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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by janejj on April 16, 2003, at 23:00:52
Hi,
I have some Lorazepam that I used to take fairly regularly. The thing is when i take it now, like 3 months later it just has absolutely no effect !
I had originaly built up a tolerance, but I thought that dimished if you stop taking it. Could it be that i have built up a permanent tolerance to it or could it be that cos the med is fairly old (6 months) that it has lost it potency ?
Thanks !;)
Posted by Snoozy on April 17, 2003, at 1:04:02
In reply to Lorazepam/Ativan lost its effects, WHY ?, posted by janejj on April 16, 2003, at 23:00:52
I don't know about the tolerance, but as to the drug's potency: pharmacies usually give you meds that they say will expire in one year (I believe the true period before it loses potency is longer, but I would guess the pharmacies have settled on the one-year because they can apply it across the board, making it easier to fill scripts without having to get an expiration date from the bottle for every script they fill, and the one year safely covers everything they dispense. I don't think they would ever give you something and say it was good for a year when it truly wasn't.)
If you still have the bottle the rx came in, does it say anything on the label about expiration date?
> Hi,
>
> I have some Lorazepam that I used to take fairly regularly. The thing is when i take it now, like 3 months later it just has absolutely no effect !
>
> I had originaly built up a tolerance, but I thought that dimished if you stop taking it. Could it be that i have built up a permanent tolerance to it or could it be that cos the med is fairly old (6 months) that it has lost it potency ?
>
> Thanks !;)
Posted by Rob L. on April 17, 2003, at 6:41:55
In reply to Re: Lorazepam/Ativan lost its effects, WHY ?, posted by Snoozy on April 17, 2003, at 1:04:02
Although I am surprised that you are having this problem with such a powerful benzo, I would almost say with little doubt that if you used to take the ativan regularly, it had built up over time in your blood and the blood level of ativan had gotten to a point where whenever you would take a ativan it would increase the blood level with built up ativan and the new one. Then, your blood level would be at a point in which the additional ativan triggers response from it and feel the drug's full effects. This is why doctors used to prescribe valium over the long term to get efffective anxiety treatment. If you are off of ativan and have been for some time then be most happy with that.. If you must have something for occasional anxiety, I would get something like Xanax that you could use occaisionally. Klonopin is powerful and is very effective on one dose. It has a moderate half-life in the blood and therefore wears off smoothly. Xanax is very powerful on the first dose. However, it is quickly eliminated from the blood and this will result in many people to redose because of the sudden rebound of it.
I am still struggling with over 10 years of being dependent on benzodiazepines. It started with xanax, then valium, and now for some time it has been klonopin(There are others, including ativan, but these were the main three for me). So, I am not to keen on others ending up in my position. I posted a longer version with other information about benzos, including my problems with them, earlier this morning in a reply to another about klonopin. Most if not all written in the post would apply equally if klonopin were substitued with ativan of an equal dosing conversion.(Seethe benzo equivalency page that is linked here http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/bzd.html )
So, if the ativan isn't working on a occasional dose. You would probably want to ask your doctor for something that would be more suited for this purpose. I do believe that occasional use of klonopin or xanax (higher potential of abuse with xanax though) should work fine. Occassional and low doses would be best;I cannot stress the importance of this enough no matter how obvious it may seem. Benzodiazepine addiction is horrible. Please, do read my post if you want to see alot more about what mightbe said about regular dosing of these drugs or you could go to a website about Stevie Nick's experience http://www.benzo.org.uk/nicks.htm but whatever you do if you or anyone are considering taking it daily/regularly then investigate it thoroughly and make sure that the problems surrounding these drugs and their dependency are worth it.
Posted by mattdds on April 18, 2003, at 16:21:45
In reply to Re: Lorazepam/Ativan lost its effects, WHY ?, posted by Rob L. on April 17, 2003, at 6:41:55
Hi,
Please try to distinguish between addiction and dependence, as these are two very different things.
