Ativan Addiction Treatment Near Me

You feel like you are anxious for just a few days at a time. It’s like you want to crawl out of your skin for no reason then it suddenly goes away. After about six months, you realize it circles around your hormones, when you ovulate and for a few days before you start your menstrual cycle. You go to your doctor and ask what you can do for that. She prescribes you Ativan, and so begins your slow and steady spiral down the hole of addiction to benzos, leading to the need for Ativan addiction treatment.

An executive in a big financial firm feels an ever-increasing anxiety when he walks down the halls of the office. He has gone months feeling a lump in his stomach that starts Sunday night and goes through Friday at five. He has looked for other positions, but there is so little turnover in his field that he feels stuck under the micromanaging, bullying leadership of the company at which he spends the majority of his life. He goes to his doctor and is prescribed Ativan to cope until he either finds another position or can handle it better on his own. This is his start down the road of addiction to which he will require Ativan addiction treatment, since he will feel that he cannot function normally without it.

What is Ativan?

Ativan is a benzodiazepine, which are also known as sedatives or tranquilizers. It attaches to the brain’s GABA receptors, slowing down the signals received by nerve receptors. Many drugs will slow respiratory and cardiovascular systems, but Ativan creates a calming effect without effecting those systems when the proper dose is taken. It is a mainstream drug used to mainly treat anxiety but has also been found effective in the following conditions:

• Nausea from chemotherapy and other cancer drugs
• Chronic insomnia
• Muscle spasms
• Psychosis and other alcohol withdrawal symptoms
• Bipolar disorder

With Ativan’s highly addictive nature, doctors typically prescribe it for no more than three or four months. It can also be accompanied by a variety of side effects, from minor drowsiness and headaches to stomach pain and loss of coordination.

How do I know if I need help getting Ativan out of my life?

It may be hard at first to determine if some of the physical and psychological changes are side effects or because a physical dependence has occurred. Two telltale ways of deciding if it is an addiction are:

• If a tolerance has formed, causing an increase in dosage to feel the same calming effects.
• Symptoms of withdrawal occurring when someone tries to stop using it.

Physical dependence is different than addiction. Not all people who are physically dependent are addicted. Being addicted to something looks more like a change in mental and physical behavior, such as:

• Inability to stop using regardless of repeatedly trying
• Focusing on finding, using, and recovering from Ativan use
• Continued use despite relationships, jobs, and health suffering
• A tolerance builds up
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and other social occasions
• Appearance of withdrawal symptoms after the last dose
• Surrounding themselves with a sense of secrecy
• Changes in weight and physical appearance

What are the withdrawal symptoms of Ativan?

Recognizing someone going through withdrawal can help confirm suspicions of addiction. Some of the symptoms to look out for include:

• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Dizziness
• Depression
• Short-term memory loss
• Sweating
• Confusion, delirium, and hallucinations
• Depersonalization
• Insomnia
• Seizures

Relapse often occurs when someone is trying to detox on their own. This and the fact that Ativan’s withdrawal symptoms can be life-threatening are why addiction treatments highly recommend that long-term users with severe addictions should undergo medically supervised detox and recovery. Highly trained staff members can help someone taper off the drug without the temptation of overusing it.

What are my treatment options when I am addicted to Ativan?

No one intends to go down the path of addiction, but it can happen to anyone. Although every facility is different, there are basic steps that are followed with any drug rehabilitation program, and they are:

• Detox
  • Duration depends on how long and how often the user took Ativan. Withdrawal can be life-threatening so is best medically supervised.
• Rehabilitation
  • Recovery is based on behavioral changes and dealing with the main issue, the underlying anxiety. The recovering addict may have to deal with past traumas that sent them down this path. Coping mechanisms will help someone maintain abstinence.
• Aftercare and maintenance
  • Recovery and staying sober varies from person to person. They may benefit from staying at a halfway house instead of going straight back home to triggers. Relapse is not uncommon so if it does occur, it is important for them to receive the proper support. It is, sadly, a part of this already difficult process.

How do I choose an Ativan addiction treatment program?

Those who have gone to the doctor for their anxiety and left with a prescription for Ativan may find themselves in a precarious situation a few months down the road. They may notice they are feeling rather anxious again and want the doctor to increase their dose. She does it one time but leaves you on it because you are still having trouble sleeping when you try not to take it one night. You go back again in a few months and naively ask if she can up your dose again. She starts to ask you questions and feels that you may need to consider at Ativan addiction treatment program. This disturbs you because there is no way that you are addicted. You go home and spend days finding everything out that you can about Ativan. You discover that you are, indeed, physically and mentally addicted to it. It’s time to look and the questions to ask include:

• Does the facility specifically treat Ativan addictions?
• Is their program inpatient or outpatient and for how long? 
• If there is mental health component involved, also known as a dual diagnosis, are they equipped to treat that?
• A combination of therapies resuls in the best outcomes, so what do they use? Options may include:
  • Holistic therapy
  • Faith-based therapy (like Jewish and Christian)
  • CBT
  • DBT
  • Music therapy
• What is their success rate?
• What are the qualifications of the staff?
• Is there aftercare planning, like 12-step programs or sober living homes?
• What is the cost? What are the payment options, and do they take your insurance?

You are thrilled to find that there might be help when you feel like you cannot perform your daily functions due to anxiety taking over everything you do. You are pleased when your doctor writes a script for Ativan and have no idea that you may soon be headed down the path of addiction. No one believes that it could happen to them. It sneaks up on someone gradually when it helps calm the underlying issue. Unfortunately, not everyone reacts to Ativan’s highly addictive properties in the same manner, and you are soon seeking out Ativan addiction treatment. There is always hope and professionals can help make recovery as smooth a process as possible for those who want to get back to the happiness that life offered them at one time.