Lorazepam (Ativan)....Scared
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi ladies, me again....y'all have been so supportive that I thought I'd post this discussion here in the hopes that someone could offer me some comfort or wisdom (although I know that most of you are going through this without the aid of medication)....my GP prescribed 0.5mg of lorazepam (Ativan) for me to take on an as-needed basis (up to twice a day) to help manage the physical symptoms of anxiety that I've been feeling daily for months now (shakiness/internal trembling, racing heart, perceived muscle weakness, headache, blurryish vision, etc)....since August 8, I've taken it six times for a total of 1.25mg over the nineteen days (I only take 0.25mg at a time, and don't take it every day)....I last took it on Saturday (August 23) evening (0.25mg). I'm feeling very jittery and anxious today....is it possible that I'm feeling withdrawl symptoms? It feels like my "normal" anxiety symptoms, but I spent some time consulting Dr Google this morning (bad, I know, but I couldn't help myself), and now I'm terrified that I'm going to have violent withdrawl symptoms, even though this seems like a very small dose for a very short time.
I should add that I took this same medication last year for a longer period of time, and had no issues when I stopped taking it last November....or could what I'm feeling now be some sort of wacky delayed withdrawl? Stupid Google has me worked into a right frenzy over this....what to do?
1 like, 12 replies
jayneejay wearykitty
Posted
bless you hun... is it because you arent taking it every day that your body is up and down, surely a low daily does would be more beneficial .. and then constantly in the body not confusing it ... you should never just stop any medication of this type suddenly, if you have had none at all since the 23 then maybe you are with drawing a little .... may be ....
jay xx
jay xx
jayneejay wearykitty
Posted
sorry sweets, i got confused reading the days you took it..
so since the 8 aug you have only taken it on 6 occassions ... between 8 aug to stopping on 23 aug...
maybe its just not worth bothering with... is it ... or does it help ....
i read some ladies take low dose citalopram on a daily basis for anxiety etc and some say its great.. maybe you need to speak to the doc again weary..
jay xx
wearykitty jayneejay
Posted
jayneejay wearykitty
Posted
well the doc will sort you out...
peri is tiring, and hard, but when we learn to accept it and relax and take each day at a time it gets easier...
you just need abit of support at the moment and hopefully the doc can help you... we all will too if we can ☺️
maybe if you resist what he tries to give you, then theres not alot more he can do... tricky one isnt it... 😥
jay xx
wearykitty jayneejay
Posted
stella19032 wearykitty
Posted
wearykitty stella19032
Posted
stella19032 wearykitty
Posted
I think a low dose of anti anxiety drug now and again is fine. If you were craving them constantly or finding that you needed a higher dose, that would be when you would consider that you may be becoming dependent, but you are quite aware of taking them and why you are taking them, so I truly don't think that's an issue.
My doc once told me when I told him I was concerned about getting addicted to morphine, that being aware of the potential for that to happen, and also taking the meds for the right reasons were the best ways to ensure that dependency didn't happen xxx
Lara66 wearykitty
Posted
wearykitty Lara66
Posted
I ended up taking 0.25mg this afternoon and I'll probably take it again tomorrow...and I'll talk it over with my doctor on Friday. I'm also going to be starting another course of therapy, so am hoping that will help.
mich01 wearykitty
Posted
cheekygal wearykitty
Posted
Your situation sounds very similar to mine, I was prescribed an AD which I felt made my anxiety worse, even tried B6 and found they also made me more anxious though that could've been coincidence. I was at the stage where I was virtually housebound and very low due to the increasing anxiety, inner shaking, muscle twitches etc. My GP prescribed 5mg diazepam (which is equal to 0.5 ativan) twice daily, like you I visited google scaring myself to death, and only taking them when I was really bad. What I have since discovered is, you do need to stick to the same dose daily, when you feel better your GP will help you reduce them very slowly to avoid the nasty withdrawal symptoms. The diazepam has helped me get back to my voluntary work, I can concentrate better, not feeling so low. Please try not to google, it almost always leads us to worst case scenarions which in turn increases anxiety even more. If the pills are helping then take them, don't be afraid, take each day at a time, you will get through this. I also find rescue remedy helps to, the one you spray on tongue. xx