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Ativan

Lorazepam

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User Ratings

Out of 10

Satisfaction

4.5

4.7 Effectiveness

5.3 Side Effects

5.9 Holistic Benefits

RateADrug users have reported 12 Ativan side effects and 4 Ativan benefits.

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Treatment Information

Description | Uses & Side Effects | Warnings

The generic name of this medication is lorazepam and brand names are Ativan and Temesta.

The active ingredient of this medication is lorazepam.

Ativan is used to treat anxiety disorders.

Common Uses:

This medication is used to treat anxiety disorders.

Off Label Uses:

None noted currently.

Side Effects:
Confusion, depressed mood, suicidal thoughts;
Hyperactivity, agitation, hostility;
Hallucinations; or
Light-headedness, fainting.

Cautions / Warnings:

Not recommended in patients with:
Allergic reactions to this medication or any of its ingredients;
Allergic reactions to lorazepam or to other benzodiazepines, such as alprazolam (Xanax), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), clorazepate (Tranxene), diazepam (Valium), or oxazepam (Serax);
Breathing problems;
Glaucoma;
Renal conditions;
Liver disorders;
A history of depression, suicidal thoughts, or addiction to drugs or alcohol.

It is also not recommended in pregnant women; women planning on becoming pregnant; and nursing mothers.

Drug Interactions:
Barbiturates like amobarbital (Amytal), butabarbital (Butisol), mephobarbital (Mebaral), secobarbital (Seconal), or phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton);
MAO inhibitors like isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate);
Medicines used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders; like chlorpromazine (Thorazine), haloperidol (Haldol), mesoridazine (Serentil), pimozide (Orap), or thioridazine (Mellaril);
Narcotic medications like butorphanol (Stadol), codeine, hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), levorphanol (Levo-Dromoran), meperidine (Demerol), methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), morphine (Kadian, MS Contin, Oramorph), naloxone (Narcan), oxycodone (OxyContin), propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvocet).

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Exclusive Features

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Famous People with Anxiety

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Drew Barrymore

Actress, film producer, and director Drew Barrymore had a troubled childhood. She now suffers from severe insomnia and anxiety attacks.

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How does your Treatment Compare?

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Brands	Effectiveness	Holistic Benefits	Side Effects	Number of Ratings
Alprazolam	8	6.8	3.35	23
Xanax	7.15	7.23	3.67	52
Lexapro	6.35	6.6	4.29	31
Zoloft	5.62	6.1	4.17	24
Ativan	4.1	5.29	4.07	10
Cymbalta	3.78	4.98	5.52	23

View All	About these Scores
	Choose a condition to compare treatments based on user feedback. You can sort by Effectiveness, Holistic Benefits or Side Effects RateADrug user scores, or the number of Ratings. Scores gain significance with the number of ratings, so please share your experiences - rate your drug! Close

Effectiveness of Ativan by Condition

Click on a condition to view RateADrug.com users ratings

Anxiety

Social Anxiety Disorder

Stress

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Effectiveness on "Anxiety"

About these Results
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the distribution in percentages of how users rate the effectiveness of their medication. Click on the various conditions to see how the effectiveness ratings change. Close

Not at all

Mildly

Moderately

Very

Extremely

How effective is Ativan?

Reported Changes in Health and Well-Being

Since taking Ativan, RateADrug survey participants noticed these changes in their health:

Effect on:	Much Worse	Worse	No Change	Better	Much Better
Appetite	0%	36.4%	54.5%	9.1%	0%
Balance/Equilibrium	20%	10%	70%	0%	0%
Blood Pressure	0%	9.1%	63.6%	27.3%	0%
Breathing	0%	27.3%	45.5%	18.2%	9.1%
Confidence	0%	25%	41.7%	16.7%	16.7%
Coordination/Motor Skills	20%	20%	50%	0%	10%
Digestion	0%	10%	80%	0%	10%
Emotional Well-being	16.7%	25%	16.7%	16.7%	25%
Energy	10%	40%	30%	0%	20%
Eyesight	0%	30%	60%	10%	0%
Memory	20%	20%	50%	10%	0%
Mental Clarity	10%	30%	50%	0%	10%
Pain	0%	0%	90.9%	9.1%	0%
Patience	8.3%	25%	25%	25%	16.7%
Sexual Health	0%	30%	60%	0%	10%
Skin Complexion	10%	0%	90%	0%	0%
Sleep	8.3%	16.7%	8.3%	33.3%	33.3%
Stress Level	0%	25%	25%	16.7%	33.3%

About these Scores
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the distribution in percentages of negative or positive changes in health and well-being experienced by users for all of the categories listed. Close

Commonly Reported Ativan Side Effects

RateADrug survey participants experienced these commonly reported side effects:

Effect on:	None	Mild	Moderate	Strong	Severe
Allergic Reaction	90%	0%	0%	0%	10%
Anxiety	55.6%	11.1%	22.2%	0%	11.1%
Blurred Vision	66.7%	33.3%	0%	0%	0%
Change in Sex Drive	60%	30%	0%	0%	10%
Change in Weight	62.5%	12.5%	12.5%	0%	12.5%
Constipation	57.1%	28.6%	0%	14.3%	0%
Diarrhea	54.5%	18.2%	27.3%	0%	0%
Dizziness	60%	10%	10%	10%	10%
Drowsiness	27.3%	27.3%	18.2%	27.3%	0%
Dry Mouth	60%	30%	10%	0%	0%
Fatigue	40%	30%	0%	10%	20%
Gas	66.7%	33.3%	0%	0%	0%
Headache	63.6%	27.3%	9.1%	0%	0%
Insomnia	80%	10%	0%	0%	10%
Irritability / Impatience	44.4%	33.3%	0%	11.1%	11.1%
Mood Swings	33.3%	66.7%	0%	0%	0%
Nausea	77.8%	22.2%	0%	0%	0%
Sensitivity to Light	66.7%	33.3%	0%	0%	0%
Stomach Ache	66.7%	33.3%	0%	0%	0%
Sweating	66.7%	22.2%	0%	0%	11.1%
Tremors	60%	0%	20%	0%	20%

