I have been sober for 25 years and developed a generalized anxiety after the economy has threatened some of my finances. I could't pull out of it so my doctor put me on .5mg ativan three times a day. I have been taking it but my anxiety remains. I don't want to increase the dose. I know that this is really a good way to deal with life, but I don't want to lose my job or relationships due to depression and anxiety. I'm open to ANY input. I'm going to meetings, but light on the steps and haven't contacted my sponsor for several weeks.
Well, I think the basic premise is still the same, right? We have to be convinced that God is in charge and ultimately everything will work out for the best. Step Two really. I personally have had little luck with behavioral meds myself. Plus I believe, like other benzodiazepines, one can develop tolerance to Ativan, so it seems like a quite risky move for an alcoholic. My doc put me on Librium during withdrawal but I got off it darn quick. Does your doctor know your abuse history?
What kinds of financial threat are you under? Something short-term you can take action on? Or more of a general lack of security?
-- Edited by zzworldontheweb on Wednesday 15th of December 2010 06:44:06 PM
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Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God that which is God's.
Hi John, and welcome to MIP. I can only speak for myself in saying that's VERY scary stuff for me. It did exactly the same thing for me that alcohol did, and was easier to "get away with". Does your doctor know your a recovering alcoholic? Seems to me that any good doctor that knows anything about addiction and substance abuse would stay far away from that medication. I'm a counselor at a local D/A treatment center, and have seen the doctor there replace those types of meds with safer alternatives with good results. I would never try and replace AA with anything, but sometimes medications are necessary for us to deal with other medical issues. I use the steps for many things in my life, but AM NOT qualified to diagnose whether or not the 12 steps can replace doctor prescribed medication. I rely on the program daily for my spiritual health, and I rely on my doctor (whom know all about me) for my physical and sometimes mental health.
Brian...
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Nothing ever truly dies. The universe wastes nothing. Everything is simply, transformed. :confuse:
That would suggest to me to do what I am not or have not done and see what the results are. Heavier on the steps and more contact with a sponsor could change things. When I network with other recovering Alcoholics; I am without sponsorship at the moment, I get many more workable solutions. You got lotsa time so you just gotta know how this is suppose to work when you work it. I don't know about Ativan...I do know that the last time I went thru what you have gone thru that Ativan got prescribed for I also let myself get talked into Zolof and then Paxil and then because I started to loose my way...I went against MD's orders dumped the pills and reorder prescript and when the time came sat thru 5 days of sci-fi withdrawals. Better than Star Wars and still not real. Entertained me and didn't kill me. If the Ativan isn't working...???
I am currently on meds for depression and anxiety, all non-narcotic. I got sober at the same time I started taking them, so don't know if my life improvement is related soley to the program or both, but my high levels of anxiety have ceased. But I do work the program and have been through the steps with my sponsor.
Ativan, being a benzo would scare the heck out of me though. Perhaps a conversation with your physician about non-narcotic alternatives would be worthwhile. But as Klaatu said I am not a doctor and can't diagnose anyone, just sharing my experience.
I have been taking Effexor for anxiety. It works well for me. I also go to meetings and Pray alot. The Big Book says to go to any length necessary to get Sober, but I suggest strongly to get off the Narcotics, all they do is mask the problem.
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The smallest of good deeds is greater than the best of intentions.
Anonymous
As you mentioned getting deeper into the steps working to get out of ourselves and helping others can help. Exercise and eating better is helpful for me.
Most of us are not Dr's. If you have not gone to a real Psychiatrist for real testing and evaluation you may want to, it helped me w/ depression and anxiety years ago. Below is a post I made on a previous tread w/ my experiences.
Hope this can help,
I sobered up in AA at 24 years old, when people talked about their depression in the rooms, I secretly thought they just needed to do a better job working the AA program and thought meds where a crutch.
At 40 years old and 16 years sober I started getting some bouts of depression, usually lasting a day or less I shook them off.
Months went by and the depression increased to every day. I went to more meetings, I worked harder to help others, I ran and went to the gym more often, all the things that always worked to bring me out of the "funk" in the past.
Nothing worked, the darkness got worse, I lost interest in everything, I couldn't focus to read a book or article. I'm a Sales Rep. fighting it off long enough to make a call. Who wants to deal with a depressed salesperson? How am I going to make a living?
Finally went to a therapist and then a Psychiatrist, I couldn't live this way and was willing to try anything. Was diagnosed with severe depression and given a script for Wellbutrin (same stuff as Zyban used to help people stop smoking).
It has worked wonders for me for the past 8 years and I feel like my old self again.
As Bill W. could attest, chronic depression is a horrible thing. I thank God for the meds that helped me.
Hope this can help someone.
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Rob
"There ain't no Coupe DeVille hiding in the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box."
