I have have an anxiety disorder since high school, I am now 39 I still have it badly. I take meds daily for it but I alway take a week break once a month to make sure I'm not addicted, I've tried them all for anxiety but the ones that work immediatly unfortunatly are benzos and are all addicting.
Klonopin- works for anxiety attacks but puts you to sleep and you always sound tired when you take it daily, It is the least addictive of the benzo's from what my doctor told me, I just dont like being tired it has about an 8 hour life span
Ativan- works also it makes me tired to the problem is you need 1 or 2 mg to work (for me anyway) and it has a 4 hour life span very fast acting as Klonopin but last 4 hours and makes you sleepy for general anxiety
Xanax-to me is the worst, it is the most addictive and I don't see any difference between it and the others, its fast acting but very, very addicting, I would not even advise it.general anxeity
Vaium-diazapam it what I use it has am 8 hour life span it is also addicting that is why I sometime take a week or two off of it like now I havent taken it in 12 days just to make sure I'm ok without it but something usually happens and i have a panic attack of general anxiety that starts and gets worse so I take them daily again or I will take valium them exchange it out for Klonopin for a month, I just hate the way I sound on klonopin like im always sleepy or out of it.Valium can make you tired it depends on the person, I'm used to it so it dosent make me tired any longer and I don't sound like I in a daze on it.By far my favorite is Valium or (diazapam) generic same thing. It works for me I just have to be careful because its addictive but like I said I take breaks like now I am still on a break and ok, so I won't take them again untill I have a rough time or bad anxiety, I just like to clear my body of it every so often and so far I have not had withdrawls and I have been on 10 mg 2 to 3 times a day for 7 years but I always take the breaks for addiction purposes.
with any of the above medications you might add with a dr's permission something that you continue to stay on that is non addictive and not a benzo like add Buspar or Buspirone it is mild and can be used with it no problems of addiction but it takes 3 weeks to feel the effects, depends on the person or Lexapro some people like Celexa there are many non addicting but they usually all take 3 weeks for the full effect. You need to ask a physican each Dr is different, I have had Dr's that won't prescribe benzo's and Dr's who do not have a problem with it, personally I won't go to a Dr.who won't prescribe what you need, Its a waste on my money and time and I have seen Dr's like that and never gone back I ask now if I am working with a new physican, but I love my Dr he is a pain mgtment specialist and also specalizes in addiction so he know what he is doing and he is also a devout Christian, he makes his patients each feel special, find a Dr and a medicine that works for you that is my best advise and I gave you the run down on medications with addictive qualities that work very quickly. like I said my favorite is diazapam/valium in 5 or 10mg less sleepy, and works well it is often used for alcoholics to reduce peoples anxiety who are addicted to alcohol, ativan is also used for that purpose, but if you have any other questions, I have tried them all from my Dr to find what work and he finally did, thank goodness!!! Please ask if you have any questions for me, I don't mind
Thank you Dalia for ur advise..
but if the pill's half life is 4 hours ... IT"S a PROBLEM!!!
how many pills should i take per day ?? and for four consecutive days:SSS
how much ativan causes overdose ?
thx in advance :)
My experience with ativan has been good. I was diagnosed with GAD and on stressful days I would pop one or two 1mg pills and it helped a bunch. I would not advise daily use by any means as they can be addicting.
The only complaint I have is if you are having a really rough day and feel the need to take a couple the moment you actually get a chance to settle down you will fall asleep right away. When I was first on it and figuring out my sweet spot for effectiveness I took 2 2mg pills and it pretty much made me stop functioning(mentally).
My doctor said they work for up to 8 hours but I have found the active range to be more like 4-6h. Really strong about 30m after taking and it slows as time passes but you are sedated enough where it helps.
thank you very much gregg, that was helpfull.. :))
Also, I'd take it the morning you are packing up to leave, and again before you board the airplane...don't let the anxiety wear on you. In fact, the day before, if you start to feel scared, take some. One more tip, if you start to feel a little anxious despite the drugs, like during takeoff (it won't be much, but you don't want it to get away from you), simply do some deep breathing to get thru little rough patches, which is take a real deep breath, blow it out, breathe normal a few times, then deep breathe again, do this ten times, think only of your breathing, it'll bring your heartrate down and thus your anxiety.