# Valium VS Ativan



## blues85 (Apr 22, 2012)

I currently am trying new benzos. Im trying valium because it is longer lasting. But my psych started me out on 2mg twice daily for a week and have to wait a week to get increase. I feel NOTHIHNG and am having panic attacks daily still. I think that I need something stronger for my panic attacks and sleep problems. I was on xanax but im trying to switch to a longer acting benzo. Xanax was strong enough but it seemed easy to dose too much because how strong it is. So Im thinking and i know ativan is stronger and could be better for my panic attacks and sleep problems. Or maybe just get a much bigger dosage of valium because it does nothing for me. Tiny drowsiness thats it, no relief from panic attacks and mania and depression. Xanax covered my depressionj p;anic attacks and manic states now im just lost in translation. 

Kpins are not an option i have very bad reactions to it. Ativan is known to be a strong benzo just about as strong as xanax so iom thinkgin of asking about going on ativan instead. I need something that is strong to wipe out my panic attacks and something i can take 3-4 times daily because my mental stress problems are wretched. i heard that ativan is just about as strong as xanax and lasts a few hours longer than xanax. is this true? please anyone with experience with ativan or valium please let me know, she started me on 2mg vals twice daily and its exctruciating it does nothingm, she said she will increase next week but wow its making me feel like valium is pointless all together unless im on maybe 40mg daily.

ANy experience with ativan? or valium? or should i just go back onto xanax even if my doctor would let me i dont know what to do i just need a good p[owerful benzo to keep me from losing my sh*t. Thanks.:sus


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

Personally, having tried all available benzos, I prefer Valium - at the correct dose.
4 mg of valium a day is truly laughable, that dose is insignificant, you may as well be taking nothing.

I take 10 mg of valium x3 a day to control GAD. Valium is my preferred benzo because it does last seemingly forever and it kicks in as fast as xanax if needed for a panic attack. Because I take it daily I'm sure that the levels of it in my blood pretty much remain constant. So I often forget to take it with no ill effects when I am not anxious and I don't get any of that inter-dose withdrawal.

Personally I hate ativan. It does nothing to relieve anxiety for me, it just makes me tired. In the past I have taken 40 mg of it, still felt panic and eventually just took a nap.

Everyone is different though. But to give Valium a real try, you're going to need more than 4 mg/day.

Over time though, I feel that being on valium daily has slightly increased depression for me after a couple years. But It's been the best solution for me.


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## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

I used to take Valium a few years back. It also did nothing.


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## blues85 (Apr 22, 2012)

yeah thats the thing. my psych always does this with a new med i start taking puts me on the lowest dose possible i told her it was not enough but she said to try it and wait a week> she did say she will increase it after she see how i react and it definately did nothing. but it litterally is horrible dose because i dont even feel any relief, so once i get on higher dosage im hoping it elevates things better. i wanted to switch because i feel like its safer than alprazolam because it lasts longer but now im kind of regretting it because the valium isnt strong enough.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

Weren't you on 1.5 mg of xanax per day? 4 mg of valium is equivalent to less than .5 mg of xanax. It is absurd that your psychiatrist would transfer you to such a low dose. I think Valium is quite effective; but not at 4 mg.

Consider morphine, hell yeah it works. But if you only took .5 mg of morphine you wouldn't notice a thing.


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## blues85 (Apr 22, 2012)

yeah. now im trying lorazepam. but it feels weak. next week when i see my dr again ill go for an increase see if it works better at higher dosage. no sedation at all some energy. even when i take 2mg.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

What dose of Lorazepam are you on? 2mg of Lorazepam is supposed to be equivalent to 1mg of xanax. Lorazepam has never been successful for me.


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## YankeeFanatic (Nov 17, 2012)

All I know from Ativan is after my panic attack (in my residence hall- how embarassing mind you!) they put some ativan through my IV, and it worked wonders.


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## blues85 (Apr 22, 2012)

Well I tell you what. I am now on Ativan and Escitalopram. And this combination has made my confidence increase substantially. Ativan seems to have great potential for helping my depression as it is not as sedating and more motivating for me then the Xanax was. Definately need huge dosage of both though because its not very strong but i see potential once I level out at a good dosage on both. I never felt more confident in my life I think. My serontonin must be really f_cked up. Lol.:blank


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

what do you consider a huge dosage to be? Also Benzos will not help with depression, over time they can make it worse.


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## Konami (Jul 5, 2011)

klomopin works best for me. Ativan is useless, valium has the "highs and downs" effect which made me more depressed, xanax is good but also has highs and downs.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

konamitech said:


> klomopin works best for me. Ativan is useless, valium has the "highs and downs" effect which made me more depressed, xanax is good but also has highs and downs.


Really, you had interdose withdrawals with valium? That is interesting. I can take it every other day without interdose withdrawals and I metabolize benzos pretty fast.


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## bazinga (Jun 9, 2010)

I recommend asking for klonopin (clonazepam). It is just about as strong as xanax except the half-life is 17+ hours compared to xanax half-life which is 5-6 hours. I switched from xanax to klonopin for the same reason and I'm happy with klonopin.

