Lorazapam questions ????

[jessy]

Does any one else here take this med ??
Of so do you find it helpful ?
I'm just wondering if it's right to be on this for as long as I have been -3 years !!
Sounds a REDICULOUS amount of time , I know , thing is I suffer with very bad anxiety & was put on lorazapam 3 years ago by a physiatrist & told I can have it as & when needed .
I currently take 3mg a day sometimes 4mg & sometimes only 2mg at bed time .
I am wondering if it still helps or if I just need it because I have become addicted to it ? Or is it both ??
Any one with any knowledge ??
Jessy

[alankay]

That dose is a high medium dose but are you also taking an ssri/snri to help lower the amount of ativan you're taking? You might want to work down the dose over time as I did years ago but if you are doing well and the doc is OK with this all, change slowly only.
Having said that it is a good med for both anxiety and panic. I found it a lifesaver years ago and would not have made it through college without it. Alankay

[GreenPlz]

That is a very high dose. I have taken ativan (lorazepam) before, and it is highly addictive.

[jessy]

In reply to alankay , yes I take an anti depressant but not ssri it's the other kind . I have tried the ssri's but didn't have any luck with them .

I know after the length of time on lorazapam that I must be addicted to it , I do not see that this is a problem if it's helping my anxiety , I think most benzo's are addictive unfortunately :-(

What I'm wondering is if I could be on something better ?

I have them for panic & chronic anxiety , I only take them if I feel I ABSOLUETLY have to

[alankay]

Jessy, addicted is not the right term. Reliant would be better. Maybe dependent. I freely admit I am reliant on valium for certain instances(air travel, dental appts., speeches, etc,) and this is not uncommon for Panic patients. You don't take this to get "high" nor do you harm others/break laws to get it. It's not an illegal drug. Does the use of ativan cause problems or help you cope and control anxiety? This is for a medical condition. You take it under a docs rx and supervision. While it is not optimal to take it daily it seems it's the best the doc can work out for you but it's always good to improve for sure. Are you taking it daily? Have you had psychotherapy to help find any cause(s) of your anxiety? Some patients can take it daily others will find the dose going up which is not good as the higher the dose, the more likely bad side effects like drowsiness, drop in optimal memory, etc, which will go away if present with a drop in the dose in time.
I'm trying to say it's not best to take that dose always but for very anxious patients it may be needed(under a psychiatrists care/supervision). At the same time working on the root of your anxiety should help drop that dose to a more common lower dose or even better, occasional use. If you want to work on a lower dose talk to your doc and make prudent changes slowly and over time. If you are doing pretty well and feel alert driving(perhaps most important), feel sharp intellectually, etc, you may want to hold where you are or only make super small changes very slowly. In general docs use a med like ativan to get you calmed down and work on education, lifestyle changes, psychotherapy, start an AD, etc, to help lower your anxiety but we don't always get the most desirable outcome which would be a patient off meds or on very little meds. We sometimes have to settle on what works in the real world for patients but it always good to get even better. PM me any time at all. Alankay