ATIVAN Reviews (LORAZEPAM)Average Rating: 3.3 (709 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ATIVAN with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Date from oldest to newest. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 |
More on ATIVAN: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ATIVAN | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | depression | addicted taking as prescribed, then became out of control | Detox, hospitalization, for three months. NEVER USE THIS DRUG OR ANY BENZOS. ALMOST KILLED ME. | M | 71 | 12 months | 4/26/2008 | 5 | Anxiety | slight drowsiness within maybe 15-20 minutes after taking then it goes away and I feel fine. | I'm 29 and have had a prescription for Ativan/Lorazepam (generic) for about 4 years now. My script is for only .5 mg. I take it only as needed, when I know I'm going into a situation that is going to make me anxious...maybe once a week. I like how Ativan works for me, in about an hour after I take it the nervous/anxiety I get is gone and I feel like my normal self and not neurotic! I had tried a low dose of Xanax once which I actually slightly prefer more but I think its because of the slight high you get with it. I don't have an addictive personality but I had an additional boost of confidence with the Xanax...probably the "high" effect. My new Dr. wouldn't prescribe me Xanax though. She even informed me at my visit today how addictive Ativan is because of the Valium family it comes from. She would only give me 30 pills and no refills and she expects this to last me 6 months. I guess I'm glad she's proactive and watchful of what she prescribes. | F | 29 | 4 years | 5/1/2008 | 4 | depression and panic | This drug helps in the beginning, it takes edge off. BUT EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE!!! I'm shocked at the painfull withdrawl I am having to endure after only 15 days of treatment. I have been having major life changes and upsets so rather than exploding in hid from the problem and was up to 10-15 mg of it a day over the last couple weeks. You MUST taper off this drug. | I have taken ativan on and off for years in very very low doses, maybe one every few months when stressed. This is crazy, I feel that I have now lost my mind and don't rememebr the last few weeks...guess that was to be expected but wow. It does work, but be carefull. | F | 35 | 15 days | 5/1/2008 | 3 | Anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia | Sleepiness (not bad if you want to sleep) foggy feeling, lapses in memory, a feeling of being drugged, being a bit "out of it." | This is a POWERFUL tranquilizer. What makes it so tricky, is that sometimes you don't even realize how much it is affecting you and your behavior. Memory problems are pretty bad if you take more than 2 mg a day. If you take more than 1 mg at at a time, you will definately have a few "grey outs" while under the influence of the pill. Yes, it relaxes the hell out of you, and helps you sleep. It slows down your mind. So, if you get those racing thoughts at night, it shuts em down. And it totally punches a hole into a "freak out anxiety attack" episode. I just don't like the feeling I am taking something this strong and addictive. I end up feeling guilty about it! I would say, use this med only for short term stints when you really are having bad, bad anxiety. Don't just take it to "chill out." That's a recipe for disaster. If you use it just once a week or so, you should be okay. DO NOT take it everyday, YOU WILL REGRET IT, and YOU WILL GET HOOKED. I take it | F | 34 | 2 weeks | 5/2/2008 | 5 | insomnia, anxiety, depression | none | This was a wonder drug for me and I slept good without waking up in the night with fears and anxiety. I have had to increase the dosage over time and the doctor is concerned and wants to switch me to xanax. | M | 76 | 5 years | 5/5/2008 | 5 | Hep C treatment side-effects | None. I fell in love w/ this drug. It got me through the six month Hep C treatment program, which gave me major panic attacks. I continued to take it because I felt the Hep C drugs gave me permanent side effects such as Restless Leg and leg muscle cramps, and Ativan helped relieve me of the discomforts. | After being on Ativan for 3 years without any interruptions, a new doctor is trying to ween me off with Buspar, which has been a nightmare of side effects these