carlossong Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Everyday I suffer anxiety for 4 hours because my ativan half life is short. I also suffer from akathisia from my Latuda at night making me restless and uncomfortable. Can I take lorazepam .5mg twice a day to have anxiety more under control or is the dosage too low for akathisia and anxiety? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 You need to ask your pdoc. If we start telling you what dosages and how often to take it, we are pretty much prescribing, aka practicing medicine. Which is a no-no. My guess is your pdoc will be okay with it, but ASK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crtclms Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 P.S. With benzos in particular, you don't want your Dr to think you are misusing it, or not following instructions carefully. Drs. are very concerned about tolerance and addiction. Which are different than dependence. There's a pinned topic explaining the differences in this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfly23 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I would definately ask your Pdoc. I divide my ativan through out the day per required need as prescribed. I have taken many many different types depending on my current anxiety levels. I would mention what you said to your Pdoc, there are longer lasting benzo's. But as Crtclms said addiction is an issue and Pdoc's are rather sensitive to this. Rightfully so, we dont need an addiction issue on top of an MI issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlossong Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 The twice a day split Ativan didn' t work. I just woke up with anxiety and feel miserable. I asked my pdoc for longer lasting benzo and he said that sometimes the longer lasting benzo's don't work either. That's the reason he gave me for not giving me longer lasting benzo. What should I do? The anxiety woke me up. I move my legs now. I'm about to cry. All of a sudden I start missing my friends from long time ago. Friends I haven' t seen in months. It's the anxiety now. With Ativan it only lasts maybe 16 hours so the next day I suffer for anxiety for many hours. My pdoc said longer lasting klonopin doesn't always work either way. Is it a bad pdoc? I suffer from anxiety daily and that's the reason he gave me that klonopin doesn't work 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I will admit that I don't understand your pdoc's reasoning either. When I took Klonopin, I took it 3 times per day so I was adequately covered for 24 hours. Did you actually go in to see your pdoc or did you call him? I ask because a lot of pdocs are not comfortable prescribing over the phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlossong Posted January 7, 2015 Author Share Posted January 7, 2015 i talked to him in person 4 months ago. I begged for longer acting klonopin but he refused. He said they don't tend to work 24/7. So he gave me ativan 1mg at bedtime. This was a free federal care doctor. I changed to a private one now. This doctor would never let me try different medications even if I was suffering and had symptoms of irritability or anxiety or mood swings. I even had bipolar mania while taking meds and he didn't make any changes. I switched doctors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt07 Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I don't understand. Is your current psychiatrist the one who is prescribing the Ativan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlossong Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillBytes Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Yea everyone is different and there is a lot of room to play with too. Just talk to your pdoc. Too many factors at play. For me for example. klonopin 2-3x a day works just fine. For some one else it may be too much or too little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlossong Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 if klonopin is long acting why do u take it 3 times a day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooster Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Taking klonipin multiple times per day works to smooth out the "peaks and valleys" to have a more even level in your bloodstream over time... this makes for more consistent coverage and less "break through" anxiety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Clonazepam is longer acting, but the short acting benzos have very short half lives compared to clonazepam. Valium is also an option. I take clonazepam 3 times a day, did the same with valium. Definitely talk to your pdoc. Him saying "they might not work" is pretty useless from him. You don't know until you've tried! Dismissing them without trying them is kinda off for me... For the ativan, take it as prescribed, but you can always call pdoc or the pharmacy and explain the situation. It has quite a short half life, so its gone pretty quick. Some people take it PRN (as needed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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