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Benzos questions about my ativan script

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beagleboy

beagleboy

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Apr 13, 2010
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I have a script for ativan. 1mg 3x a day. Its shit though. Does nothing for the anxiety, so I have been taking 5 or 6mg a day. I have only a few left, and the bottle says "No refills without authorization". Does that mean I can phone the prescribing physician and get a refill?

Also, I've been on ativan for 16 days total at 5 or 6 mg a day. If I quit, cold turkey, can I expect to have withdrawls. ( Ive had suboxone withdrawls before, very bed withdrawls ).
Will lorapamide help with w/ds? Will dxm help with withdrawls?
thanks
 
Loperamide only helps with opiates- it is an opiate that only crosses the BBb shittily and what does make it over is quickly cycled back by iforget what enzyme
Dxm might help ..... Dissociative effects proly good for anxiety but still I personally hate Dxm.
U will have WD but it'll be short and not too bad at that dose....
Doc likely will think u hav a problem w them if u call early ... ESP if he knows of Ur history with subs if it wasn't prescribed (light Benzo WD will be a cakewalk compared to full sub WD)
I dont call early cuz I wana keep my script. However if u been on the dose awhile maybe u could say u had to up it due to reduced effects n tolerance n get away with it. It's ur call u know ur doc and what u can get away with.
I find weed helps but it worsens anxiety for some Sp decide for urself on that
 
I usually run thru my Ativan in a week lol and my WD are bullshit lol only a couple days of anxiety

If u can not get addicted to opiates they'd bs great for Benzo WD but a much worse addiction. Maybe some ketamine? Dissociated without the need for an assload of nasty cough syrup
 
You're gonna have to jump thru the required hoops to get your meds upped. Make an appointment for as soon as they'll let you in, and just go talk to the doctor. Don't admit to doubling up your doses, but just tell him that what you are taking is not relieving your symptoms and what would he suggest? That's the way I've always handled this sort of thing. He may even switch you to a different benzo.... But just be honest as far as emphasizing that you are not getting results from your meds and something needs to change. And I would definitely try to do a quick taper with what you've got. If for some reason you can't get an appt quickly enough, you may have to speak to him on the phone, and at that point ask for enough of a partial refill to get you through until you see him.
 
To the OP, if the ativan isn't working at the rx'd amount my experience is taking more isn't going to lend itself to feeling any more relief from your anxiety. It may just not be the benzo for you, I know this was the case with me. I had to go through a few different ones before I found something that really worked well.

I suspect that maybe you just need something with a bit longer half life, Valium is a good option in my opinion as metabolites build in your system over time and can help with base line anxiety even when you haven't just taken your medicine.

Doctors tend to be very understanding if you just explain what you're going through and what you think might work better though mentioning anything by name usually raises red flags unless they have first.

The best of luck to you and I hope your anxiety gets under control.
 
I am addicted to to Ativan and can't seem to get off it no matter what I do. I don't have a strong threshold for this benzo nightmare.
 
you most likely not withdrawal but you doc won't fill you script yet
 
bronson said:
To the OP, if the ativan isn't working at the rx'd amount my experience is taking more isn't going to lend itself to feeling any more relief from your anxiety. It may just not be the benzo for you, I know this was the case with me. I had to go through a few different ones before I found something that really worked well.

I suspect that maybe you just need something with a bit longer half life, Valium is a good option in my opinion as metabolites build in your system over time and can help with base line anxiety even when you haven't just taken your medicine.

Doctors tend to be very understanding if you just explain what you're going through and what you think might work better though mentioning anything by name usually raises red flags unless they have first.

The best of luck to you and I hope your anxiety gets under control.
Click to expand...

This
 
Be honest with your doctor. In my struggles with insomnia and panic disorder I've had to rifle through 10-20 different drugs before real relief was achieved, going to the doc once or twice a week to report.

