Ativan Addiction

Some drugs just look dangerous. Heroin, for example, is sometimes sold in a black, sticky block that looks like a substance a person might scrape from the bottom of an oil barrel. By contrast, Ativan tablets look almost cute. Each little pill is shaped like the letter “A,” with darling little indentations that make the letter stand out from the background. It’s hard to see how something this adorable could be dangerous, but according to addiction experts, Ativan has been associated with both abuse and addiction, and it should be handled with caution. Perhaps if people treated these cute pills with a bit more respect, fewer cases of addiction would bloom.

Therapy vs. Addiction

therapyAtivan, also sold under the generic name lorazepam, is a benzodiazepine medication that’s used to treat a variety of conditions, including:

  • Anxiety
  • Insomnia
  • Panic attacks
  • Restless leg syndrome
  • Alcohol withdrawal
  • Irritable bowel syndrome

An article in Psychopharmacology – The Fourth Generation of Progress suggests that most people who take these medications do so for a short period of time, four weeks or fewer, in order to help them move past a particularly difficult period. These people might use therapy, the help of their friends or over-the-counter medications to help them get better in the future, but Ativan might help them get through a particularly difficult situation that lasts for only a short period of time. People like this rarely become addicted to Ativan, mainly because they’re not taking it for a long enough period of time. There are some attributes of Ativan, however, that can make it attractive from an addiction standpoint.

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According to an article published in American Family Physician, four benzodiazepine medications (including Ativan) are among the top 100 prescriptions most commonly provided to American patients. These drugs go to work immediately, providing instant relief of an underlying issue, so they can be taken when symptoms appear. Doctors seem to prefer medications patients can use on an as-needed basis, as these are the types of drugs that can solve an underlying issue and keep patients from returning and asking for more help in subsequent visits. This quick-to-work attribute can also stand behind an addiction, however. People who abuse drugs appreciate medications that bring about overwhelming sensations in moments. Ativan seems to fill this role quite nicely.Benzodiazepines like Ativan are designed to slow electrical activity inside the brain, but these drugs can also ignite the brain’s pleasure pathway, bringing about a deep and prolonged feeling of pleasure and happiness. This isn’t the sensation people are looking for when they take the drug on a therapeutic basis, but it might be just the sensation people want when it’s time to abuse a drug. Feeling soothed and silly might be just the sort of thing an addicted person needs. Ativan can also work in concert with other addictive drugs, augmenting the action of specific types of substances while soothing the side effects other substances can cause. Studies suggest that people who develop Ativan addictions often have other substances of abuse in their past. For example, the Treatment Episode Data Set found that 95 percent of people who enrolled in treatment programs for benzodiazepine addiction reported the use of another addictive substance at the same time.

ativan addictionMixing and Matching Addiction

Almost any substance could be added to Ativan to bring a user an increased sensation of bliss, but a study profiled by US News and World Report found that teens who abused benzodiazepines tended to abuse marijuana at the same time, while older adults used alcohol or opiates with benzodiazepines instead. This seems to suggest that people are using Ativan in order to augment the drugs they’d already planned to take, as other studies have found high rates of marijuana use among teens and high alcohol and opiate usage rates among adults. For some people, Ativan just helps them to experience the drugs they’d already planned to take.

Other people develop Ativan addictions after they’ve moved through the recovery process for another addictive drug. These people might have worked through an alcoholism issue, for example, and found that Ativan helped them to deal with the craving to drink, so they began abusing this drug instead of alcohol. Other people might develop an addiction to Ativan while they’re taking an opiate replacement medication, like methadone. In one study of this issue, in Addiction Research and Theory, researchers found that 11.8 percent of people in a methadone program had a benzodiazepine addiction, but four years later, that rate increased to 36 percent. It’s possible that addictions to other substances can prime the brain and make it more vulnerable to future use and abuse. The brain’s cells become attuned to drugs, wanting them, and Ativan could help to fill that need.

Spotting the Signs

In an article in the journal Hospital and Community Psychiatry, researchers suggest that people who have a benzodiazepine addiction fit into one of four categories:

  1. They take the drug when they’ve been given a prescription for it, but the need for the drug has passed.
  2. They violate the rules of their prescription, taking doses that are much too large.
  3. They take the drug with the explicit goal of getting high.
  4. They take the drug in order to “further psychological regression,” or as a means to remain in a child-like state.

Some of these signs are relatively easy to identify. For example, people who take doses that are much too large or people who take Ativan in order to get high might run out of pills on a regular basis. They may ask to borrow Ativan pills from others, or they may shop for new doctors who will provide them with new prescriptions. Some people even steal in order to obtain more pills they can abuse.

Determining why a person takes Ativan is a little more challenging. Most people who abuse drugs don’t discuss their abuse openly, boasting about what they’re taking and why they do it. In fact, many people who abuse drugs are quite secretive about their behavior, hiding their drug use from their family members and friends for as long as possible, so they won’t be asked to explain what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. People who abuse Ativan may drop some telltale signs, however. They may become frantic when they don’t have access to these drugs, for example, or they may take the drug without exhibiting any sort of prompt. People who show anxiety and then take an Ativan pill may need help with a condition. People who take Ativan before watching television may be using the drug for recreation. It’s a subtle distinction, to be sure, but some families have been able to spot addictions in those they love through careful observations like this.

What to Do

People who abuse Ativan are taking terrible risks with their health. Ativan can slow breathing and heart rates, and people who mix this drug with another depressant like alcohol could develop such slow breathing rates that they stop breathing altogether. Similarly, taking high doses of Ativan on a regular basis can lead to a physical dependence on the drug, making it impossible for the person to stop using the drug without feeling intense physical distress. People with advanced Ativan addictions may develop seizures if they attempt to stop taking drugs on their own.

It might be difficult to talk to someone about a personal issue like addiction, but Ativan abuse is much too dangerous to be ignored for a long period of time. Family members can help the person they love to find an appropriate treatment program, and they can transport the person to that program and ensure that the right kind of care is provided to help the person recover. If someone you love needs help, please contact us. At The Oaks at La Paloma, we provide a treatment program for Ativan, and we are always willing to answer any questions you might have. We can even schedule an intake appointment for the person you love. Please call us to find out more.