Ativan

[down2earth]

Hi All,
I finally got up the guts to email my doctor. At first I thought that might have been a cowardly move, but it was the only way I knew I could tell the truth! I would always chicken out when I got to her office, or convince myself on the way there I didn't have a problem. Well, last Thursday I was shaking and sweating so bad, I decided IT WAS TIME.

She prescribed me Ativan, and I just started it this morning. I am amazed by the decrease in intensty of cold sweats and shaking. The anxiety is a little better too. I am a little nauseous, (From being hung over), but I am going to try REALLY hard tonight to stay away from the booze. I think I can with my ativan crutch.

Anyone taken it before, and if so, can you tell me about hom long it takes for the anxiety goes away completly? That's the hardest part for me. It makes me totally crazy!

[Cinders]

Ativan

Down2Earth,

Good luck on your journey!!

Ativan and Librium are both gold standards for alcohol withdrawal. I have only taken Librium, never Ativan.

However, both are highly addictive. Hopefully your doctor only gave you enough to get through alcohol withdrawals.

Both my daughter and I suffer from anxiety. She has been sober much longer than me, right at 7 months. (Very proud of her!!)

Anyway, she says her anxiety is getting easier and easier to deal with. She is pregnant so she can't take any meds for anxiety.

Again, glad to hear you have taken this very important step.

Cindi

[down2earth]

Ativan

Thank you Cindi. It is good to know that this will pass. When I started having anxiety, I started to drink more, then I realized that between not sleeping, being hung over EVERDAY and having AL withdrawl everyday, my anxiety was getting worse. So I drank more! Being drunk is the only way for me to feel normal now.

I am trying to make it through my first day, reminding myself that each day will get easier. It's so hard, but right now I am just focusing on each minute.

I need to get through the night, but I am not going to think about that until I lay down. Just get through the work day, get through the spontaneous cold sweats, get through the shaking hands. It's not impossible, but it sure feels like it sometimes.

Congrats to you and your daughter.

[beatle]

Ativan

Ativan helps a lot, but it also makes you tired. I would suggest trying out different doses to see how much you need to slow down the shaking but not get too knocked out. There are a lot of scare stories about it, but you will only get addicted if you take a lot for several weeks. Use it in moderation to get through the first days, or even weeks, and it is unlikely you will get addicted. (And if you have taken it every day for more than 2 weeks, you might want to taper it down, rather than stop suddenly).