Tell him it simply doesn't work for your anxiety, and he'll probably suggest another benzo. Don't tell him you've been on 5-6mg per day, as changing doses is something you're meant to always discuss with your doctor. Telling him that one day, to see if it would help, you took all 3mg at once, or an extra pill or two - to no avail - probably won't land you in any sort of trouble - it's pretty normal for a person suffering from anxiety to take an extra pill if no relief is achieved, and it should demonstrate to him that even at higher doses, lorazepam is not the drug for you.

As for withdrawals, low doses of other benzos (preferably not very strong, with long half-lives) are the gold standard. In dire straits, you may get relief from your withdrawals from small amounts of alcohol, phenibut, valerian or other GABA agonists.

Good luck, and I hope you have understanding physicians at your side. Anxiety disorders can be absolute hell, and even worse with the wrong kind of doctor.

Oh, somebody said something about name-dropping - most doctors will react adversely to (young male) patients specifically asking for a pharmaceutical, that is true. First off you should listen to your doctor's suggestions, but if it seems to you that there may be another drug which may be helpful, and the doctor never mentions it after repeated appointments, carefully hinting is not always frowned upon. I've told a white lie that a family member (sounds better than a friend) suffers from the same condition, and in a state of serious anxiety, I had gone to my mom for help, and she'd given me one of her pills, which worked - doctors have usually been pretty happy to prescribe that (after all - if you can say you've found a drug that works, the doctor should realize that it's better to prescribe that than take another gamble on another drug which may or may not work).

Unfortunately, any sign of being genuinely educated about the subject is a sure sign of drug-seeking behavior for doctors. I got lucky with one when I hinted at a switch to alprazolam, and she told me it was an antidepressant, not anxiolytic. As respectfully as I could, I told her to call a specialist - she got back to me, admitted I had been right, and prescribed it. It was a long shot, though, and I think some of my doctors would not have been so lenient.
 
Surprised that 1 mg of Ativan TID is not relieving your anxiety, but everyone is different. Luckily you have many options, you can ask to be switched to a different benzo that might work or then again might not work. It can take time to find the right one for you. I assume you are in the United States so you can ask for diazepam (Valium), clonazepam (Klonopin) or if you prefer a shorter acting benzo, then alprazolam (Xanax). Another overlooked benzo is prazepam (Centrax) - this is a decent anxiolytic. I was on that for a little bit before I was switched to alprazolam, but that was a long time ago so I don't know if it's still on the market.

If you are outside the US then try bromazepam. It is every bit as strong as alprazolam, diazepam, lorazepam or clonazepam.
 
Yea, I think in the long run you always end up losing with benzo's. Xanax seems to give me therapeutic effects at a consistant dose for the longest period of time, but after about two weeks tolerance starts to kick in hard. Clonazepam is great because of it's short half life, but I find that it loses almost all of its anxiolytic effects after three or four days on the same dose.

No matter what you're going to want to raise your dose eventually. And yes, you do face the possibility's of withdrawal. You won't be able to get a refill on the Ativan as it is a controlled substance, your only hope is to have your doctor write you a new prescription for a higher dose, or for a different benzo altogether.
 
I don't think you always end up losing with benzos. I've been on Valium for over a year with no increase in dose. I use it as needed and never take more than is prescribed. For me though it no longer has a sedating effect it still does marvels at keeping my anxiety in check. Then again everyone has different brain chemistry and I may well be in the minority.

The hardest thing with treating anxiety from what I've experienced is finding the correct med(s). This can take a long while and unfortunately is a processes more or less of just trial and error. If benzos just end up not being for you whatever the reason there are other options out there which work well from many people. Certain herbal remedies, low doses of antihistamines, life style changes, therapy, and certain antidepressants are all options to at least consider.

I think the main point of successful long term use for benzos though is never abusing it. Even a few binges can greatly increase tolerance and ruin the intended effects.
 
<modnote: hey, your post was uncomfortably in the zone of helping the OP obtain medications from his doctor, which violates the forum guidelines>
 
Last edited by a moderator:
In NYS they don't allow refills on benzos. Most other states allow you to be prescribed benzos in 3 month increments (1 prescription with 2 refills) but in NY you have to get a new prescription written each time.

