Benzos ativan question

[newone897]

my doctor prescribed me 2mg Ativan (lorazepam) to take before bed to help me sleep and im wondering if this is to strong of a dose? I never take any medication so I just need some insight on this.
THX

 

[Rybee]

If you've never taken it before, 2mg is a very strong dose yeah. That should put you to sleep quite nicely. I've never actually heard of it being prescribed in 2mg's. It's equivalent to 20mg of Diazepam.

Usually 0.5mg would be a starting point for patients. If the pill has a score mark it in, you can cut it in half down the score into 2x1mg tablets. If it doesn't have a score, depending on the shape, you can just bite it 1mg off of it.

May I ask how may 2mg tablets (s)he's given you?

It should start to work within 60 minutes. Personally, if you're really sleeping bad lately, I'd take it ~3 hours before bedtime so it reaches its peak as you're about to clock off to bed.

 

[newone897]

Thanks for the help Rybee! really appreciate it. I'm kind of getting anxiety about taking it haha. I was prescribed 12 on the 20th of this month to fix my sleeping schedule but still haven't taken any. I think im going to ask him for something not so strong. I just have slight anxiety before bed that stops me from sleeping. that and ive worked night shifts for the past 4 years so getting into a normal sleeping schedule is difficult.

 

[Crankinit]

It's equivalent to 20mg of Diazepam.

Halve that 1mg of Lorazepam is = 5mg of Diazepam.

 

[Rybee]

No worries my friend, here to help! As said, take it a few hours before you go to sleep tonight and see how you get on with it

Mmm.. to be honest Crankinit, it depends on what chart you look at. There's no hard and fast rule and it's quite subjective. If I'm honest I actually thing the ratio is more of 1:5 but I've always been told 1:10

These Sources show a 1:10 ratio of Lorazepam to Diazepam
www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/566261-Benzodiazepine-Conversion-Chart
www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm
www.benzodocs.com/converter.php?act=convert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_benzodiazepines

 

[TheLostBoys]

Wow, 2mg is too strong for a first time user w/o any tolerance to benzos.......the doctor should have started you on 1/2mg

I some times wonder about doctors.......they over prescribe on people that are just starting out & patients that actually need meds, they can't get.......crazy world!

IMO/IME, Valium is better for sleep than Ativan.........

 

[HdoubleODeezy]

Wow, 2mg is too strong for a first time user w/o any tolerance to benzos.......the doctor should have started you on 1/2mg

I some times wonder about doctors.......they over prescribe on people that are just starting out & patients that actually need meds, they can't get.......crazy world!

IMO/IME, Valium is better for sleep than Ativan.........

+1
I agree with everything said lol.

-HOOD

 

[newone897]

so can I break it up into 4ths?

 

[HdoubleODeezy]

Yes, i would and if 1/4 of the pill (.5mg) doesn't help you can always take another 1/4 making a total of 1mg or 1/2 tablet.
Then you will know for the next night whether you need 1/4 or 1/2 tablet for it to be effective.

 

[Rybee]

As I said, if the pill has scores in it, then cut it down the score to halve or quarter it, this is the exact purpose as to why scores are put in it. I always used to score my 10mg Diazepams to get 5mg worth of Diazepam when I didn't want to take 10mg.

This picture is of Rivotril (Clonazepam) which is closely related to Lorazepam (Ativan) ... just demonstrating it so you can see the 'scores' it has in them, so you can literally put a knife down the middle and cut the tablet in half easily. Then you can half that half again to make 4x quarters of your original pill.

Though not all pills will have this, most will. If you don't have scores on it, you can just try and cut it anyway, or just bite in half.

Yes, i would and if 1/4 of the pill (.5mg) doesn't help you can always take another 1/4 making a total of 1mg or 1/2 tablet.
Then you will know for the next night whether you need 1/4 or 1/2 tablet for it to be effective.

I agree with HdoubleODeezy, I would just start with 1/4 of the pill (0.5mg) and if that doesn't help, take another 1/4 so you've taken 1mg.

There's really no need to take 2mg of Lorazepam on your first dose. For benzodiazepines you're better off using as little as possible to help you sleep/help with your anxiety. If you can get away with using a small amount and saving 50% of your pills by cutting them all in half and using halves, then:

A) You've got twice as many pills
B) You're using less of the drug to help you sleep


Hope that makes sense? Please feel free to message again if you need further help.

