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 | labrynthitis | At first, all I did was sleep. I was given this drug for labrynthitis, which it was found later I never had. The ent told me nothing about this med. Several times I did not take it to see how my labrynthitis was, I got extremely ill, but did not know it was due to withdrawal. After 6 weeks I was dependent but had to stop it for tests. I got deathly ill, shakes, couldn't walk without holding on to the wall, diarreah, anxiety, mood swings. | After 2 weeks off the drug, my doctor told me it couldn't be the withdrawal causing my issues and I was subjected to numerous tests which all came back normal. This started me on a downward spiral of being handed so many medications to deal with my "anxiety", with many horrific side effects. It wasn't until after much research and study that I found out my health problems were due to taking benzo medications. I am still in the healing process today, 20 weeks off benzos. | F | 61 | 6 weeks 1mg 2X day | 10/29/2011 | 1 | uncle given it in er room | He died and had lung cancer,they gave to him because he was copding. | husband was also given iv for it it in er for breathing problems and went incoherent and sent on a breathing machine,this drug kills people luckily husband was ok.uncle wasnt i notice er with both of them wanted to know if they need a breathing machine would it be ok to hook them to one,now i think to myself,wtf they know its bad but 1 nurse told me its all the got in er room for lung situations thats bull in my opinion. | M | 69 | 1 days iv 1X day | 11/3/2011 | 5 | Anxiety | Light sedation | Helped with my anxiety attacks following a trauma. Nothing bad to say. The key to this drug is the AS NEEDED part, not gobbling it daily and then being shocked that it is addictive. | F | 44 | 2 months 1mg 1X AN | 11/11/2011 | 1 | Anxiety | Without my being aware of the debilitating impact of this powerful BENZODIAZEPINE, I encountered LONG-TERM side effects, including SEVERE physical, cognitive & emotional impairment. Ativan potentially causes a PARADOXICAL effect....meaning that the reason you are taking it will actually become a PRIMARY symptom to dramatically worsen & complicate the situation. | RED ALERT: If I knew THEN what I know NOW, I NEVER would have taken Ativan. My psychiatrist neglected to inform me the important details of Ativan being potentially ADDICTIVE & HARMFUL after taking the LOWEST dosage for only 7-10 days. Ativan turned my life into a living hell on earth. Within a few short months of taking the smallest dose only as needed, my cognitive function became IMPAIRED to the point where I could not even recall my own telephone number. I am a professional writer and I literally could NO longer function....I was forced to stop writing, due to the damaging cognitive function. In addition, my outgoing personality & positive outlook on life radically changed before my very eyes. Suddenly, I became extremely anxious, irritable, violent, with unexpected rage, depression, suicidal & emotional unstable. The smallest amount of stress or difficulties would instantly send me into a hostile fit, breaking things & screaming like a lunatic. I HATED THE PERSON ATIVAN TURNED ME INTO!!!! My circumstance with Ativan became much more complicated because I was prescribed Cymbalta to treat Fibromyalgia. Without my knowing it, the two medications had SEVERE INTERACTIONS, which contributed to my dramatic change in personality, behavior & impaired cognitive function. In Oct 2010, during a horrifying taper off Cymbalta, I reached rock bottom & overdosed on Ativan. Quite frankly, I should be DEAD.....but by the GRACE OF GOD, I'M ALIVE TODAY T | F | 47 | 10 months 0.5 MG 2X day | 11/13/2011 | 1 | For a severe panic attack | Racing heart, extreme body pain, blurred vision, extreme nausea, insomnia, jitteriness, suicidal thinking, shortness of breath, etc. | I was initially given Klonopin when I experienced a severe panic attack. My Dr. kept increasing the dosage of it when I did not improve. I got sicker and felt crazy! I was switched to Ativan as a "milder" choice. Ater 8 mos of taking 3 mgs of Ativan, split into 4 doses, my family insisted that I "detox" as I was threatening suicide on a regular basis. I was going to admit myself to a local psych unit, but no beds were available, so I started to reduce at home with help of my counselor, family, and psychiatrist. (I had to argue with my psychiatrist who wasn't sure I knew my own body well enough) I am on month 9 of my reductions and now only take 1/8 mg per day. My body is totally addicted to this med and punishes me with each withdrawal. I am very sick for at least a week until my body/brain adjust to the reduction. If I reduce by more than 1/4 mg, I fall