Ativan and Alcohol (Page 1)

Seriously no one here has ever been prescribed Ativan for Panic Attacks. Generic brand called Lorazepam.. I need some help here thanks.

I've taken Lorazepam for anxiety for over two years, it helps a lot your anxiety, but you will pay a high price for it. It is very addictive, and there is the reason why you have your withdraws. Please ask your doc for another drug, I had so much withdraw, specially because I was having few drinks @ nigh time, which makes the withdraws much intensive than normal. This made me overdose, with the intend of suicide. Please get rid of this med and find something else.
Cassia

Hi. I've been on Ativan for about 2 months for anxiety attacks. I take it on a as needed basis, sometimes more often than not. It works out of your system fairly quickly. If you're taking 1.5 a day you should be alright to have a drink or two, but not more than that... as you know alochol increases the side effects of medications, so you'll probably be out and sleep after your second drink anyway. Check with your doctor first.

As for anxiety after running out of and missing pills, I probably assume so. I don't take it everyday. My doctors have told me that it's is fairly addictive if taken for long term, and its very easy to become dependant on. Recently I went back to my doctor because my dose wasn't helping my attacks. He didn't want to up the dose anymore because of its addictive qualities. He ended up putting me on an anti-depressant for my anxiety. I suggest you go back and talk to you doctor about what to do next.

Absolutely wrong I was taking a 1mg 2 times a day and drinking light beer. Ended up with liver failure 2pints of blood left in my body from stomach bleeding! This is a very deadly combination!

How did you know something was wrong? I've noticed since i've been mixing the two I get very very sick to my stomach, even with small amounts of alcohol. This never happened with xanax.

Hey, Im taking lorazepam for anxiety and panic attacks as well. I wouldnt change your dosage, follow what the doctor prescribed, as for drinking, sure you can drink just watch how much you drink, just like the person said above alcohol intensifies the effects. Maybe you should go back and talk to the doctor, they say your shouldnt completly stop your dosage, rather slowly get off it. i would assume that you will have anxiety after you stopped,

Everyone reacts differently when taking medications and drinking alcohol. When I was on Ativan, if I drank even ONE drink, I was out for 12 hours but I know others who were not quite as affected as I. Always use caution and remember that everyone is different, just because it's ok for someone else does not mean it's ok for you or vice versa. As I'm sure you already heard, Ativan can be addictive and dangerous. Be careful and if your "party going" make sure anyone you go with knows what your on in case you have a reaction.

Some medications have bad effects on your liver if you take them while you drink. However, I think a drink or two for New Year's would be ok... if you're concerned, ask your pharmacist or doc.

do not ever!!!! mix ativan or any other benzodiazapine with alcohol. it could be lethal. also, never suddenly discontinue any benzo like ativan , it could cause you to have seizures. i have been in rehab 3 times and i know many people who experienced seizures as a result of suddenly discontinuing their valium, xanas, ativan, etc.

In most people Ativan will cause drowsiness. Ativan is prescribed for short term insomnia as well as anxiety among other things. I work in an Emergency Room as a tech and have been prescribed Ativan in the past as well. From my professional experience I have never seen a patient with dangerous side effects when alcohol is mixed with Ativan. Ativan is often used to sedate irate patients however more often than not ETOH patients recieve Ativan with no adverse effect. Everyone has a different immune system and body chemistry and there is always a chance mixing any medication with alcohol can prove deadly. As for what Getbornagain stated, Ativan is usually prescribed lorazepam is a generic which the pharmacy will give instead of the Ativan as they are interchangeable with no chemical difference.

I have been taking ativan, 1 mg, 3 times a day for one year. I told my doctor it did not seem to be helping anymore and he suggested I increase my dose to 2mg 3 times a day. I really do not want to do this, after reading all the bad stuff about getting off of it. I have stayed at 1mg, but lately I get extremely nauseated when I wake up in the morning. I take one 1 mg ativan at bedtime. and then again before I take the ativan during the day. After I take the ativan the nausea goes away. Is this what they call withdrawals, since I did not increase my dosage?

