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 | anxiety | i feel like im on uh tropical vacation every day | its awesome! the best! my computer could get stolen from the little guys in my closet and i proly wouldnt even care....ahhhhhhhhh | M | 30 | 8 years | 1/23/2010 | 4 | anxiety and panic atacks | I have only taken a few. 0.5 is my prescribed dosage. I was told if i felt a bad panic attack coming on to take it then. I have always been afraid to take anything, even after my surgeries i put up with the pain. I just never liked the feeling of being doped up. this so far just made me feel relaxed. I read a lot of posts about medicines and the most confusing thing to me is, if you have such bad experiences with a drug, why do you continue to take it 8, 10 ,12 years? there is something definitely wrong somewhere if your doctor continues you on it or you would listen to a doctor who would leave you on a med, that caused that much trouble for you. makes no sense whatsoever. I have been tried on several anxiety medicines and some helped for a while, boy I called right away when I started to feel not right and told my doctor , I can't take this medicine because it does this and this to me. she said ok I dont want you to feel like this, we will try something else until we find one | I am not planning on taking this everyday, like some post I read. I take lexapro and it helps with the general anxiety so far. I do have scary panic attacks sometimes during certain times of the month. the same as it has been for 10 years | F | 47 | 2 weeks | 1/24/2010 | 1 | reaction to Celexa, akathisia | Too many to list, but three years on and then after a slow taper (if you are tapering please see the Ashton manual, it could save your life) I have: severe memory impairment, both short and longterm memory (I can't remember what someone has said to me within minutes of them speaking, can't remember names of common objects, can't remember proper grammar, etc...); severe balance issues--I can barely walk; severe eye issues--my eyes appear to be permanently out of focus, I see blue lights, they twitch and blur a lot; restless legs; severe caffeinated feeling; I can no longer reason properly or understand even simple ideas a lot of the time; can't read, words appear to move on their own; hair loss; really bad dry skin; feet/hands/body will twitch/move without my control; involuntary swallowing; low vit. D; legs feel like they are made of lead, depersonalization; derealization; obsessive thoughts; profound dysphoria, etc... | I can't possibly list all of the issues this drug caused. This drug destroyed my life and my family. If you have a script for it BE AWARE THAT TWO WEEKS OF CONTINUOUS USE IS ENOUGH TO CAUSE AN ADDICTION THAT IS HARDER TO TREAT THAN HEROINE ADDICTION. BE AWARE THAT THIS DRUG CAN RENDER YOU SENSITIVE TO A WHOLE SPECTRUM OF MEDICATIONS, AND FOR SOME EVEN SUPPLEMENTS AND FOODS LIKE SUGAR AND CAFFEINE. BE AWARE THAT SOME PEOPLE SUFFER PERMANENT EFFECTS FROM USE/WITHDRAWAL OVER AN ABOVE THEIR ORIGINAL PROBLEM; THIS INCLUDES PERMANENT MOVEMENT DISORDERS LIKE TARDIVE DYSKINESIA AND AKATHISIA. BE AWARE THAT MOST DOCTORS WILL NOT RECOGNIZE THE EXTENT OF THE INJURIES THESE DRUGS CAN CAUSE SO BE PREPARED TO DO YOUR OWN MEDICAL RESEARCH IF YOU BECOME DISABLED BY THIS DRUG. ALSO BE PREPARED TO BE INVALIDATED BY FAMILY AND FRIENDS WHEN YOU TRY TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE DRUG HAS DONE TO YOU. Many people have lost their families, homes, jobs and dreams to inadvertent addictions. | F | 32 | 3 years | 1/30/2010 | 5 | Anxiety | sleepiness | I take ativan before bed because it makes me very sleepy. Other than that no side effects. this is a great medication. less addictive than xanax. | F | 27 | 1 years 1mg 1X AN | 2/4/2010 | 4 | social anxiety | none | works great helps calm me down and i can go about my daily life without having these thoughts about how nervous i will get in certain situations i am able to focus better on the tasks at hand i also take 50 mg zoloft once a day and these 2 drugs work pretty good in conjunction with each other | M | 21 | 2 months .5mg 1X AN | 2/6/2010 | 4 | anxiety | drowsiness and 'pill hangover' type feeling. not being able to wake up after falling asleep from taking ativan. | i like how quickly it works and that it has worked for my anxiety attacks effectively in the past. i have taken it on and off for ten years. | M | 33 | 3 months 1mg 1X AN | 2/14/2010 | 4 | Severe Anxiety & tension state | No adverse effects | After 3 years of having Ativan keep the anxiety & aggression in check, doc office staff decided I was using it too much and cut me off. Doc told me if I need it more than 3 times a week he wants me on Paxil...HUH? I never abused it, I never sought it from other doctors. Without warning, without a call to discuss it-he cut me off. The aggression and anxiety have returned with a vengeance. The verbal fights with family & loved ones has torn relations apart and cost me a couple of friendships. Why did this ASS &*^E do this to me? I had 3 good years on it, now he ripped it out from under me. I am pretty much non-functional now. VERY short temper, very destructive. I went to this doc for help & he's made me more of a mess than when I started out. DO NOT let a GP give you benzos-they don't know what they're doing & it's not pleasant when they say NO MORE with no warning. A