I am wondering if anyone in here has experienced rebound anxiety from using Ativan?
I haven’t take Ativan in 4 weeks, partly because I have been managing without it and partly because when I have needed it in the past 4 weeks I have talked myself out of using it. (I have a severe phobia of taking medication) I am going to do something today that has been a trigger in the past and because of this my anxiety is already heightened. I want to take an Ativan (.5mg) but I am worried that by taking it I will incur rebound anxiety tomorrow because my mind/body has gotten used to not having it.
Any thoughts/opinions would be appreciated!
💜Ash
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Brightfuture22
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Hi Ash You are taking a very small dose of Ativan so I really wouldn't worry about taking it when you need too. I was on Ativan but it has been a long time ago and more of a dosage. I think if you need it at that dose it wouldn't hurt but probably help you through the anxiety as needed. Best of luck
Thank you, Houstongirl! I appreciate your comment! 💜 It’s true, it such a low dose that it’s unlikely to cause the rebound anxiety. Thanks for helping to see that!
I am on ativan just like you. I have cut down as i was taking .25mg-.5mg everyday. But now i have used it about every 4-5 days. Sometimes less if i need it because it helps me sleep. Ive noticed a few side effects but nothing unbearable. There are people that take much higher doses than us for alot longer. I probably will take .5mg tonight or tomorow. If you need it take it, nothing to be scared off. Just make sure you keep in contact with your doctor.
I was thinking about you yesterday, while experiencing symptoms, because our anxiety stories/symptoms are very similar and I wanted to check in and see how you were doing? How’s the lightheadedness?
Thank you for your reply, I am going to take it and see how it goes.
The lightheadedness has gotten better. Some symptoms like head pressure and funny feelings in head still linger, as well sleep problems, disconnect, and twitches in head. But anxiety has gotten better from were it was. How about you? How are symptoms
Thats amazing! I am so happy for you! Which SSRI did you end up with and how long have you been on it now? I remember you said that you were on Zoloft (i think) and were changing.
I am still in the same boat as i've been. Afraid to try an SSRI so I suffer through the symptoms, anxiety, and panic. I am really trying to do the "acceptance of anxiety" approach, but it's so hard to tell your brain that it's not real when it's in the fight or flight mode.
Yea ive tried all that. Sometimes its good to get on something if it helps you function until you figure out whats wrong. Im on lexapro. Its worked pretty well so far. 10 mg for about 4 weeks
Nice! Thanks for sharing! I hope it continues to work out well for you! I have been lightheaded much of today! I keep getting waves of it. I hope that it is just anxiety, but my health anxiety brain says it’s not!
As far as I know, rebound anxiety is when the actual anxiety that started for whatever reason comes back. I foolishly tried Ativan as a friend sent me some from the US a few years back and they stayed in the cupboard. I had this horrible anxiety/nausea attack last November which lasted a month until I couldnt stand it, so I popped only a 1mg ativan. Felt wonderful, nausea was subsiding, lump in throat disappeared and I was not anxious, so foolishly I bought a load of them on the internet to keep by but this resulted in 3 a week, and then it got worse, for example if I had to go to visit someone or worse have a tooth out, would pop another until it got to 1mg per day. My doctor didnt read the riot act when I fessed up but just said, you'll have to taper and left it at that. I mentioned that most clinics use diazapam to help taper off and he just said oh we dont want to get involved with more drugs. I was in the most terrible state, joined a benzo recovery group on FB and they gave me the Ashton Manual. I had to buy valium at huge cost and gradually I have got down to 0.25mg of lorazepam plus 2.5mg valium in the morning and 2.5mg of valium at night. All the GP would prescribe was mirtazapine and after taking it for around 3 weeks, I realised it was making me worse and messing with my adrenals, hence the waking up at 4 every morning in a terrible state.
I left off the ativan recently and sadly the familiar nausea and worse anxiety came back so for the time being I am sticking with the 0.25mg of lorazepam. It can make you feel wonderful but at the same time it's lethal, and I had no idea that 1mg of it is equivalent to 10mg of valium and I wished I had never taken it.
I am sort of okay provided nothing upsets me or I am out of my comfort zone. I have other health issues which cause anxiety which doesnt help.