Thanks Rob, it's important to do all that you can do to fight depression naturally before seeking a chemical solution. Regular Aerobic Exercise is the #1 treatment for depression as it raises your metabolism, builds self esteem, and creates endorphins. One should should also take a look at sleeping and eating patterns. Lack of sleep will cause a lot of problems. Diet is another issue. Someone suffering from Anxiety should not be using caffeine, sugar, or other stimulants. Most people seem to be consuming large quantities of caffeine these days, between coffee, tea, sodas, and "energy drinks". Which of course cause a lack of sleep and increased anxiety. All should be eliminated from the diet of someone who is experiencing anxiety. I had a sober friend, and then not sober friend, who was on various anti-anxiety meds. I asked him if he had stopped using caffeine and he said "heck no, I'm not giving up coffee, tea, sodas...". And I said "really? even if it would enable you to get off meds and relieve your anxiety"?
My experience is that I will take any meds as prescribed (these days) but I always tell my doctor that I am a recovered alcoholic and explain what that means, even if I've already explained it.
I then leave it up to the doctor to prescribe something suitable.
when I was finishing off my drinking I was on regular Citalopram (no, I don't know what that is other than I took 3 little pills every day) plus 1 Diazepam every night (precribed for use as required).
4 months into recovery I noticed I had stopped taking the Diazepam.
6 months into recovery I decided I wanted to try life without the Citalopram, so I went to the doctor to get advice on weaning off.
6 months and 1 week into recovery, I ignored the doctors advice and stopped the Citalopram dead! not the easiest thing I ever done and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. interviewed for my own job while rattling off. That was fun.
4 odd years in and yep, i still have bursts of anxiety and bursts of sadness, but I don't have the crushing depression, sense of worthlessness and sense of hopelessness that I used to have. I put this down entireley to learning how to live life on life's terms, through working the steps with a sponsor and practicing these principles in all my affairs, to the best of my ability.
You'll see that I am still prey to projection in other posts. I still want things to work out the way I want them. Difference is I know that this usually doesn't happen, but whatever happens, there is always a good reason for it, even if I can't see what that reason is.
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It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you got. BB
Fairly early in sobriety I was in a meeting where a couple of guys were sharing about medication. I clearly remember one describing how he refused any pain killers and had his arm broken arm set while feeling every bit of the pain, and the bones shifting.
He got a lot of praise from the other guys.
I thought I was going to hurl. My thought was this: " If this is the requirement here, I don't have a chance."
I once got a call from a guy at phone booth outside the hospital freaking out that he wasn't sober and had to change his sobriety date because even though he explained to the doctors he was an alcoholic and didn't want muscle relaxers and painkillers, they gave them to him anyway. He had been in for back surgery.
My service sponsor had a friend who abruptly and without medical supervision went off anti-depressants and commited suicide.
So, I've adopted this position: Am I a practicing MD? No. While I have views on nutrition and exercise and a lot of things, medically I don't have all the facts at my disposal to give anyone an informed opinion a particular treatment.
But I can evaluate what you've said, and see if anything I know could help:
If I understand correctly you have a medication that isn't working. That's certainly enough to speak to your doctor about.
There are concerns about this medication causing a craving for alcohol or effecting your sobriety. That's a reason to speak to your physician too.
It seems there are a number of drugs for each condition and asking to switch to one that works and doesn't cause you worry is reasonable.
For me, I am very glad that going through surgery, getting my arm set, having depression, or a root canal without pharmacutical assistance is not required by AA.
I remember in 02' when I first tried to get sober I lasted 40 days and got drunk.
And for the life of me I cannot remember where in the world I heard about Zanax. ( Im a boozer, pills had never and still dont mean anything to me ) But somebody somewhere told me this zanax was good for anxiety. Hmmm, okay I thought, I'll go see my doctor. And I did too, and told her I was alcoholic trying to stay sober, but i needed something for the anxiety I was experiencing. She told me trading one addiction for the other was not good and I agreed with her, but told her it would be better for me to take a pill than it would be for me to get drunk ( lol ). She wrote me script. That bottle of 30pills @ .5 mg lasted well over a year, cuz I rarely took them.
In 04 when I suffered what I pray to be my last drunk I was very, very scarred. How was I going to live without booze? I wanted to see my doctor again and get some non-narcotic meds, or anti-depressants.
This is what my sponsor said,
" Lori, I am not a doctor and dont claim to be one either. However, lets you and me and God work the steps and if after a year of being sober you feel like you still need something, then you go see your doctor ".
I havent had the need for anything and that was a little over 6 yrs ago.
Everybody is different ... that cannot be disputed. However, if I was taking any kind of medication and it wasnt doing what it was suppose to do or helping for the reason I was taking it, then Id definately stop taking it. whats the use of taking a med or anything for that matter if its not working?