past 6 months- and it hasn't helped. Now I'm being weened off Buspar. I'm still taking Ativan twice a day. I see Dr on Thurs. Any advice to get off of Ativan without too much difficulty? (withdrawals) Please respond with subject-Ativan user. | F | 56 | 3 years | 5/10/2008 | 4 | insomnia, anxiety | Dry mouth. | It was prescribed for me to ease the apparent temporary insomnia I had. Prozac during the day was not enough to take the edge off, even though I felt good. Maybe I felt too good? Anyway, Ativan takes only 20-30 minutes to work, and I take just 1/2 milligram. Due to concern (mine and my doctor's) over possible dependence/tolerance, I only take it when I have a really bad night, or if I have had a few consecutive bad nights. It works faster than Klonopin, which I tried about 2 months. But it takes too long to start working (over an hour). I only wish I could feel that relaxed, all the time, on my own...Because it basically knocks me out, I can only take it at bedtime, and not during anxious times during the day. "Rebound" effect is bad if Ativan taken several days in a row. (Even worse insomnia, but it does settle back down.) | F | 46 | 6 months | 5/10/2008 | 5 | Mild, Intermittent Anxiety | None | I've been taking Ativan on and off for 3 years and only take 1/4 mg (1/2 of a .5!) and find that's enough. I don't want to feel euphoric, just "not anxious". Works like a charm. The most frequent I've taken it is 4 days in a row, but only one time each day. I'm one of the lucky ones; don't need it for sleep, don't need it every day. I had already done the research regarding addiction (as I do with any medication) so I use my own coping skills as much as possible to avoid any complications or need to up the dosage. I don't feel any change when I don't take it. If you start to feel high when you take it, then cut the dosage in half. My 2 cents' worth! | F | 55 | 3 years | 5/29/2008 | 5 | Anxiety and Sleep Disorder | No side effects, you want to stop taking it...taper the doses | I am a cancer survivor among other things, and have taken ativan on and off for three years, more on in the last nine months. I am having anxiety issues and am thinking about going on the lowest dose of Paxil, split in half, and going off the ativan all together. I take less then the prescribed dose of Ativan, and it helps. I know that I have to wean myself from one and half mgs a day to .75 mg and so on and so forth, SO WHAT? NEWS FLASH: any anxiety or anti depressant medication is habit forming or addicting and can not be stopped COLD TURKEY, wake up. | F | 51 | 3 years | 5/30/2008 | 5 | episodes of anxiety, insomnia | Occasional reduction of appetite if I use it more than 3 times per week. | This is a WONDERFUL drug when used responsibly! I've been taking 0.25 to 0.5 mg 1-2 times per week, before bed ONLY, if I'm too anxious to sleep. Before this drug, I had terrible bouts of insomnia that would leave me unable to function or go to work. Something would stress me out, causing intense anxiety, and then I wouldn't sleep. Then I'd start worrying about not sleeping, and this vicious cycle of anxiety/insomnia would get a hold on me. It was ruining my life! Thanks to ativan, I don't have to worry about anxiety affecting my sleep anymore, so I've stopped obsessing about it. If I am too anxious to sleep, I know I can take a pill...and just knowing I can take ativan makes me relax enough to sleep (so I often don't even need to take it). This drug has developed a terrible reputation because many people don't use it RESPONSIBLY. They take too high a dose and use it too often. I take it responsibly: low doses used only a few times a week, with breaks in between. I'm really sorry this | F | 44 | 10 years | 6/11/2008 | 5 | to stay asleep | No known side effects | I accidentally quit taking it while on vacation. I thought I had it with me and did not, but didn't realize it for 10 days. I really did not have any side effects by quitting cold turkey after taking it daily for 15 years. I was also a daily beer drinker for 30 years and quit that cold turkey, too. Lucky I guess. | M | 64 | 15 years | 6/13/2008 | 5 | Panic attacks and Bi-Polar | None.....Im hypersensitive to meds and this one is Great, take 3mg a day for the last 8 years, no increases | Not addictive, I have went a year or so inbetween the eight years I have been on this drug without it. I use to