On the benzo group they say never to take extra as and when but that is not so easy. I have an appointment with an endocrine surgeon nxt week and I am bound to up to at least half if not a whole lorazepam.
Good luck with your struggle and if possible try not to take the wretched stuff. If you do, dont feel guilty about it.
Don't forget that when these GP's are reluctant (in the uk anyway) to give out benzo's they are always very keen to dish out snri's or ssri's, which in themselves are very addictive and need to be tapered off. I do know that taken over long periods of time, these type of drugs can cause osteoporosis. Mirtazapine is a known cortisol suppressant and in fact a study was done on this of healthy individuals and can suppress by about 30 percent over a two week period depending how much you take. Also I read on the accompanying pamphlet recently that it can suppress white blood cells whatever that involves.
My biggest fear with taking any of these benzos is when they are totally unavailable, then what. In the US, I notice they give them out like candies. One woman in particularly I read on the group has been on 40mg diazepam a day for 12 years and suddenly been given 6 weeks to taper. With some of these drugs, going cold turkey can cause seizures.
Thank you for sharing your story. It gives me great perspective! I started taking Ativan at the end of April, this year. It was mostly as needed but the doctor prescribed it as 1mg daily. I didn’t like the feeling 1mg gave me so I was taking .5mg as needed. The “as needed” turned into 20%-30% of the month. That scared me that I was taking it so much that I refused to take it anymore. I went from August 23rd to September 19th without taking any. Then I just couldn’t handle the every day panicking anymore, so I took .5mg last night. It definitely helped, but it’s hard for me to take any meds at all. I have always been afraid to do so.
They are getting stricter and stricter here in the US on how much benzo’s abs opiates they will prescribe. There is a MAJOR opiate epidemic going on. I lost a cousin to it, really 2 cousins. It’s so sad.
Anyways, I hope you are able to find relief from the anxiety soon!
What happened to me, the first dose is fine and then you feel you need more and more and in the end it wasnt actually helping me that much. It is good that you realised you were better off on the 0.5mg which is still quite strong (ie around equivalent of 5mg diazepam). To get off lorazepam, all the clinics say it's best to use diazepam as it has a long half life, as opposed to lorazepam where withdrawal can start within 8 to 10 hours.
Was looking at your profile, not stalking but I am more than twice your age and I truly believe as have others have pointed out, that the older you get the harder it is to get off the wretched things. You are but a mere Spring Chicken as we would say, so you have the advantage of youth. I think that is why I found after 6 years on bromazepam after my husband died, I found it quite easy to get off them at aged around 40 then.
If you have a decent GP surgery, which I do not, have a word again, maybe suggest trying to taper off with say valium which I know is yet another thing to eventually taper off but I feel a lot safe in the long run.
I have an appointment coming up on Monday for an endocrine surgeon so I will be a bundle of nerves and I daresay will be be tempted, and possibly take half a lorazepam to get me there which would be a shame after tapering on 1/4 for the last month.
Good luck, I am sure you will get there and try and find out what sparked the anxiety attack. Everyone raves on about CBT meetings and have a lot of success but for me, just the thought of sitting in a room and not being able to get out would not help me, particularly as I don't know if the primary hyperparathryoidism is the cause of this anxiety. So difficult when you dont know if anxiety is caused by something physical but GP's are not interested, just want to try and fix the symptoms.
I heard the other day that the DEA are clamping down on all the benzos being given out, about time too I think as from what I can see from the mainly US groups I belong to, they give them out like candies. It is disgusting really. Of course this will upset the big greedy pharmas. Good luck, you will be fine I am sure but just take it steadily x
Hi Ash...I have been taking Lorazepam (Ativan) for severe anxiety/panic attacks for over 40 years. It is the only drug that ever worked for me. I was able to continue living a normal life and have always held down responsible jobs, something I probably couldn't have done without them. I too worried about taking them, until my doctor told me to look at them like a crutch to help me through life. They have saved my life, seriously. I used to take about 10mg at the beginning, but have only ever taken 1mg a day for the last 25 years, sometimes even less.
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I keep getting waves of it. I hope that it is just anxiety, but my health anxiety brain says it’s not! 
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