I have not been able to get a doctor to give me ativan or xanax for that exact reason...it's highly addictive and hard to get off of. I don't know how long it takes but I do know you can try taking some calms forte (herbal sleep aid) to help sleep. Works great for me www.calmsforte.com.

you may want to come up with a weening off method with your doctor and possibly switch to something that will help out.

Well I'm on withdrawal from clonazapam and it is brutal to say the least, but could be worse I guess. I was taking 5mg per day.

Sorry for my spelling, my mind is very cloudy.

i am on ativan and have not had any problems, in fact they put me to sleep at night. without them, i cant sleep at all. i suggest you talk to your doctor about it and maybe he can write a script for something else. i only take the ativan as needed though not on a regular schedule. have a good one today, and hope you get some rest tonight.

You will need to ween off any benzo. I was on xanax for almost 12 years 3 times a day .5 mg which is still a very low dose to take for that amount of time. They just recently switched me to Klonopin .5 3x a day. If I want off Benzos I will have to be slowly weened off of them because of their high addictive rate to your body. Problem is one of the side effects of withdrawal from them seems to be anxiety which is another reason why people have such a hard time getting off of them. Most doctors use an antidepressant to help with anxiety which I use celexa for as well. My anxiety is currently doing ok and I pray it stays that way. I wish you the best of luck.

I'm starting to think that all SSRI's come with major withdrawl side effects and thats why its so hard for people to get off them. HOpe this helps. God BLess!

How many times a day do you take your ativan? You've only been on it for 3 weeks so I don't imagine it will be difficult for you to come off the drug. I suggest you wean yourself gradually. I took xanax off and on for 2 months. Some weeks I'd take one dose daily, there were a few days I had to take a couple of doses, and there were days I didn't need any. I did want to come off of it though because after awhile I just felt tired and started having muscle aches. I was already on a small dose to begin with so I just cut that dose in half for a few days and then went off of it completely. I've been off of it for 17 days and I feel great!

I know how frustrated you are. When you can't sleep the anxiety becomes worse. You might want to try a dose of Benadryl to help you sleep at night. It is not habit forming and usually works well. Don't lose faith! God Bless!

you are having a side effect. try a different benzo...

Benzo's are not sleep aids... they are addictive and are one of the drugs (that and alchool) that can kill you if you go into full withdraw... happens with higher dosages though

As a side note, the other drugs, Cocaine, uppers, downers, opiates, and all other psychotropic drugs will not kill you On a side note, opiate withdraw will not kill you... it will just make you want to die.