psychiatrist should be the ONLY one with the authority to prescribe these. I was honest, I was responsible and I got kicked in the teeth for it. Now I need to find a psychiatrist to put me back on it and I'm scared to death I'm going to be made to suffer. Why would they withhold a med that allowed you to be functional? I've not left my house since being abruptly taken off it, 3 months ago. | M | 41 | 3 years 1.5 MG 1X AN | 3/12/2010 | 5 | for sleep | I felt a little sleepy when i first started taking ativan, But now I have no side effects to report. | In my opinion this is a mild relaxant that would work well for alot of people. | F | 49 | 5 years .05 1X day | 3/19/2010 | 2 | Anxiety Disorder(s) | Headaches that I attribute to the new medication because I did not get them until I started taking the Ativan and get a headache each time I take it | I was taking Xanax for ten years. It worked like a charm. Then about 6 months ago it stopped working for me. Shrink said I may have become "sensitized" to the Xanax - he says that can happen with benzos. The Ativan is doing absolutely nothing for me. | M | 61 | 28 days 2MG 2X day | 3/24/2010 | 1 | anxiety | Completely screwed up my body. Brain fog, achy joints, nausea, loss of weight, lack of sleep, heart palpitations. This drug did not act as a sedative for me, it did the opposite. | This drug is extremely dangerous. After starting ativan i came down with my stated side effects. Never been sick in 57 years. When I tried to stop taking ativan, it triggered physical side effects (just like an illegal street drug user would have - fever, tingling sensations, mind fog, sweating, muscle cramps). The first attempt to get off this drug, I justed stop taking it. 3 days later withdrawal symptoms triggered. On second attempt, i took 1 week to come off dosage. 4 days later i had major withdrawal symptoms. My body had become physically addicted to this drug. I never took any drugs my whole life even though i used less than 90 days and took only .75 mg a day. At this point in time, i did research on the Internet. The sites clearly showed how addictive Ativan is. My doctor didn't emphasize this addictiveness. The sites pointed towards changing diet to a Mediterranean diet and adding supplements to help ease the withdrawal symptoms. After starting these changes, i called a psychiatrist, (doctor dealing with drug addiction). She told me to wean off the drug over 4 weeks with each week taking 25% less dosage. I did as she said and was able to come of the drug cleanly. She told me she had clients who took up to a year to get off of some of these prescription anxiety drugs. Moral of the story, if at any time one gets side effects from prescription drugs, stop taking it. I never gave it a thought that one could get sick after stopping taking a drug!!! | M | 57 | 90 days .75 mg 1X day | 3/25/2010 | 4 | Bipolar Disorder-Aggitation-Anxiety | Calming, euphoric, dizziness, very comfortable, sleepy, vision disturbance, | Works quickly and even quicker if left to absorb under the tongue. I am supposed to take 1/2 mg 2 x a day whi I rarely have to. But, This drug is great to have on hand for Bipoars in mixed states to calm anxiety and increase resistance to irrational thinking and ideas. | F | 40 | 5 years 1 2X day | 3/27/2010 | 1 | Depression | My son has been dealing with depression for almost a year and this medication has done nothing but harm him. Our family has had nothing but pain behind this medication. I don't recommend this medication to anyone! | F | 44 | 4 months .05MG 1X day | 3/27/2010 | 5 | BiPolar rapid Cycling-Panic-Anxiety | slightly groggy although not sleepy. relaxed, calming, | I have been talking .5 (1/2 a MG)twice a day to prevent or control rapid thoughts, anxiety, crying spells, catastrophising.. It has helped me calm down when needed. Klonopin does not agree with me at all.. My doctor is now trying me on Xanax XR which I thinkis a good switch for now. I would use ativan again, I just think it's pooped out on me or I have gotten tolerant and it is not working the same.. | F | 40 | 1 years 0.5 2X day | 4/4/2010 | 4 | anxiety | slow reaction time while driving | This has worked really well for me when I became very anxious during my mom's illness and having to move her to a long term care facility. I'm very cautious, only take half a pill as needed, which is now once a week or less. If I can't get to sleep, or wake up too early, the half a pill is good for about 3-4 hours sleep. I've experienced unexpected benefits, such as less shyness, ability to urinate in a public restroom, improvement in foreign language fluency, and more social confidence in general. It made me realize I'd been experiencing a certain constant level of anxiety my whole life. I wish I could take it all the time but don't dare to, just when I need a little "vacation." | M | 47 | 1.5 years 1X AN | 4/5/2010 | 3 | anxiety, insomnia, racing thoughts | Works well for anxiety; it took away my anxiety at night so I could sleep, but made me out of it during the day if I took it before bedtime. | This drug was extremely addictive for me. Maybe it's b/c it lasts only a few hours and on some days I felt the need to take 2 or 3 when I was only supposed to be taking it for sleep at night. I got to the point where I could not function without it. Quit cold turkey and felt horrible and in pain for a week. Did not sleep for 