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Was scared now Terrified


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Was given Ativan in very low dose to use as needed.  Used very seldom but in July of 2020 a hospital visit resulted in them loading me down with Lorazepam  When released did not feel correct and wanted more  Tapered off (perhaps not slow enough) and the last dose was September.  I have had 99% of all the wd symptoms  violent shakes have eased but still have them

My concern now is the chest pains and breathing problems  Only at night  and I don't even have to look at the clock to know it is 1:30 AM  I wake up and within a few minutes my chest starts to tighten up  As one post said: "It is like a pressure cooker waiting to explode."  Then the breathing.  It is as if the reflex to breathe is totally absent and I have to manually breathe.  The chest problem is only at night the breathing problem can last into the day.

One Health care provider told me I have heart problems (CT scan showed nothing)  Said I had to stay on meds for the rest of my life.  Another Heath care provider says my heart is fine - he thinks I am suffering some kind of withdrawal  My body is unable to handle pharmaceuticals  I was total Ativan would be no problem  Also told there is no difference between Ativan and Lorazepam - but there is  My body tells me so

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated

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Hello New Future, welcome to BenzoBuddies,

 

Your nightly chest and breathing problems sound awful, I don't blame you for being terrified!  I've read many members talk about chest pains and I had breathing problems while recovering, mostly I felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest.

 

These sounds like withdrawal symptoms, especially if you've had the appropriate medicals tests to rule out other problems.  You're welcome to start a thread on the Post-withdrawal Recovery Support board in order to get more input from the community, I'm sure there are many who can relate.

 

As for Lorazepam vs Ativan, I'm not familiar with Ativan so don't know if other members have been able to discern a difference but you could ask a question on a thread dedicated to those who are tapering it, here is the link. Ativan Tapering Thread

 

We're glad you're here, please let us know how we can help you.

 

Pamster

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[50...]

Ativan is the Pfizer trademark name for lorazepam.  It may be that you were switched from the Pfizer product to a generic lorazepam prescription.  Some feel that certain generic formulations aren't as strong.

 

There are a myriad of benzo-related breathing issues.  They don't tend to be health-threatening, but they can nonetheless be scary.  Air hunger is a big one - the feeling that you're not getting enough air when you breath.  That can often cause forced breathing and increased fear/anxiety.  The tight chest feelings sounds like a manifestation of that anxiety.  Benzos are often used to subdue those feelings, and unfortunately, benzo withdrawal often tends to exacerbate those symptoms.

 

Try to be calm about the breathing stuff.  Your body hasn't forgotten how to breath, but the over-thinking mind tries to take over a natural function and that can make life unnecessarily uncomfortable.

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New Future,

 

Stress and anxiety can definitely cause chest pain.  I was recently dealing with it a lot, and I even received a faulty EKG that indicated I had had a heart attack, which only made my stress worse!

 

It took further good EKG's, x-rays, an echocardiogram and a nuclear stress test (treadmill run and special imaging) to show that my heart and chest were fine and I only had chest wall pain due to stress/anxiety.

 

If you are not satisfied with your current diagnosis on your chest pain, pursue more tests as listed above.  The resulting peace of mind can help immensely, or, at least uncover what really needs treating.

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I had the same terrifying experience with breathing.  It was a constant battle to keep myself breathing.  Especially laying down at night in the dark when it was quiet..  I would panic and hyperventilate and further amp up my panic.  I felt I would suffocate if I wasn’t monitoring my breathing constantly.  I found an app for my phone, this was 7 years ago, so I am sorry I cannot remember what the name of it was, but it let you set your breathing pattern, you would set it at you current rate then it would bring you slowly down to normal.  It was a soft robot voice saying breath in, breathe out.....  I’m sure you can find something similar out there in an updated version.  It seriously helped me to regain control, it took my focus off the fear and just knowing I could use it in an attack got me past that phase of symptoms.

.

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