Anti-anxiety meds?
Recently I've been having quite a lot of problems leaving the house to do important things/meet friends etc. because of anxiety. It only really affects me when my depression gets bad, so I don't think I need to be on long-term anxiety meds as when my depression meds (clomipramine and aripiprazole) work it's not a problem. But on specific occasions I think it might be useful for me to have something to take just to help me get past the leaving the house and getting things started stage. I get very anxious at the thought of going out, and I get dizzy/light-headed as well.
I've tried beta blockers, which did nothing (can't remember the specific drug names though), diazepam was the same, and lorazepam always sends me off to sleep. I'll be seeing my GP on Friday and am waiting on a psychiatrist referral, but it would be good to have any suggestions of ideas I could research and bring up.
Thanks for any suggestions.
I've tried beta blockers, which did nothing (can't remember the specific drug names though), diazepam was the same, and lorazepam always sends me off to sleep. I'll be seeing my GP on Friday and am waiting on a psychiatrist referral, but it would be good to have any suggestions of ideas I could research and bring up.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Sertraline? I take that and it's good.
Original post by Maid Marian
Sertraline? I take that and it's good.
Sertraline's is good for long-term treatment of anxiety but it's not something that you can pop now and then such as beta-blockers of benzodiazepines.
I'll be honest, Benzodiazepines are your best bet. Can you remember what doses of Diazepam and Lorazepam you tried? Lorazepam is better because it has a shorter half-life (up to 16 hours) as opposed to Diazepam (up to 100 hours) so if you're using it for short periods of anxiety every now and then, Diazepam may space you out for a few days. Whereas Lorazpeam is shorter lasting.
Whilst both are considered to be anxiolytics, Lorazepam is also considered to be a hypnotic, whereas Diazepam is not. I've taken both and I'd agree with you that Lorazepam typically makes me feel much more sedated than Diazepam, even when taken at equivalent doses.
Lorazpeam is much more potent to Diazepam and 1mg of Lorazepam is equivalent to 10mg of Diazepam.
Do you remember what doses of each you were taking?
Whilst not as popular in the UK, Xanax (Alprazolam) is massive in the USA, similar to Lorazepam but not as sedative, IMO. You may also want to look at Klonopin (Clonazepam) which is mid way in strength between Lorazepam and Diazepam.
I've been taking Benzo's for years and have tried most of them so please, please, feel free to ask me about anything or any of them. Just make sure to quote me!
edit: by the way I also found Beta Blockers to be fairly poor, both Propranolol and Atenolol. Though they did significantly mask some physiological symptoms such as reducing my heart-rate and trembling in my hands... I still felt anxious in the head. Benzodiazepines seem to help much more with the psychological symptoms as at the right dosage, they can really calm you down and chill you out. Which is why they're often abused recreationally.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by Maid Marian
Sertraline? I take that and it's good.
Nah, went on that and had horrible side-effects. Plus as Dopamine Dreams says it's a longer-term treatment, where I'm looking for more one-off solutions. Cheers for the suggestion though, and have some rep.
Original post by Dopamine Dreams
Sertraline's is good for long-term treatment of anxiety but it's not something that you can pop now and then such as beta-blockers of benzodiazepines.
I'll be honest, Benzodiazepines are your best bet. Can you remember what doses of Diazepam and Lorazepam you tried? Lorazepam is better because it has a shorter half-life (up to 16 hours) as opposed to Diazepam (up to 100 hours) so if you're using it for short periods of anxiety every now and then, Diazepam may space you out for a few days. Whereas Lorazpeam is shorter lasting.
Whilst both are considered to be anxiolytics, Lorazepam is also considered to be a hypnotic, whereas Diazepam is not. I've taken both and I'd agree with you that Lorazepam typically makes me feel much more sedated than Diazepam, even when taken at equivalent doses.
Lorazpeam is much more potent to Diazepam and 1mg of Lorazepam is equivalent to 10mg of Diazepam.
Do you remember what doses of each you were taking?
Whilst not as popular in the UK, Xanax (Alprazolam) is massive in the USA, similar to Lorazepam but not as sedative, IMO. You may also want to look at Klonopin (Clonazepam) which is mid way in strength between Lorazepam and Diazepam.
I've been taking Benzo's for years and have tried most of them so please, please, feel free to ask me about anything or any of them. Just make sure to quote me!
I'll be honest, Benzodiazepines are your best bet. Can you remember what doses of Diazepam and Lorazepam you tried? Lorazepam is better because it has a shorter half-life (up to 16 hours) as opposed to Diazepam (up to 100 hours) so if you're using it for short periods of anxiety every now and then, Diazepam may space you out for a few days. Whereas Lorazpeam is shorter lasting.
Whilst both are considered to be anxiolytics, Lorazepam is also considered to be a hypnotic, whereas Diazepam is not. I've taken both and I'd agree with you that Lorazepam typically makes me feel much more sedated than Diazepam, even when taken at equivalent doses.
Lorazpeam is much more potent to Diazepam and 1mg of Lorazepam is equivalent to 10mg of Diazepam.
Do you remember what doses of each you were taking?
Whilst not as popular in the UK, Xanax (Alprazolam) is massive in the USA, similar to Lorazepam but not as sedative, IMO. You may also want to look at Klonopin (Clonazepam) which is mid way in strength between Lorazepam and Diazepam.
