hippychic258 Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hi I notice a lot of people with Pots take Ativan does it help any of the symptoms? If so which ones or is it just for the anxiety? I think I read that it lowers blood pressure so should you take it if your blood pressure is already low?ThanksPam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christy_D Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 It was prescribed to my son for his nausea, unfortunately it didn't help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brethor9 Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Hi Hip!I was actually put on ativan before I found out I had POTS and dysautonomia....of course because my ignorant dr thought it was anxiety like most people here lol.....the ativan helps take the edge off a little bit....it doesnt lower my BP much...lowers my HR a little....helps with my migraines, nausea, sleep, GI distress, leg cramping, flushing, joint pain, etc.......the reason it helps with so many of my symptoms that it isnt really indicated for is because I have suspected MCAS and when reading Dr Afrins material found it is also a mast cell binder (keeps them from degranulating) so for me it is a must medication!! Of course everyone reacts differently to benzos (clonazepam messes me up lol) and they all have different half lifes....ativan is short acting....while valium and clonazepam have double the half life...thats the only downfall to me with ativan IMO....good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayjay Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 I was on Ativan. I wouldn't take it again. I was also given it before I was diagnosed. For some time I thought that the klonopin helped ( as mentioned above it is a longer acting benzo). They interfere with memory. You may want to google it before you take it. It certainly is not a "fix" and my neurologist from the Mayo clinic in Rochester Mn. told me that he would not prescribe a benzo to POTS patients because they can make pots worse. Once I got on them, no one wanted me to go though the withdraw. I took myself off on May 17th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arizona girl Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Well the one and only time I took ativan. I was unable to fill my lungs with air when I inhaled, that then caused me to panic. I think in my case due to the autonomic neuropathy it made it harder for me to inflate my lungs, maybe relaxed them to much. I can however on rare occassions take diazepam/valium for mri tests. I do also get hypoxic during rem sleep, so there may be some relationship to that autonomic issue too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurehope Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 brethor9,I have POTS and MCAS, and over the years I noticed that Klonopin was one of the only drugs that made me feel normal. Problem was, it quit working after 2 weeks, and insomnia would rear its ugly head, despite the klonopin. I would then need a higher dose for the med to work and there was no way I was going to begin increasing the dose.Have you been on the same dose for a while? Does it still work? I'm going for my FU with Dr. Afrin July 9th, and I'll see what he recommends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brethor9 Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 odd how we are all different....my auto dr is fine with me taking ativan as it helps my POTS symptoms and the MCAS symptoms and just recently the neuropathy I have been experiencing....I cant blame my POTS on ativan as I was sick many years prior to starting it......and when I have an adrenergic storm (shudder) zantac and benadryl and ativan are the only things that can help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brethor9 Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 futureI have been on it for well over 2 years without ever going over my 1mg daily dose unless I have an adrenergic storm or bad MCAS episode. Some days I even only take a half dose...I have never had any issues....I look at it this way.....it is the only medication out of every single anti-depressant, POTS medications that ever makes a difference.....and for me that makes all the difference in the world....I got past the worry of addiction along time ago....we are all addicted to something...the difference is this med helps me keep from being bedridden most of the time. Its not a cure but it helps! PS I know several MCAS patients who have been prescribed benzos as part of their treatment and have seen improvement along with the H1/H2 protocol....good luck with Dr Afrin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurehope Posted June 25, 2012 Report Share Posted June 25, 2012 Brethor9,I am so happy for you that you can continue to take the Klonopin and see results. Apparently, my body "gets used to it", and then causes me to have insomnia after taking this pill for two weeks. But during those two weeks it's like I don't have POTS.So believe me, if I could take it, I would. I'll see what Dr.Afrin says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puppylove Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 The one time I took it I could not keep my eyes open, but it's different for everyone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippychic258 Posted June 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 I was just wondering since my nervous system is so sensitive my sister who is a nurse said it may make it less sensitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peregrine Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 I take it, but only for bipolar episodes with severe anxiety. I've only taken it once since developing POTS, and it didn't seem to affect POTS things too much either way, other than making me cope with the IV line better (I also take it for IV-related stuff like breast MRIs, since I have a nice NCS-style reaction to needles). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christy_D Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Dr Afrin was the doctor who prescribed Ativan for my son. It did make me nervous because it had an amnesia effect on him. He didn't always remember what he did or ate right after taking it. His pediatrician said it can have that effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peregrine Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Right, should have mentioned - I don't have amnesia on it, but my mom forgot the names of her children(!) when she took it, so had a huge sign over her hospital bed reading "NO ATIVAN." I don't know if she ever tried any of the other meds in this class (like Valium) or what the effects were. (she didn't have dysautonomia) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brethor9 Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 for the ones having the amnesia effect it could simply be too high of a dose....ativan/ lorazepam is quite a strong drug because it has a short half life.....like any other medication with us you should start out small....a quarter tablet may be all you need.....thats how it works for me.....some days depending on my system I take 1/4 some days 1mg.......with us less is always more IMO.... Bren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alex Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Needless to say that we all react differently to different meds, so there is (in my opinion at least) no way to generalize or draw any conclusions based on an individual experience.I took ativan before being diagnosed with POTS since - like so many on this forum - I have been told i have panic attacks, anxiety...etc.I can't say it helped - it worked more like a band-aid by masking the symptoms for a couple of hours. It used to "calm me down" but it was an unnatural calm, it made me drowsy and sleepy. The sleep I'd get would not be the restful kind, but the drugged kind, plus I was having the weirdest dreams ever.I tried tapering off at one point (after 3 months of taking it) as I realized my body started craving it - despite drs reassuring me that 0.5 mg a day every now and then is no big deal, and then I think I started experiencing real panic attacks. On the other hand several other drs suggested I should discontinue taking it ASAP. Now I'm on clonazepam - 0.25 mg twice a day - down from 0.5 mg twice a day a couple of months ago. I had no problems lowering the amount, and to be honest I am not sure if it helps me or not - either way, my neuro emphasised to me that I am not taking it for anxiety/panic issues, but to keep my autonomic nervous system from going into overdrive...at least for now.Again, there are people who have found ativan to be a life changer - for the best; in my case it didn't help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayjay Posted June 26, 2012 Report Share Posted June 26, 2012 Like Alex - I found it to be more of a band aid also. Very temporary. Memory loss is a common side effect. For most it is very sedating at first. It also became less effective for me over time ( three years ).Additionally syncope was more of an issue with the benzo drugs. I passed out and broke my nose. I have hyper pots so thankfully passing out is not usually a problem for me, but on benzo's it became more common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brethor9 Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 for me all the medications I take for POTS are a just a band aid solution but until they can actually figure out what's causing this illness and cure it....I guess that's all there is...... my specialist said all we can treat are the symptoms and even that is a shot in the dark most of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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