Ativan is what is considered a rescue drug. It is fast acting and has a moderate effectiveness. The main problem with Ativan is that dependence can manifest itself within 7 days of initially taking the drug. Once your body grows dependent it develops tolerance for it as well. You begin needing more with more doses in between much like elicit drugs. Almost daily we have people who come in to the ER who are seeking drugs usually ativan or Dilaudid. I know your not one of these people just like my self I stopped taking it for fear of the consequences since I know them too well. If you need anxiety medication on a regular basis your PCP should start you on something that is intended for long term use. Ask your physician about Buspirone(trade name Buspar). It takes up to a month to start working however it is the best for long term use. It has been clinically proven not to cause physical dependence or cognitive impairment. Good luck
-Ernest

You probably should not drink or at least limit your alcohol consumption while on Ativan, but if you have panic issues you should not stop taking your Ativan while drinking. I was on Ativan 0.5 mg three times a day for anxiety and panic a year ago and had been advised to not drink while taking it. I had a day of partying planned so did not take my Ativan and drank heavily that afternoon and evening. Early the next day I started feeling quite strange, weak and tingly all over. I was afraid to take my Ativan. I got progressively weaker and and shaky and felt like I had been sedated. They had to take me to the ER where they diagnosed panic attack and gave me Ativan. The Dr. there advised that the alcohol I had been drinking substituted for the Ativan until I sobered up and then the panic attack hit. Sicne I had not been taking my Ativan for almost 36 hrs at that point, I also think there was some amount of Ativan withdrawal mixed in there also. So now I do not stop Ativan if I have a drink but have found that after only a couple of drinks I am so sleepy I need to take a nap. This sort of defeats the purpose of drinking for me anyway which is to party with friends and have a good time. Hard to have a good time when all you want to do is lay down and nap!

Wow...You guy's really need to be asking you Dr. or sharing your concerns with your medication. Why trust someone you do not know that responds?!!! Anyway, Those of you that are experience Panic Attacks are desperatly looking to NOT have another one. So when the Dr. says this will medication will help, you become dependent on it. The medication does help but not as much as you can help yourself by understanding what panic attacks are and WHAT THEY WILL NOT DO. YOU WILL NOT DIE FROM A PANIC ATTACK. As for as Ativan goes, I am not recommending you take Ativan while drinking. However, consider the amount of alcohol you drink may be causing them. I went to the ER after having an Attack after drinking ALOT with some friends at a party. The DR gave me a shot of Ativan know that I had been drinking and I did not die!! He gave me a 5m shot and I had been drinking all day! I felt really relaxed and tired but did not pass out or go to sleep. My wife drove me home and I slept peacefully!

Sorry for my mispelled words and bad grammar in the above message! In a hurry and did proof read my message. I feel dumb but I think you got the message! For everyone who suffers from panic disorder, I know what your going threw. I promise you will be ok! I take no medication at all and I have had no panic attack in over 4 years! But if I do have one, I know what it is and I deal with it!

I was prescribed Ativan, but my doctor only told me to take it if i REALLY needed it, have you seen the side effects of that stuff? I wouldn't drink at all on any prescription.

Been on ativan daily for few years. Last 3 months I've had blackouts while drinking. My friends can't tell I'm in one - so I'm not dancing on the table naked or anything. It is a very uncomfortable feeling not being able to remember. I'm 42 yrs old and never had trouble with blackouts before when drinking. I believe it's the ativan.

Valotte - I think you are correct, I have been battling this problem for a few years. Finally went to AA and was
sober for over 2 yrs. However, nothing got better and I
just continued to decline with more and more anxiety,
severe depression, cronic fatique, thyroid problems and
a slew of other withdrawl symptoms of Ativan/Lorazepam.
However I never took more than prescribed dose. I've been
on this for over 10yrs. (up to 4mg.daily) What happens is you become tolerant to this drug and when you take it you end up just treating the withdrawl. I have been slowly weaning for
just 20 days and already my anxiety etc. is noteably better. I hope this is the answer because this has been Hell! You can get longer acting antianxiety drugs temp.
to help weaning/withdrawl. I'm using hyroxyzine temp.
mostly for sleep at night. Hope this helps!

