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 | sedative for MRI | Worked great during the procedure. I didn't have a care in the world. When it started wearing off, I became VERY violent. Hitting people even. My daughter said to make sure I never take this again! | F | 37 | | 1/28/2009 | 4 | anxiety disorder/ insomnia | sleepiness | I started using Ativan to help with withdrawl from Ambien which was a nightmare! I was taking 1 mg, twice per day, for about a month. As I began to feel better I tapered off to about 2-3 times per week and eventually was only using maybe 4 or 5 times per month. Didn't have any kind of withdrawl at that time. About a month and a half ago my anxiety started to become debilitating and my insomnia was making it even worse, so I started taking on a daily basis once again. I also started taking Lexapro at the same time which has really helped alot with the anxiety, so I have been taking the Ativan mainly for sleep. I feel like I am becoming too dependent on them though and so last night I didn't take one. I was up most of the night but the couple of times I did fall asleep I had terrible nightmares which resulted in some mild panic attacks. I was hoping I could stop using them without any problem like before, but I guess I will have to wean myself off slowly. Though I plan t | F | 44 | 2.5 years | 1/29/2009 | 1 | panic attack | developed interdose withdrawal after 13 years of dosing 1 1/2mg per day, symptoms: intense anxiety-panic attacks, ringing in ears, lightheadedness, nausea, chest pain, intense lethargy. | This drug will fool you into thinking it's your best friend, in reality, this drug is your worst enemy. Check the FDA guidelines on this drug, only supposed to be prescribed for 2-3 weeks for temporary suspension of intense anxiety! If you are dependent on this drug you must slow taper off, fast tapers will likely bring about intense withdrawal symptoms! All benzos should really be taken off the market, I suspect they may at some point, read all the horror stories at various benzo forums. | M | 55 | 18 years | 2/4/2009 | 5 | Anxiety over flying after 9/11 | Makes me tired, but I have insomnia so that's a plus. Does cause some memory loss, worsens if I drink wine when taking it. | This drug has been great for me. I have to fly across the country twice a month and Ativan (2mg) taken 1 hour before flight allows me to get on a plane with no (or very manageable) anxiety. It also allows me to sleep on the plane and through the night (I have insomnia too). Sometime when I am worried about getting to sleep I will take 1/2 a pill and within 2 hours I am very sleepy. | F | 39 | 3 years | 2/5/2009 | 3 | panic attacks and anxiety | None really until you decide to stop. I take 4mg in the mid morning, for about 2 years. I know,enough to anethesize a horse. But somewhere it just stoppped working. DOes nothing. Is this normal and should I get off it! | F | 44 | 2 days | 2/9/2009 | 5 | pain | slightly slower and drowsy | relaxes my muscular pain without making me seem inebriated. | M | 43 | 20 days | 2/11/2009 | 4 | Atypical Facial Pain | This drug works for my atypical trigeminal neuralgia. I don't like using it everyday but it is the only thing that works for the pain and does not feel as damaging as nuerontin. I still prefer not to be on it if I had a choice b/c it supresses emotions and causes brain fog. I also hear the withdrawals are pretty rough. | at first I got euphoric from the drug. Found out that when I exercise a lot (like 8 miles a day for a week) I get high off of it again even after chronic use. | M | 24 | 2 years | 2/12/2009 | 1 | For Nausa due to Chemotherapy | I was given Ativan by my doctor for nausa due to Interferon treatment. Ativan caused me to be depressed, extremely irritable (almost uncontrolable), anxiety with racing thoughts, confusion and blurred vision. I took this medication for 13 months and stopped completely last December after 4 months of gradually tapering off, I took up to 6 mgs a day at times. After 3 months of being off Ativan I am still withdrawling. I still have depression, still irritable, constant upset stomach, confusion, blurred vision and night sweats, which were really bad in the beginning. DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICATION, unless, like a prior person said, you are close to God, because you will need him, this medication is EVIL and should not be prescribed unless the patient fully understands what the reprecussions can be. I would of rather of been sick during chemo that to be dealing with this a year later. I CAN'T WAIT TO BE BACK IN MY OLD BRAIN......ATIVAN IS PURE HELL. | READ THE SIDE EFFECTS THROUGHLY BEFORE USING, IF IT WORKS FOR YOU GREAT, BUT IF IT DOESN'T IT'S AN EXTREMELY ROUGH ROAD. | F | 44 | 13 months | 2/15/2009 | 2 | atypical facial pain | this drug