ativan/lorazepam/wellbutrin
#174466 - 04/27/05 01:48 PM
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MT
Reged: 03/16/05
Posts: 20
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I went to the doctor last month and let all my frustrations out. Currently I take Librax,lomotil, and Pepto Mismol, every morning. She wanted me to try Wellbutrin 150 mg to see if it would help my symptoms. I have taken it for a month and feel nothing. I went back today and asked if I could try an anti-anxiety medication, so she is letting me try .5 of Ativan or 1/2 of one if I would like to start at that. She is also having me go up to 300 mg with the Wellbutrin. Does anyone have experience with Ativan and what doseages are you taking? Any information about these and them helping you would be appreciated.
Edited by MT (04/27/05 01:52 PM)
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Ativan
#174470 - 04/27/05 01:55 PM
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I take ativan on occasion...it helps me sleep when I can't and on the occasion in which unexpected stress occurs and I need to calm down I take one as well. It can be addicting so I am very careful with it. It does work wonders though...
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Have a blessed day!...Rachel
stable and sooooooo thankful!
I have IBS but it doesn't have me!
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I've taken both ativan and lorazepam. Note: they can be additive. They both made me feel "stoned" and alleviated a lot of the anxiety. However, continual increase was required in order to maintain the level of stress-ease/anxiety inawareness. Is this what you're after re: info. /experience?
I think they're great short-term, or result specific, i.e. vacation, travel, emergency. Long-term? I'd look into other options.
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I have had IBS for 20 years and I am 39 yrs old. I am worn out. I feel like a big stress ball because of it. I have to deal with countless hours on the toilet daily, and have to follow so many rules in my life like always driving my car places so I can leave if I have to, never going to dinner then a movie it has to be movie and then a dinner. I won't go place with people for fear of stomack attacks, My insides feel like knots most of the times and I have started to have anxiety attacks in connection with the IBS. I just want peace. I am naturally high strung and I am sure that doesn't help my IBS. I told my doctor I just wanted a break from myself. I know long term use is not supposed to be the way to go. But you know what, I took my first 1/2 of a pill today at work, and I feel such a calmness and I love that feeling for a change. Even if the doctor will not let me stay on it, this break from myself will be well worth it. I did try this diet and the acacia and I drink peppermint tea. But Carbs bloat me and give me extreme gas, and many of the items are not safe foods for me. I don't think there are any. After taken Acacia the first night, I woke up with this rumbling inside and I already have extreme trapped gas problems. It did not feel good. I know I am going on, but I was just letting you know some things. Thanks for your concerns.
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I take both wellbutrin and ativan for anxiety. I'm on I think 100 mg of wellbutrin and ativan as needed. I find it makes me drowsy which is great when I can't sleep. I just pop an ativan and I'm off to dreamland. I'm sure your Doc cautioned you about the fact that the Ativan can be habit forming. Take it exactly as your Doc says to. Don't mess around with it. .5 is a very low dose. People can take up to 4 or 5 mg a day.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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IMHO you need to give the diet and SFSs more of a chance. They work. Sounds like you needed to start off on a lower dosae of Acacia. And if bread and pasta make you bloated, have you considered the possibility of a wheat por gluten intolerance?
Also, with a-d's you'd typically only just be seeing proper results after a month, so that isn't very long to say "doesn't work".
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I take Xanax when I travel. I have an rx for 0.5mg of the XR, which is a once-a-day time-released formula. Even though it's got a much lower risk of addiction at that dose, I'm still careful with it. For instance, I'll take one a day for the three days we'll be out of town this weekeknd,then come off it once I am home and "safe". I wish it wasn't addictive, because I am a totally different person when I'm on it. Almost normal. 
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what is the difference between a wheat and gluten intolerance?
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Melissa
Pain predominant w/occasional C.
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I know it takes time for it to get into your system, but I felt completely nothing at a months time. The doctor thought I should have noticed something. It could have been a sugar pill and I wouldn't have been surprised. Regardless, I am still taking it to give it a chance, but at a higher dose. I know that I should've given the fiber a chance, but when you are so miserably gassy and bloated every second of the day, it is hard to continue on something that make you feel even worse. It sounds good in a world where you don't have to go to work and you can deal with this at home. But when you have to get to work, get your kid to school, etc. It is hard enough with what I have let alone adding logs to the fire. I will try again, probably one more time, but I do believe that not everyone always benefits from it. Everyone with IBS knows that each person can be drastically different and what works for one will work for the other. But like I said I will try again, I just have to come up with the right time so I can still go about my usual routines in life.
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FYI lorazepam is the generic form of ativan. MT, I have "C" so our issues are entirely opposite.
I used to be very high-strung at with having more peace in my marriage and life in general I have calmed down quite a bit. As I said in my previous post on this thread I have ativan to help me deal with unexpected emotional stress which has been know to cause me to hyperventilate a bit. Thank God those days are few and far between.
I wouldn't recommend going over 1 mg or whatever the dose is as ativan is addictive. Just be careful.
Prayer helps as well! It's what has seen me through the rough days.
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Have a blessed day!...Rachel
stable and sooooooo thankful!
I have IBS but it doesn't have me!
