# Ativan/Lorazepam



## DonMarco (Sep 21, 2007)

Ativan/Lorazepam 

Just wondering whoever is taking this drug on a regular basis for anxiety of anykind or for any other reason if you could post what mg and how many times a day you take it. Also, how well or NOT well it is working for you? 


:thanks


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## arthur56 (Jul 31, 2005)

both are valium type meds the dosage needed varies a lot, partly depending on sedation if any caused

start with a low dose

type 
benzo equivalency chart
into a search engine for dose equivalents


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## Formerly Artie (Jun 26, 2007)

For me, Ativan works a bit better for sleep than Klonopin does, but Klonopin works much better for SA, although it's hard to tell for the latter since I've become so tolerant to benzos in general.

Similar to Karl, I need to take about 10mg of K-pins just to feel _something_, although most of the time I'll just do 8 so I won't feel like I'm overdoing it, and those things aren't free you know.


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## DonMarco (Sep 21, 2007)

Hmm, i have only been on Ativan for 2 months now, with the last 5 days Doc upped my dosage to 3 pills a day at 2mg each. I don't really feel any calming effect even at this dose? Thats why i was wondering if it indeed does help any others with SAD ?


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## Formerly Artie (Jun 26, 2007)

If you want something specifically for SAD, then you might want your doc to switch you to Klonopin or Xanax, or, if you're lucky, you can get him to prescribe you a MAOI.

Some say Gabapentin also works great, but I haven't tried it yet. Neurontin seems to be the biggest crapshoots in medicine.


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## DonMarco (Sep 21, 2007)

I have asked for Xanax but so far, he says it's too short acting and people tend to pop them alot more throughout the day, so I guess I will ask for Klonopin next month when i see him. I still would like to hear anymore feedback from ANYONE taking ATIVAN and it's working for you ?


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## heraclitus (Sep 22, 2007)

MAOI's are better then SNRI's and SSRI's ?? why.. im new to this forum and am not yet on any medication but am seeing a psychiatrist soon and am trying to figure what are some of the better medications..


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## free thinker (Nov 11, 2003)

I've been taking Lorazepam/Ativan occasionally for more than 5 years. I use it to help me get a good night sleep and to reduce general anxiety. For SA, it really doesn't help me although I've never taken more than .5 mg at any one time. It is a very addictive drug and will cause memory loss if taken consecutively over a long term(I found even just several months).


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## Formerly Artie (Jun 26, 2007)

heraclitus said:


> MAOI's are better then SNRI's and SSRI's ?? why.. im new to this forum and am not yet on any medication but am seeing a psychiatrist soon and am trying to figure what are some of the better medications..


I'm a bit tired right now and about to go to bed soon, so I'll answer your question tomorrow unless someone else wants to answer it first. In fact, I would actually welcome somebody to answer it first, lol

It would take me a while to go into all the details as to why MDs try to force SSRIs/SNRIs onto a patient instead of Benzos and MAOIs, but meds such as Prozac and Zoloft don't even hold a candle to Nardil and Parnate (and perhaps Marplan too)... and this is coming from somebody who's never even had a MAOI before. All the anecdotal reading I've done - and believe me, it's a lot - will not allow an MD try to convince me otherwise, and I don't care how well-educated he is or how many diplomas he has hanging on his office wall.


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## DonMarco (Sep 21, 2007)

Were getting kinda off topic here, :mum lol but anyone else who takes or has taken ATIVAN/LORAZEPAM, please comment on how well or NOT well it worked for you and the dosing you took it, 


:thanks


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## X33 (Feb 13, 2005)

My script is for 0.5-1mg twice a day as needed.

I try to limit myself to 2mg/week, split into 0.5-1mg doses depending upon situation. I have been taking it for ~7 weeks. 

It works very well for anxiety but I don't like the side effects - especially the decreased motivation, sedation, memory loss (not significant at the low doses I am taking but every little bit affects me negatively).
Is there any valid research which says that ativan causes memory loss?


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## windycitycat (Sep 12, 2007)

I took lorazepam for my SA a few years ago for about 2 years and really all it accomplished was making me very tired all day, and a mess at night. It's a sedative, so the idea is to obviously slow the active mind, but in the meantime it will slow everything else down. However, as I've learned each person reacts different to each medicine, which is why there isn't just one out there for everyone that works. Give it a try, and if it doesn't work, there are other methods. I always recommend CBT.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

I've used Ativan in the past. I'd rate it as on par with Xanax & Valium.

As for equivalency, charts will vary, but the vast majority would tell you:

2 mg Ativan = 1 mg Xanax = 10 mg Valium (and I'd say that's about right)

I'm the infamous Karl who consumes 10 mg of Xanax a day. To me Ativan is the same except it costs more & would require twice as many pills for me to get an equivalent dose.

My older brother has been on Ativan for the last 7 years. He currently takes 5 mg a day. He'd like more, but his docs won't go any higher.


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## DonMarco (Sep 21, 2007)

thanks for all your replies . I have been taking 6mg of Ativan for 7 days now. I don't get the tired feeling i seen in some of the other posts or lack of motivation even, and from what i have read, 2mg pill 3 times a day is almost MAX of what can take of ativan. I am going to keep on this as my Doc said till I go back to see him which is in about 3 weeks. It seems to help me SOME, but still not like Xanax did when i briefly took 1mg twice daily, but we'll see after the 3 more weeks at the 6mg dose, 


:thanks


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Healing3 said:


> Actually 1 mg of Xanax is equivalent to 20 mg of Valium.


Not according to most charts and not according to my personal experience.

I stand by my 1 to 10 equivalency, unless anyone really thinks I'm consuming the equivalent of 20 of the largest Valiums a day, or 200 mg.


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## Speak Easy (Jun 27, 2006)

Ativan was my first benzo ever. I don't even remember how much I used to take, but it was way too much for me. All it did was make me inebriated and unbalanced. I felt stupid on it.


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## X33 (Feb 13, 2005)

DonMarco said:


> thanks for all your replies . I have been taking 6mg of Ativan for 7 days now. I don't get the tired feeling i seen in some of the other posts or lack of motivation even, and from what i have read, 2mg pill 3 times a day is almost MAX of what can take of ativan. I am going to keep on this as my Doc said till I go back to see him which is in about 3 weeks. It seems to help me SOME, but still not like Xanax did when i briefly took 1mg twice daily, but we'll see after the 3 more weeks at the 6mg dose,
> 
> :thanks


how's it working for you now? Are you taking ativan daily?


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## tbad (Oct 22, 2013)

I have been taking lorazepam for almost a year now at 1mg/day during the week and not taking it on the weekends because I can handle not sleeping during the weekend. I do not sleep at all when I don't take it and if I do manage to fall asleep for a short period of time I have very vivid scary nightmares. my doctor recently prescribed me trazodone to help sleep and I took it for one night and didn't sleep at all. also when I take the lorazepam I feel tired the next day. I have always had trouble sleeping until I started taking lorazepam January 2013. the reason I started it in the first place was because I had bad anxiety and depression. turns out all of this was caused because I have celiac disease and it causes neurological issues when it goes untreated. all of my depression and anxiety is gone now that I changed my diet but I still have sleep issues. I am going to talk to my doctor about weaning myself off of the benzo and using other non-medicinal ways to fall asleep.


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## AlexP7 (Apr 5, 2013)

I have been given Ativan a couple of times when I was hospitalized for severe panic attacks/manic episodes. It's very effective & fast acting, but I don't think it's as good as Xanax, the only other benzo I've tried. I currently take Xanax when needed, it's definately more effective for me than Ativan.


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