I Have Anxiety Disorder. I Use Ativan When I Need

Posted on Sun, 17 Feb 2019

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 17 Feb 2019 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : I have anxiety disorder. I use Ativan when I need it for example in extreme cases no more than 4 a week. And that is extremely rare. I usually take it when it's bad at most twice a week. But that is rare too. Overall I mostly take it like 2 a month. My question is how much is too much even when I take it 4 times a week once ever 3 yrs I can easy stop taking it

Answered by Dr. Dr. Michelle Gibson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
using it daily or using a high dose consistently , can cause dependence

Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

It is true that some persons who use meds such as ativan or other meds in that family of drugs (benzodiazepines), can become addicted to them and can have withdrawal symptoms when they are stopped.

It does not occur in everyone and depends on the dose used and the length of time the medication is consistently used.

Most persons who become dependent on it, use it daily. The fact that you do not use it on a daily basis is a good thing and means that dependence is highly unlikely.
Using it daily would be considered too much

In terms of dose- the maximum recommended dose for persons with a history of anxiety is 2 to 6 mg daily, divided in doses every 8 to 12 hours.

You are not using it daily , so your daily dose would be a lot below this when the total amount that you take monthly is divided to calculate your daily dose.
The dose that you occasionally need to use , is not mentioned

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar