Benzo uneffective for social anxiety?

I have pretty severe social anxiety. Doc prescribed lorazepam and fluoxetine. I flat out refuse to take an SSRI. I have read wonderful things about benzos, and know of their addictive nature.

Anyways, I tried the lorazepam (.5 mg) and went out with my friend. It did nothing. I only want to take a benzo before BAD social situations, not everyday. Upon the doc's consent, later, I took 1 mg. I think it helped a little, but I'm not sure. As of my fourth time trying it, I took 2 mg, and went out socially. I don't think it did much, as my heart could still race just as easily as before, and i was still pretty on edge, but I think it reduced my anxiety somewhat. I did not feel sedated at all (like if I was to take benadryl).

Is this normal? Would a different benzo matter? Obviously I'm going to ask psychiatrist, but I want some other opinions on the matter. I've heard for a long time of people taking them and losing practically all anxiety, which at extremely bad times could be a godsend.

Also, it is not nearly as effective as alcohol is to me either. Nearly all my social phobias are absolutely cured by a few drinks. So whats the case?

[barfer]

Is this the first time you have taken a benzo or have you tried others in the past?  I ask this because I'm a little surprised that it didn't do anything for you even at a higher dose.  If you want to take a benzo on an as needed basis, then that should mean not every day.  If you have Bad social situations most days then you might be better off on a long acting benzo instead of the short acting ones like lorazepam.  

Alternatively, if you find that alcohol relieves your social anxiety, then my suggestion to you would be to forget about benzos and go straight to CBT.  Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is very effective for those whose anxiety is social and often they  don't even need medication once they learn techniques to counteract the anxiety.  I personally, would never recommend alcohol as a way to get over social anxiety because what ends up happening and I've seen and heard of it more times than I care to mention,  the person becomes an alcoholic.  One drink leads to two and that doesn't do the trick anymore so they end up drinking and drinking until they find they have a new problem to deal with.  

With benzos, if you really need them you should not feel "buzzed or high", you should just feel calm "normal".  

[Taybey]

I take ativan which is the brand name for loemopam because that generic did not work for me one bit either.  I felt no difference.  So I went on the brand name and it it working wonders for me.

[Staku]

Interesting. Do you remember what generic it was? Was it Ranbaxy?

I'm not looking to a benzo as a long term answer, and definitely won't take one every day. This is the first one I've ever taken. Just surprised how little it seemed to do.