... i agreed to speak with my med doc about ativan or an alternative medication... right now i have xananx, but only take it when i am at the point of no return... in reality i have only taken it 3 times and i have been 1/4 the does of .25 because i am so afraid of it...i know that isn't smart... i grew up in an extremely abusive alcoholic family and just about every member of my family has drug and alcohol addiction... i have gone the other route .... i don't drink and fight medication...i hate the feeling of anxiety that seem to never end...
my first question is... regarding the sedative effect... i work with young children and can't be off... i also drive 40 min each way to work... is there an issue with ativan?
my next question is... regarding weight gain... i lost 130lbs about 5 years ago... and it's been a real struggle to keep it off... i gained weight on lexapro... and my anxiety came back so they switched me to wellbutrine which helped for awhile but then seemed to increase my anxiety and make my panic attacks more intense... does ativan cause weight gain?
i know i need to do something...but, i am caught in the spiral of fear and indecision... my t has agreed not to push the issue of antidepressants...if i look into anti anxiety meds... i just want to be normal again
thanks for listening...lyn

ativan worked for me. I actually like it better then Clonazapam because I just took it occasionally and I found the clonazapam nery habit forming and difficult to get off from. I have been weaning and it's a slow process but there are other factors at play here. If I had my druthers I would never have gotten on any of them and totally stuck with natural remedies until I found a routine at work.

I don't think you would see a big difference between Xanax and Ativan. They are both in the same class and work pretty much the same way

yes i take klonopin & it evens me out so much. the anxiety & fragile nerves i have can be so bad without it i jump at just a simple noise. my skin gets irritated & also i used to break out in hives real bad before i got put on klonopin. pdoc just raised mine from 1mg to 2 a day. my anxiety is bad in the morning with the racing thoughts so i took the 1mg. but the past 3 months have really taken their toll with new baby, phone ringing all day, trying to get everything done, a dog that is needy & has her hyper spells (she still has a great deal of puppy in her). after all of this every day i was a nervous wreck by evening so doc added 1mg klonopin to take in the evening. he also raised my zoloft which helps alot with my seratonin imbalance & added trileptal which ive never taken but i have to wait for insurance to authorize it before i get it filled. my body does not do well with the short half life benzos. its like they just crash out of my system & anxiety is worse than before. i am also sleeping a lot better with the added klonopin but ive been thru a couple of experiences with xanax & had to learn the hard way so i know i have to be very careful not to treat klonopin as a bottle of candy---that results in a very bad day.

I am far from hooked on Ativan but I have noticed that it tends to help with my anxiety when I have problems... when in the hospital they tend to give it to the patients to help them sleep and be less anxious but they have yet to scribe anything for my anxiety as of yet... I know it takes time to get things situated for meds when one needs more than one type of medication and they now have me on 2 different meds that are helping with other problems... my only problem with Ativan was the factor that it makes me very groggy and I usually would need it during the day not the night.

I do like ativan, for me it works well. If I an anxious at night and can't sleep, that is the one I take. During the day I take xanax it does't make as tired as the ativan.