Ativan (lorazepam) dosage for insomnia due to anxiety

[wxguy1]

Does anyone have experience with taking Ativan (lorazepam)?  I was given the medication for insomnia and was asked to take 0.5-1mg, but it didn't seem to work too well.  Is it safe to up the dosage? Can you take Restoril (temazepam) at the same time if Ativan doesn't work?  Thanks.

[nursegirl6572]

I agree that a sleeping pill would probably be more effective than Ativan.  If you try the same dosage tonight...and still have troubles, I would see your doc about other options.

Mack...USUALLY Ativan isn't the best sedative to take long term, because you build up a tolerance and eventually end up requiring a higher dose to acheive the same effect.  There are other benzodiazepines that are more appropriate for long-term use.  

Whatever you do...do not ever stop taking the Ativan abruptly.  You will need to be tapered off of it.  As for if your doc ever decides to not prescribe it for you?  I don't know your doc, but a lot of physicians will only prescribe Ativan for short periods of time (months to maybe a year), for the reasons I listed above.

If it is working for you, and your doc has not given you any indication that he will be pulling the plug anytime soon...I suppose you should just go on as you have.  If it really concerns you, by all means, discuss it with your doctor...a lot of times, for long term use, Klonopin is prescribed.  It is a longer acting benzo, and patients do not develop the same kind of tolerance that they do with Ativan, Xanax, etc.

Good luck to you.

[mackenkie]

lorazepam due to severe panick attacks could not get on with my life.I have been taking them for 20 years these are the only tablets that help me get on with my life. Is ther any other medication I can take that will help me. I tried meditation and antidepressants and natural medication also accupuncture. The only thing that helps is 1mg lorazepam 3 times a day. Would the Dr ever just stop my medication. As I know I could never cope. Not had an easy time.

Yours Sincerely

[toasty]

on and off, since the mid 70s, i have been allowed to take
lorazepam - (P R N!!!) - in the 1/2  to 1 mg dosage ranges.
  
usually it was to start a couple days a week with a little
more calm. twenty or so minutes later this little knot in
my tum-tum relaxed. i could _feel_ the change.
  
1/2 mg was just fine with an occassional 1-mg when i was too
lazy to cut the tab into two or felt more anxious than usual.
  
and in about 20 mins, tum-tum relaxed. mid-day anxiety was
(prn) treated approx the same way though _rarely_ on days
that started with lorazapam.

through the 70s and 80s and early 90s things were nominal but
then added grief/stress made me think a bit because my sleep
pattern/cycle changed adversly.

so i changed from wake-up meds to go-2-sleep meds (doc
approved). realize, also, that 2-beers a night (over
3-4 hours) is a diet mandate of mine. the lorazapam  
helped with the sleep but i had to titrate up to  
3.5 mg to get a whole, reliable quality night's sleep.

this surprised me, actually but i'll use that regimen in
the future if the situation seems to suggest it. btw,
4-beers a night was no help. more than that i am not willing
to exceed, and never loraz+beer>2!!

[MariAAB]

I was recently prescribed 1 mg Antivan as needed.  Does it just make you drowsy and mellow, or does it really reduce your feelings of intense anxiety?  I have an anxiety-inducing situtation coming up and don't want to feel sleepy but still freaked out.

[rasticle]

A good drug you might also look into is Atarax.  I use that at night when I know I am going to have trouble sleeping, due to anxiety.  It works good for me and it is not a narcodic so you won't become dependent on it or develop a tolerance either.  It works well with panic attacks too.

[wxguy1]

Thanks for your replies.  I talked to my doctor and she asked me to try taking up to 2mg of Ativan and a couple of tablets of benadryl for sleep last night.  At first, I thought it didn't work, which made me even more anxious.  But I woke up almost 7 hours later without knowing I slept.  Lately, I have been getting this jolt/twitch/falling sensation right before I could sense I was about to fall asleep, which wakes me up.  It sacres and worries me (didn't help with my insomnia anxiety).....almost like I have lost the ability to sleep.  I know sporadic fatal insomnia (not the kind that runs in the faimly) is rare but it has come across my mind.