Any personal experiences Pro and Con

I take ativan for my panic attacks and anxiety. I don't take it often. I've never been fond of benzo's. Not the fact that they can be addictive, but they make me feel kinda loopy and fuzzy headed.

I prefer the ativan over xanax. The xanax always made my anxiety worse when I was coming off of it. They do have extended release xanax though but that did not help me at all.

Another thing to try for anxiety is Klonopin. It has a longer life over ativan and xanax (8 hours compared to 4 hours). Something you could ask your doc about.

The ativan doesn't give me the fuzzy head as bad and doesn't make me as tired as the xanax did.

I have taken Ativan in the past (for panic attacks) and found that it did not help me. Xanax did help, but coming off of it was a PITA! I have been taking Klonopin for the last 5 years, and I *rarely* have panic attacks. I do have some break through anxiety, but that's ok -- it helps me feel normal.

Ativan, Xanax, Klonopin, any benzo can be very difficult to come off of as they all have the risk of dependency or even addiction.

Having tried them all, I've found that Klonopin works best for me. I am on a very low dose, and it's surprising that I have not had to increase my dose over the years.

As someone who went from having severe panic attacks several times daily to someone who rarely has them, I am happy to be on my medication. I worried about dependency and addiction, but you know what? If I try to stop taking my meds, sure, I'd have withdrawals, BUT, I'd rather just take the meds and not have panic attacks. For me, it's worth it. I was deathly afraid almost every hour of every single day before my medication.

You just have to weigh the risks with the benefits.

There are other treatments, but they didn't work well enough for me to fully rely on them. Now I use them as back up (relaxation CDs, self-talks, breathing techniques). Perhaps you could give some of those things a try.

Also, it's good to know that if one med does not work for you, there are others you can try. Some people only take their meds when they have anxiety or panic attacks, but that did not work for me. I have to have a preventative. Maybe you can talk to your doc about only taking it when you need it and taking the lowest dose possible.

Good luck... I know how horrible PD is; my heart goes out to you.

Oh! I also wanted to say this:

When I 1st took Klonopin, one dose would knock me out all day. I had the doc lower my dose to what I take now, and I rarely get any grogginess, though it does happen once in a while. Mostly, the body just gets used to it.

Hi. I was put on xanax 1 MG 4 times a day and one at bedtime. I made the doctor take me off of them because I found myself neeing more and more to help with my panic attacks. Coming off of the xanax made me sleep all day and feel crappy.

The doctor weaned me off of xanax (taht took about 1 month) and put me on Ativan. I took it for 3 years. It worked very, very good. It didn't leave me drowsy or foggy headed like the xanax did.

After 3 years the Ativan stopped working so teh doctor put me on Klonopin. I take two 1 MG Klonopin daily. It has been a life saver for me. I find taht the Klonopin works better for me then any of the tranqulizers I have tried. I have been on the Klonopin for around 7 years now.

The only thing I have noticed is that I seem to feel and be a little more slow since I have been on tranqulizers. Maybe it's where I have been on them for years and years though.

I don't think Ativan is a bad medication. It saved my life for 3 years. It was a blessing for me, as is the Klonopin.

Hope any of this has helped.

I take Ativan for insomnia and have had no ill side effects at all.

I haven't used it enough to really give me any side effects. I tend to get anxiety attacks and night terrors at night time (due to the abuse I put up with from my parents). The night terrors are almost non existant now, but I did wake up screaming a couple of weeks ago.

I keep the Ativan around, but I try not to use it unless I have an extremely bad case.

Ive' heard that if you take them for so long, then quit suddenly - they can lead to seizures. Hence my hesitation on taking them.