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 |
| 5 | severe panic attacks | none | This is my miracle drug- it is fast acting so its great for panic attacks- it also helps withdrawls from other medications. it just creates a strong calming effect. Be careful though- it can be addictive. | F | 29 | 2 years | 10/25/2008 | 1 | nocturnal seizures | I was taking 2mg of ativan at bedtime for 2 years because I had seizures when I slept.After being seizure-free for a while,I weaned myself off(I am a nurse,and knew I needed to) and have been unable to sleep,with terrible night sweats and headches.Please consider another medication,and be aware of the physical addiction when quitting. | F | 46 | 2 years | 10/25/2008 | 4 | Anxiety Attacks | Tiredness, slight increase in Libido (which is good) nauseau if taking on empty stomach. Slurred speach if I take 3mg. Memory loss. | The addictiveness, but at this time - it benefits the anxiety attacks, and I can deal with that later. I'm taking it in combination with Celexa for mild depression. | F | 34 | 2 months | 11/3/2008 | 5 | anxiety, rages | slight euphoria | I am taking .5mg up to twice a day. This has helped me so much. My rage is gone, and my mind has slowed down enough to evaluate what is making me anxious, instaed of having thoughts running around my brain like a rabid weasel on speed. | F | 33 | 45 days | 11/8/2008 | 5 | anxiety,cardiac arrythmia | none noted | works in about 10/15 minutes when when palpatations are noted 1 or 2 .5 milligram doses / day | M | 69 | 14 months | 11/12/2008 | 4 | Anxiety, insomnia | None. | A wonderful medication. I have used it to deal with two "issues" over the past four years and am starting again after a few months off it. Half a .5mg tablet calms me down in about 20 mins. I don't feel drugged or loopy, just calm; a nice, natural, welcome feeling. After several months, I did develop a tolerance. Stopping was not as difficult as some here say it is. There are concerns, but my psychiatrist says at this low dosage not to worry. For me, this is not the evil drug many make it out to be. It is a welcome relief from anxiety. | M | 51 | | 11/28/2008 | 3 | insomnia and anxiety | addiction, memory problems | Works extremely well for anxiety and insomnia, however you'll have to keep increasing the doses as your body adjusts to the amount you are taking. When it wears off I feel more anxious than I had been before I took it. Highly addictive, be careful. I have very mixed feelings about this drug. I'm currently trying to switch to klonopin, which has a longer half life so you don't need to take it as often. | F | 19 | 15 months | 11/28/2008 | 1 | stress/gastrointestinal issues | no obvious feeling of being high or altered. less prone to anxiety and panic attacks and lessening of insomnia, very little effect on gastrointestinal problems. | took after hurrican katrina wiped me out and with it my job and marriage. doc did not tell me it was meant to be short-term and blithely refilled for 3 years. when i was unable to find him after he relocated i had no choice but to quit cold turkey not knowing how potentially dangerous this could be. it was like kicking heroin except with more psychological symptoms. my (redone) marriage almost ended again and after admitting the reason for my renewed anxiety to my boss she decided to fire me anyway. i fought the withdrawel symptoms with everything in me (including my faith) but only after almost 4 months has it begun to get better. i had almost all withdrawel problems (before i had seen what they were). do not take this drug without being extremely informed and do not consider it long-term. | F | 48 | 3 years | 11/28/2008 | 5 | a little sleepy at times , but gave even more anti anxiety releif | an awesome drug for anxiety, have been on and off it for 2 years, no bad side effects. keeps racing thoughts at bay, so you are able to get on with the task at hand. The only problem is trying to get yr psychiatrist to give out the medicine, they seem to think its worse than heroin!!! this can be annoying and it is the only bad side effect i can think of.My advice is to get it through different doctors, and be honest about any side effects that u may have(as it will react differently with some people) For me even if there are bad health side effects , i would rather die 2-5 years early and have a life without anxiety than be a healthy wreck. | M | 30 | 2 years | 12/22/2008 | 5 | Anxiety | None | After reading some of the silly comments regarding Ativan, it appears that people who claim to have bizarre experiences with this drug probably need to address some issues that Ativan will not help them with. To them I say "Get help now."" Having said that, I've been on this med for 10 years, no side effects, works like a charm, not to difficult to wean off of IF you follow the proper tapering method. DO NOT stop taking this drug cold turkey under any circumstances (the backlash effect is pretty bad). I've run out a few times, and it's not pleasant. Great medicine, highly recommended. | M | 52 | 11 years | 12/24/2008 | 5 | Panic Attacks | I only experienced negative effects in the first few months - sleepy, sluggish - until the right dose was created for me. Other than that....nothing. | Wonderful! I had panic attacks for 4 years, everyday. I tried everything - exercise, meditation, psychologist, breathing exercises, support groups..nothing worked. I had no idea why the attacks were happening. Then I read a book on anxiety, and learned about medications to control it. I really didn't want to go that route, but talked to my doctor. We tried Effexor, which didn't work and I had bad side effects. Then we tried Ativan. 