View Full Version : Ativan
All Good Things
06-25-2007, 09:00 PM
All benzodiazepines have addictive potential. Withdrawl can be severe, but the severity really depends on how long you've been using them, the size of your dosage and of course the peculiarities of your own physiology.
I've been on Ativan for almost two years now and I'm up to 8 mg a day, on the 2 mg dose - 2 mg 4x daily. Yeah, I know, enough to drop a rhino at about 30 yards. But I've got so much kinetic and intellectual energy pent up inside, my shrink commented that at times I actually look like I'm vibrating. Combine this with the stress of trying to run a fast-paced business in the national security sector with 93 employees and zero margin for error, and it's a miracle they just haven't hooked me up to an IV drip at this point.
Ativan is much smoother and softer than Xanax, but you do need to be aware of its effects on you, which are different for every person. I've been lucky enough to have a single side-effect, which is a tendency to be overwhelmed with the need to sleep. This can be solved perfectly at any time, day or night, with a 10 minute nap, which turns out to produce these insanely bizarre REM dreams mixed in with the most hilarious hypnic jerks. It's all brain housecleaning.
yolanda
06-25-2007, 09:17 PM
I am curious about taking Ativan after reading this thread.
Zanax is not cutting it for me.
But first, I am going to read about it on http://www.crazymeds.org
This site is kind of like a Stripper Web Site for well, our crazy meds.
There is a link for a forum just like this one ~ to get others ppls opinions and experiences ~ I hope this isn't considered spam, I just think about sharing it every time I read about meds and behaivoral health issues here...
Lysondra
06-25-2007, 09:19 PM
All benzodiazepines have addictive potential. Withdrawl can be severe, but the severity really depends on how long you've been using them, the size of your dosage and of course the peculiarities of your own physiology.
I've been on Ativan for almost two years now and I'm up to 8 mg a day, on the 2 mg dose - 2 mg 4x daily. Yeah, I know, enough to drop a rhino at about 30 yards. But I've got so much kinetic and intellectual energy pent up inside, my shrink commented that at times I actually look like I'm vibrating. Combine this with the stress of trying to run a fast-paced business in the national security sector with 93 employees and zero margin for error, and it's a miracle they just haven't hooked me up to an IV drip at this point.
Ativan is much smoother and softer than Xanax, but you do need to be aware of its effects on you, which are different for every person. I've been lucky enough to have a single side-effect, which is a tendency to be overwhelmed with the need to sleep. This can be solved perfectly at any time, day or night, with a 10 minute nap, which turns out to produce these insanely bizarre REM dreams mixed in with the most hilarious hypnic jerks. It's all brain housecleaning.
I am failing to see what is so bad about a man that vibrates.
And Ativan does the same sleep thing to me, I find eating something with carbs makes that go away, myself. :)
Clara_M
06-26-2007, 03:31 PM
A doc once made me take these for anxiety/stress-related insomnia, telling me that they were sleeping pills. Worked that way, made me go to sleep, BUT:
1) If I take them for more than a two-three days in a row to sleep, I then get a sleepless night after when "recovering" from the buildup. This thing builds up inside you.
2) I get major memory effects if I take it for more than two days. I start to forget EVERYTHING. It's scary.
When I realised that this is what was doing it, I stopped taking them except very occasionally when I have bad insomnia that nothing else will deal with. Taken once like that, I get no ill effects thereafter.
I don't have an addictive personality. I've taken all sorts of opioids (whatever I can get) to deal with pain/coughing, at times for many days in a row (I get HORRIBLE coughs when I get the 'flu, and nothing else will deal with it). I don't even get "happy" on double the recommended dose, though it does stop my cough. I've taken Imovane (sleeping pills, supposedly not seriously addictive) for weeks in a row, stopped overnight when the underlying stress was gone [exams], didn't have trouble sleeping, or anything else.
Nothing I've ever taken has messed me up as much as Ativan. That being said, it does do it's job of calming me to the point where I can sleep, but it's best if used only occasionally... I go through about 5-10 a year.
