<p>Does anybody has any experience with these meds for anxiety? If so what side effects did you experience?</p>
<p>Highly addictive…</p>
<p>In the last year, I had a lot of stressful events. Both folks in an out of hospital, DH collapsed with VT, as well some other lesser events. After talking to my physician, she prescribed Ativian. Thirty .5 mg. That was 6 months ago and I still have ten. We decided I should take one if I needed to sleep rather than get into high anxiety, no sleep, less ability to cope, etc. I was well aware of the potential for addiction so I used judiciously. </p>
<p>It has helped tremendously for me. I think when my physician and I meet again, I will ask for a refill, just to know that if necessary, I have some relief at my disposal. I found when I took one I was able to shift gears and not perseverate on whatever I was worrying about.</p>
<p>I have taken both, but neither of them for long periods of time. Both have been for very occasional use on a very short-term basis.</p>
<p>A few years ago I asked my dr for something to take before flying, so I wouldn’t be a nervous wreck on the plane and freak my kids out. She prescribed a very low dose of Ativan. I have also taken it occasionally to help me sleep if I am really keyed up or worried about something. Over the course of a year I take maybe a dozen pills total. I agree with worknprogress2 that getting a good night’s sleep helps tremendously in coping with stressful situations. </p>
<p>My mother had a prescription for Xanax which she took fairly regularly for anxiety attacks, and later when she was on chemo and was having problems with neuropathy and tingling in her hands and feet, she was told to take the Xanax for that as well. During the last week of mom’s life (she died of cancer) and thru the funeral, I used some of her Xanax. I know, you’re not supposed to do that. I only took one pill twice a day for about a week. I stopped taking them after returning home from the funeral.</p>
<p>I had virtually no side effects from either Ativan or Xanax, other than a heavy, tired feeling - which is usually worse as the drug is wearing off. </p>
<p>But again, I have not taken either drug on a regular basis for more than a week, so perhaps I’m not the best judge.</p>
<p>The only way to take either one is to have 25-30 tabs last 6 mos to a year. They are cousins to valium, and one has to respect them and use them either for very short term use, or very infrequently.</p>
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<p>But the real question is… would you prescribe Xanax??</p>
<p>As mentioned above, these drugs should only to be used on a short term basis. For instance, if one has panic attacks triggered by a specific thing that doesn’t happen on a daily basis such as fear of flying. In this case, the person could take a pill before the flight and lessen chances of a panic attack. </p>
<p>If you experience anxiety on a daily basis, your doctor should be prescribing something else-
Perhaps something like Zoloft or Lexapro. </p>
<p>You need to speak directly with a medical professional.</p>
<p>OP, why would you post on CC to get information about the side-effects of a particular medication? Discuss your situation and questions with your physician and pharmacist.</p>
<p>Both Xanax and Ativan are benzodiazepines. They have some potential for addiction. </p>
<p>[Ativan</a> (lorazepam) Information from Drugs.com](<a href=“http://www.drugs.com/ativan.html]Ativan”>Ativan: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects & Warnings - Drugs.com)</p>
<p>[Xanax</a> Information from Drugs.com](<a href=“http://www.drugs.com/xanax.html]Xanax”>Xanax: Uses, Dosage, Side Effects & Warnings - Drugs.com)</p>
<p>I used xanax for a while 10 years ago when I was diagnosed as having panic attacks because I was having palpitations. It did absolutely nothing. Of course sometime after, through a holter monitor it was discovered that I have atrial fibrillation amongst other heart rhythm disorders. The net result was instead of being on xanax, I’m now on both beta and calcium channel blockers. </p>
<p>I know a number of people who were prescribed xanax etc for “anxiety” for whom it was later discovered had other serious health issues.</p>
<p>Highly addictive. No shame in taking a prescribed dose by a reputable Dr for a short period of time. Never, and I do stress never, mix with alcohol. It has a warning for a reason. Don’t mix with OTC cold or alergy meds.