Refilling Prescriptions for Controlled Substances
• Official Prescriptions for Schedule II controlled substances
(which include anabolic steroids in New York State) and
benzodiazepines cannot be refilled.
• When authorized by the prescriber, prescriptions for Schedule
III-V controlled substances (excluding benzodiazepines) can
be refilled up to five times within six months from the date the
prescription was issued. The pharmacist can not refill the prescription
if the patient has more than a seven day supply of that
controlled substance on hand obtained from any previously
dispensed prescription (source).


As others have said you need to look into changing meds since this one is clearly not working for you.
 
Tommyboy said:
In NYS they don't allow refills on benzos. Most other states allow you to be prescribed benzos in 3 month increments (1 prescription with 2 refills) but in NY you have to get a new prescription written each time.

That sounds like a law the phamaceutical companies and doctors got passed so they could make a buck. I sure don't see the benefit to a legitimate patient.Goofy...M
Click to expand...
 
KrinkleKutt said:
Tommyboy said:
In NYS they don't allow refills on benzos. Most other states allow you to be prescribed benzos in 3 month increments (1 prescription with 2 refills) but in NY you have to get a new prescription written each time.

That sounds like a law the phamaceutical companies and doctors got passed so they could make a buck. I sure don't see the benefit to a legitimate patient.Goofy...M
Click to expand...

I don't see the benefits to a patient either, nor any kind of rationale outside what you just mentioned - more business. God damn, I think a person with an M.D. can probably make an educated decision to prescribe someone medicine without having to meet the patient every month, if that seems appropriate.
That said, I do think doctors in general should avoid prescribing benzos for more than 1 month without at least a phone consult with the patient - they are only a short-term solution, and a taper should be begun as soon as possible, once the problem is under control. At least here most doctors tend to do so, and are quite cautious with benzos. I think 3 months' benzos without seeing a doctor again is irresponsible, in most cases.

In Finland you can easily get a few months' worth (and sometimes that's all you can get - clonazepam is only issued in bottles of 150x0.5mg and 100x2mg) of any benzo except midazolam - the government is aware of the fact that people slam them, so you can only get a maximum of 20 tablets at once, and you have to wait 20 days before the pharmacy is allowed to sell you more.

kokaino said:
I assume you are in the United States so you can ask for diazepam (Valium), clonazepam (Klonopin) or if you prefer a shorter acting benzo, then alprazolam (Xanax). Another overlooked benzo is prazepam (Centrax) - this is a decent anxiolytic. I was on that for a little bit before I was switched to alprazolam, but that was a long time ago so I don't know if it's still on the market.

If you are outside the US then try bromazepam. It is every bit as strong as alprazolam, diazepam, lorazepam or clonazepam.
Click to expand...

Bromazepam is indeed an excellent benzo, but unfortunately lacking in many countries' drug formularies. If lorazepam isn't cutting it, one of those others should.

What kind of anxiety do you suffer from (GAD, panic disorder, agoraphobia etc)? If the anxiety persists throughout the day then diazepam and clonazepam are better options - they're quite long-acting and work well as 'maintenance' drugs. Alprazolam is more of an acute treatment (except the XR) with a quick onset and short duration of action; I have found it suitable for when I sporadically get panic attacks, but am not so anxious as to want to be on benzos all day.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for all the support! Big tyme help. I found a solution. I'm going to try and prioritize my energies and attitudes about social "things". Fuck everyone, ya know?
Can you close this thread now Tommy?
Tommy! I now reside in Clearwater Florida! The temps are great because I live on the Gulf of Mexico.
 
This is OD so I'll close it for ya. <3

speaking of the gulf, I've seen the most BS commercials recently from BP talking about how important the gulf is to them and how it was like the best year of tourism etc, basically trying to make people forget/negate that they were responsible for the worst oil spill currently on record in history.

-_____-
 
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