Posted by ClearSkies on September 25, 2007, at 7:52:55
In reply to HELP, posted by Bellame on September 24, 2007, at 21:22:45
> I am posting in two places because I am desperate.I am six months sober from benzoz and sedatives and doing well. But i became very sick two weeks ago with lighheadedness, headaches, nasuea, and fatique. All the tests are normal but I cannot work and am miserable. The drs put me on meclizine and ativan to control the dizziness. Wiill this mess up my sobriety? I am taking acoording to the prescriptions, but I am so afraid of messing up. If I take only for a short time and to treat this one symptom, have a screwedd up my sobriety date? Please help
Follow your doctor's directions for using the avitvan - usually when taking this medication for a short duration, a quick tapering dosage is prescribed. Is this how it's been prescribed for you this time around? If that's the case, then I'd say that the potential for abuse is pretty small for you, especially since you seem to be exquisitely sensitive to the possible abuse potential of the medication. Self awareness is half the battle with abuse.
If it's still of great concern to you, I'd call your doctor ASAP and tell him you're worried that the ativan might trigger a relapse. Perhaps there's an alternative medication that would pose less of an abuse threat that would help your symptoms. Keeping your doctor aware of your substance abuse issues makes them part of your team - it's a *good* thing, not a humiliating thing. (Though my experience has been that most doctors are pretty clueless about the subject. That's why I don't hesitate to bring up my own previous substance abuse problems when I see a new doctor - quite often they have a lot of questions about how I've achieved the sobriety that I have and they seem to appreciate the openness.)If your doctor doesn't seem to know about the inherent dangers of putting an addict on a course of addictive substances for treatment, then perhaps a second opinion is in order.
Best of luck to you - and well done on getting to 6 months sobriety!!
ClearSlies
poster:ClearSkies
thread:784966
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20070626/msgs/785051.html