 

[Lorne???]

^^^ no offense guys, but starting with half a mg is a terrible plan.

His doctor actually sounds like he had brains; lorazepam has a RIDICULOUSLY slow onset, and an equally long duration of action(comparable to clonazepam). With true insomnia,2mg lorazepam(=1mg Xanax,=15-20mg diazepam=0.75/1mgclonzepam) is fine.

With that said, starting with half a tablet is ok, but remember, it will take 2-3 hours to see full effect.

 

[Lorne???]

No worries my friend, here to help! As said, take it a few hours before you go to sleep tonight and see how you get on with it

Mmm.. to be honest Crankinit, it depends on what chart you look at. There's no hard and fast rule and it's quite subjective. If I'm honest I actually thing the ratio is more of 1:5 but I've always been told 1:10

These Sources show a 1:10 ratio of Lorazepam to Diazepam
www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/566261-Benzodiazepine-Conversion-Chart
www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm
www.benzodocs.com/converter.php?act=convert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_benzodiazepines

Yeah, that chart agrees with most sources. Although, many "sources"(myself included) feel that "chronic" clonazepam is even stronger than alprazolam.

Diazepam's also a ?; with chronic use(and at high doses) it could be more potent, but in general. 95% of charts are going to agree with that one.

But remember, insomnia is a bitch(I have dealt with it since elementary school) and a rare case where your better off taking a little too much, and actually sleeping, vs not enough and waiting 3 hours to find out...

 

[HdoubleODeezy]

I don't think it is a bad idea to start off small.
I have a rather large benzo addiction in addition to my rx'd benzos.
Just trying to help them keep the dose as low as possible and still be effective.

Lorazepam doesn't last as long as clonazepam like you stated though. It's a medium duration benzo. Clonazepam is a long one.
I DO agree that it takes forever to kick in.

I don't like the above chart. I find the wiki one more accurate IMHO.

-HOOD

 

[Rybee]

^^^ no offense guys, but starting with half a mg is a terrible plan.

His doctor actually sounds like he had brains; lorazepam has a RIDICULOUSLY slow onset, and an equally long duration of action(comparable to clonazepam). With true insomnia,2mg lorazepam(=1mg Xanax,=15-20mg diazepam=0.75/1mgclonzepam) is fine.

With that said, starting with half a tablet is ok, but remember, it will take 2-3 hours to see full effect.

I dunno, 0.5mg of Lorazepam is still a fair amount to someone who's never taken anything. I remember when I first took a Benzo was prescribed 2x2mg Diazepam and that 4mg literally knocked my socks off! I just think the less you can get away with taking, the better!

And I'm glad you agree with what I said with regards regards to onset, most doctors say 'take it just before you get into bed'... worst advice ever. Get into bed at 11PM, take it... then you're still up at 2AM tossing and turning thinking 'well this is bullshit!' but it's not had a chance to kick in!

Which is why I said take it ~3 hours before you plan to sleep. Ideally you want it to peak around the time you plan to sleep.

Yeah, that chart agrees with most sources. Although, many "sources"(myself included) feel that "chronic" clonazepam is even stronger than alprazolam.

Diazepam's also a ?; with chronic use(and at high doses) it could be more potent, but in general. 95% of charts are going to agree with that one.

But remember, insomnia is a bitch(I have dealt with it since elementary school) and a rare case where your better off taking a little too much, and actually sleeping, vs not enough and waiting 3 hours to find out...

Yeah I'll give you that actually. In hindsight if I hadn't slept for days I'd rather just be zonked out for a much welcome good night sleep than taking it easy. Just the first time I took a benzo was for anxiety during exams, so I took the directed dose (4mg Diazepam) and pretty much just KO'd an hour into it and had to leave! It was just the worst advice I ever had from a GP... (other than to start taking Effexor!)

I don't think it is a bad idea to start off small.
I have a rather large benzo addiction in addition to my rx'd benzos.
Just trying to help them keep the dose as low as possible and still be effective.

Lorazepam doesn't last as long as clonazepam like you stated though. It's a medium duration benzo. Clonazepam is a long one.
I DO agree that it takes forever to kick in.

I don't like the above chart. I find the wiki one more accurate IMHO.

