DR giving me wrong info? Ativan>>Xanax XR

[spaceboyXA]

Hi. I've been on Ativan about 10 years and now at 2mg tabs 3 times a day. I can barely make them last. I find no recreational value in them. I recently saw a new doc who is saying this is way too much and he doesn't feel comfortable with that level but will help me.

he tried d/c the ativan cold turkey and adding xanax xr 1-2mg with instructions i could go up to 2 mg.

dr. says ativan is a short-acting benzo. i read that it is not, compared to xanax IR. he was going to give rx for klonopin but me and my dumb mouth slipped up and said something which made him trash that idea.

i had brain zaps, sweating major anxiety at day 2. so he d/c the xanax xr now i have a bottle full of this stuff. and put back on ativan 2mg 3x a day doing a slow taper of .5 mg per month (so .5 mg out of the entire 90 pills) sounds easy but having panic and i probs managing, always going over.

so my question is, is the dr right? ativan is "fast in, fast out" with rebound anxiety. i felt the rebound anxiety so i know that's right. but my other question is if this high of ativan dose is really so bad. and i'm also taking adderall ir 30 twice a day. i've tried adderall xr 30mg twice a day, which i have a bottle of... not sure which one is best? chewing the add ir up is more speedy high feeling like clean the house energy but gets out of control anxiety. xr seems more calming but not sure.

so i know these are all questions to ask my dr and not here. but i'm fkd since if i go over on ativan he won't see me. not sure. i also take tramadol and flexirli for slipped discs. i've been told if i show my MRI to this pain clinic i can get roxy or at least hydro. not sure if it's what i need. i guess i'm just lonely in all this and literally no friends yeah i know it's not a pity board and people get pretty mean and sarcastic here. so i guess if you were in my shoes what would you do? is the ativan that bad of a dose? is it fast acting? i get conflicting info.

thanks everyone, sorry if i put this in the wrong topic or did something wrong, it's my first post.

 

[brighton]

yes that is a huge dose i ativan. i take 1mg prn for anxiety.
but your tolerence must be pretty high by now.
maybe you could edit your post so its easier to see what your questions are exactly.

 

[ro4eva]

Hi. I've been on Ativan about 10 years and now at 2mg tabs 3 times a day. I can barely make them last. I find no recreational value in them. I recently saw a new doc who is saying this is way too much and he doesn't feel comfortable with that level but will help me.

he tried d/c the ativan cold turkey and adding xanax xr 1-2mg with instructions i could go up to 2 mg.

dr. says ativan is a short-acting benzo. i read that it is not, compared to xanax IR. he was going to give rx for klonopin but me and my dumb mouth slipped up and said something which made him trash that idea.

i had brain zaps, sweating major anxiety at day 2. so he d/c the xanax xr now i have a bottle full of this stuff. and put back on ativan 2mg 3x a day doing a slow taper of .5 mg per month (so .5 mg out of the entire 90 pills) sounds easy but having panic and i probs managing, always going over.

so my question is, is the dr right? ativan is "fast in, fast out" with rebound anxiety. i felt the rebound anxiety so i know that's right. but my other question is if this high of ativan dose is really so bad. and i'm also taking adderall ir 30 twice a day. i've tried adderall xr 30mg twice a day, which i have a bottle of... not sure which one is best? chewing the add ir up is more speedy high feeling like clean the house energy but gets out of control anxiety. xr seems more calming but not sure.

so i know these are all questions to ask my dr and not here. but i'm fkd since if i go over on ativan he won't see me. not sure. i also take tramadol and flexirli for slipped discs. i've been told if i show my MRI to this pain clinic i can get roxy or at least hydro. not sure if it's what i need. i guess i'm just lonely in all this and literally no friends yeah i know it's not a pity board and people get pretty mean and sarcastic here. so i guess if you were in my shoes what would you do? is the ativan that bad of a dose? is it fast acting? i get conflicting info.

thanks everyone, sorry if i put this in the wrong topic or did something wrong, it's my first post.

Well first off I can tell you that 2mg of lorazepam IR (Ativan) is equivalent to about 1mg of alprazolam IR (Xanax).

Source 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_benzodiazepines
Source 2 - http://www.benzodocs.com/converter.php

Secondly, due to its half-life, Xanax IR is usually taken 3x daily as well.

Taking this - as well as your Ativan dosage - into consideration, it's no surprise you're feeling some withdrawal as you should be on at least 3mg of Xanax XR daily.

IMO, while your doctor might be concerned about prescribing you too much, he's actually prescribing you too little.

 

[RobotRipping]

Your doc is right about ativan being short-acting, i'll get rebound anxiety after 4-5 hours from when i take it. Xanax however is also short acting but maybe the XR helps with that. Since different benzos have different affinities for gaba receptors, you can't just transition from one to another painlessly. With ativan you are probably going to have withdrawals in between your doses which is also terrible, ativan 3x daily will not last 24 hours, so there'll be times when your body does not have ativan in a significant dose which will cause rebound anxiety.

To answer your question, 6mg is rather high but it's up in the air as to whether that'll cause brain damage/long term memory problems or worsen your anxiety (from info gathered from wikipedia lol). Ativan is short acting, there's no doubt about it. Xanax XR is probably a better choice but your body is going to have to adjust, if you could slowly transition by taking less ativan and more xanax per day for a period of a month that'll ease your symptoms. I would definitely stay at 2mg of xanax xr for now and supplement with ativan if you still have some, and slowly work your way down with the ativan while keeping the same amount of xanax.

if you have anxiety then adderall is just going to make it worse. I'm not sure how Dr's don't realize that stimulants increase anxiety especially in those prone to it but it's something to consider. I can't concentrate worth shit but when i don't have anxiety my ability to focus comes back without the use of amphetamines.

 

[thurston]

How did u fuck up getting klonipin? I take it for anxiety and it great. Long lasting, strong antianxiety and low sedation. Sounds like what u really need.

 

[NeighborhoodThreat]

Clonazepam (Klonopin) is a good alternative. XR Xanax is supposed to give you the drug over 8-12 hours (your mileage may vary) but I would recommend switching to a longer-acting benzo than lorazepam (Ativan) instead of an XR version of a shorter-acting benzo than lorazepam such as Xanax (alprazolam).

It may work better for you, however, that's something to discuss with your doctor, though. Find the benzo that works best for you, considering your needs and tolerance levels.

 

[TheLostBoys]

I would take your MRI's to the pain clinic & get prescriptions for something stronger for you slipped discs. Maybe it will help you get off the Ativan some how.

 

[spaceboyXA]

thanks everyone for your answers. i'll let you know what happens when i see the dr next week