Aa
ativan
i currently take cymbalta 60 mm once a day 2 mg kolipin in morning and 1 mg at night and now dr has put on 1mg ativan as needed.
does anyone have any thoughts.
does anyone have any thoughts.
Ativan is a benzodiazepine in the same family of drugs as Klonopin. It is prescribed for controlling sudden onset of severe anxiety because it enters the system fast: 20 minutes. It also leaves the system fast: 4 hours. Your doctor obviously wanted you to have access to the Ativan, in case you had a sudden attack, so you could take one and have it under control in 20 minutes. 'As needed' is the same as PRN.The doctor meant for you to use it in this way, and no other. Benzos cause dependence in people who take them as they are supposed to, and cannot come off them without a doctor's supervision. If you ever feel like you want to take more than prescribed, you you actually do this, tell your doctor right away, so that steps can be taken to put you back under control. Blessings - Blu
Hello and welcome!
Can you give us a little more info? What are you diagnosed with? I'm assuming an anxiety disorder? How long have you been on the other meds? Has your doc recommended or tried a dosage increase on the Cymbalta or Klonopin before adding the Ativan? Are you in therapy?
Have you tried any other antidepressants? Cymbalta can be pretty activating and can cause more anxiety in a lot of people. That's why I asked, if you haven't tried anything else, it may be reasonable to go that route before adding on more benzos. The Klonopin dose is pretty significant too, which is why I asked how long you've been on it.
If you end up only needing the Ativan here and there, it wouldn't be as big an issue, but if you end up taking it pretty frequently, it will increase the tolerance for both benzos, as a cross tolerance is common with benzos. I personally would probably recommend going with other options first before adding another benzo to the mix. They are great meds and can be very helpful, but they also come with a lot of considerations...dependency and tolerance are the biggies.
Therapy is vital. Meds can help control the symptoms, but they're not a cure. Therapy is where the progress occurs. With anxiety disorders, the KEY to managing them is changing that cycle of anxious thinking, which can be accomplished with a good therapist.
Looking forward to hearing from you to see if we can give you some advise.
Can you give us a little more info? What are you diagnosed with? I'm assuming an anxiety disorder? How long have you been on the other meds? Has your doc recommended or tried a dosage increase on the Cymbalta or Klonopin before adding the Ativan? Are you in therapy?
Have you tried any other antidepressants? Cymbalta can be pretty activating and can cause more anxiety in a lot of people. That's why I asked, if you haven't tried anything else, it may be reasonable to go that route before adding on more benzos. The Klonopin dose is pretty significant too, which is why I asked how long you've been on it.
If you end up only needing the Ativan here and there, it wouldn't be as big an issue, but if you end up taking it pretty frequently, it will increase the tolerance for both benzos, as a cross tolerance is common with benzos. I personally would probably recommend going with other options first before adding another benzo to the mix. They are great meds and can be very helpful, but they also come with a lot of considerations...dependency and tolerance are the biggies.
Therapy is vital. Meds can help control the symptoms, but they're not a cure. Therapy is where the progress occurs. With anxiety disorders, the KEY to managing them is changing that cycle of anxious thinking, which can be accomplished with a good therapist.
Looking forward to hearing from you to see if we can give you some advise.
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