Ativan not working

This sounds very similar to my story. I was initially prescribed .5 mg Ativan for short term anxiety and began relying on it for sleep. Also tried Benadryl in the middle of the night. Sometimes helped, sometimes didn’t. Wine will help you fall asleep but not stay asleep.
I eventually saw a sleep medicine doctor, then a sleep therapist. After trying to wean from ativan to no avail and trying cognitive behavior therapy, I saw another sleep therapist who prescribed a very low dose of mirtazapine. I successfully did a VERY slow wean (my pcp did not want me on ativan any longer anyway) and am feeling much better and sleeping through the night.
I encourage you to see your doctor as soon as possible. From my experience, waiting won’t help.

Thank you for the response. I plan to get with my pcp as soon as possible.

How long had you been on Ativan?
I’ve been on it for 5 years.
Only .5 mg a night. This dosage has work great until about 2 months ago. I refused to up my dosage.
I think I have developed a tolerance for it.
I just want to feel myself again.

It’s just another negative effect with Ativan, naturally we build a tolerance after taking it for a long time. I have battled with keeping my dosage the same for years and adding gummies with thc and cbd has helped me to do so…I tried quite a few antidepressants but they didn’t make me feel well so I would stop them, I do take a low dose of an older antidepressant but it’s not too effective however I feel worse if I stop them so I guess they are doing something. In the earlier days I did manage to get off Ativan with Paxil but I couldn’t use it anymore because I started getting sick from them. It seems that there’s a lot of people who can’t tolerate antidepressants and it’s difficult to find something else to do the job. Also I wanted to add that after I had covid last year I went through a period of time where my Ativan didn’t work well and that was hard but it eventually helped me again.

Thank you.
Does your PCP recommend the
CBD?
The anti depressants worsen my symptoms of insomnia and anxiety.
Thinking about seeing a sleep specialist

I found that if I take my Ativan on an empty stomach it works better. I stop eating at 6 P.M. and take my Ativan around 8:30. You can't get off them without a doctor.

Thank you for your response.
I am getting with my doctor this week. I want to feel like me again.

What dosage are you taking?

I took 1 mg of Ativan for 10+ years for anxiety. It pretty much stopped working due to tolerance, so I just stopped taking it. I never felt any withdrawal symptoms, not sure why. I had insomnia even during time I was taking it. Ativan is not really a good sleep med, it has a short life, so I always took a sleep med. After stopping the Ativan I also quit all sleep meds (Ambien). Didn't sleep for 2 months. Dr. says you have to sleep and started me on Lunesta (now 3 mg). It works well, and gives me 4-7 hrs of good sleep a night. I considered the doxepin (Silenor) but Dr. not keen on that. Everybody is different, but if your problem is anxiety, then certainly a medicine specifically for that should be prescribed. For insomnia non-benzo meds I feel are best suited. The only antidepressant approved for sleep is Silenor, although others work. You would be best to see your Dr, and/or sleep specialist. Be patient, it may take some time to find the right solution for you. For me it has taken years. I think I have found mine, I must hope I don't build tolerence to Lunesta. Wine might help fall asleep, but you will wake after 2-3 hours and stay awake all night.

Has anyone else found melatonin helpful? There may be more positive benefits in addition to sleep induction.