# Ativan vs. Xanax



## soaringfalcon11

I take .5 Xanax as needed, and though it works some, it brings anxiety of a new sort, though not as severe. 

Someone told me that Ativan worked much better for him than Xanax - he said he was 100% anxiety free while on Ativan. 

Thinking about trying Ativan.

So...any personal testimonies?


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## c0ry

Hmm, there was just a post about this recently. Here it is:

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com...ig-difference-between-ativan-and-xanax-66630/


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## DMBfan

Can you explain what you mean by it brings on anxiety? My experience is Ativan lasts about 6 hours compared to 4 hours or so for Xanax. But Ativan isn't as strong at reducing anxiety (I actually take valium BTW.)


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## flapjacker

I take generic ativan (lorazepam). I don't notice much of an effect. I have been taking it for I'd say 1+ month. I also take Xanax. I much prefer Xanax because it relieves my anxiety whereas I don't notice much relief with lorazepam.

I, however, am a drug abuser, therefore I am giving lorazepam a chance before I fall into a hole with Xanax dependence.


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## euphoria

^ We all speak of euphoria very often and it sounds like we rate everything based on recreational potential, but actually euphoria correlates with efficacy a lot of the time. Therefore, Xanax is better than Ativan, but they're all similar.

I see some posts by people taking a pathetic dose of benzo, who then conclude that X benzo is better than Y benzo. Until you've tried vary doses of each (meaning at least 2mg of Xanax, or 20-40mg Valium, etc.), it's not really fair to comment.


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## MissMay1977

I need to give Xanax another try. The time that I did try it - it was only 1mg and I only took it for 3 days. It made me very angry. Ativan wires me. It gives me a sense of calmness for about 5 min and than it wires me like I just drank an energy drink. Klonopin relieves my physical anxiety.


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## BradPit

Be careful with xanax that stuff is nasty !
There both very addictive...


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## Cast Away

Ive never taken xanax but ive never found any benzodiazepine to be euphoric, and yes ativan sucks


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## BradPit

The first time I took 2mg of xanax i found it very euphoric but i guess there's much better drugs if you looking to get high...a glass of sherry is more euphoric than xanax LOL...


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## euphoria

BradPit said:


> The first time I took 2mg of xanax i found it very euphoric but i guess there's much better drugs if you looking to get high...a glass of sherry is more euphoric than xanax LOL...


What I feel from Xanax isn't a constant buzz of pleasure (like opiods), it actually feels more like a removal of the dysphoria of anxiety. Some people find Xanax boring, but they tend to not be particularly anxious people.


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## UltraShy

I'd rate Xanax & Ativan as equals (except in price where generic Ativan costs much more -- a real consideration at my dose).


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## fadetoblack72

I have something I want to share with you about ativan(I take lorazepam, The generic equivalent). This morning I woke up feeling absolutely crappy. Lonely, depressed, and as if nothing could make me feel better. Just really numb inside. After reading some of the posts here on SAS, including this one , I felt a tiny bit better, but all of the above symptoms were still there a lot. I decided to go out to my truck and get my lorazepam and take a couple. I took 3, .5 mg pills and it has been one hour. Almost ALL of the depression, loneliness, and bad feelings are gone. It's really amazing. I even have motivation now to get some things done around the house  Now I have never taken Xanax before so I cannot compare the two but I just though this might help someone who has taken neither of them. Another user stated that it took hours to kick in. My therapist says that by swallowing them it takes about 45 minutes for the effects to kick in. I find this to be true. To speed things up she suggested letting them dissolve under the tongue which will get the drug into the bloodstream faster making the time that it takes for the effect to happen more like 15 minutes. 
So the reason I am taking them is to break the panic attack cycle. I worry about everything and it leads to the feelings I mentioned above. As time goes by it just gets worse and worse. The panic just escalates. These pills help me to break that cycle. I really feel like a completely different man than I did an hour ago. Another thing to remember is that drugs aren't going to solve all your anxiety, just take it away for awhile. They are kind of a temporary solution if you will. 

Hope this helps somebody out there. I know SA can be a horrible thing to go through.

Jason


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## BradPit

euphoria said:


> What I feel from Xanax isn't a constant buzz of pleasure (like opiods), it actually feels more like a removal of the dysphoria of anxiety. Some people find Xanax boring, but they tend to not be particularly anxious people.


Well said the relief from severe anxiety can be the most blissful filing you can have...


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## jennyrh

Hi,

I agree with you that severe anxiety can be the most blissful filing.