only take it when I needed it, now all the docs want me to take it 3 times a day so I don't feel the anxiety for 30 or so mins...Love this meds, it stopped the Er visits and cutting and burning and bad tempers.....all the bi-polar meds are bad.. | M | 38 | 8 years | 6/13/2008 | 1 | Anziety | disorientation, memory lapses, loss of inhibitions, poor judgement leading to overdose. | I thought this was the miracle drug. It stopeed the anxiety attacts and I only took it as needed. Like before a social event or during an attack. It was like that for a year FOR ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN ON IT FOR A YEAR oR MORE...things can still go bad and did, for me!! It can also depend on your other meds. I was on prozac aswell and for just as long. During a particually rouch time in my life I was needing the ativan more, then more, then more, I felt like I HAD TO HAVE IT to be straight. I lost about 2 weeks to a blurry world where I didn't know myself or what I was doing. Driving and not remembering all off it. Being in a place and not reconizing it later.Eventually,during a horrible anxiety attack, in my antivan-induced-confused state I took 14mg in 15 min. resulting in a trip to the ER and 3 days in the mental hospital. Needless to say they will never give me Ativan again (and switched me from prozac to effexor-PRAISE GOD!)REMEBER JUST BECAUSE IT WORKED FOR A YEAR FOR YOU DOESN'T | F | 27 | 14 months | 6/18/2008 | 3 | palpitations at nights | tinnitus | ativan worked fine for sleeping...getting tinnitus but may be the brand...am going to check on my thyroid condition to see if that is the cause of heart trying to pick up speed through palpitations (ativan stops the release of epinephrine\adrenline) to raise my blood pressure as I sleep. | F | 52 | 900 days | 6/25/2008 | 5 | Anxiety | None | This medicine was a life-saver as I had a breakdown and needed to take it to control the anxiety while the SSRIs kicked in. Was taking 4 mgs a day but now only take .5 mgs (1 pill) to help with sleep and to keep the anxiety in check. All psychiatric meds have the potential for withdrawal and dependency. This one is not the devil. Just stay true to your dosage and be honest with your PDoc how you use it. It's like a hammer. You can use it to build a house or use it to bash your head in. The foundation for my house is looking good. | M | 33 | 9 months | 6/27/2008 | 3 | Panic Attack | None | HELP NEEDED I take 1mg sublingual as needed. I get panic attacks only when riding in a car. I am losing my eyesight due to RP. I don't know anyone else with this problem of having panic attacks due to going blind. I feel that 1mg will not be enough soon. The 1mg ativan has an 80 percent success rate for me. I take the pill maybe twice a week. Can I safely go to 2mg at once twice a week without addiction? I hope someone can help. | M | 54 | 6 months | 6/30/2008 | 5 | panic attacks | I have only been taking a couple of times so far, recently I went to er for a severe panic attack and they gave me 2mg and it calmed me down right away. I have been taken .5mg as needed and it seems to work so far. | I hope it works for the better, and I do not get addicted like the others have stated. | F | 30 | 2 days | 7/1/2008 | 5 | aggitation, anxiety, insomnia | none at all! | this med helped me through some horrendous anxiety! it made me feel like myself! i also was suffering from insomnia and it gave me full undisturbed sleep! it saved me from going off the deep end with all of the racing thoughts as well! im so glad i have this now for when times are rough! i dont need to take it daily anymore as the prozac i take has kicked in and helped a great deal! thank god!! | F | 25 | 1 years | 7/2/2008 | 4 | Insomnia | 90% of the time this drug works very well for me. I can actually get 5 to 7 hours of sleep. Had to increases dosage, but still find that 10% of the time, it does not help me sleep. Still, am satisfied with this drug and have experienced no side effects. | F | 60 | 7 years | 7/9/2008 | 3 | Stress-related stomach pains | A little spacey | I've taken it sometimes in .1 or .5 mg doses to relieve what seem to be psychosomatic stomach pains related to anxiety and stress. It seems to work fairly well although I'm never quite sure. If I take doses over consecutive days I end up feeling a bit queasy but no big deal. | M | 43 | 3 years | 7/12/2008 |