Anyone Ever Take Lorazepam?

[falling]

My doctor gave me a rxn for Lorazepam and said to put it under my tongue if I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack. I've never taking it before. Anyone have experience with it?

I recently had an apt with my GP and she has advised my to take a medical leave from work. She took my blood pressure and it was 138/100. I usually have low blood pressure. She asked if I was feeling panicked at the time and I was-not as bad as usual but it's always there. Now I have to go get and ECG done. Anyone else have these blood pressure problems? Anyone know what this # blood pressure means?

 

[Life_in_the_Mist]

I wound up on lorazepam three times a day. I started out with it as you did, just being given it as needed. I became too dependent on it and now I have a physical dependency/addiction whatever you want to call it. Now getting off of it is probably going to be very hard. It gives me brain fog and memory loss.

I wish I had found a different way to deal with my extreme anxiety. I knew how to use lorazepam safely, was well versed in the dangers of addiction, but the promise of instant peace was too much to resist. I always thought I would be the last to develop a problem with it. I have never used drugs, not even pot. Not trying to scare you, just telling you that it can be very alluring.

I don't know about the blood pressure but when I was in the hospital for anxiety my heart rate was high. They were worried about it and checked it every day. I was doing relaxation exercises in the hospital and on about the third day my heart rate went down. So maybe you could try tapes, meditation, breathing?

 

[jesse]

I just posted an answer in the chat section duh! Have never used chat anyway yes I take it and find it helps a lot but can make me tired if I am already tired. Xanax for example it's close cousin knocks me out. The other thing is it can make me depressed if I take it over a long period. I have figured out for the most part when an attack is coming or when I may be going somewhere I may be triggered ( i.e. dentist/claustrophobic) and that works well.

 

[jesse]

I am sorry to hear that Mist I posted while you were writing and did not see yours so sorry if I came across as disrespectful. Yes I have heard it can be addictive. I had a problem with opiate addiction after a neck surgery but oddly enough do not have that with ativan and do not take it often. Not sure why doesn't make sense to me to have an addiction to one substance and not another controlled substance. Falling maybe read up on the warning signs and ask your Doc so you know if you are getting addicted? I have taken it off and on for about 6 years and do recommend trying it if you are not pre-disposed to chemical dependency.

 

[jesse]

Falling the lower number (fraction) on your blood pressure measurement is high which is the diastolic and the more significant number. There are so many causes of high blood pressure. Do you eat a lot of salty foods? Other meds can cause it too. Family history etc. i have not heard of Ativan causing it but stress definitely will.

 

[franciemarnie]

They consider high blood pressure as starting when the top # is 140. I can't remember what the lower number equivalent is. It used to be 160 was considered the high blood pressure mark. I don't know if pharm companies colluded with doctors to change the number so more people will take meds.

There is also "white coat" syndrome. A lot of people find their b.p. is higher than normal when they go to doctor.

The normal range in points over the course of a day depending on what you are doing is 30 up or down.

A lot can temporarily bring up b.p. Walking just a little can bring it up 10 or 15. Drinking anything does the same. If you think of something troubling, your b.p. will reflect that.

You can't judge your b.p. by one reading. Take it no more than 3X a day - morning, afternoon and evening for a couple weeks and find the average. Work from that.

Look up how to take it properly. Sit straight in chair, etc.

If it's too low, drink water or Gatorade. If it's high, do something relaxing.

My husband got off b.p. meds completely by walking moderately 30 minutes a day.

Smoking will keep it on the high side.

Lorazepam every so often doesn't hurt but regularly can be bad. I've written about the evils of tranqs. They rewire your brain and are difficult to get off. I speak from experience.

 

[falling]

Thank you all. I am wary about taking the meds but if i have a panic attack i will take it. The "white coat" theory is interesting and I know going to the doc is a trigger for me.

I think I need to learn new ways to de-stress and a lot of ppl on here have suggested meditation and/or yoga. I'm going to look into giving them both a try.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

For me it's the only thing that has ever seriously helped, but it is addictive and I know as much. It calmed me down on the outside and even a little on the inside - my constant shaking subsided, my feet felt comfy and warmly relaxed on the floor rather than ready to run, I didn't feel like I needed to crawl out of my skin and if I took it at night I slept better. But I've only ever taken a single 1mg tablet, and only three times spread apart. If used rarely or for very short terms it is pretty safe.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

I'd like to point out that addictivity is relative though. If I had a herniation of the spine and morphine was the only thing that made living tolerable, I would be dependant and become addicted to it. Would that be wrong? Even if the dose had to be upped over time? It's the only thing that means I can live without suffering and no one is being hurt by it. The same goes for any addictive medication if it is the only way you can live without pain and suffering be it mental or physical.

The problem with this class of medication is if/when you is that they create anxiety and depression over time making you feel like you need them more, also if/when you do get better or decide to stop taking them for whatever reason, coming off of them can be a real problem. I have been told repeatedly from different sources that it takes about 4 months of regular use to create a dependency on benzodiazepines. But if you're taking it less often, I should imagine it would be longer or at the very least the level of addiction would be less.

 

[heidi]

Everybody has already warned you about the 'pam. Just be careful with 'as needed' because if it becomes too frequent/daily you can run into many problems. I think it's hard to not take something like that fairly regularly if you have it. I had problems determining what 'as needed' meant when I first started taking it. The way I defined 'as needed' was too often. Now I no longer take it for relief from feeling distressed. I only take it in very limited circumstances maybe about 8-10 times a year. I take it to go to the doctor for example and for a very specific anxiety issue that I only face maybe once every couple months. I just think until you run into problems and realize how important it is to be disciplined it's hard to be as careful with your usage as you should be.

 

[falling]

Jesus all this stuff is so complicated. I just want to feel normal again. I just want to feel like ME.

I've spent all these years trying to just live and not think about my past for fear of losing myself again and it happened anyway.

I don't know how to breath in my own skin anymore.

I'm too tired to keep faking it. I need to slow down and learn to be me again.

I will only take the pills if I have a panic attack where I feel like I'm having a heart attack. But it's the everyday heart palpitations, fainting feeling, shortness of breath, shaky, jumpy, nauseous, paranoia shit that makes the minutes in between so hard. How exactly am I suppose to concentrate on getting through this when I feel like that.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

Just to clarify you're not on any other type of medication for anxiety or depression? Just the Lorazepam? I take buspirone for a help to the underlying torrent of anxiety, but it only marginally takes the edge off, I'm looking to replace it, but I like that for me it has no side effects. I also have a prn of Promethazine (over the counter, anti-histamine) that I can take 3 times a day which is an anxiolytic and sedative, this is non-addictive and can be used when anxious or to help me sleep. I find that if I take it twice a day when I'm ok or the full three times when worse (as you have described above) is very helpful, but for the first day or so of taking it three times a day, I'm quite sleepy - unless I'm so hyper nervous it just brings that severe agitation down. If I have a panic attack or get so bad that I can't cope and the only other option would be hospitalisation (where I would recieve the Lorazepam anyway) then I can take the Lorazepam.

Like the Buspirone for me, maybe you need something for the underlying anxiety. If you're in the UK, that level of anxiety that you describe is typically described as a crisis point and therefore you'll be given the Lorazepam or somethng similar short term, but if you have been experiencing it for a long period of time and are likely to continue to do so, they may have misunderstood and therefore you'll probably need something to help with that long term.

Good luck