Is it bad to take Ativan?

Is there anything wrong a grad student with taking an anti-anxiety medication, Ativan, to get through the end of a school term? It seems like the drug of choice for grad students in this high-pressure research ... via Ask MetaFilter

[tess]

I take Klonopin off and on for anxiety and I have found it does wonders, the only problem is it cause fatigue and can be addictive. If you do not have an addictive personality, you should be fine.

[allen]

tess wrote:

I take Klonopin off and on for anxiety and I have found it does wonders, the only problem is it cause fatigue and can be addictive. If you do not have an addictive personality, you should be fine.

Wrong!! Anyone can become addicted to it, regardless of personality. It is a physically additive drug.

[Ian]

Ativan can, probably will if you take it daily for any length of time, cause dependency. That is you will need to wean off it slowly to allow the brain adaptions it promotes to readjust.

OTOH, aspirin can be a truly addictive drug. Some will repeatedly risk death by continuing to abuse it.

Ativan will also probably cause as much fatigue as Klonopin, equivalent dose for dose. Fatigue does diminish if you take benzodiazepines continually, but tends to hang around if you only take them occasionally.

The only real advantage Ativan has over Klonopin is that it usually kicks-in faster which is a consideration if you are taking it to blunt a panic attack.

[Mike]

So how long does it take to become addicted to lorazepam (Ativan). Any thoughts or opinions on this?

Mike

[Courtney]

If you do the research you will discover that dependecy becomes an issue if ativan is taken for 3-4months.

[Donna B]

Courtney wrote:

If you do the research you will discover that dependecy becomes an issue if ativan is taken for 3-4months.

Have been taking ativan for about 4 to 5 weeks in very small amounts..I'm afraid I'm already hooked and seem to have withdrawals when I don't take it...Could this be real or is it just my anxiety acting up? Please help

[john henry]

Donna B wrote:

<quoted text>
Have been taking ativan for about 4 to 5 weeks in very small amounts..I'm afraid I'm already hooked and seem to have withdrawals when I don't take it...Could this be real or is it just my anxiety acting up? Please help

How much have you been taking per day?

[john henry]

Ian wrote:

Ativan can, probably will if you take it daily for any length of time, cause dependency. That is you will need to wean off it slowly to allow the brain adaptions it promotes to readjust.
OTOH, aspirin can be a truly addictive drug. Some will repeatedly risk death by continuing to abuse it.
Ativan will also probably cause as much fatigue as Klonopin, equivalent dose for dose. Fatigue does diminish if you take benzodiazepines continually, but tends to hang around if you only take them occasionally.
The only real advantage Ativan has over Klonopin is that it usually kicks-in faster which is a consideration if you are taking it to blunt a panic attack.

I think Klonopin is stronger than Ativan. Ativan also clears out of your system faster than any other benzo, making it harder to overdose when taking it on a daily basis.

[Joe Schaffner from Omaha]

I take 2 mg of Ativan bid and feel great. I sleep better and find that it makes me all together happier.

[Edgar to the rescue]

Ativan really helps.........when I use to get anxiety atacks and panic atacks.......I would pop a pill and it would totally calm me down. It helps alot. I dont take ativan anymore its been almost 1 year and a half now.......I only took it for about 2 months.

[john henry]

Ativan works very well for me too. It's great for panic attacks or anxiety and is wonderful for sleep aid...a really good drug!

[moose]

i take 1mg of atavin and 100mg of zoloft daily. the zoloft for acute panic attack syndrom. i take the atavin for sleep aid. with out them im verry nervious and full of anexiety

[miss missy]

i have jus started to take ativan, not by choise, but by docors recommendation...i do feal like it feal a little better but i dont know of it is because of the drug..im soooooo scared that im going to get were i am dependent on it... i take it twice a day same time every day and if i go pass the time i can feal the eed for the medication...when you are trying to get off of it should you half the dose or just stop?/? i am very confused about this....i dont want to take meds that i dont need. but I also dont want to have the fealing with anxiety......

[john henry]

miss missy wrote:

i have jus started to take ativan, not by choise, but by docors recommendation...i do feal like it feal a little better but i dont know of it is because of the drug..im soooooo scared that im going to get were i am dependent on it... i take it twice a day same time every day and if i go pass the time i can feal the eed for the medication...when you are trying to get off of it should you half the dose or just stop?/? i am very confused about this....i dont want to take meds that i dont need. but I also dont want to have the fealing with anxiety......

I know exactly how you feel missy. No way did I want to take any meds for my nerves. My mother always told me it would be okay to take something but I just didn't want to do it.

Since then I have learned a lot about medications and don't hesitate to take them, they help and that's what you need to keep in mind. Ativan is a very good drug to take for anxiety, it clears out of your system faster than the other drugs do and it isn't as strong as Xanax, which is twice the strength and the strongest benzo in the group.

If you need it use it... and yes you can break the pills in half. Take it as prescribed and see how it does. After you have taken it for awhile and your anxiety has calmed then you can cut back to an as needed basis.

It is a good drug!!!

[1wayORanother]

i take 1 mg up to twice a day and it helps me big time.. i have tried other meds to calm me down with failure.. I have to sometime put it under my tongue until it melts works faster.

[DonMarco]

I have been taking Ativan for 4 months now at 2mg 3 times a day. I dont feel addicted to it, but then again, i haven't tried stopping yet. lol it does wonder for my severe anxiety i was having prior to its use. I love the stuff.

[wayne]

I have been on high doses of ativan for over 10 years and tried to get off once and it caused me to go psychotic and not sleep at all for 60 days.I even tried to commit suicide. Do yourself a favor and get off now. It is extremely addictive even more than heroin. I was on 10mg a day and I am still on 6 mg a day and can not get off. Get off slowly under doctors care and do not stop cold turkey. You will glad you did. Do it now before you have to take it for the rest of your life.

[Unemployed WASP]

Some of the problem I noticed with it, and this applies to all the benzos, is if you like to drink alcohol.. it pretty much fuels that. There is a link between benzo consumption and alcoholism.

[Rosie]

MyY doctor started me on Ativan because my esophagus was tightening to the point of making we feel like I was choking. Swallow tests and other upper-GI tests showed no other reason than longterm internalized anxiety. I take 3-4 mg per day, and it make the symptoms go away. But as soon as I back off,(no apparent addiction problem) the tightness comes back within a day or two. I'm into my third month now. Am I on Ativan forever? I do notice my nerves are better - not such a short fuse and not such a worry-wort. Has anyone else had the esophagus tightening? How long have you used Ativan?

[john henry]

wayne wrote:

I have been on high doses of ativan for over 10 years and tried to get off once and it caused me to go psychotic and not sleep at all for 60 days.I even tried to commit suicide. Do yourself a favor and get off now. It is extremely addictive even more than heroin. I was on 10mg a day and I am still on 6 mg a day and can not get off. Get off slowly under doctors care and do not stop cold turkey. You will glad you did. Do it now before you have to take it for the rest of your life.

How in the world did you get to a point where you were taking 10mg a day?

Why didn't you switch to something else with anxiety that extreme?