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Taking Ativan too Often?
Ok my script says 1 mg up to 4 times a day,I had got down to 2 mg then my dr messed me all up here is how i took it today..1/2 mg at 5:30 am 1/2 mg at 7 am 1/2 mg at 8:25 am 1.2 mg at 11 10 am 1/2 mg at 11 40 am 1/2at 3 pm and 1/2 at 4 30 pm///and i feel like my head is crawling thats why i take them....but even after taking it i dont get the relief i should....i think i should try the whole pill and make it last as long as i can...its all that i have been thru the last week and plus i have been on benzos 20 years and am addicted to them i guess any ideas as to how to make it last longer?
Hi, yes I think I see the situation here.
Good luck and thanks to you and greenlydia for all your help to others.
abby
Good luck and thanks to you and greenlydia for all your help to others.
abby
This is whole crux of the matter.....your continued dependency and tolerance issues with the benzos. We've all given you many suggestions on ways to fix this issue for good....and I know it won't be easy, and it will take some time, but it IS very possible that you can fix this. Like lydia said...you HAVE to follow the dosing instructions..you cannot make your own rules up...it is only adding to your tolerance problems and in turn increasing your anxiety. You are defeating yourself even further.
As for lydia's recommendation for inpatient treatment...I actually agree that it is something well worth looking into. We're not talking opiate detox here in a rehab center. We're talking an inpatient stay in a facility that can closely monitor you while they come up with a better medication regimen to reduce your need for the benzos, while at the same time, controlling your anxiety. You would also receive a great amount of very helpful talk therapy. There are some wonderful facilities/hospital programs out there.
This suggestion is not a BAD thing. None of us like the idea of having our lives interrupted to spend time away from home, but I think it would truly benefit you and be well worth it to spend some time getting this "fixed" once and for all. There is NO shame in needing more intense help once in a while. You've suffered long enough and with your complicated and long history of benzo tolerance/dependence...I think you would benefit much better from a more closely monitored treatment plan....somewhere they can help you with the benzo issue while at the same time helping you to learn how to cope with the anxiety and get back to being "you".
Abby---HI there. Just a note to you...hazyworld has a VERY complex history with a very severe long-term benzo tolerance/dependency issues. If you search her posts...you'll kind of get a feel for her struggle and why lydia made the recommendation she did. While I would normally agree that a "detox type center" wouldn't be the best answer for benzo help....that isn't exactly what we're talking about here. Hazyworld has spent so much time and energy "chasing her tail" so to speak fighting this same issue. She has tried NUMEROUS meds and has even had increased anxiety problems as a result. I think if you read up on some of her posts...you'd get a better feel for why this particular recommendation was made. :0)
Best of luck!
As for lydia's recommendation for inpatient treatment...I actually agree that it is something well worth looking into. We're not talking opiate detox here in a rehab center. We're talking an inpatient stay in a facility that can closely monitor you while they come up with a better medication regimen to reduce your need for the benzos, while at the same time, controlling your anxiety. You would also receive a great amount of very helpful talk therapy. There are some wonderful facilities/hospital programs out there.
This suggestion is not a BAD thing. None of us like the idea of having our lives interrupted to spend time away from home, but I think it would truly benefit you and be well worth it to spend some time getting this "fixed" once and for all. There is NO shame in needing more intense help once in a while. You've suffered long enough and with your complicated and long history of benzo tolerance/dependence...I think you would benefit much better from a more closely monitored treatment plan....somewhere they can help you with the benzo issue while at the same time helping you to learn how to cope with the anxiety and get back to being "you".
Abby---HI there. Just a note to you...hazyworld has a VERY complex history with a very severe long-term benzo tolerance/dependency issues. If you search her posts...you'll kind of get a feel for her struggle and why lydia made the recommendation she did. While I would normally agree that a "detox type center" wouldn't be the best answer for benzo help....that isn't exactly what we're talking about here. Hazyworld has spent so much time and energy "chasing her tail" so to speak fighting this same issue. She has tried NUMEROUS meds and has even had increased anxiety problems as a result. I think if you read up on some of her posts...you'd get a better feel for why this particular recommendation was made. :0)
Best of luck!
I'm glad you are dosing your Ativan at more regular intervals. I hope that helps you.
And I did read your previous posts and was surprised what that doctor had put you on.
I wish you the best of luck finding a good doctor elsewhere. Hopefully he/she will have a much better understanding of the meds you take and have taken.
You know we all wish you the best.
Peace
Greenlydia
And I did read your previous posts and was surprised what that doctor had put you on.
I wish you the best of luck finding a good doctor elsewhere. Hopefully he/she will have a much better understanding of the meds you take and have taken.
You know we all wish you the best.
