anxiety meds

[julie1224]

I have a question i am on 2mg ativan 3 times a day would xanxe (dont know how to spell it)  help more not getting much relief from the ativan

[davismisa04]

I was on ativan for about a year switched to xanax .5mg they help me alot better than the ativan did I just hate the fact they make me really sleepy sometimes and I have a brother on klonopin's and they are what many people know as the "dont give a dam" drug and when my brother takes em he really dont wich that is good for him he has a hard time very hard time coping with daily life my friends husband also takes em and he does ok but like i said they also make him not give a dam

[julie1224]

thanks so much for all the info

[nursegirl6572]

Hello and welcome!

These are issues you definitely want to discuss with your doctor.  Most likely a switch to Xanax wouldn't be indicated, as it is also a short acting benzo like the Ativan.  You're taking a pretty high daily dose of the Ativan, my guess it due to increased tolerance (needing a higher dose to acheive the same effectiveness).  That's a common problem with these kinds of meds and why the short acting benzos are best used on an "as needed" basis, or just short term.

A better option to ask your doc about would be switching to a long acting benzo, like Klonopin.  Klonopin tends to have less severe tolerance issues and is a better choice when a person needs a long term anti anxiety med.  Many people do very well on it.  It also has a tendency to eliminate a lot of the "ups and downs" that the short term benzos cause (due to shorter mechanism of action), and it keeps people at a steadier state.

Talk with your doctor about this and see what he/she says.  

Good luck...let us know how it goes!