Anxiety Support Group

Anxiety is a physical condition marked by intense and persistent feelings of distress, fear, angst or dread. General anxiety caused by routine day-to-day stresses usually passes quickly and is experienced by almost everyone at one time or another. However, such feelings that linger over time and are very difficult to cope with, and which lack a clear cause, may indicate...

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deleted_user 01/14/2009

Okay I have been suffering from anxiety attacks now for a almost a straight year. As of this point the only thing that seems to be working is Xanax. I am taking it up to 4 times a day in .25 doses (breaking a .5 pill) I usually take on in the morning when I wake or shortly after if I feel the anxiity setting in, Then I try to fight the anxiety when it returns around noon or shortly after. Where I get caught is if I wait too long .25 will not help me and I am forced to take .25 then take another .25 90 minutes later.

Now So far we have tried Zoloft, Plaxil, and I can't remember the name of the 3rd one all of the lines in the same family I have bad reactions too. Severe hyperactivity worsens Anxiety and in the case of the Plaxil I became very agitated and got angry all the time for no reason. (And no I did not drink on it I am not a drinker).

My Dr. has suggested lorazepam, I have an appointment next week to discuss it. What I am worried about is fatigue, or loss of concentration. The Xanax though I know it is addictive and to be honest I think I have a slight addiction to it now is the only thing that so far has helped without any side effects.

Anyone on lorazepam give me an idea of what kind of Side effects you suffered? I am very active and motivated person during the day and into the night actually, I personally would rather be addicted to Xanax than take a drug that leaves me in a stupor.

Thanks

Dave

Barr62 01/14/2009

Hi Dave , let me tell you what my Dr actually 2 of them told me about Lorazepam its weaker then Xanax, Klonopin, Plaxil, Activan, i to was on it , thne put me on the NONE GENERIC Klonopin along with Lexapro 20mg of Lex & 10 mg Klonopin worked fine for me , However? if you did a fast switch over from meds to meds? you might be having withdraw symptoms as well (Like i did when i went right from Effexor to Lexapro !! Wow !! was i mess i was feeling worse and my Anxiety was threw the roof !! that was 2 yrs ago Now i am nothing for 7 , 8 mnths i have only Klonopin on hand Just in case , but its a good thing your Dr is Pulling you back in , but why the wait so long sheesh !! did you try ( in between ) just taking a walk? to reliefe some of the Anxiety symptoms? works for me as well , Hope things calm down for you my friend

deleted_user 01/14/2009

Lexapro was the first one I given, then Zoloft and lastly Plaxil.

All through this I have had Xanax on hand to fight major attacks.

We also wait min of 30 days after a trail of one med to another to make sure my system is clear I guess. It seems the Family of drugs such as Zoloft and Plaxil etc my body just does not take, since I have had pretty much the same reaction to each one of them to different degrees. Thats why he is talking about moving me to a Benzo line but what I understand the Lorazepam is in the same family as Xanax.

What I really want to do is stop everything, but I need to get to a point where I can do that. I have a feeling that the increase of my attacks are directly related to the Xanax. I have been able to in the past fight through the attacks and be okay, and I can still do that if I am in the right enviroment, but what seems to be happening now is I feel the anxeity onsetting, I distract myself and fight it off however nessacary and beat it, only to have it come back 2-3 hours later with so much force that I can't think straight and I have to go to the meds.

deleted_user 01/14/2009

lorazepam is generic for ativan and it makes me tired feeling so i don't take it at work or if i have to drive somewhere.I am on .50 mg and am now wandering about going to xanax.If I could take something that does'nt make me so tired then maybe I could actually get myself stablized by taking it like it is prescribed.