increased the pain i originally had and its hard to get off after taking for a while so beware... | M | 24 | 2 years | 2/24/2009 | 5 | Anxiety, Insomnia, Mania | sleepiness (which was the main reason I was taking it), some brain fog & minor memory problems Blacked out once because I forgot I'd taken it & then I drank a bunch (didn't pass out, but couldn't remember the rest of my evening the next day, luckily I was out with my husband) | I was on really high doses of Prednisone, which caused me to be alternately irritable, manic, and anxious as well as an insomniac. The Ativan was great at making the whole time a bit easier to deal. I was mostly just taking .5MG as needed and 1MG at bedtime. It was hard to stop taking it because I enjoyed the way it made me feel and I had become dependent on it to sleep, but I don't think I really had any withdrawal symptoms. I tapered down to .5MG before bed for a few days & then stopped. I still use occassionally as needed (I get Remicade infusions & take .5MG for anxiety before my infusion). I will say, however, that you should NEVER drink with this medication, it is just totally irresponsible and I was very ashamed of myself for having done such a stupid thing and I'm very lucky nothing bad happened to me. | F | 30 | 5 months | 2/25/2009 | 5 | anxiety/depression | Some evenings, I will take an Ativan for sleep (0.5mg), and it will barely work, if at all. Other evenings, 0.5mg, and I'm literally unable to stand up straight going to the washroom. | I only use Ativan for sleep now, as its basically the lowest strength sleeping medication available in the 0.5mg tablets that has a half-life sufficient to give me 6-8 hours of good sleep without impairing me the next day. Other hypnotics are considerably stronger (in benzodiazepine equivilance) in their available dose formats, or have very long half-lives (ie: diazepam, flunitrazepam, nitrazepam). I need my mind to be 100% during the day, and Ativan is the only sleep aid that can accomplish this. Very happy with the results, and I haven't required any dose escalation whatsoever. This stuff works just as well today, using it practically every night, as it did the first day I used it. As with alcohol, tolerance seems to be related to higher doses. | M | 29 | 3 months | 2/26/2009 | 5 | Stress. anxiety. Panic | None Really please read my additional comments on why | I truly feel everyone is different. Some say I got so sick to my stomach I threw up. I believe that may be true. What is their tolerance to upset stomachs. I have friends who feel sick to stomach and right away throw up. I have felt sick to stomach for hours and just dealt with it. What i am saying is do not weigh heavy on such things. No way to know unless you YOURSELF try. Infact reading these may manifest unreal symptoms for some...think about it. Anyway I used if 8 years ago and was fine. I am on it now as I have some stress with a family member being pulled from life support as well as a layoff from a fortune 500 company account exec position....give it a try | M | 37 | 14 days | 3/3/2009 | 5 | Panic Attacks | Forgetfulness on occasion. Drowsy sometimes. Can sometimes be irritable a day after not taking it, but that subsides quickly for me. | Tried Xanax and Paxil. Xanax worked sometimes and Paxil made me very irritable. Ativan works great for my minor to major panic attacks. It has been a life saver for me. Works fast, I'd say my panic attack will subside within 30 minutes to an hour depending on the severity after taking my low dose of .5mg. If I have a minor panic attack (throat closing up, chest tight) I split my .5mg pill in half and it does the trick for me. If I have a full out major panic attack (trembling, heart rate goes way up, hot/cold flashes, sweating, etc.) one .5mg pill does the trick for me. This drug has prevented me going to the ER all the time. What a relief! Panic is no fun! This drug also helps me sleep. Be careful, it can become addictive I am told. I got a very low dose and I ususally snap it in half and that works fine. So most of the time I am taking only .25mg on any given day. I also only take it when I need it so a 30 day supply ususally lasts me about 3 months. | M | 38 | 12 months | 3/5/2009 | 5 | Anxiety | Sleepiness at first but wore of after a few days, otherwise none. Doesn't affect me at all. | I know some people have had big problems with tranquillizers but I honestly believe Ativan has enabled me to live a happy, creative life while coping with a husband with ADD and daughter with ADHD/OCD,and multiple mental health problems. At first I wanted to just take it when I was stressed but was persuaded by my doctor that it would be more effective if I took it daily. I was assured it was not addictive! This was in the 70s.I do get withdrawal effects if I don't take it but I have never had any need