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So far I have only taken 1/2 of the .5 dose. And I did feel the drug in my system. I kind of liked it, the feeling was soothing. Right now I have taken it two days in a row even though I am not under any specific stress. I just want to get a feel of how it makes me feel. I know this drug would probably be of big help to me, even the doctor agreed, but she also pointed out that it couldn't be used long term because of the addictive quality. At this point in my life after 20 years of IBS. I really don't care if I am addicted to it in the long run. I hope people don't think I am an idiot for saying this because I do understand the workings of an addictive drug, but if I could be on this for 1 year at a low dose and have 1 year of peace and tranquility then why not let me. 20 years of IBS is more than any person can take and I am running out of steam. ( I know that your body gets used to this kind of drug, and then needs more and I think so what take a little more. Then when it gets to the point where the doctor would have to say alright you need to stop taking this, at least I would have had all that time with some calmness in my soul instead of misery from this curse of a disease. I need a break from myself and this IBS. I know if I was some scitzophrantic(I know this is spelled wrong) they would have no trouble allowing me to be on this drug for a long term. So I feel is my disease that less important than that. Why am I not entitled to some peace just because IBS is not considered some major disorder. Sorry for going on and on. I couldn't even go on my 10 year old sons school trip to swim with the Manatees because of the IBS. That made me very sad.
Edited by MT (04/28/05 07:23 AM)
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Intolerances
#174701 - 04/28/05 07:24 AM
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Linz
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 8242
Loc: England
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Gluten is found in many foods, not just wheat. SO you can have a wheat intolerance without being intolerant of gluten.
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SFSs are well worth any initial problems IMHO. In my case I had 2-3 weeks of awful side effects (note that I was put on the NOT recommended Fybogel by my doc) which has now been followed by over a year of stability - that I keep going with the diet and Acacia only.
Only very few IBS people do not benefit from SFSs. You just have to find the right one for you.
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MT I believe I know how you feel as I am in my early 40's and can trace my IMS back to my late teens. It can be debilitating to say the least but having shared with us that you tend to be high-strung consider working on that as well. As I learned to relax and have more peace in my life my IBS symptoms subsided immensley and my family will tell you that I am much easier to be around! 
Consider the hypnosis CD's that are offered on this site, they may help you.
Do be careful with anything addictive...I understand your frustration, I have been there. I have family members in law enforcement (narcotics to be exact!) and some of their arrests have been heartbreaking....girls on soma and other pain medication. It isn't a pretty site.
Do you pray? It works wonders for me!
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Have a blessed day!...Rachel
stable and sooooooo thankful!
I have IBS but it doesn't have me!
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I have prayed. But god doesn't listen to me. I really am a good person too. A line from one of my poems goes like this.
Some people dream of an office with a view
I dream of an office with a loo
Some say their prayers on bended knee
I say them in the office lavatory.
God Please make it stop make it go away.
So I don't have to take another sick day.
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I suffer from IBS-D and anxiety. I have lorazepam in case I have a panic attack or am so anxious I need to sleep; however, you will build an intolerance to this drug, which means would need to increase it. You would have to come off it gradually, and you could, possibly experience withdrawal symptoms that would be worse than the anxiety you're feeling at the moment. People have had to go to rehab to get off this med; this happened to a friend of mine.
I started using Buspar about two months ago; it's an anti-anxiety med that doesn't give you the hangover feeling of lorazepam and isn't addictive. It does take about four weeks for you to reach the full effect. I find it helps, doesn't aggravate my IBS--actually, I've found that it's helped my IBS, I actually have pain free days and I don't get those awful anxiety feelings that seemed to increase the pain and cramping. This, in combination with Heather's diet, has TREMENDOUSLY improved my life. I've been following the diet for about four months, taking Buspar for two and I'm starting to notice much improvement.
In addition, I saw a counselor for a bit and now use lorazepam only as needed, which isn't often these days. I'm still learning to manage the stress and anxiety, but I definitely do not feel so overwhelmed, hopeless, or out of control. I would ask your dr about it. Also, do a search for Buspar here on the boards; there's been a couple of discussions about it!
Take care!
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God hears your prayers I promise...keep praying!
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Have a blessed day!...Rachel
stable and sooooooo thankful!
I have IBS but it doesn't have me!
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I did take Buspar for a couple years about 4 years ago and it did not do anything for me.
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Oh, I'm sorry if you mentioned that earlier and I missed it. That sucks that it didn't work. Then I can definitely see why you're so frustrated!  Someone else suggested Xanax, which is like ativan but not as strong and lasts longer. But if you really need to use the ativan right now and your doctor says it's okay, then do what you makes you feel better. (When I take it, I just feel like myself, like I was before the IBS and the anxiety, and it makes me sad that I can't feel that way on my own.)
I hope you get some relief soon from meds and the diet. I'm thinking of you and wishing you the best!
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I forgot to mention (maybe I already did, it's early and I had a rather restless night) that I take 1 mg of Lorazepam as needed. Sometimes, if I have to travel or go somewhere I'll take it ahead of time; I feel that taking it with the Buspar must prolong its affects because I feel them for much longer than six hours. I'd prefer having .5 mg--I didn't know that was available, so thank you for mentioning it--which I'm going to ask my dr about today.
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