Ativan Side Effect?

[ItstheSky]

Could Ativan cause a headache? I took .25 mg last night and got a headache once it kicked in. I thought it was just from the panic attack. But my headache never went away over 24hrs later. It's a dull, constant pain. I've also felt foggy all day.
Could it be the medication?

[ItstheSky]

I guess she said it wasn't normal for me to still have intense withdrawals by day 9. Because I was never a heavy user, compared to others who become addicted to opiates. I was never given the freedom by my doctor to use more than 30 pills in one month, and the pills I got from others were few and rare. So I was kinda freaked out that it was lasting so long.

If it were more available to me, I have no doubt that I would have become so much more addicted and years would pass before this was dealt with.

Thankfully the meds my doctor gave me for now are helping and I am able to see them as "temporary" relief while I'm in the process of trial and error, figuring out healthier ways to manage my intense back pain.

Thanks for all the advice.

[nursegirl6572]

Sounds like a good plan.  I agree that you should be over the hump, but everyone is different in how they experience w/d's.  I don't fully agree that you "should be feeling significantly better".  Better, yes...significantly?  Not necessarily.   I'm sure you know that from reading on the Addiction forum.  It's not uncommon to still have symptoms on and off for quite some time.

It's definitely always a good idea to get checked out by your doctor.  W/d causes some hypertension, which would cause a headache.  That's just one reason w/d's could cause a headache.  It also could be the Ativan, it's hard to say.  Sometimes, you just never really figure out the reason.

You're doing awesome!  Keep up the great work...let us know what the doc said.  Excedrin is a miracle drug, IMO...lol.  I rarely get headaches, but when I do...it helps a lot.  Definitely make sure you're drinking enough fluids too.  That's a very common reason for a headache...not enough fluids.

Fingers crossed you feel better soon!!

[ItstheSky]

Yes, Vicodin. On the expert forum she said by today (day 9) and even by day 7, i should be feeling significantly better. So I'm going to see a doctor today.
I already felt the symptoms before looking them up. I've learned with anxiety that its not a good idea to psych myself out so now I only look if I'm feeling something unusual. The headache has been here for well over 24hrs so I'm not sure it's the Ativan anymore. Hopefully my doctor can help today.

[nursegirl6572]

It could be the Ativan, or it could be the anxiety itself, it's hard to tell.  You took a very low dose.  CJ makes a great point about worrying about side effects, and then ending up having them (kind of a self fulfilling prophecy of sorts?)  Were you overly anxious about taking it?  Remind me too, aren't you coming off another med, like an opiate?  I can't recall, but aren't you detoxing off something? If so, that could be a culprit too.

[cj29]

Medications affect us all differetly, however, ativan has a fairly short half life and is out of our system fairly quickly.  There are so many factors that can cause us to have various feelings and symptoms in my  experience with anxiety, which can make it that much more frustrating to deal with.  For example, when I had first started taking medication, I read up on possible side effects and of course started to feel them and relate any symptom to the medication whether it was relevant or not.  
If you are concerned about it, why not talk to your prescribing doctor or pharmaacist about it?  For me, keeping an open line of communication between your health care provider(s) and myself is important.  Are you also in counseling for your anxiety?  Also, have you ever taken a medication like ativan before?  

[drifter0213]

it may be simple as drinking some water, stay hydrated ok :)