I've taken one during the day. Can't say I felt a noticeable effect - but this is in tune with my not feeling too many effects of drugs in general, I think.
Samba
06-26-2007, 11:05 PM
Misinformation was the wrong word, sorry.
All benzodiazepines have addictive potential. Withdrawl can be severe, but the severity really depends on how long you've been using them, the size of your dosage and of course the peculiarities of your own physiology.
That's what I wanted to say. Thanks, TOO.
LR, Glad it seems to be working out for you.
LatinaRose
06-27-2007, 08:38 AM
^Thanks!
Kitsune83
06-27-2007, 04:00 PM
yow......benzo detox should never be THAT bad.......the entire point of medically supervised detox is to keep you from having seizures. This is why anti-convulsants are prescribed, to help you avoid brain damage. If you're under supervision of a Dr.; and you're having seizures due to detox (and I don't mean tremors and shakes, I mean full-on traumatic brain events) that Dr. is not doing his/her job. That's scary.
Kitsune83
06-27-2007, 04:06 PM
[quote=Samba;1124662]Misinformation was the wrong word, sorry.
Sorry about the tone of my last post; I had a real bug in my bum due to having a nasty day. It just really rubbed me the wrong way, studying these drugs is my life ambition. And you're absolutely right, any drug that alters your own personal balance of mind has potential for addiction and abuse. I was just attempting to sing the praises of a class of drugs that have the lowest potential for addiction, abuse and fatalities among hypnotics currently available.
kittygirl
06-29-2007, 01:43 AM
Sometimes the information found in books never compares to real life.
As many here hve heard, I've personally witnessed overdoses due to benzos and have seen the effects of decades of xanax addiction.
These drugs are highly addictive. Most sources will say this. If you are finding otherwise, that's odd.
You can overdose. These drugs are dangerous.
Lastly, I don't believe much a dr. who says they are relatively harmless says. In my experience, psychiatric drs. and psycotherapists are some of the most whacked out and disfunctional people I've met. They also believe prozac and haldol are relatively benign - don't make me take them...
This thread kind of saddens me to think so many people think nothing of taking pills to cope. I think it's still a drug addiction.
Just my two cents.
Kitsune83
06-29-2007, 01:40 PM
benzos alone aren't easy to OD on.....I've personally taken two bottles of Klonopin.....equaling roughly 3000 mg.
Know what happened? I slept it off.......it was fairly benign (I'm not advocating taking a shit-ton of it, by the way) it was MUCH safer than other hypnotics I had taken.....I OD'd on two anti-convulsants once that were perfectly effective drugs, but with my personality troubles; they nearly killed me. This is why benzos can be a very positive thing. Oh....and I have friends that take haloperidol; and it's a fucking lifesaver if you are a person who needs it. Equating the use of haldol to keep you sane with drug addiction is like equating eating veggies with food addiction.....not okay, if you need haldol, your life is difficult enough, people calling you an addict is something you just don't need. Every drug has potential ill-effects....that's not going to stop me from taking them; when they just might save my life......I developed an allergy to antibiotics.....is that going to keep me from treating strep with another sort (out of fear?) hell no
Littlelo
06-29-2007, 01:49 PM
....This thread kind of saddens me to think so many people think nothing of taking pills to cope. I think it's still a drug addiction.
Just my two cents.
Uuummmm I guess that you've never had severe anxiety problems then. If you had any idea how scary/awful/painful anxiety attacks were, you would understand that "coping" when your brain is spinning at 100mph, is very difficult.
It took years of therapy, meds and willpower for me to get my attacks under control. I, personaly, take meds very rarely now because I've gotten more adept at dealing with the attacks. But there were times in my life that I needed my little white pills VERY BADLY. It wasn't an addiction and I'm offended at that assumption.
You try hypervenilating, shaking, crying and feeling like the world is going to end for an hour or two, three days out of every week. Try living in fear of the next attack and avoiding things becuase it might trigger one, then tell me that you think anxiety meds are addictions.
