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• Ativan helps vision
• Posted: 2008-08-24 19:10:17 By Thomas P
• I take ativan for panic while riding in a car due to vision loss. It seems to help. Anyone else taking ativan?

• reg. ativan helps vision
• Posted: 2008-09-21 01:17:58 By anastasia g
• Ativan is in the class of drugs called benzodiazapines.(spelling may be wrong)other drugs under that category are valium, xanax, klonopin, and librium. There may be more.They are central nervous system depressants. Those are their brand names. I take klonipin. (Also known as clonazapam)for anxiety and nervous leg syndrome. I was prescribed valium years ago. I have rp and in 2005 my vision changed a bit. I didn't notice because of the valium. Those medications unfortunatly are addicting and if u take them daily you do build a tolorence. I quit taking the valium in 2007. That's when I thought my rp got worse. 6 months later I started having problems sleeping due to nervous leg syndrome. I was prescribed klonipin. My eyes got better. 2 make a long story short I currently ran out of my klonipin and guess what, it feels like the rp got so much worse. I don't know if the benzo's directly help rp, the eyes, or if it's emotional, but I do know that when I take them I feel better. I know that this wasn't the exact response you were looking for but I hope it helps. This is just based soley on experience.

• Posted: 2008-09-21 11:37:14 By Thomas P
• Hi anastasia g...
  I have EXACTLY the same effect from ativan.
  Just like you mentioned. I'm amazed.
  
  Ativan DOES help me see better. It starts to work in 90 minutes and after six hours I grow tired. At that time my vision takes on a strage effect. That effect is dramatic increasse of visual contrast and rich color. Almost too much.
  Before taking the pill, it's like looking at a woman with no makeup on. After taking the pill six hours later it's like looking at that some woman with extremely heavey makeup on,and heavy eye makeup. The increased visual perception is almost too mcuh. What is it with theses meds?
  Do they affect the "visual cortex"?
  
  Unfortunately it wears off too quickley, and the vision returns to the photophobic state again.
  
  Hope this helps.

• Posted: 2008-09-21 19:49:17 By anastasia g
• Hi Thomas,
  Ha! The make up thing is really right on man! This is what I think at the moment. Once again I do not have ANY scientific facts to back me up. This is only based on experience.
  What these medications are supposed to do is relax you. They will make you sleepy. My theory is that it makes me so relaxed that I notice a lot more details. When it wears off I probably feel stressed again and after being so relaxed I notice every little thing that sucks about my vision. I spend so much time on dwelling that it makes me feel like things are worse even though they are the same. Again NO SCIENCE, I have nothing to back up my claim, just experience. I think if this med increased the visual perception, doctors would probably prescribe this med and incorporate it as a daily eye med, but they don't. I think it relaxes the eye muscles. When the med wears off it may constrict the muscle and that's when I feel pressure around my eyes.
  I have been on this medication for anxiety on and off since I was diagnosed with rp a little more then ten years ago. I tried just about all of them and this is what I noticed, and it may be different for you. Xanax wears off quickly, while valium does lasts longer than Xanax, klonopin lasts longer, but when they all wear off. They all makes you feel WORN. It's been so long since I had ativan that I do not remember much about it. Because I've been on these meds for years, so my body is adjusted to them. It's very easy to abuse these and when I think that I may be, I stop taking them and I feel that my vision gets worse so I do get them prescribed again? No matter what the reason, or if they do or do not help you see, this med does help me. I can learn to cope without it, but these meds really help me in so many ways that the benefits outweigh the risks. In my experience stress effects my vision A LOT, and the more I relax; the better I see. Like I said before the Klonopin helps me relax, therefor my vision gets better; but I don't think that the Klonopin effects the visual cortex but it does highten the perception. What do you think? I am so glad I saw your message, because I just told my husband that I think the klonopin helps me see better. But keep in mind that; if the dose that you are on wipes you out, you may be able to talk to your doctor about a different dose or another benzo. Just make sure to do what's right for you. I hope this helps!

• Posted: 2008-09-25 12:40:13 By Thomas P
• Hi anastasia g...
  
  Yes visual perception is heightened as you state.
  If I may, I would like to explain why I began taking Ativan to begin with.
  
  Back in December 2007, I SUDDENLY became "photophobic".
  By that I mean extreme sensetivity to sunlight. At age 54, I am told
  that having x-linked/inherited RP, that this could happen. My retinal
  life-cycle is drawing to a close.
  
  So, now when I ride in our car with my wife driving, I get panic attacks
  because I no longer have my visual contrast and clarity as I did pre
  December 2007. When the car is in motion I cannot see objects outside
  the window any more causing panic. Sunglases, closing my eyes, therapy
  deep breathing don't help. Only Ativan helps about 90 percent of the time.
  
  I take 1mg sublingual, (under the tongue) 90 minutes before leaving with a GABA capsule
  and that usually helps. Sometime I feel that 2mg would be better, but I am not there yet.
  
  The 10 percent when it does NOT work is when I take Excedrin for my headaches.
  The excedrin seems to increase my light sensetivity for at least 12 hours and it fights
  with and diminished my Ativan's effectivness.
  So I concluded that Excedrin and Ativan do not mix.
  