About these Scores
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the distribution in percentages of the severity of side effects experienced by users. Scores gain significance with the number of ratings, so please share your experiences - rate your drug! Close

Less Commonly Reported Ativan Side Effects

RateADrug survey participants experienced less commonly reported side effects:

Effect on:	None	Mild	Moderate	Strong	Severe
Aggressive / Impulsive Behavior	70%	0%	20%	10%	0%
Amnesia / Memory Loss	66.7%	11.1%	0%	11.1%	11.1%
Blurred Vision	71.4%	28.6%	0%	0%	0%
Confusion	42.9%	14.3%	28.6%	0%	14.3%
Coordination / Balance Problems	42.9%	14.3%	14.3%	14.3%	14.3%
Depression	71.4%	0%	0%	28.6%	0%
Disorientation	44.4%	11.1%	22.2%	0%	22.2%
Double Vision	85.7%	0%	14.3%	0%	0%
Energy Loss	44.4%	0%	33.3%	11.1%	11.1%
Feelings of Anger / Rage	66.7%	11.1%	22.2%	0%	0%
Hallucinations	85.7%	0%	14.3%	0%	0%
Impaired Thinking / Judgment	50%	30%	0%	0%	20%
Indigestion	66.7%	22.2%	0%	11.1%	0%
Reduced Libido	40%	0%	40%	0%	20%
Slow Reflexes	50%	30%	0%	20%	0%
Slurred Speech	60%	40%	0%	0%	0%

About these Scores
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the distribution in percentages of the severity of side effects experienced by users. Scores gain significance with the number of ratings, so please share your experiences - rate your drug! Close

Episodes since taking Ativan

Since taking Ativan Rate a Drug survey participants reported these episodes:

Fall	4.5%
Hallucination	4.5%

Hospitalization

4.5%

About these Results
Out of 100% of people surveyed, these results show the percentage of users who have experienced any of these episodes while taking their medication. Close

How does your experience compare with other Ativan users?

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User Comments about Ativan

08 Apr 2011

other then it makes me really tired, it helps with my anxiety alot

—Posted by Anonymous

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06 Nov 2010

My husband has MD and sleep apnea. He was given atavan for sleeping. He now cannot walk or feed himself after one week on this drug.. He sleeps all day and has been doing that now for 4 days. We are praying he comes out of that and begins walking again. He has been in a facility for 3 years and I am finding they drug the heck out of people so that all they do is sleep..the food and drug act states that drugs are given not for the benefit of the patient but for the benefit of the care aid....so they will ask the dr. for anything that will keep the patient quiet.

—Posted by Frustrated

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02 Aug 2010

Ativan when combined and given with a Blood Pressure medicine lowers the Blood Pressure to an considerable level Infact The Blood Pressure can go toooooo low and the heart rate also slows down.

—Posted by Anonymous

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02 Aug 2010

Thanks, we gave it up totally after that urinary retention problem. Now Mom has NO delusional side effects at all, no DeadZone attitudes, no arguments about me trying to kill her. And it was supposed to control anxiety and delusions. Not exactly. I have kept it on hand for ONE TIME use should Mom ever need sedating, but so far not use once. this was a tiny dose too.

—Posted by CJWright

29 Jun 2010

Ativan was Rx'd my mother, after awful side effects developed using Seroquel. We used half the max dose rec by her doctor. Mom is 90 and has almost stage 7 Alzheimer's. She was Rx'd Seroquel after being combative in the hospital and having "wanna die" delusions. After the initial calming Zonk of Seroquel, she started to develop severe rigor mortis, choking, facial tics, tongue weirdities. I researched and got her off it quick. We gave a week's rest then started low dose Ativan. At first that really calmed Mom down so she could get full night's sleep, and it stopped the panic attacks (or whatever they were) from even starting. However, she got into this fatalistic DeadZone spiral, especially when trying to deal with minor physical problems like congested sinuses, loose fitting dentures, pooping. Whatever. It was all reason to "let me go" and "just kill me then." SO, the tendency is to UP the dose to stop the anxiety. Luckily I didn't do it. The only reason I got her off it was because my RN nurse niece, who worked in senior psyche ward, mentioned that often her patients on this Rx (and similar) developed urine retention problems. Mom had this agonizing condition and was within minutes (literally in the ER) of being permanently catherized and sedated and into a nursing home...for the rest of her life. The only reason Mom was let out of the ER was because they felt the problem was intially a UTI and sent her home with Cipro. Then I found it was NOT a UTI, but did find out about the Ativan. We stopped it immediately. Result...Mom has NO delusions whatsoever. None, nadda. Ten months of anti psychotic nightmare...all unnecessary? Mom is regaining her strength, her cognition, etc. She's reading again, or trying to. Game to go out to places, enjoying life. No more nightmares. I cannot go back and relive the past year (problems started with a fall...and "nothing is wrong with her...must be in her head"). So they REALLY made sure it was in her head all right. You know, nobody in the medical field ever takes responsiblity for any of this. Well, side effects you know, all drugs have them. My mom's life was ruined for about ten months...and that's with just these drugs. Don't get me started about Ditropan, which presented my Mom with ten YEARS of dementia. And Zocor also. Dementia side effects. However, for a few weeks, it did work to lessen the attacks,and Ativan was much kinder than Seroquel. That stuff is evil.

—Posted by CJWright

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