Sure people abuse meds sometimes, but needing a pill to "cope", as you say, does not always equate to addiction. Sometimes people actually need the extra help to get through their day. Under a doctor's supervision, with proper therapy and boundries, these pills can make anxiety livable. Until you've walked a mile in their shoes you have ZERO room to cast such aspersions. >:(
gingerlee
06-29-2007, 05:24 PM
Oh....and I have friends that take haloperidol; and it's a fucking lifesaver if you are a person who needs it. Equating the use of haldol to keep you sane with drug addiction is like equating eating veggies with food addiction.....not okay, if you need haldol, your life is difficult enough, people calling you an addict is something you just don't need.
Yeah, Haldol is amazing if you need it. It can bring you back to this world, and calms things down in your head long enough to 'live'. I've seen people (myself included) almost do a 180 when they started getting it, and they didn't keep taking it because of addiction, they took it to be able to live.
This thread kind of saddens me to think so many people think nothing of taking pills to cope. I think it's still a drug addiction.
If I didn't take my meds I wouldn't be here. Hey, if that's what you want to call addiction, so be it.
[QUOTE=Kitsune83;1127395][B]
Lysondra
06-29-2007, 07:54 PM
Taking pills to cope is kinda the POINT of benzos. Not the addiction bit but the fact you seriously do need these pills probably in the same way a diabetic needs their insulin. I -know- if I don't have these pills (sometime just having them, not taking them makes everything better) I will end up in the emergency room because I -literally- think the world is ending. I start calling people up telling them I'm dying because my heart is exploding.. no joke. I get panic attacks so bad, I end up crying in my bed writing good-bye letters and freaking out.
LatinaRose
06-30-2007, 09:55 AM
If I didn't take my meds I wouldn't be here. Hey, if that's what you want to call addiction, so be it.
I totally agree.
Andygirl
06-30-2007, 02:02 PM
If benzos aren't strongly physically addicting, then why did I see several people going through horrible detox with seizures during a supervised medical detox? They were not alcoholics, or even drinkers. They were purely benzo addicts.
I'm no psychopharmacologist, but I know that my physical recovery was a cakewalk in comparison.
Those people were probably taking like 10-20 Xanax bars a day for years and shit. That's the kind of addiction that makes you have those kinds of withdrawals. It's horrid, I know, but I don't think people who are taking .25 of Ativan and .50 of Klonopin, and cutting their tiny pills in half are in much danger of that sort of thing.
I'm an addict from way back and I take Klonopin (prescribed). And I sometimes go days without it, and sometimes take five in a day. It all just depends. My propencity for addiction does not seem to extend to benzos, luckily. I never hunger for them like I do other things.
Point: I don't think most of the gals talking about taking this stuff for panic attacks are talking heavy duty sedation with benzos, they're just taking the edge off. And, fuck, who doesn't need to do that every now and then?
Katrine
06-30-2007, 06:35 PM
Agreed Andie. These individuals abused their prescriptions and were looking to get help. At that point for them, they needed massive quantities just to feel normal. I don't know if its 20 xanbars a day, but certainly not .05ml.
And disagree with poster about taking these meds is drug addiction. That's a very strong comment to make. Overtaking your prescribed amount can be a sign of addiction. Going to multiple doctors to get the same script is probably a sign of addiction. Lying to your loved ones about how much you are taking is almost certainly a sign of addiction.
Taking .5ml of Ativan once in a blue moon isn't addiction.
Kitsune83
07-01-2007, 02:12 PM
Taking pills to cope is kinda the POINT of benzos. Not the addiction bit but the fact you seriously do need these pills probably in the same way a diabetic needs their insulin. I -know- if I don't have these pills (sometime just having them, not taking them makes everything better) I will end up in the emergency room because I -literally- think the world is ending. I start calling people up telling them I'm dying because my heart is exploding.. no joke. I get panic attacks so bad, I end up crying in my bed writing good-bye letters and freaking out.