The actual incidence of addiction to benzodiazepines is extremely low. Dependence is common, but this is true of any psychiatric drug, such as the SSRI's. A slow taper of 5-10% weekly, can pretty much eliminate withdrawal effects, as is documented in responsible studies.
The benzodiazepines are miraculous drugs for some, including myself. I could have avoided years of painful anxiety if I had not been scaremongered away from effective medications like Klonopin.
Another thing; who cares what Stevie Nicks says? One person's (highly biased) experience with a drug does not give a good overall impression of it, regardless of how cool and popular Stevie Nicks is. It also ignores all the extremely positive experiences people have on it. First off, good ol' Stevie did not have an anxiety disorder, but a cocaine addiction. Second, she had an addictive personality to begin with. Third, she did not taper off the drug, but went off "cold turkey", for which only she can be responsible. Now she is using her fame to promote an illogical and irresponsible position on these drugs, condemning them as inherently "horrible".
So please, be sure to use the correct terminology. People with anxiety disorders do not need to be scaremongered away from effective medications, just because Stevie Nicks decided to use Klonopin as the scapegoat for her own problems.
Matt
Posted by stjames on April 18, 2003, at 18:08:08
In reply to Lorazepam/Ativan lost its effects, WHY ?, posted by janejj on April 16, 2003, at 23:00:52
The anti anxiety effects are seperate from the
other pleasent effects of benzos and I find
many confuse the 2. They are not related in a direct way, with the pleasent effects tolerance will build while the anti-anxiety tend not to develop tolerance.
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on April 18, 2003, at 21:01:18
In reply to Re: Lorazepam/Ativan lost its effects, WHY ?, posted by stjames on April 18, 2003, at 18:08:08
> The anti anxiety effects are seperate from the
> other pleasent effects of benzos and I find
> many confuse the 2. They are not related in a direct way, with the pleasent effects tolerance will build while the anti-anxiety tend not to develop tolerance.
I agree 100%, it was my confusion in equating the "buzz" from Xanax to its anti-anxiety effects. That's what got me addicted to ungodly doses--I just kept upping the dose. I never gave it a chance... I just thought these "pleasant effects" (which are, by the way, considered in the medical community for the most part to be 'adverse effects') were offering the anxiety relief. Soon I was taking dozens of pills a day four or five times a day.In summation, don't chase the high. Don't want to end up screwing it up like I did. And by the way, I still take benzodiazepines. It's just that now I'm a bit wiser for the wear.
Posted by janejj on April 18, 2003, at 21:35:07
In reply to Re: Lorazepam/Ativan lost its effects, WHY ?, posted by Ame Sans Vie on April 18, 2003, at 21:01:18
I do not take Lorazepma for its anti-anxiety effects, i take it for sleep.
I have been addicted to them , but came off cold turkey and that worked fine for me, I didn't have any problems, despite everyone elses reactions, just goes to show we are all different.
Janejj
Posted by Viridis on April 19, 2003, at 1:47:28
In reply to Re: Lorazepam/Ativan lost its effects, WHY ?, posted by janejj on April 18, 2003, at 21:35:07
Hi Jane,
Was your previous benzo addiction to alprazolam (Xanax)? It seems to be the most notorious for abuse potential (although it's also an extremely effective med for anxiety, in my experience). It sounds like you're not at risk for loss of control with lorazepam (Ativan), so I'm glad to hear that it's helping.
Benzos are pretty much "self-limiting" for me -- the right amount just makes me feel calm; more makes me sleepy. I don't seem to have any euphoria-inducing dose, at least with the ones I've used -- alprazolam, clonazepam (especially), and diazepam.
They've been life-changing drugs for me (except diazepam = Valium, which doesn't agree with me at all). I think that dependency is a risk worth taking, especially for someone with a serious anxiety disorder. And, since these meds have proven very safe over years of use, I'm quite willing to stay on them indefinitely if necessary, just as I would with blood pressure meds etc. if I needed them.
This is the end of the thread.
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