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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Chelle on September 22, 2015, at 11:44:21
Hello all, I am new here and have been struggling for a bit. I'm a wife, mom, and employed full time as an HR Professional. I have been on Ativan 1mg at bedtime for three years, then it was upped to 2mg. I started taking it once daily at work and it really helped keep anxiety at bay. I was on low dose Paxil 20mg for ten years then switched to lexapro 20mg a few years ago. I stopped taking all antidepressants about a year and a half ago.
A few weeks ago, after getting sick with a mono flare up, my anxiety srarted to return. At first I could calm myself down, but have now been experiencing daily panic attacks. For me the worst is the body symptoms and feeling "not like myself"... I went to my doc and she gave me more Ativan and Effexor. I'm on day 6 of the Effexor and don't notice anything yet. The panic is so bad I filled out FMLA paperwork for the first time in my life. I feel like a failure. I had my anxiety under control for so long... I'm scared I won't be able to go back to work, that my husband will leave, I'll be homeless, in a mental hospital...it's bad. And I can't sleep. I've been taking more of the Ativan and finally took 4mg just to pass out. Woke up 4 hours later. I haven't been sleeping well, no appetite...I just don't understand how I'm fine for years, then this happens. I'm so scared right now
Posted by joe f on September 22, 2015, at 15:15:16
In reply to Able to hold a successful job while on daily benzo, posted by Chelle on September 22, 2015, at 11:44:21
did you go through Ativan withdrawal.....have you tried klonopin
Posted by Chelle on September 22, 2015, at 16:53:28
In reply to Re: Able to hold a successful job while on daily benzo, posted by joe f on September 22, 2015, at 15:15:16
> did you go through Ativan withdrawal.....have you tried klonopin
I have not gone through Ativan withdrawal nor have I tried klonopin.
Posted by Christ_empowered on September 22, 2015, at 17:20:25
In reply to Able to hold a successful job while on daily benzo, posted by Chelle on September 22, 2015, at 11:44:21
I am terribly sorry about all this. Some people do better on just a benzo than on ADs. I don't know what the deal is...not everybody responds the same way to meds. Also, sometimes people respond well to ADs and then...they don't. I don't mean to scare you, but it does happen, so Ativan may be a good idea. Is it a long term solution? I dunno. People do work and do productive things on benzos, but there are definite drawb backs. Again, I'm not trying to scare you, just pointing out the facts.
I hope things get better, sooner rather than later.
Posted by Guy on September 22, 2015, at 19:01:05
In reply to Able to hold a successful job while on daily benzo, posted by Chelle on September 22, 2015, at 11:44:21
Chelle, it sounds like you are starting to get into trouble with the benzo. I think you should discuss your situation with your doctor. Here is what you might suggest: Drop the 2 mg lorazepam and switch to 1 mg of the longer acting clonazepam. You could also request a low dose of trimpramine which helps with sleep. If your doctor agrees, you could then start cutting down on the clonazepam with the aim of eventually (very slowly) discontinuing. If the anti-depressant agrees with you, you can stay on that indefinitely or wean off of that too, depending on how things are going. From what I have read, the trimipramine is the AD that is the least likely to disrupt sleep architecture and the easiest to discontinue. Good luck!
Posted by linkadge on September 22, 2015, at 20:20:06
In reply to Re: Able to hold a successful job while on daily benzo, posted by Guy on September 22, 2015, at 19:01:05
I agree with guy. If the anxiety is associated with insomnia or depression, then you could try trimipramine, or (a newer med) mirtazapine, or trazodone. These are better for sleep than other antidepressants and can help limit benzo escalation.
Linkadge
Posted by Hugh on September 22, 2015, at 20:27:32
In reply to Able to hold a successful job while on daily benzo, posted by Chelle on September 22, 2015, at 11:44:21
It's possible that what you're experiencing is inter-dose withdrawal from Ativan. I also took Ativan for sleep. I took it nightly for three years and was very pleased with it -- except that I increased my dosage twice because of tolerance. I started at .5 mg. After I'd been on 1.5 mg for several months, I started to get brain fog and suffer from terrible gastrointestinal problems, and my anxiety worsened.
I agree with Guy, that you should probably switch from Ativan to a longer-acting benzo like Klonopin or Valium. It could be that you'll feel much better on either one of these. I had to get off of benzos completely, because I just couldn't tolerate them anymore. It took me four months to complete my benzo taper (I did a crossover from Ativan to Valium halfway through my taper -- I would have switched a lot sooner, but I had trouble finding someone to prescribe Valium for me).
The Ashton Manual has lots of good advice on how to do a crossover to another benzo, and has tapering schedules.
This is the end of the thread.
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