Also Ativan/Lorazapam are not approved or recommended for long-term continuous use. - Look into this and you'll
save yourself from a lot of HELL. Your only at the beginning (3 mo.)

I, as Valotte, have been drinking about 2 to 5 beers @ night, if I drink with an empty stomach or more than that, the next day, my boy friend tells me horror stories about things I did, and I have a total black out, I don't remember a thing, I fall sleep where ever I am, weather the toilet, or the floor or whatever the place is. I only take 1 ml a day at night and if I have a major anxiety attack, I take another 1/4 of a 1 ml. Every day my anxiety increases and lots of times I can't barely handle my life, while I'm having it. It feels like I want to taking my life, or doing something crazy. It's like leaving in HELL. Hunted all the time. Maybe I should do what Mindy is doing and wean myself out of Lorazapam. Also if is not recommended for long term, why in heck our doctors are gving us prescription for this drugs for over a year or so....

NEVER NEVER MIX ALCOHOL/ATIVAN..
I had 3 glasses of wine between 6 and 10 pm took my ativan and laid down. Sometime later I got up and drove my car. (I WAS SLEEPWALKING) I have NO RECOLLECTION of the events that took place, short of a few moments here and there. I'm not the only one this has happened to and have now been charged with IMPAIRED DRIVING. I'm grateful the police stopped me b4 I hurt some1 or myself, but am angry that there was no ALCOHOL WARNING on my pill bottle. I was not fully aware until around 9 am.

I was perscribed Lexipro at first ....hated it....I do Not suffer from depression...I have a major negative thing going on in my life...Weened my self off it by taking a pill everyother day for a couple weeks ...still had "lost time and hallicuations twice". They put me on Lorazapam and I tried not use it for a long time. Orginal perscription 12-27-2010 and still havent finished the 30 pills as of today. I have been self medicating with drinking with my friends however....The last week has been back with life crisis and I have been taking (2).5mg a day for two days and I must say I do feel better after acouple of hours after the 1st pill and feel normal after the 2 pill. I have never taken the 3rd for the day. I see it as working after the 2nd pill for sure. I am not high. I just feel normal...These are the only two days I have taken it back to back. Yes I do get really sleepy. I wouldnt want to be driving far after the second pill. I tld my Doc I wanted to still be able to go out and be with my friends more so now than ever casue of the issue and she said no lexipro but Ativan worked better day to day as far as drinking... Basically she said no pills that day I played to go out and drink. I an hold myself together all day if I have to to get out and about with the buds and chill with them and have some beers and I feel fine. I dont feel guilty about this.

I take Ativan aka Lorazepam .05mg as needed due to anxiety. I have drank couple of drinks and couple of shots while on it.. I have to warn you that it is dangerous. It made me tired, overly dizzy and was going in and out of it.. Thank god I didnt drive, but I was passing out and didnt remember what happened that night.. It was really scary and will never do that again.. Being a woman you have to be careful. People that u dont trust can take advantage of you.. Please be careful. Its not worth it...

I only take a 1/4 of my .5 pill in the a.m.bas I am trying to stop taking it altogether but always have a panic attack when I try.

I also tend to self medicate with wine in the evening and when I wake up sometimes I feel really dizzy. I dont know if it is my BP meds or what but I want to get off ALL medications ASAP.

My cholesterol pill nearly drove me insane. Literally.

I have a friend who takes Ativan and was drinking all day at a party. She went to go take a nap--no big deal, but she didn't wake up and she wasn't breathing. We called 911 and she had to get life-flighted to a hospital. Never, ever EVER drink if you're taking Ativan.