Went to sleep OK last night, feeling good. Woke up at 3 am - major anixety attack and hot flash.

Took .25 mg Ativan. Went back to sleep -- woke up 2 hours later with another major attack. AN hour later the same thing.

Have been feeling miserable, anxious and exhausted all day. I usually take either .25 Ativan or .125 Xanax at night for sleep. Been doing this for a couple of years with some nights off. Don't ever take it during the day.

Usually works OK but not last night and today I'm even worse.

Is it possible that, even at this extremely low dose, I've taken it for so long that it suddenly stopped working?

I'm afraid to take any more, afraid I won't sleep tonight. Yuck! Have some herbal stuff with Valerian but I don't want to take that either since I've read it interacts with Ativan and I have no idea how long it takes any of this stuff to clear out.

BTW - -I'm 6 years post but still having night time hot flashes sometimes. My doc prescribed these meds for sleep - 1-2 mg. Ativan or 1 mg. Xanax as needed. I am taking much less than that -- about 1/4 of a dose.

Cannot figure out whether to stop taking altogether for a few days or take a little more to get the heebie jeebies under control.

I know no one can tell me what to do but has anyone had a similar reaction to a really low dose of a benzo? Or did I just bump my crazy bone again.
Thanks.

When I use Ativan, which is very infrequently, I take somewhere between .25 and .5 mgs. However, during times a BIG anxiety, I have taken 1mg. If you anxiety is higher than normal, you should consider taking a larger dose for a few days, to see if you can bring it back under control, then taper back down. Even taking 1mg a day is a tiny dose, and no reason to worry about addiction. Besides addiction is usually more of an issue for people who LIKE the drugs, not people who desperately need them as the last resort.

Good luck, hope you feel better soon.

.125 mg of Xanax is a VERY low dose. I take that when I have the beginnings of a panic attack/anxiety attack. My Dr gives me the .5 pills and I usually take 1/4 of one to a half of one and it works pretty good. You should speak to your DR about letting you take a full dose of .25 mg when you are in a full fledged attack.

Also, while you are waiting for the pill to kick in, try doing something that will distract you. Llike a brisk walk (I know that is hard when you wake up in the middle of the night) but you can also try jogging in place. The trick is to distract your mind from thinking about the attack. Also working some of that andrenaline off. If you can jog in place for 20 minutes, that is the magic number to get your natural feel good endorphins kicked in and also the amount of time it takes for the Xanax to kick in!

Remember, the Xanax only lasts for 4 hours. But that should be long enough to get the anxiety under control.

You can also try anything that can distract you, like a crossword puzzle, video game, ect.

Good Luck. Ive dealt wtih panic/anxiety for 13 years and its getting worse with the perimenopause.

Be very cautious when taking Lorazepam because for some people, the drug IS extremely addictive. It's quite possible that you've reached tolerance level. This means that the dose that you normally take will no longer work to reduce your anxiety symptoms and you will need to increase your dose.

Ativan is a potent drug. 1mg of Ativan is not a tiny dose and is equivalent to 10mg of Valium. It's half life is between 10- 20hrs, this is the time taken for blood concentration to fall to half its peak value after a single dose. Taking 1mg of Ativan even for a short period of time, for example 3 weeks can cause problems of dependency and it is ALWAYS a concern.

Just be aware that there is always a potential problem with these drugs. Increasing your dose for a few days will probably help to control the anxiety. but dont stay at the new dose for too long.

You might also want to be careful about taking the valerian herbal supplement until after you check with your doc on how long it takes for the ativan to fully clear from you system. Herbal supplements can act like a drug in the body. They also are processed through the same liver enzyme pathways as Ativan and alot of other drugs. Benzo's and valerian are both CNS depressants. Be careful not to overload your system. I have heard that valerian can be very good for relaxing a person. My vet has given me Rescue remedy (herbal stuff) for my dog who suffers from extreme anxiety during thuderstorms. 1/2 hour after dosing him.....he's a mellow little fellow! Hate drugging him but he gets absolutely crazy. (Sorry, to mention the dog. Hope you don't get annoyed. It's the only first hand experience I've seen with the stuff and been amazing for him.) Regards, J

I just wanted to say that JZZ is correct about mixing these... Please do not mix the valerian root with any AD or AA because it could cause problems because they are all working on brain function. Also, you may have reached your tolerance level and may need to up the dose to get the same relief that you have been getting. I've had that problem in the past with Klonopin.


Best Wishes,

TJ

I just wanted to include this article on the dosing of Ativan. You can see that 1mg in a day is a small dose. Ativan becomes addictive if taken in large doses, or over very long periods of time.


Ativan dosage for adults:

The usual Ativan dosage recommended for adults is a total of 2mg to 6 mg per day divided into smaller doses. Usually, the largest dose is taken around bedtime. The daily Ativan dosage may vary from 1mg to 10 mg per day.

For anxiety:

The usual beginning Ativan dosage is a total to 3 mg per day taken in two or three smaller doses.

Insomnia due to anxiety:

Ativan is usually taken at bedtime in doses of 2mg to 4 mg.


I am not trying to sell it, but people shouldn't fear addiction, unless they have a good reason. Ativan saved me, I took it daily for 2 months and stopped cold turkey with no problems. I took no more than 1mg a day, and it was just fine. It made the horrible anxiety bearable, until my anti depressants kicked in.

You sound like me, I to am having anxiety in the middle of the night and various other times !! I take Loranzapan or Adivan .5, and it does not seem to help when it is really bad. I have palps and headaches that are contributing to the anxiety. I have also gone off of this drug an several occations and never had a problem. And that was after being on it for over a year. Everyone is different. Ask your Doctor when you are having an anxiety attack if you can up the dose till you feel better, then ween yourself back down. Lack of sleep make anxiety worse
Take care and good luck.
Glen

JZZ: Not at all. The late, great Alex (Husky-Collie mix) was totally thunder phobic and, unfortunately, Rescue didn't help him. He would shake and drool, pace and pant. One night during a bad storm, I was sitting with him on the floor, and decided the storm was about over. Gave him a hug when - KA BAM! A direct hit on the TV antenna. There were tails and elbows everywhere! I don't know which one of us was more freaked. Probably me -- both the VCR and the washing machine went to appliance heaven.

RR doesn't work for me, either, unfortunately. I have some homeopathic Stress Mints that actually are helpful and tasty to **** on.

At this point I have pretty much made it through the day. Thanks for your support.

Lydia

Lydia

I hope you're feeling better today. Anxiety is a terrible thing and I realise that you need something to alleviate it. Have you tried Cognitive Behavioural Therapy? There is a wonderful resource on-line and it's free to join up - It's called living life to the full - Take a look at the introduction module.

1)Understanding why we feel as we do.
2)Practical problem solving skills.
3)Using Anxiety Control Training relaxation.
4)Overcoming Reduced activity .
5)Helpful and Unhelpful behaviours.
6)Using Medication effectively.
7)Noticing unhelpful thoughts.
8)Changing unhelpful thoughts.
9)Healthy living - sleep, food, diet and exercise.
10)Staying well.

If you want the link please PM me-

The information I posted regarding Ativan and addiction is accurate. If you need more information I can direct you to reliable sources. If you ever decide to come off your Ativan please do it under the guidance of your doctor and dont ever attempt to stop cold turkey.


Hope this helps.