Lorazepam

How may people on this forum are taking Lorazepam? I have been taking it for two weeks and I think it is a wonderful medication and helps me in so many aspects of my life. It helps to reduce my anxiety and mental and physical restlessness. The only side effect that I have experienced so far is a little bit of drowsiness and that really isn't too bad. What are your experiences on the drug?

-The_Matrix

i take it occasionally. it works okay for me. helps if i get really anxious.....pat

Do you notice any side effects?

-The_Matrix

I take it occasionally for my anxiety, but only on an "as needed" basis. I don't have any side effects from it. But it does work wonders at night if I'm having difficulties (which is when the anxiety usually bother's me the most).

I'm glad it's working well for you!

Hugssss
J

I took it "as needed" when I had to fly this summer. It calmed me down, but I was alert enough to go through security and do all the stuff I had to do at the airports. It worked very well for me. I did notice that I had some memory loss of things that happened while I was on it, though. So, it's not something that would work for me in my daily life.

I have taken lorazepam in the past for anxiety. They worked great! They did cause a little bit of sleepiness. The problem was I became dependent on them and started to abuse them and other benzos. Now, my pdoc only gives them to me for airplane flights and then only gives me 4-6 of them. They still work great, but I have to be very careful with them.

Lorazepam (Ativan) works great for anxiety. It is stronger than the other benzos (although I've never tried Valium, so can't comment on that one), but it only has a half-life of 4 hours. That means that you may need to keep taking it throughout the day just to stay at a steady state in your bloodstream. For an as-needed basis, it would be great for its effectiveness. It only made me sleepy when I first started taking it....until my body knew what it was.

Clonazepam (Klonopin) is better as a benzo to take on a daily basis. It has a half life of about 16 hours, but it is NOT as strong as Ativan. The calmness comes on subtly. But you still will probably have to take multiple doses per day if you have extreme anxiety that you are trying to overcome.

Good luck and God bless,
Sandy

DePressMe:

By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you today!!!!!!!!! I hope you have a very enjoyable time!

God bless,
Sandy

I agree with you about Clonazepam, Sandy. I've been on Clonazepam 0.5 mg (1x or 2x per day) for a few years now. It doesn't work as quickly and it doesn't calm me down as much as Ativan, but I think that's a good thing for me. I don't get the memory loss I got on Ativan. I can also take one at work if I'm feeling panicky and still be alert enough to do my job well. Ativan makes me much more drowsy. Clonazepam basically just takes the edge off my anxiety and cuts out that "sensory overload" I get sometimes. I have also found that because it doesn't give me that INSTANT calm like Ativan, I haven't worried about becoming addicted to it. I have actually decreased my dose over the years and sometimes go days without taking one. Recently, I have just been taking one occasionally before bed to help me sleep -- because I found that I was having more trouble falling asleep at night since I've been on Lexapro.

When I had really severe agoraphobia, Clonazepam worked wonders for me. I was reluctant to try any benzos because I was afraid of addiction, so my doc recommended Clonazepam and told me it was the least-addictive of the benzos. Within 3 days of being on it, I actually went on a short shopping trip with my sister... That was HUGE because my agoraphobia had been so bad, I would normally have a meltdown if I had to step outside my front door. I hadn't been to a mall in nearly 4 years at that point. So, I am incredibly grateful that my doctor gave me Clonazepam. It was the first step in my recovery -- calmed me down enough to start therapy and try other meds.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! I hope it's a good one!

I have been taking Ativan for about 5 years. When I started taking it I was quite the sick individual. I don't recall my very first dose but early on I was taking anywhere from just 4mg at bedtime to 7-8mg over the course of a day. It's hard to know what was my anxiety disorder and what was a side effect of the medication. I was on other medication as well. I was having serious employment difficulties and needed the Ativan just to get through a day at work. I was terrified of my job and sometimes would be physically shaking so badly I could hardly do the job.

Fortunately now I am doing much better and have been stable on all my medications for about 3 years. I currently am taking 2mg of Ativan at bedtime. While I carry it with me during the day I don't remember the last time I needed any other than at night. If I happen to miss my bedtime dose I am either unable to fall asleep or wake up repeatedly. It's easy to tell I missed it, so then I just take it. I'm still on other meds too, so I'm not sure if this is definitely the Ativan or not but after I take all my bedtime meds I need to allow at least 8 hours of sleep or I will have difficulty waking up.

i don't really notice any side effects. but i am one who worries about addiction, so i don't take it very often. it helps me a lot when i do take it........xoxo pat

HI there. Did you have a particular question on ativan?

I take 1/2-3/4 mg to sleep on and also have been on it for years. I also keep some on me for "emergencies" but do not use it often. I do think of trying to back off of it to 0 but have not. Does your dose concern you. My pdoc considers my 1/2 mg dose minimal as do I but sometimes I do wonder about things over the long term.

You may wish to play with getting off of it particularly starting on weekends or vacations but ... that depends on your question. I am a fine one to talk as I am rather fond of the stuff.

Lorazepam side effects-

drowsiness,sedation, fatigue, headache, unsteadiness and difficulty with balance when walking.

Other rare effects are drowsiness, sedation, blurring of vision, aggressive outbursts of anger, excitement and confusion.

More rare effects are lowering of blood pressure, stomach upset, skin rashes, headache, dizziness, inability to pass urine, changes in sexual desire, anaemia, yellowing of the skin and eyeballs.

Lorazepam is very useful for short courses but should not be taken for long term use as it is addictive.

Going off ativan, again:

I would like to hear others' experience with this drug. I've had a combination depression/anxiety thing for a few years. I've used ativan, on and off, and now I'm wondering if it keeps me depressed. I'm on Celexa for the depression.

I should have posted this under lorazepam (ativan). Sorry!
I'm gong to try posting it . . . .here.

OVer the years, it has helped a lot. It's done me more good than harm. That's the problem. If it's not physical, there at least is a psychological dependance.

Lorazepam is in a group of drugs called benzodiazepines. It affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause anxiety.
Lorazepam is used to treat anxiety disorders.
Do not use this medication if you are allergic to lorazepam or to other benzodiazepines.