Withdrawl of Ativan

[Collinus]

Thank you in advance for your time.
In April after an 3 EKGS and blood work, I was put on Ativan .05mg three times a day.  I took three pills 3 times a day for about a month, then was on two for a month and then on one for a month.  My symptoms came back and the doctor advised me to do 2 pills a day which I took for a month and then went to one a day.  I haven't taken the Ativan for about a week and I feel as if my withdrawal symptoms are worse than the original ones.  I am depressed, worried about my Palpitations (which the doctors say is caused my anxiety after another set of blood work test and evaluation on a heart moniter).  I have nervous twitches in my legs and arms and I feel disoriented at times.  Is this due to my taking ativan for so long?  Also, I have devoped a real fear of dying.  I feel as if my heart is going to stop or my brain is going to pop..because I am so afraid.  My doctor prescribed me some zoloft.  what do you think.

[HFHS MD-JM]

Collinus,

        Its not clear what your doctor was treating with Ativan but it does appear that it was anxiety related.  What you describe sounds more like rebound anxiety than withdrawal symptoms from Ativan.  Zoloft is an excellent medication for anxiety an depression.  Generally we start at 25 mg of Zoloft daily for one week then increase to 50 mg and titrate accordingly.  Sometimes when this type of medication is started it can increase anxiety initially which is why we often start with a very low dose.  It might also be helpful to be restarted on a low dose of Ativan for a few weeks while the Zoloft is taking effect.

         This information is intended for educational purposes only.  Please consult your personal physician for specic health concerns.

Sincerely,

HFHS MD-JM

Keywords: Ativan, anxiety, Zoloft

[brian]

You sound like you are suffering from the same Panic Attack disorder that I dealt with for several years.  My advice after doctor hopping, and trying different medications, ask your doctor to put you on Effexor.  This antidepressant did in just a month or two, what Prozac, cognitive therapy, Xanax, guided self hypnosis, biofeedback, and many other therapies were not able to accomplish over several years!  See my letter for more details titled- medication resistant depression.
Also I would recommend Clonopin instead of Ativan, I found it to last much longer and taper off much slower than Xanax did. The switch to Clonopin was the key to breaking the withdrawl symptoms that I was having trouble with the Xanax.  If your doctor does not want to try these two, find another doctor as these are both similar medications to what you are taking now.  Good luck!

[rob909e]

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[rob909e]

hello.  Im new to this site and Im going through ativan withdrawl myself.  I only took about 3 mg of ativan a day for about 2 months.   my panic attacks feel more as if im having a heart attack then "panic"   im 33 years old and never had any kind of panic attacks or heart or chest pains untill about 3 months ago.  it started out as little discomforting feeling in my chest then progressed into  pain lasting all day,  ive been off the benzo's for about a week and my biggest withdrawl is the fact i have no energy to do anything typing is even hard!  feels like part of my brain is not connected and thinking is actually very hard!