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  • BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic

Doctor has recommended wine with ativan

D

Dare7

Greenlighter
Joined
Nov 20, 2016
Messages
23
My doctor has recommended drinking wine at night to help with sleep. I also take 1 mg of ativan per day. He didn't specify the quantity of wine but did say I could take the ativan in greater doses if I need it for anxiety and sleep. So is seems like a couple of glasses of wine and maybe 3-4 mg of ativan is safe and acceptable? Can't imagine a doctor would steer me to something that wasn't safe but just looking for any input from people. Have only been using ativan for 2 months on an as needed basis and would go a week, sometimes two without taking any until the 1mg daily for the past week. Also wondering what is best for sleep if these are good to combine. Do you drink your wine, get relaxed and then take the ativan to kind of knock you out? Thanks in advance.
 
Yeah you'll be fine. I'd hide your bottle of ativan or give it to somoeone to hold on to, incase you blckout or so=msethin.

Good sleep meds:
Trazodone
Zoplicone
Diphenhydramine
Promethazine
Valerian extract
 
I can't say that I agree with your doctor telling you it's okay to drink wine together with Ativan. I will give you my opinion. Alcohol may help you fall asleep but interferes with REM sleep. So you may wake up earlier than you want or not feel properly rested in the morning. If you want to drink a glass or two, don't do it right before bed. Give it time for your body to process. Don't take more Ativan than recommended if you plan to drink that night. I honestly think you would be headed towards blackout zone like airduster said if you up your dose to 3-4 mg and drink simultaneously.
 
When you are saying black out does that mean you just go into a good sleep?
 
Have heard of Diphenhydramine or Benedryl. Have used it a couple of times and it leaves me feeling druggy for a long time. Heard of Valerian but have never tried it. Never heard of the other three drugs airdusters mentioned for sleep. Are you suggesting these on their own or with alcohol?
 
It could be not remembering things that you did because of being in a sedated state. I've known people who would make phone calls, cook food, etc. and have no recollection of these things the next day. They are both central nervous system depressants and will potentiate each other. Let me ask you (and I'm not trying to be nosy) do you normally drink wine or is this is new thing for you?
 
I would seriously get a second opinion. Nice doctor to give you that, but to encourage drinking with it? You could black out and continue drinking and take your entire bottle of Ativan and never wake up.
 
I am not a drinker. Usually drink socially maybe 3-4 times a year. A few glasses of wine will relax me but not make me drunk. Alcohol makes you sleepy and the ativan makes you sleepy so I assumed that you would just have a "deeper" sleep. I'm thinking that the alcohol relaxes you and then the ativan takes it over the top into sleep. What you are describing is not sleep. Makes no sense to me when you have two things that cause drowsiness. You called it a sedated state so is this like doing stuff in your sleep? Sorry for being so stupid. :) I really don't know the answers or I wouldn't be asking. I had to start prednisone for a week to clear my ears that would not respond to other treatment. I was really nervous about it because I know a number of people that have had it prescribed for different reasons and they told me it makes you really jittery. This is the discussion I was having with the doc when he brought up wine and using the lorazepam more liberally. Honest!
 
Something that alot of people (including MDs) don't know is that ethanol can easily disrupt circadian rhythm at the genetic level. Alcohol is a pretty dirty drug.

If you want a reference, I can find one and post it. It's a very poor choice for improving sleep, and it can very easily wreck sleeping habits.

I highly recommend kava as an alternative if you need a little extra oomph to put you to sleep.
 
I only have 11 mg of lorazepam. Clearly am not going to take them all but can't imagine that that amount could cause me to not wake up. I wouldn't ever drink more than 2 -3 glasses of wine max so surely that's not enough alcohol to cause harm even if I took all 11 mg is it? Just don't really understand how they work I guess if that amount could have such serious consequences and can't imagine why the doctor didn't discuss this with me!
 
Can anyone explain how the ativan and alcohol actually work that causes what you are all calling "blackout". Are you awake, asleep? I know I sound really dumb but I'm not clear on this and really do want to know.
 
Sorry for an additional post but wanted to say this is not recreational use. I need the lorazepam for anxiety and found I'm waking up with anxiety, thus the recent daily dose which is part at night to alleviate that but I'm not taking a high enough dose that it really helps me sleep and anxiety is harder to manage sleep deprived. So it goes in a circle. This doctor has been good. Been with him a few years so I really do think he was trying to help.
 
Being blacked out means you're in an amnesic state. Youre conscious, but you're so fucked up that you won't remember any of your actions the following day! People do incredibly stupid and crazy shit when theyre blacked out like driving their car (and probably crashing it), calling random people but being so fucked up you can barely speak, and even getting in trouble with the law. It's not a place you want to go.

Using benzos every day isn't very sustainable, and throwing alcohol into the mix makes it much much easier for you to black out even if it's not recreational. I probably fit the diagnostic criteria for an addiction to z-drugs, but I rarely use them recreationally. They give me the best sleep I can ever get, and since I have terrible insomnia, I naturally find that very appealing. Just don't think that taking your drugs as prescribed or not for recreation makes you invulnerable to black outs and dependence. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Also, 2-3 glasses of wine is enough to cause disturbances in sleep patterns and circadian rhythm. Any more than 1 glass every night would he getting into territory for health problems such as cancer (down the road).

Definitely look into kava. It's not addictive and might help with at least reducing your dosage or preventing a build up in tolerance. It might even be more effective than alcohol for helping you sleep.

Good luck :) Hope you find something that works. I just don't see alcohol and benzos as a good solution
 
Who is this michael jacksons doctor? Next theyll say daily propofol iv is acceptable as a sleep aid. Id get a second opinion.
 
Thanks everyone. I a newbie and the information is very helpful and welcome.
 
I'm not a doctor, but I probably wouldn't reccomend this. There's hardly any difference in end result between you "drinking a glass of wine with your Ativan" and "maybe popping a few more pills if you feel like it". In principle, I'm pretty surprised that a real Doctor would ever actually say that. In practice, things are different, but come on, encouraging someone to drink while on Benzodiazepines? He's giving you license to further develop your dependence upon sedative/hypnotic drugs (Alcohol and Benzodiazepines are very, very similar in their effects on the body).

4mg Lorazepam is actually a hefty dose, which further has me asking questions. If you're considering factoring Alcohol into your drug regimen, just don't have illusions about it being safer or different than Benzodiazepines. It's worse in almost every way unfortunately.

You'll find it clearly stated on both the prescribing information for Benzodiazepines, as well as on the prescription bottle itself in most instances, that Alcohol is not to be consumed with this medication. I think your Doctor is feeling a little bit nostalgic... for the 1870's, when Alcohol was still an of the most effective drugs available.
 
My bottle of lorazepam says may cause drowsiness. Alcohol may intensify this effect. It actually doesn't say don't use with alcohol. Weird from what all of you are saying.
 
It'll have a warning about alchohal on the bottle >< dear god and the doc didn't mean close together chances are he meant ya some weak ass low dose of ativan is ok alongside wine the same day but don't bloody pop an ativan and chug it down with wine...
 
Your Doctor sounds like an idiot. Is this in the United States? I didn't know doctors still recommended alcohol in 2016...
 
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