  I take the Ativan as needed, which is usually 2 times a week to avoid addiction.
  Strangely, I do NOT need this med at any other time, except for riding in the car.
  If I could only get over this problem, I would not need any med which was the case
  back in pre-December of 2007.
  
  Anastasia g, why did you stop taking Ativan?
  How many days in a row have you taken your med?
  
  Thomas P.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Posted: 2008-09-25 12:50:13 By Thomas P
• anastasia g.
  I almost fogot.
  Pls check out these links.
  
  
  Link:
  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318113517.htm
  
  Link:
  https://my.mcg.edu/portal/page/portal/News/archive/2008/Receptor%20activation%20protects%20retina%20from%20diabetes%20destructio
  
  Very interesting

• Posted: 2008-09-27 16:12:02 By anastasia g
• Hey Thomas,
  I have to say that it is very nice talking to you. I have never met anyone with rp, so I felt very alone until now.it is nice talking to someone that understands and can share their experiences.This world is made for the seeing so I was very devestated to find out my sight was failing me. Im sure you went through this and so did many others. This is why I continue taking klonopin. I started taking it because of anxiety but in the beginning I was taking xanax and I was 23 years old. I am 32 now. my primary care physician prescribed the xanax at that time but he wanted me to see a psychiatrist and I did. The pshyciatrist switched me to adavan because he said that xanax is not good for a young woman especially if I were to get pregnant. I took that for a while, maybe for a few months and that was it. The rp wasn't a problem for me yet. After that for a year I didnt take anything and my anxiety got worse. I saw a new doctor and that doctor prescribed me valium. That went on for a few years. I srarted to think I didn't need it anymore because I felt better. Anyways, I moved a few hours south of chicago to a smaller city right around then. I lived in the city of chicago all of my life and I didn't have the valium so I was anxious about being in a small city and having
  to get used to my sorroundings all over again. I was experiencing a culture shock. This is when I started noticing that my eyes were real bad. A year before my doctor said my vision changed. The rp got worse, honostly I didn't notice until I stopped taking the valium. Needlss to say, I all of the sudden started experiencing restless leg syndrome. I told my new doctor about all the problems I was experiencing and he didn't want to give me valium. He said that klonopin is longer acting and it helps RLS. 90 minutes after I started taking it I saw better, and that night my RLS went away. A week later my vision felt as it were new and improved. A couple of months ago I had a real bad month and I started abusing my medication by taking more than I was supposed to because of a problem I was having. Unfortunatly I started over medicating myself. Well I stopped taking it and my vision got so much worse. My husband even noticed and didn't say anything until yeaterday because that's whenI saw my doctor and she refilled my script. She also increased my dose to 1 mil twice a day. Again 90 minutes after I took it I can see 100% better. This is how I feel now. I do see better. My perception is enhanced. I feel like my field of vision is wider if that makes sense and I feel HAPPY. I've been so depressed lately cuz of the rp that it feels great to have this little improvement. Next time I see the eye doctor I will talk to him about this. Wow, I actually see details on tree bark, leaves, grass, peoples faces etc. Its amazing. So to conclude. I can take klonopin up to 2 times a day as needed but I usually only take it 1 time a day. I've been taking them for years.
  
  Ir's been a couple hours since I wrote and all discrepencies are gone such as the flashy staggering lights and the big strange shapes that suffocate what vision I have left. THEY are ALL GONE!!! I take this med everyday because it helps my rls and anxiety like I said before. The enchanced vision is a definite plus! I am very happy with it right now. I stopped taking the ativan because a doc hasn't prescribed it again but I was told that adavan and xanax pretty much work the same and they have short life spans. Valium lasts longer but klonopin lasts the longest. These all work real well when I take them daily. I take them 7 days in a row. I just wanted to tell you all this before I check the links you sent, which im gonna do right now and then respond. (Please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors.)im sorry about your vision loss. It must be a scary sensation to ride in a car and not being able to see anything. My thoughts are with you. Ill write more after I read the articles you posted. Talk to you soon.

• Posted: 2008-10-08 11:52:24 By Thomas P
• Hi anastasia g...
  
  Did you get a chance to look up those links?
  I hope you are doing well.
  You can PM me at:
  ultra215@gmail.com

• Posted: 2008-10-14 16:42:35 By anastasia g
• Hey Thomas,
  I haven't checked the links yet. I am waiting to get internet. I just moved into a new place. Hectic. I am looking forward to those links and contacting you. Best wishes,
  Anastasia

• Posted: 2008-10-15 19:06:16 By anastasia g
• Hey Thomas,
  I haven't checked the links yet. I am waiting to get internet. I just moved into a new place. Hectic. I am looking forward to those links and contacting you. Best wishes,
  Anastasia

• Posted: 2008-12-05 21:11:14 By Thomas P
• Hey anastasia g...
  where have you gone?
  Hope everything is well.
  Thomas
  
  P.S. Some of us are over at RPList now.
  It's an easier format using email or gmail.