to increase the dose from the minimum of I mg daily. My doctors have agreed to leave me on it. Sometimes I get really stressed and knowing that relief will come when I take that pill at about 5.30 is what gets me through. I even feel more creative after taking it! It hasn't affected me detrementally in any way. Having said that it didn't suit my daughter at all and she started increasing the dose and had to be weaned of. It maddens me that because this drug has had a bad effect on som | F | 61 | 32 years | 3/5/2009 | 2 | Anxiety | Insomnia | Please take this medicine only as prescribed. I did have a glass of one 2 nights in a row and ended up with 10 days without any deep sleep. I personally will not take this medicine anymore and highly recommend that you strictly follow the instructions and only for a short peiod of time. | M | 34 | 2 weeks | 3/19/2009 | 4 | Anxiety and panic attacks | A great "washing over" of the panic thoughts after taking 1mg in the morning. Very very difficult to taper off. Have been on 3-5 mg/day for about 4 years. Some memory disruption; but nothing major. It really works great for stopping my panic attack thinking. | Sometimes causes an increase in sexual desire....strange, but nice. I worry though about comming off of it. My doctor says I am in a constant state of minor withdrawal when tapering off. Sooo be carefull when you decrease!!! Maybe a bit of Valium would help with the withdrawal as it stays in your system longer. | M | 62 | 4 years | 3/25/2009 | 4 | Anxiety, Panic Disorder | Withdrawl between doses could be intense | Look I do not BELIEVE THAT ATIVAN IS THE CAUSE OF ANY MAJOR NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECT OTHER THAN WITHDRAWL BETWEEN DOSE. Been on it for four years, started out at .5 for a few months than same dosage of 1 mg a day sometimes 2 mgs, noticed when I uped it to 2 mgs, it was quite hard to ween back down to 1 mg but I successfully did it EVERYTIME WITH NO DRASTIC OUTCOME (atleast 6 times). I am confident I can ween off this drug completely if I wanted to.. Yes I would feel intense anxiety but it would dissapear.. If a drug addict can recover from heroine or oxycotton , I think you'll survive weening down a 1-2 mg ativan "addiction" if you allow yourself to. And for those who have ridiculous stories with this drug, I seriously think you have other conditions you are unaware of. THIS DRUG WORKS FOR ANXIETY PERIOD. I DONT KNOW IF ANY OF THE NEGATIVE STORIE TELLERS HERE KNOW WHAT SEVERE AGORAPHOBIA/ANXIETY DOES TO SOMEONE, BUT REST ASSURE IF YOU TAKE THIS DRUG AS NEEDED KEY WORDS "AS NEEDED" FOR ANXIETY/PANIC DISORDER IT CAN SERIOUSLY GET YOU BY... BUILD A TOLERANCE AND DONT JUST POP AN ATIVAN WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE IT, BECAUSE YOU HAVE MILD ANXIETY WHILE DISREGARDING YOUR DOSAGE INSTRUCTIONS. NOT EVERY BEER DRINKER BECOMES AN ALCOHOLIC AND IF YOU HAVE A GOOD TIME DRINKING AND SERIOUSLY RELAX FROM IT THAN THERE IS NO HARM, SAME FOR THIS DRUG, TAKE AS NEEDED, DONT ABUSE IT AND YEAH YOU'LL FEEL ANXIETY BETWEEN DOSAGES SOMETIMES, BUT ITS NOT ALL BECAUSE OF THE WITHDRAWL FROM TH | M | 23 | 3 years | 4/6/2009 | 1 | reaction to an antidepressant | AMNESIA, confusion, cognitive problems, dulled senses, loss of muscle tone, dry skin. As I tried to reduce the dose, I had obsessive thoughts, tinnitus, akathisia, suicidal thoughts, rage, sensitivities to light and sound, brutal agoraphobia, etc... | This drug is not meant to be taken every day! It only takes two weeks of daily use to become addicted, and then it's harder to get off of than heroine. Please try alternative treatments for anxiety, such as acupuncture, yoga, chamomille or valerian tea, magnesium supplementation, B12 shots. | F | 33 | 2.5 years | 4/7/2009 | 1 | Anxiety | Insomnia | I was on this horrible medication 12 years. It quit helping me. I was originally on 2 mg's daily. That was increased to 4 mg's daily. No relief. My new doctor said there is NO point in taking it. So I was weaned from 4 mg's nightly , down to 2 mg's nightly , then down to 1 mg nightly , then down to 1/2 mg. nightly. Now I am completely OFF of it. NO strange withdrawal side effects at all. Other then , I get No sleep at night , or if I do , I only get 1 or 2 hours. 3 if I am real lucky. Don't take this medication , it's addictive and can cause so much grief. I think I am going to have to ask my doctor for some LUNESTA so I can get some sleep at night. | F | 51 | 12 years | 4/12/2009 | 5 | panic attacks | NONE. | Miracle Drug!!!! The only problems would be withdrawal but if they work, why go off them? I'll be on them forever; they've given me my life back. I spent many times in psych wards with depression, anxiety, etc. Was agoraphobic, depressed, listless, you name it. Not any more.....excellent drug. | M | 50 | 17 years | 4/13/2009 |