1 week, so my doc prescribed Klonopin, which works MUCH better for me. It's stronger and lasts longer. I do not feel "addicted" to Klonopin like I did Ativan and I can still take a little bit during the day if I need it and function OK. | F | 26 | 4 months 0.5 mg 2X day | 4/6/2010 | 4 | Anxiety | Sleepiness & Lack of Concentration | I've been taking Ativan (1 mg 3X/day)for 5 years. I was previously on Xanax (2 mg 3X/day) and it stopped helping so my doctor switched me to Ativan and it has done wonders ever since. It helped with the anxiety and allowed me to sleep better at night. I did not experience too many side effects...just sleepiness and occasional lack of concentration. I recently decided that I do not want to take it anymore because my husband and I would like to have a baby in the near future. I decided to wean myself off of ativan 3 weeks ago. I started by taking just 1 mg/day for the first week, then dropped to .5 mg/day for 3 days, then down to .25 mg 1X/day and then .25 every 2 days. I stopped one week ago. I went to my dr. because I was worried about the withdrawal symptoms. He put me on Celexa (10 mg 2-3X/day). The first few days I felt very anxious, very sensitive to noises and light, weakness, insomnia, heart palpitations, shakiness and restless legs. I am on day 7 and much of this has gone away. The Celexa has helped quite a bit. Overall it really wasn't that bad. I feel so much better now. I have more energy during the day and feel good overall. After reading other peoples' comments, I thought that sharing my experience would help others who are trying to stop taking it to be encouraged vs. deterred by the bad experiences. I hope this helps and good luck! | F | 29 | 5 years 3X day | 4/7/2010 | 5 | Panic attacks | None. Just helps me calm down. Relaxes me. | My dr. prescribed this because I started having a few panic attacks related to my husband and son's deployment to Iraq. I have taken 5 pills in the two months I've had the prescription. I really try to avoid taking them, but when i start shaking and crying for no reason, they have really helped calm me down. I have never taken more than 1 pill in a day, 1 to get me thru the inital panic lets me calm down and deal rationally again. | F | 37 | 2 months 0.5 mg 1X AN | 4/26/2010 | 5 | Anxiety, Sleep disordersr | blurred vision when exceed 1.5mg dose, blurred vision above this dose did go away after a couple of days | This has been a wonder drug for me. If you take these drugs, one thing you should try is to keep a dose on you. In your wallet, or purse, you'll be amazed how often you DON'T take it. Just knowing it's there is enough. Remember it takes about 3 to 4 days for this drug to get out of your system. I try to never, ever, take it more than twice a week. I noticed that if I don't take it more than twice a week, I never have withdrawl symptoms. I usually take it before speaking engagements, or just really stressful days, or when i need to go to sleep. This medication is like any other drug, its great at what it does, just don't abuse it. I've never tried the taking it every day, and I hope I never have to. | M | 32 | 8 years 1 to 1.5mg 1X day | 5/12/2010 | 3 | Anxiety | None | Ok...first of all...I really liked my ativan and what it did for me...I first began taking it approx 3 to 4 years ago for anxiety which was something that I had never experienced until then. It did wonders for the shakes and anxiety. It even helped me rest better. For the most part I only take it at night before bed unless I have an attack during the day which is very rare. I would sometimes even skip my dosage at night because I began taking ambien for insomnia. Ive noticed if I go a few days without taking it I become extremely irritable (complete B****) and wake up with anxiety attacks. I believe it has ruined my relationship...this weekend was horrible and I do believe that for the first time I realized that was I was going thru was withdrawals from not taking it for 3 days. I almost came unglued last night...and for some reason now if I dont take it...the ambien doesnt work maybe because the anxiety is too much! I havent slept in two days...LITERALLY! And today Im a wreck at work...I refuse to take the medicine at this point because of how Im feeling...I dont like this...Ive never done drugs and this is much like what I assume drug attacks feel like once they go cold turkey! Im not going to report it to my doctor just yet because believe it or not I feel like I really need to take it and I fear she will take me off of it...am I crazy or is this the lack of meds talking? At this point Im not sure but I know right now I feel like I need it just to function since Ive | F | 37 | 3 years 1 mg 2X day | 5/17/2010 | 3 | anxiety | Profound depression, constant thoughts of suicide, heaviness in my limbs, sleepiness- could sleep around the clock if allowed. Rebound anxiety. | Ativan works beautifully on my aniety. I feel relaxed and pleasant after taking one. It's the after effects that are awful. Deep,deep depression that effects every aspect of my being. I'm currently suicidal, as I type this, and know it's because I took ativan twice yesterday. I wouldn't care if I got run over by a bus. Becase of the rebound anxiety (a jittery over-caffienated feeling) I often feel the need to take another dose. So you see the viscious cycle. | F | 37 | 2 years .5 MG PRN 2X day | 5/26/2010 |