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Benzos Lorazepam (Ativan)

ckyrule7

Greenlighter
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Messages
16
Hey peeps. I have recording coming up for my band which will take place in London for two weeks. This is quite a big thing for me and i don't want my anxiety to get the better of me so I was planning to take 1mg of lorazapam a day everyday for two weeks. After doing this will i be dependent on them and suffer withdrawals? Thanks for your help :) x
 
Have you ever been psychically dependent on benzos before? If so, then yes that could be more then enough time.

If not however, than it's possible you might not develop any kind of dependence, as it can often take a long time in the beginning before the very first time you become dependent.
 
I have never been addicted to benzo's before no.

Okay, well then that greatly reduces your chances of being dependent after only 2 weeks. Everyones body is different though so it's entirely possible. Just for most people I know, it took a lot longer than 2 weeks to develop real withdrawal.

You should consider taking some days off of taking it and seeing if you're able to record without it. Maybe your anxiety will mellow out as you get into the swing of things. No sense taking a benzo then if you don't need it.
 
You shouldn't get very addicted.

Lorazepam has NO recreational effects imo, but its easy to get dependent on if using for sleep etc.

Good luck at your gig man!
 
good luck on your musical escapades! that being said, if you have never been addicted to benzos, you should not have a problem with physical dependency issues...just don't let the psychological calmness get the best of you. lorazepam gave me some crappy and disruptive side effects (extreme dry mouth, felt REALLY "heavy", made me kind of depressed. it doesn't do this to most people). it also seemed to last into the next day so mr. scag is right about skipping a day now and then if you think you can. try taking it before bed on the nights that you are going to be not taking any the next day (don't do this every time you go to bed or you WILL feel like you need it to fall asleep after two weeks.)
if you took it a month straight i can almost guarantee you will have some physical WD so tread lightly, be smart, and have fun doing music!
 
Take 1mg and do a practice set.
Don't tell the other members you've taken anything.
After the practice ask yourself, "did I improve on my previous sessions"?
If you can't answer that see if there are any comments from the others about your play, without asking them.
If the answer is no to both the above then there is no need to take lorazepam unless you really have to, but after analysing the top two questions I suggested you should be able to make the correct decision.

You don't want to rely on taking benzos in order to play well, if you do then ultimately your talent will be masked and an extremely positive inspiration will become obselete - what a waste,, don't you think?
 
Lorazepam is much better suited for this purpose than Alprazolam is, that's for sure. In fact, since becoming addicted to Benzo's, I actually lots of times prefer Lorazepam over Alprazolam.
 
Thank for all the feed back guys. Has been very helpful. I think i'll just take it if i really feel the need.
 
I don't think it's a good idea. if you get in the habit of needing lorazepam when recording or touring than you might end up depending on it, even if your not physically dependent you should learn to cope with anxiety in the studio so you can do what you love without taking drugs.

I think at the end of those two weeks it's quite likely if you have access you will keep taking them. when I take any drug every day I start to need it, that's how it works.

try taking as low of a dose as you can. half an mg of loraz or 5mg of valium. a longer lasting benzo might be better for this if you decide you must take something. maybe stick with the tried and true musicians helpers, beer and weed? if you need benzos to record then you'll definitely need them to play live, and that right there has been the downfall of many a rock star.
 
I honestly prefer alprazolam or even clonazepam to lorazepam.

Lorazepam makes my eyes water, makes me depressed, and makes me feel really slow and stupid..AND COLD!

I wish benzoes made me warm like opiates, but they don't so they suck.
 
Cheers for all the replies guys. In answer to a previous post, i'm a recovering alcoholic, 21 months sober now so i can't drink
 
Seriously look into propanolol instead, beta blockers are traditionally what musicians like to use as it doesn't tend to fuck up their performance or induce addiction like benzodiazepines do.
 
I am a musician as well and have found that my benzo habit affects my performance. I might feel better if I'm on it, but the music suffers a bit, because I'm too comfortable, if that makes any sense to you? I actually try to delay the dose if I'm recording or playing somewhere, or at least try to take less.

I fear that if you take Lorazepam everyday all of a sudden out of the blue like that, you might feel great(or just dull) and think everything went well, but realize later that your playing was not nearly what it could have been. Benzos are subtle that way, at least for me.

A little anxiety can be a good thing in making music, you don't want to feel emotionally dead. Others have articulated better than me that moderation should be the way to go. Someone in particular made a good suggestion of a "trial run" of sorts with it. If you could record yourself, then listen once it's worn off, that would be a good idea.

The beta blockers are also a good idea to look into. If I could turn back time I'd look at that before the benzos.
 
Seriously look into propanolol instead, beta blockers are traditionally what musicians like to use as it doesn't tend to fuck up their performance or induce addiction like benzodiazepines do.

Yeah I didn't think of this. It's a good idea and something to look into. You reeaaallly don't want to risk benzo dependence. It will ruin your life.
 
It's what most of our favorite artists used to combat performance anxiety, and the reason they are our favorite artists is because they weren't benzo'd out during performances.

Sure, opioids may be a different story, I know plenty of opioids and other drugs that really had a profound effect on one's music, but don't take that as a green light to use those. They were addicts already, and used the dope to get their pain on the paper in ways that still stand the tests of time.
 
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