I know what you mean, my panics aren't very frequent these days.....but when they were, you could find me on the floor in the fetal position, hyperventilating and throwing up....there wasn't any peace until I lost consciousness from the hyperventilating. Benzos saved me from that, because I got an "aura" of panic about 15 minutes before it was coming full force....I could take my little pill, STILL have a panic (but not nearly as severe) and I wouldn't have to be disabled for 12 hours.
I hope that your panics are manageable now!
cameron_keys
07-01-2007, 03:57 PM
If I didn't take my meds I wouldn't be here. Hey, if that's what you want to call addiction, so be it.
Yep. Big differance between being addicted to something, and needing it to make you be able to live a normal life.
Taking too much, or taking it when you dont need it and if you arent under the supervision of a doctor is addiction.
Taking it when your doctor prescribes it and knowing that you woudl not be able to function mentally or physically without it is NOT.
These are not supposed to be recreational drugs. They were developed for a specific reason...to treat specific medical conditions. If you suffer from these conditions...how can taking the meds be an addiction? Like someone else said..thats like telling the diabetic he is adicted to insulin.
Littlelo
07-01-2007, 06:11 PM
I know what you mean, my panics aren't very frequent these days.....but when they were, you could find me on the floor in the fetal position, hyperventilating and throwing up....there wasn't any peace until I lost consciousness from the hyperventilating. Benzos saved me from that, because I got an "aura" of panic about 15 minutes before it was coming full force....I could take my little pill, STILL have a panic (but not nearly as severe) and I wouldn't have to be disabled for 12 hours.
I hope that your panics are manageable now!
I know that I'm not the only one who has panic attacks. I know this, yet actually hearing someone else describe *exactly* what its like, in detail like you have, really nails home the fact that I am not alone in this. The bit about losing consciousness from hyperventilating....I could just hug you.
TigersMilk
12-28-2007, 04:05 AM
Anyone have any sexual side effects or weight gain or loss? Can you drive while on it?
Pamela
12-28-2007, 09:43 PM
All this being said anyone ever notice Xanax being the most vicious of the Benzos...seriously. I have tried just about all them when i thought it was not my heart. Fucking Xanax is nasty. It enters quick and leaves quick.
I prefer a longer lasting Benzo. like Klonopin. Ativan is short acting but is not near as nasty as Xanax.
I came off an Ativan and felt fine. I came off a Xanax and felt jittery after one damn pill...Fuck that. It does not sit well with me.
All Good Things
12-28-2007, 10:49 PM
Anyone have any sexual side effects or weight gain or loss? Can you drive while on it?
No sexual side effects or weight gain/loss. It's a benzo, not an SSRI.
Ativan (lorazipam) is much smoother than Xanax, as Pamela noted. Klonopin is also popular.
Ativan has a dramatically different effect on people, though. It's reasonably fast-acting, and its blood serum levels remain high between 1 and 6 hours, and then drop off rapidly after that.
We've been discussing the benzos in another thread. One poster is highly sensitive to its sedative properties and even a half-gram dose knocks her right out. As I type this, I have a recent 4 mg dose (2 2-mg tablets) and the trailing edge of a 2 mg dose still in my bloodstream, so it's really 6 mg working right now.
The trick is to find a dose that calms you without knocking you clean out. Also, at high doses, short naps sometimes help to deal with some of the sedative properties.
Don't drive on Ativan or any benzo until you know how you are going to react to it. The benzos suppress your central nervous system, so it's nothing to take lightly.
Oh, and you have to be careful about alcohol. It's a bad idea to mix the two. I had never experienced a complete memory blackout in my life until I mixed Ativan with alcohol.
I've been on Ativan for almost two years now and I'm up to 8 mg a day, on
Wow.:D
TigersMilk
12-29-2007, 09:07 AM
^^That wasn't all that nice.
Thanks for the info TOO. I've been researching alot.
