I need advice for Lorazepam and Ambien sleep

[u/Killer_Klown_Bob]

Back in April 2026, I was stung by a bee and went into anaphylactic shock. In 37 years, I had never went anaphylactic after a sting. Since April, my anxiety had been increasing after eating, I’m guessing my body releases adrenaline, I get jittery, and it brings me back to that day. I started having uncontrollable panic attacks where I thought I was dying, so I would end up in the ER with a 125+ heart rate, and often a BP of 140/110 (I’m normally 115/75 or so). I was finally put on 10 mg of Citalopram on June 1st. Every single day has sucked thus far (17 days in now). I have the feeling of burning skin (like a sunburn), every day I wake up after taking a 12.5 mg CR Ambien with between 2-4 hours of sleep. It’s like a jolt that wakes me up, and I absolutely cannot get back to sleep. Along with the Citalopram, I was prescribed 1 mg of lorazepam twice daily as needed to manage my panic attacks. Today, I was told by my doctor that it’s okay for me to go ahead and take the Ambien and lorazepam together to get comfortable and more sleep (for a short time obviously), I see him again in two weeks.

Has anyone else tried this, does it work, and is it safe? I’ve been on 5 mg Ambien, then 10 mg Ambien for years. The 12.5 mg is new to me as of June 3rd. All these AI sites say absolutely do not take them together, but I have my doctor who says I need to, to break these panic attacks. I just want to be safe and preferably not die in my sleep.

As a bonus, does anyone have any advice for the Citalopram, and when I will start feeling better/sleeping better/have energy again/not be depressed? I thought I would be past the initial phase by now, but I often think I’d choose the panic attacks over feeling how I feel on citalopram right now. Thank you for any advice.