Thanks,


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## Jcq126

Ativan just made me feel like a retard and I started getting hooked on it so I stopped quick lol.


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## oBSama

euphoria said:


> What I feel from Xanax isn't a constant buzz of pleasure (like opiods), it actually feels more like a removal of the dysphoria of anxiety. Some people find Xanax boring, but they tend to not be particularly anxious people.


100 out of 100


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## halfsatan

There is a lot of content for me to read through.

So I am simply going to talk about my own experiences with benzos, and I've been on them off and on for 10 years.

and I would omit the special class benzodiazepines, 
since medical community is full of BS and there a lot more drugs that basically have the same effect.

I like to classify to classify drugs by their euphoric effect.
1) Alcohol (most dangerous cause easily obtainable), people who abuse benzos that is their first choice to try to subdue withdrawal.
2) Z-drugs, sleeping pills, like ambien or lunesta, etc (look that up, they should be considered benzos, but some idiot found a loop hole just because they have tiny different in chemical structures, but very addictive, completely ruin your sleep architecture).
3) the way to classify benzos being euphoric or not is by their half-life, the shorter, the half-life the more euphoric it is (xanax, alprozolam, klonopin, etc).

As I write this down I wish that this were miracle drugs, however the more euphoric the drug is the faster your brain tolerance grows, people double up/triple up on doses, and there reason your xanax does not work, is not the drug, the brain went to the tolerance mode, it will not produce more gaba.

However, the main horror is the withdrawal, pure hell, some say opiates are easier to get off from, and once I saw the youtube videos, with milk and klonopin mixing, it is like you need to have a chemistry degree or something, Now I'll I wish for is drug-free natural sleep.

Of course these medicines do have their uses, but it break the glass in case of the emergency.


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## andy gillan

soaringfalcon11 said:


> I take .5 Xanax as needed, and though it works some, it brings anxiety of a new sort, though not as severe.
> 
> Someone told me that Ativan worked much better for him than Xanax - he said he was 100% anxiety free while on Ativan.
> 
> Thinking about trying Ativan.
> 
> So...any personal testimonies?


from my personal experience, ativan work better than xanax and one thing i like about ativan is that it had fewer side effect to my body ( in my own experience ) ... don't know about other experience... but you cant tell for sure unless you consult with your doctor..

just my 2 cents


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## maddogs357

I have battled panic attacks for the past ten years. It was all under control till the doctor said I had fibromyalsa and changed me from celexa to cymbalta. For the past four weeks I have been suffering from panic attacks and an over load of anxiety. This was the first time that I had to be admitted to get my meds in check. I have also taken Xanax for may years, .5mg three time a day. I have found recently that when I went to the hospital that Ativan worked better and calming me down and Xanax now appears to make me anxious. Anyone else have this issue?


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## yourfavestoner

maddogs357 said:


> I have battled panic attacks for the past ten years. It was all under control till the doctor said I had fibromyalsa and changed me from celexa to cymbalta. For the past four weeks I have been suffering from panic attacks and an over load of anxiety. This was the first time that I had to be admitted to get my meds in check. I have also taken Xanax for may years, .5mg three time a day. I have found recently that when I went to the hospital that Ativan worked better and calming me down and Xanax now appears to make me anxious. Anyone else have this issue?


Ah, another poor victim of Cymcrapta. Cymcrapta tops SSRIs on my **** list, which tells you exactly how I feel about that medication from hell.

Some people respond better to a certain benzo than others.

I've so far taken both Ativan and Klonopin. Klonopin is a sugar pill for me, with literally no discernible effects even at higher doses (6 mg in one sitting did nothing for me).


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## littlemama

*xanax vs ativan*

I have taken about everything for anxiety but ativan and they all make me sleepy iv taken something for 9 years now and I'm so tired of being sleepy all the timei take 2mg 3 times a day well I'm supposed to anyways but dose ativan make u sleepy and work ok. Ill take a xanax and it works for about one or two hours than my anxiety starts over again or I go to sleep and it weres off it sucks I love to have energy. And I don't I have an artistic 12 year old and a 16 pound 29" long ( small 2 year old ) so I can't be sleppy all the time pluse xanax makes me cold hearted and mean I hate it so someone please tell me sbout ativan. :no


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## fadetoblack72

I take Ativan. I find the right dose doesn't make me drowsy. I will say that it is pretty had to get off of. I'm tapering off of it now and I can tell when I "need" a dose. Definitely addicting. I wouldn't trust a dr to prescribe it. Hopefully you have a therapist that can help you!! Good luck.


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