can I drive a tractor trailer while taking ativan for generalized anxiety disorder?

I perfer weed,, makes me mellow and not really care if a driver steps on my crap filled walmart bag & 32 ounce gatorade bottle of yellow mist...

 

Sure you can, Take whatever precautions you need to make sure you're not without your medication. Its just like people who take meds for diabetes or high blood pressure. If there's one thing I've seen lurking around this forum is that some people are going to bash you for anything. Its like they get enjoyment from it. I usually try to take advice from people who seem to mean it constructively, and there are a lot of those also, and ignore the other ones. Hope to see you on the road soon.

Doug

 

post of the week

 

To the op, if you have been on this medication for some time now, and you are truly stable and safe on it, you have valid prescriptions and they are not banned substances, then go for it. There is no reason not to.

Just make certain that you ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS check and double check that you have your medication, and that you have plenty of it, so that you cannot possibly run out.

Just be responsible and be safe. Good luck.

 

I did quote your whole post. And you failed to mention how i get caught up in things? That is in a completely different forum and i have no trouble sleeping. I love how people that take meds for things or have taken the meds in the past always have some excuse for things...

 

I don't think rugarfan is to far off if you read about the drug. It is meant for short term use 2 to 4 weeks. With long term use there can be withdrawals which is what he experienced. The medicine Ativan is a trade name for Lorazepam recommends you don't drive until you know how it effects you. It's not on the banned list but mental disorders are. You already said it has effected your driving.

I'm not here to make fun of you or nothing like that tj. I'm just giving my 2 cents. You take it for what it's worth if anything.

I see a lot of my niece in you. After taking anxiety and depression drugs in her 20's she is now drug free in her 30's and very productive with a great job. There is a connection in all of this. Kids and young adults go through problems no different than anyone else and doctors won't hesitate to pump them full of drugs. Does it help? Yes, but don't forget follow up treatment. Anxiety and depression is short term problems. The brain doesn't stop growing until your about 27-28 and one can have issues anywhere in that growing phase. That's why your anxiety attacks were when you was 25. You are 30 now and your brain is fully grown. That's why you are starting to make more responsible decisions. If I'm close tj which you don't have to say I would guess you were somewhat of a party animal in your early years. As a result comes the anxiety and depression for some. You're a grown man now. It's time to put all that behind you and focus on the family. You're headed in the right direction you just have a little more brushing off to do.

Your first step is to secure your CDL since you came that far. The second step is to free yourself of the medication which might take 2 weeks to get over the physical want and probably longer to get over the mental part. You ain't gonna take it the rest of your life so you might as well get the agony of quitting it now while you are unemployed. Tell your doctor your plans and see what he says. You will feel better as soon as you get over the dependency. Then when that is over then you will be able to go full force on your new career. Put a picture of your wife and kid on the dash to remind you why you are out there.

The route you are going now there will be problems down the road. Even though the drug is legal you have to get by the company doctors and their insurance requirements. They can be stricter than some walk in clinic that made a few dollars off you. They should of not approved you until they had a letter from a specialist like a psychiatrist and not you telling them your primary care physician said it was okay. That wasn't a real DOT physical.

Let's say someone crossed the median and hit you head on and clearly their fault. The family is still going to sue you because that's the American way. The lawyers will use any little thing they can find against you. They will have their own doctor testifying one shouldn't be driving on Ativan, it says it right on the label, blah, blah, blah. When you drive truck you have to keep all your ducks in a row to protect your own interest. It's considered a safety sensitive job because the motoring public is all around your office. Sure rules are broken everyday because drivers don't think anything will ever happen to them. The bottom line is it can happen to anyone no matter how good one thinks they are.

It's not over with. It's just starting. I'd keep my head up and look at it as a challenge. A couple years from now you'll look back and say you done the right thing and feel good about it. Good luck!

 

Great post condo!!!

 

Ativan will not show, on the drug test.

If you are under medical supervision, you will not have any problems.

 

I feel for ya bro. Mental illness is very real and if it needs to be treated y medication you must take the meds as prescribed. No taking extra or skipping days. I just posted a similar thread about a medication I may take a few times a year. There are a lot of fantastic people on this website that have great information to offer, but there are also a few that are just out there. Bi-polar disorder and manic depression are very treatable with proper medication and someone taking these meds should not be excluded from driving. To hear some of these blow hards in here if you take any prescription for anything at all you should be banned from driving a truck. I wonder if any of these blow hards take any type of medication for blood pressure, colesteral, allergies, gout, authritus, back pain etc. I hope things work out for you. Consult your doctor, be very honest with him and yourself, and like someone previously said, would you want someone you love and care about traveling along side your truck? I think when it comes to these questions like exhaustion, medication, securing your cargo, condition of equipment, etc. the best way to look at it is would I want somebody I love near this truck? Happy holidays.

Adam

 

post 26 and the quote in post 27 are nowhere near the full quote. but enough of that

the fact is some people have benefitted greatly from meds, many can take meds for a while and then when they learn a new way of dealing with things they can come off them. sometimes this is as simple as removing a ton of stress in ones life. fir example if you have a job that drives you up the wall working for someone, you become an o/o to change the situation you are in.

some people try to come off meds and simply cant function without them.

are meds abused or overused, over prescribed ? there is no doubt about it. but you cant make that statement across the board that everyone on meds could do just fine without them. can you start meds and come off them and do fine, yes you can.

it all goes back in essence to the stigma of mental illness, many who could use some help don't get it because of the social stigma against it.

but you simply cant say that anyone could learn to function without meds, or that no one ever actually needs meds.

and rugerfan, it doesn't matter where you posted the info. if you got a situation that is causing you to the stress you describe where you get caught in little things and get angry quite often over little things, you might need to get that stress out of your life. it isn't good for you long term, please understand I am not trying to rag you on that, just I been there and it sneaks up on you before ya realize it. I hope you understand that.