Hello to all! I have been taking Ativan(1mg daily) for about 8 months. It has helped keep me calm and keep my BP from spiking. Sometimes though,I feel I need a bit more back-up when I have a really busy or rough day. I have two teens who are active in sports and music and some days I have anxiety trying to keep up with them and the many obligations that just being a mom brings. My question.....I have a bottle of Xanax (.25mg-low dose) that I never had the courage to try. Would it be helpful/safe to take a Xanax "with" my Ativan on those hairy days that I need something extra? If anyone has taken these together~please fill me in. Xanax seems to be the one that most people say is "addictive"~so I wouldnt want to take it daily like I do the Ativan~but "as needed" WITH Ativan is something I might want to try if it is safe to do so. I am grateful for any comments/suggestions.
Thanx! RR
ativan and xanax are both valium type meds and often taken together, these meds are useful for anxiety if taken sensibly but it also helps to learn new ways of calming and relaxing yourself
ativan and xanax are both short acting similar benzodiazepines. they are never usually prescribed to be taken at the same time. i took ativan for 7 years and i can tell you that you have probably built up a tolerance to your dose as i did. what you need is more ativan, not xanax. they are both equally addicting so be careful.
Ativan (lorazepam) is a benzodiazepine, and as such, it addictive. Xanax (alprazolam) is just as addictive -- they all are. And one shouldn't combine two benzo's -- at least not b/f checking with your doctor. (In general, anything ending in "zam", "pam", or "lam", or anything with an "A Z " sound in it (chlorAZEpate) is a benzo.)
Thank you all for your replies. Sounds like some of you say it's ok and some not to mix the Ativan with a low dose Xanax. I have tried increasing the Ativan on "hairy" days like pleasantville metioned and that worked~BUT~I keep reading that for anxiety(panic) that Xanax is the best. And truth is I have a large bottle that is bought and paid for just going unused. Since I know and trust the Ativan I have stuck with it~but I thought the addition of LOW DOSE Xanax would be a good combo to use only as needed because the Xanax runs thru the system faster and if I only used it sparingly~I would hopefully bypass the tolerance build-up. I have never asked a pharmacist about such things because they dont want to be held liable for anything. My doctor has retired and I am looking for a new one~so much for asking him? I guess I am being overly cautious but that is how we anxiety people are! We want/need meds and yet we fear them at the same time! RR
You know what? I personally would try it, at least once, but I'm not you. I now take ativan occasionally for panic attacks (doesn't seeem to work) and chlorazepate daily for anxiety. I've tried ADs and they don't work. Ironically, I had just come off a daily (75mg) dose of clobazam (aka, frissium, a benzo), which I'd been taking for three years for seizure control. No one told me of the danger of taking a daily high-dose benzo long-term, and I'm left with having to take yet another benzo just to relieve the after effects of the first benzo I'd taken. I've been having panic attacks since March, when I stopped the frissium.
My naturopath told me about a Chinese herb called Bupleurum D. I find that it often, not always, works, and has the happy side effect of lowering your cholesterol. I take two x three times a day. If you don't have access to a health food store, or they don't carry it, you can get it online. Remember to get Bupleurum D -- it's a compound. Straight Bupleurum doesn't work. It's better if you take it b/f you begin to panic -- ie, take it whether you think you need it or not, three times a day. It doesn't work so well if you're in the throes, though it still helps.
Also, you might want to try 3000mg of fish oil (mine is wild salmon) and a lot of magnesium. They help. I take both of those.
I'm really ticked off. at my doctors. I seem destined to panic forever. I thought in August/September that I was nearly done, but no -- in September the attacks came roaring back, and I'm almost as bad now as I was last March. Bupleurum D really helps though.
I hope this helps. I don't envy anyone who has panic attacks.
Hello. Ativan is just as addictive as Xanax, and I personally wouldn't take 2 benzo's together. But talk to your doctor cause maybe he knows best. I mean I've heard you can take an antidepressant in combo with ativan or xanax but not 2 benzo's together. Just be careful, because it sounds like you are needing more ativan and thus might be becoming addicted to it. Good Luck to ya!
Thanks a bunch jinglebts for all the excellennt suggestions! I have heard that fish oil is good for many things(including anxiety). I plan on trying it.
littlemiracle~thanks too for your input. Im not sure I agree about Ativan being as addictive as Xanax. Reason being is that Xanax runs thru the system in 4 hrs whereas Ativan lasts for 8(at least it does for me). I only feel like I need more for certain situations(like a funeral I went to recently) and some days that are more demanding~but otherwise 1 mg is fine for me. Most posters here claim that Xanax is best-BUT-easy to get hooked to. I have not heard of taking 2 benzo's together either~didn't know if I should or not? The Xanax I have is low dose(.25 mg). Maybe I should take it alone and see how I feel-BEFORE-adding it to my Ativan? If I get courageous~maybe I will? RR
Re: Ativan/is this okay? 
at my doctors. I seem destined to panic 
forever. I thought in August/September that I was nearly done, but no -- in September the attacks came roaring back, and I'm almost as bad now as I was last March. Bupleurum D really helps though.
RR
