Lorazepam has, as far as I know, only ever been available in tablets of 1mg and 2.5mg; I have never met anyone at my sufferers' group who has been prescribed anything other than multiples of these. I thought 2mg tablets were only sold in India and Pakistan & you would need a pill splitter to get anything below 1mg (what good would such a low dose as 0.5mg do anyway?). Also I try whenever possible to get 2 x 90 day Rx forms for original ex-Wyeth Pfizer 2.5mg Temesta, Tavor or Ativan (usually Temesta as I am in the UK) for dispense in a nearby EU country, as only Metwest generic is close to that quality and most pharmacies stock the Genus pills, which I find pretty poor compared. Some doctors will write me my former Xanax (brand) 2mg tds in those times. Some strange dosages are being used here, I just can't understand why or how!
How many people get prescribed a dosage of 0.5mg lorazepam? What about 2mg?
Question posted by PoppyNidaba on 27 May 2016
Last updated on 14 October 2016
Answers
I used to take lorazepam. Buspirone is a much safer alternative to any of the benzodiazapenes. I do not have a "placebo effect" from them, as some people try to say on these sites. They alleviate my anxiety very effectively. I took different benzos thru the years. My new doctor will not prescribe them at all. She suggested buspar. I had never even considered taking it. It took a couple to a few weeks to give full relief, but it works great for my anxiety. Of course, I should add, I take them along with Bupropion SR.
Buspirone simply does not do anything at all. I personally think it is a chemical with no active pharmacological effect and prescribed as a placebo. Are you trying to convince yourself that they somehow DO work, as I have never yet met a soul who has experienced any anxiolysis from them? Bupropion on the other hand is an SSRI which is licenced for GAD which may account for your belief that buspirone does something for anxiety...
On the other hand a 2.5mg Temesta/Ativan/Tavor (Pfizer's brand names for this ex-Wyeth patented drug) CERTAINLY acts as an extremely effective anxiolytic though not as good as alprazolam - and more sedating, which can be problematic.
Oh, and that distracted me from the comment I meant to make which is that I have never heard of anybody being prescribed half a 1mg lorazepam several times a day. 2.5mg are definitely the most commonly prescribed strength in Europe at any rate, and is roughly equivalent to a 1mg alprazolam in potency. I actually did notice the drop in benzo when changing from 2mg Xanax tds to 2.5mg Lorazepam qds; it is equivalent to taking a drop of 20mg diazepam daily, even though dosage is taken more often using lorazepam than alprazolam. One certainly notices the difference. On a few occasions I have had the need to take two tablets because of an acute episode, meaning that I have had to take a couple of 1.25mg doses shortly before my next prescription is due...
Sounds like you're building up a tolerance to it because of the dosage, Then there is always the possibility of getting addicted to it depending on dosage.
You certainly are entitled to your opinion about Buspar. But, it helps to give a more unbiased and fair opinion of it if you have ever been on a therapeutic dose of it for a recommended amount if time.
True, it's hearsay; but it is difficult to ignore those who have experience of it - there was a period when Buspar was prescribed a lot, but now it is never seen since such a tiny percentage of those given it ever reported any benefits. My Group contains several who were amongst those prescribed it when it was a fad amongst doctors. I wouldn't think even the largest pharmacies would bother keeping any stock now, though.
You're not from around these here parts, are ya? lol
I live in Scotland FYI... I was under the impression only INDIA made lorazepam in the short 2mg strength (Cipla Larpose being highest quality brand). Cheap but no match for my Temesta (Pfizer, ex-Wyeth, branded Ativan or Tavor also dep on country of Rx). Would require 5 daily rather than 4...
Everyone's experience is different. In my 14-year-old son's case, buspirone had to be stopped due to side effects, and lorazepam 0.5mg works flawlessly.
Buspirone initially worked well for the first month, he took it for over a year with steadily decreasing effectiveness. We had to stop it completely as he was experiencing constant leg pain and a bad skin rash around his eyes. We substituted 0.5mg lorazepam as a PRN in place of the buspirone (yes, technically against the law, but we had to do SOMETHING to get by until the doc can make it official), and the leg pain and skin rash were gone within five days of stopping buspirone.
He actually said he feels "like a winner" going to school now, when before the anxiety was so crippling that he would literally freeze up and not move, speak, or make eye contact. He also takes escitalopram, aripiprazole, and mirtazapine, but only the lorazepam has actually worked for the anxiety. YMMV, of course.
Hi Poppynadaba
Hi Dogwatch
Thank you for your comments. I never thought about it the way you put it. I was interested the thought you had that, the Wellbutrin could be the medication that is giving me the relief from my anxiety. I might just quit the buspirone and continue on the wellbutrin. I'll let you know how it goes. Thank you!
