Ativan from Canada won't work

Hello All: My doctor wants me to do a slow taper of Ativan, but the ativan in Canada has no effect on me, yet the european ativan does. Does anyone know why this is and what a solution may be. He put me on clonozepam 1mg twice daily after I told him it didn't work. But the clonozepam made me angry and curse in the mornings, by the afternoon after taking the second dose I was ok. I went back to him and he put me on name brand ativan which still did not work quite right. Whats going on here? What should my doctor do and have they purposefully changed ativan in canada chemically so it won't be abused? any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hello, regnevacs.

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies! 

 

The goal of our members is to come off of benzodiazepines. There are members in Canada who may be able to answer your questions; however, I would encourage you to use this site as a means of exploring alternatives to the use of benzos.

 

Most of our members are glad to share their tapering and withdrawal experiences.  Please remember that although withdrawal symptoms can be severe, they are only temporary.  Time is the healer, and you will heal eventually.  The amount of time healing takes varies from person to person and really can't be predicted in advance.

 

A good resource about benzodiazepines is the Ashton Manual. Here is a link to the manual: Professor Ashtons Manual  It’s great for learning about these meds and for taper plans. Ashton recommends reducing between 5 - 10% every 10/14 days.

 

You'll find a great community of people here who will support and encourage you. Feel free to check out the forum and to post to any of the dedicated boards.

 

In addition to the Ashton Manual, here are some other resources:

 

For tapering advice, post here General Taper Plans

 

For support with any symptoms you may have, post here: Withdrawal Support

 

Please add a signature (history of medication/doses etc). It will help members give you relevant advice. This link will show you how to Create a signature

 

Please let us know if you have any questions.

 

~ Mind

 

 

Hi regnevacs,

wouldn't surprise me at all if Ativan was different than in Europe. Apparently

the Benzo i took (i am in Europe) is banned in Canada , so there you go. They must be more

Benzo-wise in Canada than in stupid Europe.

i suggest changing over to Diazepam (Valium), it has a long half life ,

and might be easier to taper from , which is also recommended by Prof. Ashton.

hope you can sort out your problem.

warm welcome

and all the best.

claudia.

 

 

Hmm, well, I know that diff drug companies have slightly diff compositions (generic, name brand etc.), but my sooo not jolly experience with 'Canadian Ativan' over a decade or so has not been a good thing in the least; I'd say a big "NO!!" to the concept of a kinder Canadian version. HA, if only!

 

IMHO, a benzo by any name, from anywhere, is B-A-D. I'm doing the Ashton A-V c/o, after a failed titration taper; there are lots of good folks on here with good info, so tap into that help, and find what works best for you. Some docs are better than others, but most don't seem too clued in to the very addictive nature of benzos-and how VERY hard it generally is to get off them.

 

Not to discourage you at all, 'cuz tons of people work at it, and get off. Good luck with your journey, and hope you gain strength and knowledge from BB  .