There are no daily ups and downs with klonopin like there is with xanax and you don't really need to take it 3x a day.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

bazinga said:


> I recommend asking for klonopin (clonazepam). It is just about as strong as xanax except the half-life is 17+ hours compared to xanax half-life which is 5-6 hours. I switched from xanax to klonopin for the same reason and I'm happy with klonopin.
> 
> There are no daily ups and downs with klonopin like there is with xanax and you don't really need to take it 3x a day.


It all comes down to personal preference. I think Valium is a better choice because both the half life and duration of action are longer than that of Klonopin and the onset is significantly faster, making it useful for acute panic attacks as well. It is also a stronger muscle relaxant.

Just personal preference and to be fair, Klonopin doesn't even "work" for me. For some very unusual reason it doesn't effect me at all I have taken 20+mg of Klonopin when I had no benzo tolerance and it doesn't do anything to me. weird. So I obviously can't speak to Klonopin.


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## Konami (Jul 5, 2011)

istayhome said:


> Really, you had interdose withdrawals with valium? That is interesting. I can take it every other day without interdose withdrawals and I metabolize benzos pretty fast.


yeahh @ 10mg i would get really "high" feeling for 8 hours. felt so good i could socials without no fear but then i crashed, the good feeling changed to down tiredness and anxiousness, of course if i had pumped another 10mg things were good again but that was not what i wanted\needed.


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## blues85 (Apr 22, 2012)

:sus.. yeah kpins dont work really well with me it always makes me a person i dont want to be for some reason. plus i think im stuck with f-ing ativan anyways even though its not nearly enough. but atleast i have an ssri now because its the benzos alone dont help anymore my serotonin is really f-cked. i always run out of ativan its no where near enough im at 1.5mg a day and i think i might be dying. i better get a bigger dose soon or im gonna go back to using alcohol and nyquil and ibuprofen and sh_t. i guess ill f-ing see this week whats up cus im lost in benzo translation right now and its f-ed. im just going to keep asking for increase until its enough because its a very weak benzo. if i get to the point where shes like well thats all im going to prescribe then im gonna have to go back to another benzo because its so weak i still have panic attacks one after another every day. honestly at this point i am better off goin with the nyquil and alcohol and ibuprofen.:roll


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## blues85 (Apr 22, 2012)

ok. so ive decided to find a new psychiatrist. my dr told me she would not raise my .5 3x day ativan dose and it is not nearly enough. so i see a new psych this week and hoping this doc is more reasonable and gives me sufficient benzo script.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

blues85 said:


> ok. so ive decided to find a new psychiatrist. my dr told me she would not raise my .5 3x day ativan dose and it is not nearly enough. so i see a new psych this week and hoping this doc is more reasonable and gives me sufficient benzo script.


Ativan .5mg x3/day is laughably low for anyone with regular anxiety. good luck


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## jim_morrison (Aug 17, 2008)

^As a mono therapy for bipolar it's even more laughable.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

jim_morrison said:


> ^As a mono therapy for bipolar it's even more laughable.


I completely agree. You might remember that blue85 joined the forum last year and his first post was "I love Xanax!" which turned out to be a long and lively thread. But I have spoken with (or attempted to) blue85 and as he has openly shared he suffers from some very extreme psychiatric problems. He has discussed cutting himself, being suicidal, extremely manic and bipolar I, mixed states, etc.. He seems very stubborn about only using benzos and trying to get prescribed high doses as opposed to using medications which are indicated for his conditions.

Again blue85 I'll tell you what many told you a long time ago; I recommend you discuss ALL of your symptoms with your doctors and try some medications that are more likely to help you. You are probably not being prescribed benzos because you don't actually need them. You might use this as an opportunity to find more effective treatment(s). Starting with a new psychiatrist may be very helpful in reanalyzing your current state.

At times I have used benzos as a monotherapy when I had much greater problems. While just taking benzos and having less anxiety is easy, it has been much more effective to seek out more effective medications, even if it is less comfortable at times. good luck.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

blues85 said:


> :sus.. yeah kpins dont work really well with me it always makes me a person i dont want to be for some reason. plus i think im stuck with f-ing ativan anyways even though its not nearly enough. but atleast i have an ssri now because its the benzos alone dont help anymore my serotonin is really f-cked. i always run out of ativan its no where near enough im at 1.5mg a day and i think i might be dying. i better get a bigger dose soon or im gonna go back to using alcohol and nyquil and ibuprofen and sh_t. i guess ill f-ing see this week whats up cus im lost in benzo translation right now and its f-ed. im just going to keep asking for increase until its enough because its a very weak benzo. if i get to the point where shes like well thats all im going to prescribe then im gonna have to go back to another benzo because its so weak i still have panic attacks one after another every day. honestly at this point i am better off goin with the nyquil and alcohol and ibuprofen.:roll


Yeah dude, from this post it speaks pretty loudly that even if you had all the benzos you wanted, it would only be a short term fix. I highly recommend giving mood stabilizers, antipsychotics, etc a try. Being prescribed a bunch of xanax, valium or ativan is only going to put off the inevitable work you will have to do to find an effective treatment. You've been using benzos pretty much solely for about a years when you have needed different treatment(s). I hope you seek out what you need instead of staying on your benzo-seeking path. good luck once again.


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