Dogwatch: I am glad you found something that gives your son relief. I have no problem with lorazepam. I used to take it before I had to change doctors, and my current doctor refuses to prescribe lorazepam. It was very effective for me.
I used it last year to help me transition from effexor (which is a real b**** to get off of) to wellbutrin. I am looking forward to seeing if my wellbutrin by itself will keep my anxiety in check. Maybe that is something that will work for your son also in the future. I appreciate all the input in these support groups. Thank you.
*Poppynidaba
*DogPatch
( I made an error in your names, sorry. )
Since I wrote, I tried Buspirone - no effect at all on my anxiety levels. I was kept on an extremely low dosage of 0.5mg alprazolam prn for BzD withdrawal during the treatment (far too low an alprazolam dose to have any anxiolytic effect) but during the month I was testing it, it did absolutely nothing.
I have since returned, as of last week, to my accustomed lorazepam 2.5mg qds, and feel a thousand times better. There were many occasions during Sept/Oct that I felt like a panic episode was imminent and had to take a proper dose (2mg) of alprazolam; I tried at first to do the same with buspirone as I do with my BzD anxiolytics and triple the dosage for those occasions, but taking 60mg rather than the prescribed 20mg made absolutely no difference.
Now I can not be accused of not having given it a go!
So I am now back on my 10mg/day lorazepam and things are back, more or less, to normal.
And I checked - there are two countries in Europe where lorazepam is sold in the tiny 0.5mg dosage unit - Romania and Hungary. Otherwise, it is available only, as I noted above, in 1mg and 2.5mg strengths.
Well, Europe isn't the centre of the universe; I'm an Australian and while we have some medications that are different to the US. Most drugs here have identical sizes and strengths to the US, even those manufactured in Ireland.
I don't quite know how Clomipramine (Anafranil) fits in with a discussion about anti-anxiety medication either; it works sort of okay for what it it is meant to do for me.
When you say say that something is useless or is a placebo at best and this is the only quantity that works for me is not helpful. You really need to qualify the post as your opinion or provide statistics to support your contention. The statement "this is the amount that works for me" was the only qualified statement and one other where you cited anecdotal evidence (which is often biased; I'm a sinner also on that one at times).
Please don't get angry and defensive if people don't agree with you (I'm a sinner here also) and point out that the dose is rather high. If the consensus here does not support your statement, I'll stick to the consensus. What it seems you are really saying is that I have been taking this addictive habit forming medication for a while and have built up quite a tolerance and feel dreadful if you substitute it for another medication. Also bigger numbers don't equal better. Some very potent medications come in sizes that top out at 0.5 mg.
G mc's post is an ideal example of what I was trying to explain was good in a post.
Take care and good luck with whatever it is you want, Steve
Here in the US lorazepam's most popular dosage is 0.5mg and it is usually quite effective. It is usually dosed 0.5mg up to two to four times a day so being a daily total of 1-2mg per day. I have seen only 0.5mg and 1 mg tabs myself. I think we have a 2mg dose made here too but I just dont see it as often. It is best to use the lowest effective dose. If you have a high tolerance for benzodiazepines you may need higher doses. The body quickly becomes tolerant and then they are not as effective for anxiety.
Here in the UK, where I know many people prescribed lorazepam (I am in a local GAD/Panic disorder sufferers' group), I have NEVER heard of anyone being prescribed 0.5mg dosage. Around 33% are on 1mg tds/qds and the other 67% on 2.5mg tabs tds/qds. It is almost unheard of for any other dosage to be prescribed.
Similarly, I have read here that some people are prescribed 1mg clonazepam tablets; I know for a fact that no such dosage unit exists in Europe at all - there are 500mcg and 2mg tablets only, the 500mcg (0.5mg) used in patients with epilepsy who tend not to suffer regular seizures, and 2mg is by far most common, and also used 'off-label' as a prophylactic for panic disorder, for which it is extremely effective. Up to 12mg daily can be prescribed as a treatment alternative to clomipramine in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, where all treatments are at the highest tolerable dosage. 1mg is an unheard-of dosage.
However, tiny doses of lorazepam do not appear to have any effect whatever, and the recommended treatment for DURING an episode of acute panic attack is lorazepam 4mg IV. I would not have thought that 500mcg would even be an active dose!
Related topics
anxiety, panic disorder, lorazepam, dosage, prescription, tablet
Further information
- Lorazepam uses and safety info
- Lorazepam prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Lorazepam (detailed)
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