Hi all. Well, I take 0.5 mg Ativan sometimes to help me sleep at night. My main problem is that I sometimes have very frequent urination,and it can be the only thing to help me sleep when I have this. But I had a bad cold last week where coughing was keeping me up at night, and I took the ativan for about 8 days in a row. I then skipped it wednesday night and took it again last night. Now, I am going with my husband and son to visit his family for the next few days, and I normally take Ativan while im there because I have trouble sleeping away from home, and things are just more difficult and stressful while im there. Anyway, my point is, that after this trip I will have been taking 0.5 mg Ativan pretty much every night for about 2 weeks. Is this long enough to have trouble stopping the ativan and cause insomnia if I dont take it? I really hate to take it for so long but for certain situations its the only thing that works to help me get sleep. Does anyone have any advice on this? Thanks everyone!

That's a really small dose. I do the same thing, with 1 mg. It just slows my thoughts down enough to sleep. And you know what? I've been taking it for a month pretty much straight. However, if I have the luxury of a nap during the day, I can fall asleep without it. After the holidays, I'll see if I can sleep at night without it. If you're really concerned, though, call your doctor. He or she can probably reassure you over the phone, you don't even have to go in.

Thanks for the info fay!

I take 1 mg of Ativan at night for 6 months without a problem. It is good to keep dependency issues in mind, but I don't think that is an issue now. I remeber worrrying about this a lot when I first tried benzos. You are on a small dose and have been on it a short period of time. You are totally compliant with your pdoc's instructions which is important because some people run into major problems upping their dose on their own.

Katie

I was on a small dose for 7 mo. while waiting for the ad I was on to take the anxiety down on it's own. I came right off when I noticed that I no longer needed it. I also used it early on when I returned to work to decrease anxiety as I had been having panic attacks while driving to an from work. I'd break the pill in half and it was enough to keep the anxiety down and I was able to do anything without feeling groggy.

I got a prescription later, when my Father died as I had this biggest fear that I'd run out of the room during the funeral. I had had this fear for years as he'd been sick for so long. It took the edge off my anxiety and I got through all the services just fine.

I think the issue is more with people who take more than prescribed for the high or use alcohol to intensify the effects, jen. It sounds like you aren't one of these people. It was a blessing to me and I really am glad that there was a med out there to help me sleep, return to work and help slow the racing thoughts that came with my illness. If I ever get into that kind of state again, I'd ask my doc for this med in a minute! I didn't feel drugged up on it and liked the fact that I could use smaller amounts. I tapered off this way, even though I was not using much of it when the ad started working better.

It sounds like you are using this to help you sleep and it's working well for you. I wouldn't worry about addiction. It's something to be aware of, but it's a choice to abuse any substance, and you're doing this for medical purposes, just how it's to be used.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas!!

Jackie

Im on a much higher dose then 0.5. im on 4 mgs daily. And yes it does have withdrawl effects that arent just mental but physical as well. You will eventually have to take the medication or get taperred off of it in order to dodge the physical withdrawl. Actually this happened to me just yesterday. I woke up and forgot to take my 2 ativans in the morning and went amost the whole day without it. But the whole day i couldnt figure out why i was so panicky, sweating perfusely and had a very short fuse until i realized that i ahd forgotten my morning meds(i was very busy that day). So i took the meds and i felt better, no more heavy breathing and feeling painicky. What a realeif, but it is never good that your body is physically addicted to the medication. Ativan is a great med and wouldnt go a day without it unfortunately physical withdrawl is one of its downsides.


//escape

I guess the thing to look at is your tendency towards addiction. I smoke, but was never addicted to any other chemical and it alcoholism and drug addiction run in my family. I know I have to be very careful with addictive meds, whatever they are for and my doc knows that I am concerned about her giving me anything addictive. I dodged ativan for a couple of week and tried buspar, but that med just increased my anxiety. I finally conceded to go on ativan and was very careful. I have a friend, well, no longer a friend who is addicted to Vicodin and it destroyed the relationship she has with two sons, and the other son is just a mirror image of her. It's an ugly way to do your life. I don't want to go there, and know I could easily fall down the slippery slope. Benzos have their place in treatment, but one just has to look at whether they can handle this med judiciously and not use them for recreational use. I know this ex-girlfriend was on Xanax for a year and was taking it way over the doseage and drinking on it, just to get her anxiety down, but to also get a buzz. What a mess! It's scarey to see one of your friends go down the tubes.

Jackie

I was taking 2.5mg for Months and stopped without much problem.
I don't think it's anymore dangerous than the other Psychiatric junk they give out.Anti-Psychotics cause permanent damageyet they give these out like Candy

This post has been edited by Jkm: Dec 28 2006, 09:36 AM

Tendency towards addiction runs in your genes, Armani. I agree that if you know this and start to over medicate, you can start up something that will be the beginning of problems for you that are difficult to deal with.

I think ativan is one of the meds for anxiety that isn't too strong and it's one that you can break, so you can take more control over how much you ingest. I know I was able to break a pill into four pieces and got relief from one piece vs. taking something in a capsule that really zonks you out when you only want to take the edge off so you can still drive and work.

I don't mean to offend anyone on Ativan as I was on it twice and have addictive tendencies all through my family. One just has to remember that we all have to watch our options with this kind of med. I took it for 7 mo. and came right off of it. I also was on Paxil for 6 mo., and came right off of that med with no problem, just a quick taper down in one week. Some of these other meds aren't so easily tapered from and usually require a cross taper with another ad to keep from having creepy side effects.

Addiction means that if the drug is withdrawn, you get terrible cravings and want the drug back.

Jackie

jkm


says who?There is little scientific fact to support this,just like most of the claims of Psychiatry.
I do believe that Alcohol and other dependancies can be a learned behaviour from others,but quite ridiculous to believe that someone is born a Alcoholic.
If I believed these frudsters,I would be believing I was born Depressed

Armani,

There is no need to be offensive and argumentative in your responses. If that continues, your rights will be disabled until you can get a hold of yourself. Capice? Most members seem to be able to communicate their differing viewpoints without becoming overly aggressive. Please be more considerate as you post.


Depending on which experts you follow, many experts do believe that a tendency toward addiction has a genetic component. As Jackie pointed out, a 'habit' ( learned behavior) can be broken much more easily than an 'addiction', which is a physical or psychological dependence. Often habits and addictions are intertwined, complicating things even further. A tendency or predisposition isn't the entire story, but it does seem to be a component.

KA

Armani;
You seem to only read research and articles that support your views. Mental Health research is ongoing & constantly evolving. Mental health issues tend to be a combination of medical issues, genetics, environment, upbringing, and major life events. Most treatment is based upon a consenus of the best available treatment based upon the best available science. Also, if you would please start listing your sources of info, it would help. For there is a lot of bad science out there and a lot of quacks on the internet. Also, attacks will never be tolerated here as KA said. I'm in total agreement with her.

Im not attacking anyone personally,sorry if I sound argumentative.Im just an Anti-Social b4stad.But I believe addiction is just an attempt to escape from the realities of life.Yo will find there is always a reason why someone hits the bottle

This post has been edited by Armani: Dec 28 2006, 02:17 PM

Very true Armani. There is usually a reason. The key to treatment is discovering the reason.

Folks, we're veering off course here, the topic is supposed to be about the safety of ativan and whether it can cause a dependency issue....

Thanks!

KA