I wanted to share with you a very unpleasant experience recently with Ativan, I have been taking it for about 20 years and I use 0.5 twice daily and it usually helps me to calm my nervous system. The Ativan is a generic brand and I’ve used several over the years, I picked up my prescription from the pharmacy and they said it was a different brand but I was told I’ve used this one in the past so I wasn’t concerned. The first time I took the new prescription I felt bad, I could feel it take affect which felt like a cramping sensation in my arms and neck, it lasted a few minutes but I had a meltdown going through it, my heart was racing and anxiety was off the charts. I didn’t know if it was me or the Ativan but after I tried it again the same thing happened. I had a feeling it was the brand they gave me and I had to go through hoops to get help because they are so rigid with this medication, I was shocked the way they treated me, I was being scrutinized by the pharmacy and the doctor like a junky criminal, I don’t have any history with abusing my meds but they weren’t even looking at my credibility. I finally got my usual brand but I had no option but to take the other brand until they straightened things out. In the ensuing weeks I felt for the first time how powerful these meds really are, I’m still recovering from it. I always hope to get rid of them but between cancer and long covid I don’t have the strength inside to push myself, I curse the day I took my first dose, I also want to add that for those who have been blessed to get off them, never ever take even one dose because it will pull you back into using and I speak from experience, it’s like any addiction, you can never go back again.