-HOOD

Yeah I don't really have a set chart that I go by... just use a mixture of charts and my own experience. To me, Lorazepam has always been quite ineffective, and Diazepam has always been more effective. So I try to factor that in.




OP what did you do/how much did you take/ how did you feel? Did it help at all? Could you feel the affects?

I really hope you got some sort of decent sleep. It's certainly not abnormal for Lorazepam to be prescribed by sleep but other Benzodiazepines such as Temazepam are shown to give you a better quality of sleep, and I assume Z-drugs would too. So if you had a sleep but it felt like poor quality, that may be something to discuss with your doc.

 

[opiaterock]

If you've never taken it before, 2mg is a very strong dose yeah. That should put you to sleep quite nicely. I've never actually heard of it being prescribed in 2mg's. It's equivalent to 20mg of Diazepam.

Usually 0.5mg would be a starting point for patients. If the pill has a score mark it in, you can cut it in half down the score into 2x1mg tablets. If it doesn't have a score, depending on the shape, you can just bite it 1mg off of it.

May I ask how may 2mg tablets (s)he's given you?

It should start to work within 60 minutes. Personally, if you're really sleeping bad lately, I'd take it ~3 hours before bedtime so it reaches its peak as you're about to clock off to bed.

I don't know what forum I'm in not EADD where I usually post anyways!!.. Ya that's a pretty strong dose and just like the poster I quoted said you should probably start about 0.5 not more than 1mg (you can always add more if this is ineffective). People compare benzos always back to Valium and on the chart I think Ativan 1mg is equal to 10mg diazepam but I don't find this tells the full story...the effects are just different for me especially with Ativan and Xanax - I would take a purple 1mg Xanax any day over 10mg diazepam, Xanax are just more fun for me because I've had a long term diazepam script so I find the one s little boring now

Be safe... I wish I stopped benzos a long time ago I fear I am trapped on a low dose now for ever try to take them only when you REALLY need them, the most addictive substance out there far worse than H for me I kicked that relatively easy

 

[opiaterock]

No worries my friend, here to help! As said, take it a few hours before you go to sleep tonight and see how you get on with it

Mmm.. to be honest Crankinit, it depends on what chart you look at. There's no hard and fast rule and it's quite subjective. If I'm honest I actually thing the ratio is more of 1:5 but I've always been told 1:10

These Sources show a 1:10 ratio of Lorazepam to Diazepam
www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/566261-Benzodiazepine-Conversion-Chart
www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm
www.benzodocs.com/converter.php?act=convert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_benzodiazepines

Ah all the names on that table make me wanna have a big benzo party lol... On 30mg flurazepam now not something i get often..it hit me pretty nice combined with my methadone dosage tho!!

 

[opiaterock]

I'm from Europe I never seen klonopin they are not common here..are they like Xanax?

 

[brimz]

a chart is only a v rough guide as all the diff .

Eg . Nitro , anoilxic n ting dem ime lorazepam varies depending on who makes it I had some ratiopharm 1mgs n they wrote great but have had some right crappy generics from my own chemist

OR

not really kpins r a diff ting to Xanax longer acting by xxx

 

[TheLostBoys]

I don't know what forum I'm in not EADD where I usually post anyways!!.. Ya that's a pretty strong dose and just like the poster I quoted said you should probably start about 0.5 not more than 1mg (you can always add more if this is ineffective). People compare benzos always back to Valium and on the chart I think Ativan 1mg is equal to 10mg diazepam but I don't find this tells the full story...the effects are just different for me especially with Ativan and Xanax - I would take a purple 1mg Xanax any day over 10mg diazepam, Xanax are just more fun for me because I've had a long term diazepam script so I find the one s little boring now

Be safe... I wish I stopped benzos a long time ago I fear I am trapped on a low dose now for ever try to take them only when you REALLY need them, the most addictive substance out there far worse than H for me I kicked that relatively easy

You're right about the benzo addiction.......that's why I only take 2.5mgs of Valium only when needed. No more than 2 days straight because i can like them too much & once you get in that comfy level by taking them every day, you're trapped & cant get off them.

I don't have anxiety every waking moment of my life like others do........I can't even begin to imagine of having 24 hours of constant anxiety.

 

[brimz]

I taken Diaz Every day 22 yrs n they actually r a wonder drug ime

But I know mates that Fukin go off the head on a few mgs