Xanax and Ativan

[Buddy1978]

I took a xanax, for aniexy, at ten o'clock this morning.  Then at at 2:00 pm I took an ativan.  Am I going to be ok?

[Buddy1978]

I was prescribed the xanax at the ER and Ativan from my PCP.  The ER only gave me a 2 day supply and had to switch to the ativan because I ran out of xanax.  I am supposed to take on a as needed basis.  Thank you for your help in advance.  This won't be happening again.  Thank you.

[nursegirl6572]

Okay, well how are you directed to take them both?  Is one as needed, both as needed, and if so, how do you know when to take which?  Do you take one of them regularly?  It's pretty uncommon to be prescribed two short-acting benzos concurrently.

The equivalency between the two meds isn't an exact science, but per equivalency charts, approximately 0.5mg of Xanax equals 1mg of Ativan, so the Xanax is roughly twice as potent, mg to mg.  Again, not an exact science.  So, technically, you DID take a higher dose of the Ativan than the comparable dose of your Xanax.

How often are you needing to take these?  Today for example, you took two doses in a 4 hour period.  If you do that pretty frequently, the meds are most likely exacerbating your anxiety, as the short acting benzos cause a roller coaster effect when taken regularly, they get IN the system quickly, but also leave the system quickly, causing a surge in anxiety/panic in between doses.  Then there's the tolerance issues too.

[Buddy1978]

Yes I'm Prescribed both.  I was prescribed .25mg of xanax and ran out.  So I was having a panic attack and took the ativan at 1mg.

[nursegirl6572]

Are you prescribed both?  How are you directed to take them, and at what doses?