Lorazepam - a sensible middle road?

[jakob]

My greatly summarised anxiety history follows (try to keep awake!)...

About 4 yrs duration, tried SSRIs, betablockers, CBT and have had the full batch of tests to rule out a physical cause (thyroid etc). Have even had a couple of sessions with a real, live psychiatrist who suggested ever more exotic antidepressants. None of these have really helped and anxiety now rules my life, not that I have much of one left.

The GPs view was that (my interpretation) the downside of taking Lorazepam on an (ir)regular basis may be better than the position that I now find myself in. He is happy to give me a repeat prescription to be using 1mg a few times a week when I am especially anxious or if I am unable to sleep.

My question, reaching out to the sum of experience here, is there any medium term 'middle road' use of Benzos? Walking a sensible path somewhere between the horror stories of addiction and the fact that my life is pretty awful and these meds seem to offer the only help? Am I just kidding myself that this might actually be some kind of semi-solution?

I do consider myself a fairly sensible, non addictive personality kind of guy if that is at all relevant.

Any thoughts greatly received, especially pragmatic ones. Thanks in advance to the lovely forum folks.

Jakob.

[xBettyBoopx]

Hi Jakob

My peronal opinion is that drs shouldn't be prescibing any kind of benzo now that they know how addictive they all are, too late for a lot of us that are already addicted.

There are some other tablets that don't end with 'pam' and are not so addictive that are for anxiety and panic etc, but they are usually anti-depressants and have more side effects than tranquillizers, so yes it is a dilemma.

I think maybe for short term stress, tranquillizers could be given for a few weeks, but no more than that, then brought off of them very slowly.

Sorry that I don't seem to really have answered ure question but I know that lorazapam and the likes can really help (I am on lorazapam and diazapam), then u have to come down off of them and the psychological effects are the same as anxiety and pa's. I don't think there is an answer to this unfortunately.

Not enough time for doctors to see you to get a full account of what ure going through, makes them get the presciption pad out far too quickly, that's my opinion.:lac:

Take care

Elspeth

[davidthegnome]

Jakob,

I've been struggling with lorazepam myself since December. When I first started out on it I really thought my disorder would clear itself up within a month or so - at least to the point where I wouldn't be having chronic anxiety/severe attacks anymore. I was wrong.

Back in December I was on a full miligram every four hours, it was the only way I was able to eat or sleep. A month later, I weaned down to half a miligram, three times a day, then down to twice a day, then once... then I tried getting off of it completely. I lasted about six days before I started having severe convulsions, and the panic attacks got even worse.

Prior to December, I had just gotten off of an anti-depressant (zoloft, AKA sertraline) that I had been on for about ten years. Yeah, weaned off slowly with a Doctor's help, did it the right way, but nonetheless, I think coming off of the meds played a part in the severity of my first few months with this.

Anyway, that's beside the point - I'm taking half a miligram of lorazepam once, some times twice a day now (depending on whether I can sleep). It's preferable to suffering through panic attacks, shaking fits and these other... really strange fits that hit me from time to time.

As for long term use? My Grandmother has been taking xanax, half a miligram, twice a day for over 20 years. And she's great, intelligent, kind, generous, one of those people that makes you want to believe in angels. It worked for her - though it may not for some others.

Weigh the pros and cons, consider the risks VS what it will do for you. God bless you, and good luck. Our situations may be different, but I really feel for you man, I have to make the same decision myself.

[mirry]

xanax, is this medication only in the states or does it have another name over here ? Ive read alot about it and it sounds fab.

[davidthegnome]

I'm pretty sure xanax is available in England. I'm not a medical professional though - ask your Doctor if you're interested. There's a wide range of side effects experienced by numerous people, some more severe than others. There are also (as with any medication) serious risks of long-term use. I'd advise caution - but if you really need it, it can be a life-saver. For me , it (the lorazepam, haven't tried xanax) often means the difference between sleeping peacefully, or pacing around my room all night obsessively repeating myself, shaking, sweating, and thinking I'm going to die or go completely mad. But it doesn't work as well for everyone as it does for me.