Peace
Greenlydia
Im on the 4 mg per my previous dr,the quack im seeing now still thinks im on the zyprexa,he messed me up by stopping the depakote cold turkey then trying to put me on lithium,,,,maybe you havent read my posts on zyprexa and what all i have been thru in a months time...i went from functioning to non functioning...im gettting better since im off all the posin the dr put me on and im searching for a dr in twin falls or salat lake city,im taking 1 mg ativan today and will try to space it out at least 5 hours to equal 4 times a day,,,i was on xanax for 17 years coldturkeyed it and since 2007 i have been on either klonopin or ativan since,,,and klonopin depresses me,,,BAD
Dang...Greenlydia, you know that 'inpatient centers' don't know how to taper people off benzos; they just don't. Opiates are no problem, but the benzos take so long. They will prevent a seizure with an AE drug and do an essential cold turkey and send him home. This is presuming that he has health unsurance or a lot of cash. Although some areas have funding that will pay for rehab but I wouldn't want to go to one. I have been down this road and it's not pretty.
Most doctors arent' 'benzo savy'. Why would his doctor be prescribing a short acting benzo when he has this problem and has been on them for so long? (unless the doctor is being lied to) Taking benzos as prescribed doesn't make them any safer after prolonged use. Benzos will "turn on you"after prolonged use. Some people are more sensitive to benzos than others.
It does take a lot of discipline and strength to taper yourself off. If benzos are abused then there's no change of a slow taper. I don't know this persons history.
abby
Most doctors arent' 'benzo savy'. Why would his doctor be prescribing a short acting benzo when he has this problem and has been on them for so long? (unless the doctor is being lied to) Taking benzos as prescribed doesn't make them any safer after prolonged use. Benzos will "turn on you"after prolonged use. Some people are more sensitive to benzos than others.
It does take a lot of discipline and strength to taper yourself off. If benzos are abused then there's no change of a slow taper. I don't know this persons history.
abby
Oh hazyworld.............what ARE we to do with you?
How, exactly, do you think your doctor mess you up?
You told him you were having "breakdowns" all the time, so he reupped your dose to the origianl 4mg to hopefully help you stop having breakdowns.
And where did you come up with this screwy dosing schedule? I know damn well your doctor didn't tell you to take them like that. We've told you numerous times that you HAVE to take your meds as directed by your doctor, which is also written on the bottle.
According to YOUR dosing plan, you've taken pretty much your entire days worth by 11:40 am! Then you take 1/2mg at 3p and another 1/2mg at 4:30p.
Ativan needs to be taken at regular intervals, so you should figure out what time you normally get up and what time you normally go to bed. Figure out the average hours you're awake and divide that by 4. That will give you the "approximate" times to take your pills. I think if you got yourself on a regular dosing schedule, you would not get the "crawlies."
There really is no way to "make them last longer," and if you took them AS PRESCRIBED, you wouldn't need to worry about that.
Please do not come up with any more bizarre ways to stretch them out. You'll only wind up in more trouble.
And hazyworld, the next time you see your doctor, I think it might be time to discuss inpatient treatment to get off the benzos. Give it some thought and talk it over with your doctor.
Peace
Greenlydia
How, exactly, do you think your doctor mess you up?
You told him you were having "breakdowns" all the time, so he reupped your dose to the origianl 4mg to hopefully help you stop having breakdowns.
And where did you come up with this screwy dosing schedule? I know damn well your doctor didn't tell you to take them like that. We've told you numerous times that you HAVE to take your meds as directed by your doctor, which is also written on the bottle.
According to YOUR dosing plan, you've taken pretty much your entire days worth by 11:40 am! Then you take 1/2mg at 3p and another 1/2mg at 4:30p.
Ativan needs to be taken at regular intervals, so you should figure out what time you normally get up and what time you normally go to bed. Figure out the average hours you're awake and divide that by 4. That will give you the "approximate" times to take your pills. I think if you got yourself on a regular dosing schedule, you would not get the "crawlies."
There really is no way to "make them last longer," and if you took them AS PRESCRIBED, you wouldn't need to worry about that.
Please do not come up with any more bizarre ways to stretch them out. You'll only wind up in more trouble.
And hazyworld, the next time you see your doctor, I think it might be time to discuss inpatient treatment to get off the benzos. Give it some thought and talk it over with your doctor.
Peace
Greenlydia
Get on a long acting benzo and taper off. There's posts all over this forum about "crossing over" to klono or valium. You should taper off slowly, because you'll eventually hit 'tolerance' even a long acting benzo since you've been on them so long.
Don't just quit the ativan when you change, do a 'cross over' to the longer acting benzo. Some benzo forums may have people there that can give you a schedule. Don't drink alcohol while doing this.
abby
Don't just quit the ativan when you change, do a 'cross over' to the longer acting benzo. Some benzo forums may have people there that can give you a schedule. Don't drink alcohol while doing this.
abby
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