If you are dealing with grief, it may be a helpful short term med. If you have anxiety with flying, maybe good to have on hand. For sleeplessness I think there are better options. Discuss these with your doctor. Xanax is a nasty little bugger with terrible withdraw.</p>
<p>NOTE. I crossed posts with 7, 8 & 9. All good information. Darn I type slow!</p>
<p>Umm, it’s Xanax, not Zanax, and it’s Ativan, not Ativian.</p>
<p>Basically 6 of one and a half dozen of another.</p>
<p>There are times when Ativan is given on a regular basis – usually when SSRI medication is not working well enough and the person is severely anxious. In such cases, it’s usually best to be working with a psychiatrist. For occasional use, these drugs can be very effective – for example, when people are anxious about flying. Xanax passes out of the system very quickly which is a nice feature.</p>
<p>I have had Ativan when I was hospitalized- and was destressed enough to feel focused but the only gave it to me for one day
:(</p>
<p>I am working with a psychiatrist. I can read the literature thank you. I was asking for personal experience with these drugs. As some of you remember - my husband was killed 2 years ago Nov 19. The trial is starting in two weeks. I have to look at crime pictures including autopsy photos of my beloved husband - hence the my request for anti-anxiety meds. I appreciate all input. Thanks crabbylady</p>
<p>I think that CC is a great resource and pulling the group of experiences can help you determine questions to ask your physician, side effects you might not have noticed in the long mice type list</p>
<p>I had surgery this year and self-diagnosed a post op side effect based on odd symptoms mentioned on a forum; no doubt I would have worsened and been diagnosed a few days later, but I caught the problem immediately.</p>
<p>Doctors don’t always have time to discuss every effect for an hour, nor do we always remember to ask every little thing when there. The first time you hear something you take it in, later you think of the questions, Getting ideas of the pros & cons ahead of time is smart and CC is a resource of mainly well respected people.</p>
<p>crabbylady,</p>
<p>Is it possible to get one or two of each and do a sort of dry run before the trial starts? See how each effects you, not only at its peak, but hours later. </p>
<p>I see these two drugs prescribed a lot in the work I do, possibly with more Ativan being prescribed than Xanax; I have heard that Xanax can produce a sort of ‘hangover’ effect as it wears off, where you feel sort of foggy, but I haven’t heard it from any of our patients, only mentioned as a not uncommon side effect when our staff talks with families about it. </p>
<p>We had a someone in senior management (a pharmacist) come to our weekly interdisciplinary meeting today from the pharmacy we contract with, and although I’m not trained in the medical field, just listening to the conversations as we were discussing patients who were having difficulty getting their anxieties under control made me realize there are lots of options out there and many times it requires trial and error, and tweaking. This is going to be a particularly rough time for you, and I hope you are working with someone who is willing to try Plan B, C, D, E and F if Plan A doesn’t work for you. The kind of situation you will be going through is exactly what these kinds of drugs are meant for. </p>
<p>And while I agree that these drugs can be habit forming, I have personally known people who have taken them on a regular schedule on a daily basis for several months, yet were able to wean off them when the time was appropriate.</p>
<p>"I don’ think I will ever prescribe Zanax. And thats all I’ll say about that.</p>
<p>But the real question is… would you prescribe Xanax?? "</p>
<p>You got me there! Guess that shows how infrequently I prescribe it! (But most of my patients have chronic symptoms)</p>
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<p>As have I. Both drugs are benzodiazepines, but some drugs in that family need to be at a constant level in the blood system (such as Klonopin) in order to be most effective. Xanax is not that way, but I’m not sure about Atavin – something to ask the doctor. If what you are wanting is an as-needed medication during the trial, you might want to see if Atavin is as effective on an as-needed basis as Xanax. I don’t know the answer to that, maybe another poster does. But Xanax does work well on that as-needed basis – it doesn’t need to be taken regularly to be effective. I’m so sorry you are going through this.</p>
<p>I have taken ativan for years, but not daily. It is prescribed to me to take as needed. It is the only thing that seems to treat my anxiety, however I manage to cope with it enough without medication that I very rarely have to take the ativan, it’s just for emergencies or if I get stuck in an anxious rut, so to speak, and have to break the cycle-- when you start getting anxious about getting anxious you get into trouble. I maybe take 5-10 pills a year, and that’s a generous estimate. The longest consecutive amount of time I was on it was about a month every day, I’d been prescribed to take it that way at the time. It’s the only thing we’ve found so far that makes any difference at all, and just taking it won’t even stop the anxiety, I have to take it and then lull myself to sleep, and when I wake up I feel better. It won’t just go away once it grips without resetting my system, apparently. So that’s how I use it.</p>
<p>I’ve never had any side effects or problems with it. I don’t think I have any reason to believe I’ve developed a dependency. I took one pill last week because I had such a severe panic attack that it triggered an asthma incident (which was interesting, i am not particularly prone to full blown panic attacks), and that was probably the first or second time this year I’d taken any. Knowing that this is the only thing that seems to give me any relief, I am very careful not to abuse it because if I did that I know it wouldn’t help me anymore and I’d be left with nothing. I have to respect it if I want to be able to make use of it. I don’t know if I’d listen to a doctor that wanted me to take it every day for an extended period of time. I don’t know your story, but in my case there are just so many other options, I don’t think daily ativan is necessary for me. But just knowing I have it for emergencies is enough that I honestly usually don’t need any medication to stay in control.</p>
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<p>It is very foolish to depend on your physician as the sole source and gatekeeper of medical information. An educated person (preferably from a top LAC of course) with some science background can quickly become more knowledgeable and up-to-date on a specific topic than a regular family doctor.</p>