deleted_user 01/14/2009

Lorazepam and xanax are almost the exact same drug. The only difference is that lorazepam is not as strong as xanax. You need .5 mg. of lorazepam to get the same relief as .5 mg. of xanax. They are both in the benzo. category and both have the same level of addictiveness. If your problem is that the xanax is wearing off too quickly, have your doctor prescribe xanax XR (extended release). You take 1 pill once a day and you get a steady dose all day instead of having to take more as your symptoms return. I'm on it and its amazing. The caption on the xanax XR webpage is "focus on life - not on your next dose" and I fully agree. Here is the link to the webpage. Perhaps you can educate yourself before discussing it with your doctor. The bottom line is; if xanax is not working well, lorazepam in going to work even less.
http://www.xanax.com/

deleted_user 01/14/2009

I am on lorazepam it helps I took it before years ago and was ruff to stop but they didn't change me to anything else just made me stop. Sometimes I feel kinda numb but I think that my be due to the fact I need more exerise. My goal is not to take anything. Right now I would just be happy to get out and drive. :) I have had anxity for years and was doing great till I was in a car accident long story but it has be 8 mos since I have been having problems. I know I can bet it did for just have again.

deleted_user 01/14/2009

Here's another link on xanax xr that gives a lot more info:
http://www.xanax.com/considering-xanaxxr.asp

deleted_user 01/14/2009

a made a typo in my first post to you. It takes .5 of lorazepam to equal only .25 of xanax.

deleted_user 01/14/2009

I use 2mg Ativan for sleep and I never wake up foggy. It did nothing during the day for my anxiety. Zoloft seems to be helping immensley. Everyone reacts differently to these drugs.

deleted_user 01/14/2009

The Xanax works great, thats not the problem.

With the Xanax, I do not suffer anything, nor have any difficulty with anything. I understand the addictiveness of Xanax, and I personally wish I could just stop taking it, but thats not the case.

I am confused now why my Dr would want to have me change to a Drug simalar to Xanax but needing more of it to equal what I am taking now? Looks like we will have to discuss this in detail. I know he was looking for something that would drop my dependency on Xanax but Lorazepam, after reading about it, will not do that as its just a lower form of it.

I use the Xanax as needed. I never take more than .25 (half of a .5 pill) at a time and I usually take it 3-5 times a day according to how the day goes.

I will ask about the Xanax XR and see what he thinks about it. I have a good feeling that my body is "addicted" to Xanax as I have been taking it reguarly for almost 1 year now.

deleted_user 01/16/2009

i am not sure if you are on enough to be really addicted, although it might seem like it. i was on xanax for a long time, much higher dose, and when i eventually came off it wasn't so bad.
lorazapam is just about the same thing. i never had any bad side effects.
best advice is to follow your doctor's instructions. it seems that having xanax on hand just for an attack doensn't sound right...perhaps a larger dose less frequently might help? anyway, make sure you stay in close contact with your doc over this issue.

deleted_user 01/16/2009

Lorazepam never helped me... the only thing that works for me is Xanax. It doesn't sound like you are taking that much of it. The fact that you are taking only a milligram over the course of the day is a good sign that you are controlling it instead of the other way around. It doesn't sound like you are addicted. Now if you were taking 5 to 10 pills a day, then that would be a different story.

*hugs!*

deleted_user 01/16/2009

I take lorazapam as the xanax made me soooo groggy and tired. I can function when I have to take the lorazapam. I am on zoloft and the doc started me on another antidepressant at night not sure how to spell it as it is not right in front of me but it is called mirtazapine. They seem to be helping. Also the sun has been shinning today and that seems to make a big difference with my moods. I have seasonal depression along with the anxiety. My thyroid was off again also. So they just upped my dose. Hope you find your answers as I have found everybody reacts differently to these meds and everybody has thier favorite. You just have to try and see what works best for you!

Want2Bbetter 01/16/2009

So the Xanax works. Why all the other drug experimenting?

Xanax is the only one the works for me, too.

But, because other people get addicted and/or because it has to be adjusted (like any other drug sometimes needs adjusting) they keep trying anti-depressants...instead of anti-ANXIETY!

What's wrong with this picture?

Want2Bbetter 01/16/2009

PS: .25 x4 a day is the starting low dose of Xanax.

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