God bless you all, and goodnight... or, good morning. It's 5:30 AM here in Maine, and I've finally wound down enough to sleep.

[jo61]

FYI Xanax is available in the UK, also known as Alprazopam (sp). It's not available on the NHS but my GP gave me a private prescription. It didn't do much for me so I came off it quite easily. I get diazepam from my GP to take as needed. He knows I don't go overboard, I could probably take more than I do so if they know you only take it a few times a week it shouldn't be a problem.

[Lindalou64]

dont want to scare you but my friend had to go to detox to get off of xanax.....to be honest i think she abused them plus with the booze god love her she passed now not from that tho!!!!!! i take lorazapam if i cant sleep maybe like 1 or 2 x a month i for get i have them i look at it this way when you have this disorder really bad,im willing to take something i know thats gonna help and one day i will wheen myself off........thats me anyways...Linda

[Dying_Swan]

Hi Jakob.

Interesting post :) but a tricky situation.

Personally, I think Benzodiazepines can be helpful, as long as they are combined with some sort of therapy. I've found Lorazepam very useful (I had the same as you I think - 0.5mg as and when). I had CBT, and my therapist was dead against using them. She explained that whilst you continue to use these meds, you continue to reinforce your belief that you can't cope with anxiety alone.

I think that as long as you are making progress in general, then there isn't too much harm in using small doses of benzo's alongside. However, I think it's vital to gradually start doing more and more things without them.
From what I understand, it is unlikely you will become physically addicted to this stuff whilst taking such a small dose, a few times a week.

Even if you don't become physically addicted, it's very easy to become psychologically dependent ('I can cope with this situation as long as I take Lorazepam' etc).

I have read things on this site which concern me a little. Some folk appear to think that once they start on medicines, all their problems will disappear.."Valium cures Anxiety" etc. I am sure you are quite aware (from reading your history) that this is not the case. Lorazepam will not make it better, but in my view, can be a good 'adjunct' to making some progress :)

So, if you keep using them, make sure you keep doing things without them too :) You will start to see that you can make it through without them, and once you truly realise that, the 'need' for them starts to disappear :yesyes:

Good luck xxx

[olichris]

Hi there,

I have used xanax for about 6 years now, but I only use it in short bursts of 3-5 days at a very low dose ( 0.375mg per day)
Perhaps I am just very fortunate in that I have never had any side effects or any addiction/withdrawal at all.
It is avaialable as a prior poster has said on a private prescription as Alprazolam.
I endorse all the possible difficulties listed above but for me xanax was a definite help in the road to recovery, probably the most important one if I am honest.
I now use Tai Chi, Meditation and CBT ( useless for me before xanax, even though the therapist caled me a "very compliant patient")
There is certainly a danger as it is so effective for me of over and innapropriate use, however I also beleive that for some of us a chemical calming of the whole system can be very helpful, and after all who would tell a diabetic or someone in pain not to take their medication when needed!!!
If you want the "professional view" ( that is one that is not of the view that xanax is the drug of the devil , there are plenty of those around !)try looking up Dr Stuart Shipko.
Look after yourself

olichris

Look after yourself

[jakob]

Thanks to everyone that took the time to reply. Lots of balanced, thoughtful comments for me to ponder.

You do know that the internet is only meant for ill thought out, lengthy monologues to confirm your own entrenched position to yourself don't you ?!:) :)

Thanks again,
Jakob

[Alabasterlyn]

I think benzos have a place in helping with anxiety but I really believe they have to be taken with a great deal of caution due to their addictive qualities.

I'm not sure taking benzos can be compared to taking mediction for Diabeties or other long term medical conditions as there isn't the same dependency issue with other drugs in most cases.

I think it's great that some people are able to take benzos on 'as needed' basis so that they aren't getting addicted but are actually benefiting from taking these meds.

My worry though is that if you take something and it makes you feel so much better it's obviously going to be easy to slip into taking them more often unless you are getting some other help for your problems.

There is a very good website called http://www.benzo.org.uk/ that gives all the info you could ever need about benzos. It's worth reading the Ashton Manual on that site too.