Ativan vs. Xanax

[soaringfalcon11]

I take .5 Xanax as needed, and though it works some, it brings anxiety of a new sort, though not as severe.

Someone told me that Ativan worked much better for him than Xanax - he said he was 100% anxiety free while on Ativan.

Thinking about trying Ativan.

So...any personal testimonies?

[c0ry]

Hmm, there was just a post about this recently. Here it is:

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/...d-xanax-66630/

[DMBfan]

Can you explain what you mean by it brings on anxiety? My experience is Ativan lasts about 6 hours compared to 4 hours or so for Xanax. But Ativan isn't as strong at reducing anxiety (I actually take valium BTW.)

[flapjacker]

I take generic ativan (lorazepam). I don't notice much of an effect. I have been taking it for I'd say 1+ month. I also take Xanax. I much prefer Xanax because it relieves my anxiety whereas I don't notice much relief with lorazepam.

I, however, am a drug abuser, therefore I am giving lorazepam a chance before I fall into a hole with Xanax dependence.

[rocknroll714]

I hear Xanax is much more euphoric and therefore probably a lot better for SA.

It goes something like this in terms of euphoria:

Xanax > Valium > Klonopin > Ativan

With Ativan not really being all that euphoric at all.

[euphoria]

^ We all speak of euphoria very often and it sounds like we rate everything based on recreational potential, but actually euphoria correlates with efficacy a lot of the time. Therefore, Xanax is better than Ativan, but they're all similar.

I see some posts by people taking a pathetic dose of benzo, who then conclude that X benzo is better than Y benzo. Until you've tried vary doses of each (meaning at least 2mg of Xanax, or 20-40mg Valium, etc.), it's not really fair to comment.

[rocknroll714]

Originally Posted by euphoria

^ We all speak of euphoria very often and it sounds like we rate everything based on recreational potential, but actually euphoria correlates with efficacy a lot of the time. Therefore, Xanax is better than Ativan, but they're all similar.

Totally agreed.

[MissMay1977]

I need to give Xanax another try. The time that I did try it - it was only 1mg and I only took it for 3 days. It made me very angry. Ativan wires me. It gives me a sense of calmness for about 5 min and than it wires me like I just drank an energy drink. Klonopin relieves my physical anxiety.

[BradPit]

Be careful with xanax that stuff is nasty !
There both very addictive...

[Cast Away]

Ive never taken xanax but ive never found any benzodiazepine to be euphoric, and yes ativan sucks

[BradPit]

The first time I took 2mg of xanax i found it very euphoric but i guess there's much better drugs if you looking to get high...a glass of sherry is more euphoric than xanax LOL...

[euphoria]

Originally Posted by BradPit

The first time I took 2mg of xanax i found it very euphoric but i guess there's much better drugs if you looking to get high...a glass of sherry is more euphoric than xanax LOL...

What I feel from Xanax isn't a constant buzz of pleasure (like opiods), it actually feels more like a removal of the dysphoria of anxiety. Some people find Xanax boring, but they tend to not be particularly anxious people.

[UltraShy]

I'd rate Xanax & Ativan as equals (except in price where generic Ativan costs much more -- a real consideration at my dose).

[rocknroll714]

Originally Posted by euphoria

What I feel from Xanax isn't a constant buzz of pleasure (like opiods), it actually feels more like a removal of the dysphoria of anxiety. Some people find Xanax boring, but they tend to not be particularly anxious people.

Yeah.. even ativan is nice in that sense.

[fadetoblack72]

I have something I want to share with you about ativan(I take lorazepam, The generic equivalent). This morning I woke up feeling absolutely crappy. Lonely, depressed, and as if nothing could make me feel better. Just really numb inside. After reading some of the posts here on SAS, including this one , I felt a tiny bit better, but all of the above symptoms were still there a lot. I decided to go out to my truck and get my lorazepam and take a couple. I took 3, .5 mg pills and it has been one hour. Almost ALL of the depression, loneliness, and bad feelings are gone. It's really amazing. I even have motivation now to get some things done around the house :-) Now I have never taken Xanax before so I cannot compare the two but I just though this might help someone who has taken neither of them. Another user stated that it took hours to kick in. My therapist says that by swallowing them it takes about 45 minutes for the effects to kick in. I find this to be true. To speed things up she suggested letting them dissolve under the tongue which will get the drug into the bloodstream faster making the time that it takes for the effect to happen more like 15 minutes.
So the reason I am taking them is to break the panic attack cycle. I worry about everything and it leads to the feelings I mentioned above. As time goes by it just gets worse and worse. The panic just escalates. These pills help me to break that cycle. I really feel like a completely different man than I did an hour ago. Another thing to remember is that drugs aren't going to solve all your anxiety, just take it away for awhile. They are kind of a temporary solution if you will.

Hope this helps somebody out there. I know SA can be a horrible thing to go through.

Jason

[BradPit]

Originally Posted by euphoria

What I feel from Xanax isn't a constant buzz of pleasure (like opiods), it actually feels more like a removal of the dysphoria of anxiety. Some people find Xanax boring, but they tend to not be particularly anxious people.

Well said the relief from severe anxiety can be the most blissful filing you can have...

[jennyrh]

Hi,

I agree with you that severe anxiety can be the most blissful filing.

Thanks,

[Jcq126]

Ativan just made me feel like a retard and I started getting hooked on it so I stopped quick lol.

[oBSama]

Originally Posted by euphoria

What I feel from Xanax isn't a constant buzz of pleasure (like opiods), it actually feels more like a removal of the dysphoria of anxiety. Some people find Xanax boring, but they tend to not be particularly anxious people.

100 out of 100

[halfsatan]

There is a lot of content for me to read through.

So I am simply going to talk about my own experiences with benzos, and I've been on them off and on for 10 years.

and I would omit the special class benzodiazepines,
since medical community is full of BS and there a lot more drugs that basically have the same effect.

I like to classify to classify drugs by their euphoric effect.
1) Alcohol (most dangerous cause easily obtainable), people who abuse benzos that is their first choice to try to subdue withdrawal.
2) Z-drugs, sleeping pills, like ambien or lunesta, etc (look that up, they should be considered benzos, but some idiot found a loop hole just because they have tiny different in chemical structures, but very addictive, completely ruin your sleep architecture).
3) the way to classify benzos being euphoric or not is by their half-life, the shorter, the half-life the more euphoric it is (xanax, alprozolam, klonopin, etc).

As I write this down I wish that this were miracle drugs, however the more euphoric the drug is the faster your brain tolerance grows, people double up/triple up on doses, and there reason your xanax does not work, is not the drug, the brain went to the tolerance mode, it will not produce more gaba.

However, the main horror is the withdrawal, pure hell, some say opiates are easier to get off from, and once I saw the youtube videos, with milk and klonopin mixing, it is like you need to have a chemistry degree or something, Now I'll I wish for is drug-free natural sleep.

Of course these medicines do have their uses, but it break the glass in case of the emergency.