I've been taking Benzo's for years and have tried most of them so please, please, feel free to ask me about anything or any of them. Just make sure to quote me!
Ooh, thanks for awesome answer.
Repped you too recently already though alas. 
Just raided the medicine box and I was on 1mg lorazepam, not a clue what diazepam though, although I remember doubling or tripling the original dosage and its still not having an effect.
I'll take a look at alprazolam and clonazepam, thanks!
Original post by superwolf
Nah, went on that and had horrible side-effects. Plus as Dopamine Dreams says it's a longer-term treatment, where I'm looking for more one-off solutions. Cheers for the suggestion though, and have some rep.
Ooh, thanks for awesome answer. Repped you too recently already though alas.
Just raided the medicine box and I was on 1mg lorazepam, not a clue what diazepam though, although I remember doubling or tripling the original dosage and its still not having an effect.
I'll take a look at alprazolam and clonazepam, thanks!
Ooh, thanks for awesome answer.
Repped you too recently already though alas. Just raided the medicine box and I was on 1mg lorazepam, not a clue what diazepam though, although I remember doubling or tripling the original dosage and its still not having an effect.
I'll take a look at alprazolam and clonazepam, thanks!
No worries at all! More than happy to help if I can!
I just edited my post at the bottom re: beta blockers so have a quick read over that if you didn't catch it already!
1mg of Lorazepam is considered a fairly high dose, 0.5mg is usually the starting dose, and would certainly make 'Benzo naive' people quite drowsy.
Mmm.. Tricky with Diazepam if you don't know the dose as it is prescribed in 2mg/5mg/10mg tablets so I'm assuming it was 2mg tablets since 15mg (3x5mg tablets) would make most people calm down quite a lot and you really should've noticed that. That'd be equivalent to 1.5mg of Lorazepam.
Who prescribed you the Diazepam/Lorazepam?
I don't think it'd be suitable for you but I've stopped taking Benzodiazepines for anxiety and now take an anti-psychotic called Quetiapine. I find it to be incredibly sedating though.
How have you found CBT? I think I just read a thread where you said you've tried CBT? Personally, I didn't find it beneficial at all, I found it to be quite patronising actually, though others I know have sworn by it.
Original post by Dopamine Dreams
No worries at all! More than happy to help if I can!
I just edited my post at the bottom re: beta blockers so have a quick read over that if you didn't catch it already!
1mg of Lorazepam is considered a fairly high dose, 0.5mg is usually the starting dose, and would certainly make 'Benzo naive' people quite drowsy.
Mmm.. Tricky with Diazepam if you don't know the dose as it is prescribed in 2mg/5mg/10mg tablets so I'm assuming it was 2mg tablets since 15mg (3x5mg tablets) would make most people calm down quite a lot and you really should've noticed that. That'd be equivalent to 1.5mg of Lorazepam.
Who prescribed you the Diazepam/Lorazepam?
I don't think it'd be suitable for you but I've stopped taking Benzodiazepines for anxiety and now take an anti-psychotic called Quetiapine. I find it to be incredibly sedating though.
How have you found CBT? I think I just read a thread where you said you've tried CBT? Personally, I didn't find it beneficial at all, I found it to be quite patronising actually, though others I know have sworn by it.
I just edited my post at the bottom re: beta blockers so have a quick read over that if you didn't catch it already!
1mg of Lorazepam is considered a fairly high dose, 0.5mg is usually the starting dose, and would certainly make 'Benzo naive' people quite drowsy.
Mmm.. Tricky with Diazepam if you don't know the dose as it is prescribed in 2mg/5mg/10mg tablets so I'm assuming it was 2mg tablets since 15mg (3x5mg tablets) would make most people calm down quite a lot and you really should've noticed that. That'd be equivalent to 1.5mg of Lorazepam.
Who prescribed you the Diazepam/Lorazepam?
I don't think it'd be suitable for you but I've stopped taking Benzodiazepines for anxiety and now take an anti-psychotic called Quetiapine. I find it to be incredibly sedating though.
How have you found CBT? I think I just read a thread where you said you've tried CBT? Personally, I didn't find it beneficial at all, I found it to be quite patronising actually, though others I know have sworn by it.
Read the beta blockers thing now and I agree - possibly they're more useful to people who do find the physical symptoms more debilitating though.
Sorry, haven't a clue about the diazepam, it was well over a year ago now.
I expect it was my psychiatrist who prescribed me them both, but it's a bit tricky now cos I'm still waiting to hear about seeing a new one, having moved house. I've actually been on quetiapine, but only for a week - I started it along with venlafaxine, and had such horrendous side-effects that I ended up in hospital... fun times!
So I've sworn off both of those (even though it was more likely to be the venlafaxine than the quetiapine that caused most of the problems).CBT was a bit of a mixed bag for me - didn't seem to help much at the time, especially with the self-harm issues which I was most concerned about back then, but a year or so later when I was struggling again I did find that some of the techniques I was told about helped a little. It was just little things like making a plan for the week or remembering to keep busy and stuff though, so probably all of it could have been dealt with in a five-page booklet, rather than three months of therapy.
Original post by superwolf
Got prescribed 0.5mg lorazepam, so I'll see how I get along with that. Thanks for your help guys.
No worries! Let us know how you get on!
There are many meds for anxiety, consult the doctor and also aware of the risks of medication. Medication is just for relief which is temporary, doesn't treat unlying cause of anxiety disorder.
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