Ativan...I was misguided from the begining by my physician about how to use Ativan. He put me on 1mg dose and?

told me to take 1 tab three times a day or as needed. Well when I first started to take the Ativan it made my anxiety worse so obviously I was taking more than the three a day. Now I know I'm not the smartest person in the world, but anyone that has had a severe anxiety attack can tell you that its the last thing in the world that they wish upon thier worst enemy and that they would rather have a terrible tooth ache, so to overcome this I was taking anywhere from 5-8 tabs a day. I know this is alot now that I have done some research. I was also placed on Toporol XL 50mg(for BP) Seroquel 100mg (as a sleep aid, figure that out) and Lexapro 10mg. I ran out of the Ativan and needless to say felt like crap for over two weeks, thinking that it was not the ativan I slowly stopped taking all the meds over the next two weeks, against my doctors wishes, and still over a month later feel like crap. For over a month I feel like my whole world is a dream and light, even from the TV hurts my eyes

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SORRY I NEEDED MORE ROOM
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any how, I feel like I was sat in a chair and spun around, sometimes I cant sleep, and all I am motivated to do is sit and wonder what the hell is wrong with me, I feel like Im going crazy and just to comfort me my physician tells me that people often do go crazy from anxiety disorders. Any advice besides find a new doctor?

First off it's not your "physician" that should be prescribing Ativan, Toprol, Seroquel or Lexapro...it should be your psychiatrist! You've obviously done the worst things you could have done under the circumstances. You've over medicated yourself on ativan then having run out of it, did not call your doctor or pharmacy to renew! Then to top it all off and make a bad situation worse, YOU decide to go off of all your medications against your doctor's wishes? You must be mad!

When you are dealing with psych meds you cannot and dare not change them, go off of them or take as many as you please. As needed does not mean MORE...it means that within the 1 - 3 range you can take less if you feel you don't need another dose. If you steadily feel as though you need more, you must see your psychiatrist to discuss all the effects with him/her in order to either up the dosage or change medications! Ativan is given for generalized anxiety disorders and depression, Toprol XL is a beta blocker for high blood pressure, Lexapro is for depression and generalized anxiety disorder. Yes, I can figure the Seroquel out...I take it myself. It is usually prescribed at much higher dosages for Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia. At lower dosages it is given, in conjuction with other drugs as a sleep aid.

It's no wonder you feel like "crap." You need to get back on your medications as they are prescribed for you and understand that each of them takes time to build in your system. If, within 2-4 weeks, you feel no theraputic effects from the medication you need to get back to your psychiatrist and tell them it isn't working. You have no idea what the pharmacology of these medications are but they do! They know what interacts well with other medications and at what dosages.

You've done yourself and your doctor a great disservice by doing what you've done. Now get back there and start this off again properly. You have a responsibility to yourself as well. No psych medications come without literature from your pharmacist as to what you're taking and what to watch for in case of this or that. Besides that, the Internet is a great source of information that you probably couldn't get elsewhere unless you own THE 2007 PDR. If you think you feel like crap now, keep it up and see what you feel like in another month!

You doc did not misguide you about ativan you just didn't use it right. You posted that he told you take one tablet 3 times a day or to use it 3 times a day as needed. That meant you could either use it 3 times per day routinely or you could use when you felt you needed up to three times a day. HE DID NOT SAY you could take it three times a day AND 3 times as needed. You were to only do one or the other not both. You did not follow your docs instructions, stopped the meds without calling to tell him you were having problem and did not attempt to let him know that things weren't working out or to clarify things with him. You need to call your doc and tell him what happened and see what he wants you to do about this. Your doc did ok but you on the other hand forgot to keep your doc updated.

When you are first going on psychiatric drugs, it can take time to find the ones that work best for you. I went on one med and it made my heart pound and race, another left me feeling really tired. Finally, I found the right combination of meds, and felt so much better. Everyone reacts differently to different drugs, so talk to your doctor about trying something new. It may be a good idea to talk to a new doctor, but if you don't, read all the information you can on each med and talk to the doctor about any concerns you have about dosages.

Mental health is not like strep throat. With strep throat, you know that amoxicillin will cure it. For some it may take one drug and others it may take a combinaion. the key is to stay on the meds and not to take too many. If they arent working talk to your doctor and let him adjust he meds accordingly. Each person is different. I have had anxiety for many years and i have found that 1 mg Xanax as needed will help relax me everytime. Seroquel will mess you up if your not really psychotic. These are all mood altering drugs so you can expect to feel bad coming off of them. One thing about mental illness is that most have felt bad for so long that they dont know what it feels like to be normal. It is not an exact science. That is one reason bipolar people stop taking their meds, they feel good again!!!!!! Then they spiral out of control again. The key to feeling beter is to find a doctor that is willing to ride this out with you. Too many of them like to write you a script and out the door you go!

The only advice I can give you: if your physician is prescribing all of those medications (one of which is for schizophrenia by the way) you would do well to see a psychiatrist or at the least a licensed mental health counselor for their opinion.

You should be in counseling anyway - not saying that as an insult. But if you are on those types of medications then you NEED to have concurrent counseling if you want to get better in the long term. Medications aren't a long-term solution for depression/anxiety - counseling is.

Follow the instructions from your physician though - taking too much of a medication and abruptly stopping it can both have even worse side effects for you.

Hang in there and find someone that can help you deal with what you are going through from both a mental health and medical viewpoint.