# My doctor prescribed me Ativan (lorazepam)



## bluebluesplayer (Jan 16, 2009)

Hi guys, 

I went to my doctor about my anxiety at the airport. It's quite severe. I requested valium. He gave me Ativan instead. He said pop it under my tongue. It should work quickly. Each tablet is 1mg and he said take no more than 3 mg in one day. 

1) Will this work for extreme anxiety at the airport? I used to drink 5 oz of vodka before going to the airport but that stopped working after about a year.

2) How many mg do you think I need? I've read that some people can take up to 4 mg at once while others can only take 1-2mg. I am 200 pounds if that matters. I don't want to take 1 mg and then realize it doesn't work while on my way to the airport. ugh. That would be a nightmare.

Thanks


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## Akane (Jan 2, 2008)

If you are not resistant to benzos (for some people no amount does anything) then it should work for awhile. Tolerance builds quickly. Sometimes within a few days for some people. 1-2mg is the standard for anxiety with 2-4mg generally being used for insomnia. That is a problem with lorazepam for anxiety only. It is one of the more sedating benzos and may make it difficult to stay alert if you surpass the ideal dose for yourself. If possible I would try taking 1mg a few days before you need it and see just how much it effects you.


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## dist0rt (Nov 11, 2011)

I was prescribed ativan as my first benzo. It worked well, but I prefer xanax or klonopin to them. Just the prescribed dosage should work fine for you and it does a decent job cutting the anxiety.


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## d829 (Jul 29, 2010)

1 mg of that crap is equal to 5-10 mg of Valium 
It's different for everyone.


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## meganmila (Jul 25, 2011)

I loved Ativan. Maybe a little too much. I think it will work...it makes you all sleepy. I was prescribed at first like .5 and they were such low dose that I took like 4 or 5 at most was like 7...yeahh...


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## bluebluesplayer (Jan 16, 2009)

Has anyone here taken Ativan for anxiety but it didn't work? It only made you drowsy? 

I took 2 mg and it made me really relaxed but I don't know if these will work under stressful conditions (I just took these at home).


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## dist0rt (Nov 11, 2011)

Have a little faith, its made for anxiety so it'll help it. I had severe anxiety and panic attacks everytime I left the house, and it stopped them. When I switched to a different dr he put me on xanax/klonopin instead. I liked them better but not to say ativan was much different, just a preference. Benzos all do the same job, just different drs prefer to prescribe diff. ones


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## Don Gio (Dec 14, 2011)

I use klonopin daily.but wanted an extra benzo for those special moments that
even klonopin doesn't work.
My doc made me chose between Xanax or lorazepam,i choose Xanax.
I may try lorazepam though.


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## bluebluesplayer (Jan 16, 2009)

Thanks for the responses.

I'm thinking about taking 3-4mg lorazepam and 60mg of propranol for the airport. I was prescribed 1mg tablets of lorazepam. 

1) Has anyone ever passed out taking 4mg lorazepam? 
2) How far in advance should I take this medication before the 'event' (arriving at the airport)?

I just want to add that for the past few years I've been downing five 1-ounce shots of vodka to get a buzz so my social anxiety at the airport isn't bad. I usually started drinking the shots about 2 hours before leaving my home. The alcohol stopped working for some reason.

Thanks!


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## dist0rt (Nov 11, 2011)

If you can, try it out before you do it that way you know how your body is going to react. Thats what I did, and really the only way to tell for yourself. Same for how long till it hits you, takes 30 mins roughly on avg I'd say but IDK for sure.


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## bluebluesplayer (Jan 16, 2009)

dist0rt said:


> If you can, try it out before you do it that way you know how your body is going to react. Thats what I did, and really the only way to tell for yourself. Same for how long till it hits you, takes 30 mins roughly on avg I'd say but IDK for sure.


Thanks for the response. I find that taking 1 pill gets me a buzz within 5 minutes then that buzz keeps going for 30 minutes then goes away but seems to come back at the 1 hour mark again. Strange eh?


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## dist0rt (Nov 11, 2011)

Yeah maybe so, never done that to me before. I think personally they used to hit me in probably about 15-20 mins and I dont really remember how long that lasted, but up to an hour to two hours.


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## Akane (Jan 2, 2008)

> Has anyone here taken Ativan for anxiety but it didn't work? It only made you drowsy?


I tried to use for french class but I found it just made me sleepy and apathetic. I ended up not accomplishing anything more than when I took nothing. It's best use is to quickly stop stress and crying as a result of getting myself in a situation I couldn't handle. I don't have a need to use it for that purpose much anymore. Also helps prevent the side effects of sleep deprivation (no benzo is enough to knock me out at any dose by itself) for a short time. Tolerance quickly becomes an issue though so beyond a couple weeks it becomes useless for much.

Some people will pass out at dosages around or above 2mg and some will be wide awake at greater than 4mg. There's no way to tell until you try it or if you have experience with other benzos you can make a good guess at what dose will effect you.


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## rustybob (Nov 19, 2009)

If you don't mind me asking, what issues are you having at the airport? When I first seen airport, I assumed it was anxiety about being on a plane. But I seen that you mentioned that the alcohol was for social anxiety.

Also, this is my experience with Ativan, but I personally find the sublingual Ativan to be weaker than the regular tablets. I find 1mg sublingual is more like .5mg of a regular tablet.