5 years later, I am still on it. I take 2mg a day. I don't even notice that I am on it. No side effects at all - unless you count not having panic attacks. I have experimented a few times by not taking it (to see if I still needed to be on it), and the attacks come back. I carefully have it controlled with my doctor - and my life is amazing. I can go out with friends, visit family, work well at the office - not having severe panic attacks. | F | 35 | 5 years | 12/28/2008 | 5 | Anxiety, AM panic attacks, insomnia | Nothing major | I've been taking Ativan for a number of years and it is the only medication of its category that did not make me dizzy, sluggish, zombie-like. I take 1 or 2 mg. once or twice a day, or sometimes only at night to sleep, or only in the morning when my anxiety/panic is at its worse. I'd be lost without this drug. | F | 66 | 8 years | 12/29/2008 | 4 | Anxiety | None. | I've been taking Ativan for 11 years, 3 to 4 mg per day. It has always helped me with anxiety and at the start it helped me sleep. After 2 months I was having trouble sleeping again. The Ativan has been my little friend for a long time now. I too have run out from time to time and agree it is one of the most excrutiating experiences I've had. At first you think, "Oh I can make it a week" then like someone is tightening a violin string in your body you slowly descend into hell. After 2 days and sleepless nights I had to get to the emergency room where I was given an Ativan and ten minutes later I'm perfectly fine. I am now more frightened of running out than any of the anxiety I ever suffered from. Please don't think I didn't suffer either. Since that time I've really tried to wean myself to a point where I wasn't so dependant on them only to fail every time. Someone previously wrote that when she tried to go without her anxiety came back. Well, of course, however, it's not th | M | 38 | 11 years | 12/30/2008 | 4 | anxiety, spastic colon | Took this medicine for over 10 years. Thought it was a miracle drug. Worked for me for years. Then, started having problems about 3 years ago on a permanent basis. Went to many doctors to find out what was wrong. TMJ dentist for teeth grinding, Neurologist for muscle tremors, ENT doctor for ear ringing and pulsative tinnitis, and sinuses stopping up at night; 2 expensive MRI's that were normal. Cardiologist for heart palpatations, General Practitioner for insomnia and felt like I was either getting an ulcer or spastic colon, and of course the Psychiatrist. Have neck/facial tremors/spasms constantly, constant ear ringing, caused pulsative tinnitus, rapid heartbeat, memory loss, trouble concentrating, irritability and extreme insomnia. Got to a point where I was taking 1 mg in morning and 1 mg at night. This isn't even the normal dosage, but was having all these side effects. Had severe anxiety and shaking when I didn't take dose on time and couldn't sleep. | Now I have been on the 'Ashton' slow taper down program for about 2 months. Keep a journal of all I do and medicine I take every day to try to figure out a pattern. Still in the process of just switching from ativan to diazepam and getting the dosage equal. 1 mg ativan is about equal to 10 mg diazepam, which is a generic 'valium', but I have found that for some it is more. Lost 10 lbs. Still have hope that this program will work even if it takes me over a year to get off. Will probably always need some type of medicine for anxiety back up, but DO NOT take this medication every day. YOU WILL GET ADDICTED AND WITHDRAWAL IS HORRIBLE! I HOPE to get off of this medicine and only take maybe diazepam or maybe .25 mg of ativan only in specific situations of panic/anxiety, but not regularly. If you take it regularly you better have faith in God because if you don't you will see no reason to continue living when you become tolerant. Honestly, a lot of psychiatrist don't even realize the ad | F | 50 | 10 years | 12/30/2008 | 1 | Anxiety/Palpitation | Took this drug for 3 months, small dosage of 1mg. It was fine at the start. Coming of this drug was a nightmare and with terrible side effect. Do not start on this tablets, you will regret it. They shoul be taken of the market with immediate effect. | don't take these tablets. | M | 38 | 3 months | 1/5/2009 | 5 | insomnia, anxiety | no negative side effects at all | This medication helped me sleep and get through a very tough time. One thing you should be aware of is the reason I was on this medication: NASONEX! As strange as it may seem, if you have been prescribed this RX for anxiety and do not know the source of your anxiety- consider any cortico steroids you may be on. I was shocked and so happy to discover this terrible nose spray caused all of my problems. See this site for more info on Nasonex side effects. | F | 39 | 10 days | 1/7/2009 | 4 | Anxiety / Social anxiety Depression | I'm not sure I've had any real side effects. | I started taking this medication during a battery of ECT as for some reason they didn't want me taking Xanax which I had been on for the same reasons previously. I started with .5mg of Ativan and I think I could have eaten tic-tacks and gotten as much benefit from them. I went up to 1mg while still doing ECT and this didn't do a whole lot for me. After finishing up ECT I went back to my normal doctor and he sortof laughed that the doctors at the ECT hospital had me on such a low dose of Ativan. I had previous to ECT been on 2-4mg of xanax as needed typically 2 times a day. Now I am on a dose that seems to work for me of the ativan 2mg 1-2times a day. I think people need to look at the therapeutic dose of the medication for themselves and not worry about the addiction. I think if you have a competent doctor they should be able to manage your medication. | M | 25 | 3 months | 1/12/2009 | 4 | GAD, Severe Panic Attacks | None | My doctor prescribed .5 mg tablets to take when needed. I was having very intense panic attacks, and I use Celexa daily. The doctor told me to take the Ativan only when I "felt like I was gonna die". My anxiety attacks were characterized by shortness of breath and severe chest pain, so I felt "like I was gonna die" pretty often. However, I decided to use the Ativan only when I absolutely had to, and only after I let the Celxa do it's job. The two drugs have been a lifesaver...I only have to take the Ativan about once a month, and it begins to relieve my anxiety symptoms within about twenty minutes. It doesn't space me out or make me woozy or "high". I have no fear of becoming addicted, and I think when paired with a seperate anti-anxiety medication it can be very effective. | F | 21 | 3 months | 1/12/2009 | 5 | Panic Attacks | None. Just very relaxed and calm. | Ativan is a miracle drug for Panic. It is fast acting and kicks a panic attack within minutes. It also tends to help with nausea- I find it to be much more effective than valium, clonopin, xanax, or any of the other benzo's. I think its better because it works faster and doesn't make you as tired. | F | 29 | 3 years | 1/19/2009 | 5 | anxirty | none | M | 34 | 22 days | 1/25/2009 |