Pamela
12-29-2007, 09:31 AM
I thought it was easier on a person than Xanax, thanks TOO. I am trying to get my daughter on Ativan as well as her Celexa now, she is having panic attacks.
britt244
12-30-2007, 04:50 PM
funny, my dr told me she's seen more people abuse ativan than xanax, when i told her i wanted ativan due to my issues with addiction.
Darcy Foxx
12-30-2007, 05:02 PM
I had never experienced a complete memory blackout in my life until I mixed Ativan with alcohol.
i can totally back that up.
i've had alcohol and drug fuelled nights when my memory has been a bit hazy the next day, but on friday night when i took god knows how many ativan with far too much alcohol, i do not remember ANYTHING. there's approximately 5 hours that are just a complete blackout, i have absolutely no idea what i did. i've never had a complete and utter blackout before... it scared the crap out of me.
cameron_keys
12-30-2007, 05:55 PM
I tried Ativan for the first time last night(was given it by a friend who is a nurse). Yep...nothing. Had a cpl beers too..still nothing. Not even a buzz.Not that I was looking for a buzz...just to elaborate that even mixing it with alcohol didnt get me any effect.
It really is getting frustrating that no drug works for me. Will I have to live with my depression/anxiety/panic attacks forever??????
natasha710
12-30-2007, 08:58 PM
I will take one before a flight. Poor passengers next to me all I do is talk, talk, talk. If I have a day where all i do is cry I'll take one and I'll feel better. It takes the edge off. Sometimes I will take one if I cant fall asleep at night and I cant find my Benadryl pills. Puts me to sleep instantly.
Lysondra
12-31-2007, 06:13 AM
I tried Ativan for the first time last night(was given it by a friend who is a nurse). Yep...nothing. Had a cpl beers too..still nothing. Not even a buzz.Not that I was looking for a buzz...just to elaborate that even mixing it with alcohol didnt get me any effect.
It really is getting frustrating that no drug works for me. Will I have to live with my depression/anxiety/panic attacks forever??????
Invest in a nice telescope. Nothing makes me feel better personally than seeing the big huge universe out there and knowing I'm a teeny tiny little speck and my problems are a teenier part of that universe. Best thing I ever bought, always helps me at least a little. That, and singing 'Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer'
LatinaRose
01-13-2008, 10:44 AM
What would be the next step up from Ativan? Xanax or Klonopin? I'd rather have something stronger that I can split in 1/2, I think. Thx!
TigersMilk
01-13-2008, 01:27 PM
Valium has the longest half life that is stays in your system the longest. As I've read around sw interactions with all the benzos vary from person to person.
Does anyone else get blurry vision on ativan? I have to the point that my reaction time is so slow and my vision isn't the best that I shouldn't drive.
veronicavale
01-13-2008, 06:37 PM
Xanax is a lot stronger than ativan for me. With the ativan, if I go to sleep it's for a couple of hours, more like a nap. But with xanax, I can sleep through the night.
CupCake
01-14-2008, 04:55 PM
Once again sorry to threadjack, but I just started on Klonapoin....
I fucking love it..yes I know it's wrong to love this addictive drugs, but I haven't had a panic attack since I started it...Although I am drowsy, and my reflexes are a tad off...
Kaiyla
01-20-2008, 01:11 AM
I used to take 1-2 mg of ativan daily when I was dancing. I had a hard time weening myself off of it a few years ago. Then I had none for quite some time. I was re-perscribed it but I only take it when I am on the verge of a panic attack. It is also an anti-emetic (prevents you from vomiting) which is great for me because my panic attacks are centered around nausea.
I love the feeling of knowing the ativan is there if I need it. However, since it IS addictive, I make myself try to fight off the panic attack without the help of the ativan, if at all possible. It's sort of a last resort. I can fully function after I have taken one but notice that it does cause a light type of amnesia. Like, I'll notice I can't remember fine details of conversations, or details of things that might have happened. That kind of creeps me out.
I'd say I am taking maybe one a week or every week and a half these days.