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## bluebluesplayer (Jan 16, 2009)

rustybob said:


> If you don't mind me asking, what issues are you having at the airport? When I first seen airport, I assumed it was anxiety about being on a plane. But I seen that you mentioned that the alcohol was for social anxiety.
> 
> Also, this is my experience with Ativan, but I personally find the sublingual Ativan to be weaker than the regular tablets. I find 1mg sublingual is more like .5mg of a regular tablet.


Even though I have nothing to hide from them, I feel really anxious in airport security. Everything from looking at the security entrance, to picking a lane, grabbing a bin, putting my stuff in it, waiting for my turn to walk through the metal detector, waiting for my stuff to come through the x-ray machine, taking my stuff and walking away.

I feel like everyone is looking at me. Not just the security agent ahead of me, but the 'random checker' who brings you aside, the security agents from the other lanes, the cameras in the ceiling (those are there to view your body temperature). Plus now many airports have behavior detection officers - their sole job is to see if you look nervous, which could indicate you're a terrorist. Which sucks for SA sufferers who aren't terrorists.

Someone's always watching you (even if it's just 1 person) in airport security. Watching your behavior. They're looking for nervousness.

I've been pulled aside before (whether for nervousness or random check) and it's embarrassing. I feel like passengers behind me are looking at me when it's being done. The attention is on me.

PLUS once I'm in the security zone I can't leave. No escape route.

The strange thing is I never had this problem when I was in high school. It's only when I started living alone and losing confidence in general that I had problems with airport security.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

Here you go:

http://www.benzo.org.uk/bzequiv.htm

If your not a regular user, than I would think 1mg should be enough. That would equal 1mg of clonazepam, which would settle the nerves of a non- chronic user.


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## rustybob (Nov 19, 2009)

bluebluesplayer said:


> Even though I have nothing to hide from them, I feel really anxious in airport security. Everything from looking at the security entrance, to picking a lane, grabbing a bin, putting my stuff in it, waiting for my turn to walk through the metal detector, waiting for my stuff to come through the x-ray machine, taking my stuff and walking away.
> 
> I feel like everyone is looking at me. Not just the security agent ahead of me, but the 'random checker' who brings you aside, the security agents from the other lanes, the cameras in the ceiling (those are there to view your body temperature). Plus now many airports have behavior detection officers - their sole job is to see if you look nervous, which could indicate you're a terrorist. Which sucks for SA sufferers who aren't terrorists.
> 
> ...


For going through security I'd be kind of leary of taking 4mg at once. I've found 1mg works well for me, except it can make me amnesic. 4mg would make me pass out I'm sure. How it hits you will be different of course, but I wouldn't want to be too intoxicated.


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## metamorphosis (Dec 18, 2008)

rustybob said:


> For going through security I'd be kind of leary of taking 4mg at once. I've found 1mg works well for me, except it can make me amnesic. 4mg would make me pass out I'm sure. How it hits you will be different of course, but I wouldn't want to be too intoxicated.


 Don't you have a rx for the medication? Therefore, it would be a legal medicine you take. Also, start with .5mgs about 45 min.-1 hr till you arrive at the airport. Judge is's effectiveness on you. If it doesn't seem like a very strong anxiolytic at that dose. Than take another .5mgs. The last thing you want to do, is figuring out how to get pills, that aren't in a marked prescription bottle with your name, past airport security.

And just do what Akane says. Play around with the dosing before flight day. This really doesn't have to be so difficult of a matter!


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## Afterlife (Dec 18, 2011)

I found klonopin helped me the most...I was on 1.5mg a day for 4 years....but PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH BENZOS!!!!! whatever you do, DO NOT drink with them...i hate to be "that guy" but if you become dependent on benzo's and then want to taper off them with help from yourdoc you need to know ,it SUCKS!!!!

my benzo taper took 6 months!! and it was very very very painful to say the least! and I took it as perscribed! but anyways, just my opinion


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

bluebluesplayer said:


> 1) Has anyone ever passed out taking 4mg lorazepam?


I'd certainly assume someone has.

I once knew a woman who "ODed" on lorazepam in a "suicide attempt." I put that in quotes because she knew it wasn't going to harm her & was doing it as she was desperate for attention.

She took 50mg or more and was still fully awake & aware even hours later. It didn't even come close to knocking her out.

Moral of the story: it's impossible for anybody to know how much you'll need. The only way to find out is to actually try it. Probably best to take a bit and if that's not enough take additional amounts as needed.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Afterlife said:


> ...whatever you do, DO NOT drink with them [benzos]...


Combining alcohol & benzos is safe as long as done within reasonable limits, remembering things such as:

-a liter of whiskey is not a single serving size.

-don't do anything potentially dangerous (e.g. driving) after drinking (applies whether you consume benzos or not)


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## Afterlife (Dec 18, 2011)

UltraShy said:


> Combining alcohol & benzos is safe as long as done within reasonable limits, remembering things such as:
> 
> -a liter of whiskey is not a single serving size.
> 
> -don't do anything potentially dangerous (e.g. driving) after drinking (applies whether you consume benzos or not)


thats a really irresponsible thing to say on a forum such as this. Benzo's and booze are very bad together! I think anyone with a lick of common sense would know this. respiratory depression doesn't sound to fun.

Also the two mixed could result in a black out, which could result in very bad things happening to you.

Also they are cross tolerant, and booze CAN indeed increase your tolerance to benzo's which COULD in turn lead you to needing more for the same therapeutic effect.

I see NO REASON to even combine the two unless it is done from an abuse standpoint. Why else would one even want to combine the two?


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## rik (Jan 4, 2010)

2 mg (@216 pounds) works good for me. You can take 1 mg and wait for an hour and see if you feel anything. They work the whole day for me.


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