apart! I lost a full year of quality living on this med. I realize now that had I been given holistic or cognitive methods to deal with the panic attacks, I would not have needed any meds. (I already take a low dose of Citalapragm for anxiety/depression) I would never recommend a benzo for anxiety usage. People may state they tolerate Ativan when they only use it occasionally, but I would say that if they ever tried to stop the drug, they would see how their body would rebel. I can't wait until I am totally free from it. My thinking has cleared and I can now function. I am still battling side effects wh | F | 56 | 18 months 3 mgs 4X day | 11/21/2011 | 3 | disturbed sleep pattern | staggering, drowsiness during day | Drs. here in MA are keen on prescribing SSRIS. IBS over last five years has always disturbed sleep, sometimes to intolerable degree. Last few months tougher than usual; also have plantar fasciitis, job hanging by a thread, dermatitis, etc. Past Rxs for Paxil, Remeron, Tradnazone: all nitemares. Rx for valium back in '70s--that helped me. I did have a dependency, but nothing serious. Averaging 3, 4 hrs of sleep--shitty sleep--for MONTHS. Dr. broke down & gave me one time rx for lorezapam. No dramatic change, but it is helping cut down pain & cramps, & of course, anxiety. | M | 59 | 2 days 1 mg P.M. 1X day | 11/30/2011 | 5 | None | M | 68 | 1MG 1X AN | 12/2/2011 | 3 | Anxiety | Cognitive dysfunction, memory issues, feeling "doped up". | I take Ativan only once a day, in the evening. Most times I take 1 mg., but occasionally 2. I'm presecribed 1 mg, 4x/day, but there's no way I could tolerate that. Like a lot of other people reviewing here, I enjoy the effects very much, but I'm concerned about the side-effects. I only take it in the evening to get myself ready for bed. In my history, night is when "the bad stuff happened", so when evening falls, the frequency and intensity of my stressful thoughts/morid scenarios, teeth grinding and tics go way up. The Ativan effect wipes all of that clean away and gets me in a nice mood to go to bed. It's difficult to say if it's only the Ativan that's causing me to have difficulty with my cognitive functions because I also take Trileptal (900 mg. 1 x day), which definitely exacerbates the situation. Unfortunately, I've tried life without either, and it's a difficult trade-off, as I'm sure most of you know. You take the side-effects so that you can function like a noral human being. Anyway...I'm very concerned about the addictive nature of Ativan, but at this point in life, the trade-off weighs in favor of not being in a highly agitated state 24 hours a day. The information contributed to this site has been very eye-opening, and I appreciate everyone's contribution. I wish you all the best. | M | 48 | 2 years 1 mg. 1X day | 12/10/2011 | 2 | BPD | Was advised to take this to calm me down during my extreme periods of impulsivity when required (also taking seroquel 300 mg and 150 mg daily). It didn't really have any calming effects for me, and made me vomit severely. I guess different things work for different people. | F | 25 | 1 days 2mg | 12/11/2011 | 1 | Anxiety | Loved it at 1st. Really helped... then... HELL. I was told ativan could be addictive. But I was very careful how I took it. I started having worse and worse anxiety bc of mystery symptoms appearing. This happened for 3.5 years! Bad crazy mystery symptoms! Finally a few months ago I had tolerance w/d! It was like someone opened the gates to Hell and kicked me in. You see.. since I was a yoyo user... I had been going through Benzo w/d off and on for 3.5 years! It also causes anxiety from hell withdrawaling. I had to reinstate the ativan and ween off if it over a 2yoyo month period. Im 50 days Benzo free and still suffering. It could take a year to heal. I was a fool. These pills will bite you in the butt one day guys... they are ONLY supposed to be prescribed for 2 weeks MAX! Thats how fast the gaba receptors gain a STRONG dependency! Do NOT take benzos! Its an epidemic! Drs are handing them out like candy! They say they are harmless. And they will deny you are going through w/d after 50 days clean. Its insane! Do your research folks! There's a 100+ page manual out there called the Ashton Manual how to get off these drugs. And lists over 270 w/d symptoms that can last for years! W/d symptoms wax and wane on and off... its hell. Anxiety, depression .. shocks ... insomnia ... twitching ... grrrrr! | M | 28 | 4 years .5mg-1mg | 12/17/2011 | 4 | Anxiety disorder, racing thoughts | drowsiness | I have been using Ativan sice February 2010... and I ONLY USE IT WHEN I *REALLY* NEED IT... You can't let yourself depend on this drug or you will become addictive to it... The people who are writing bad things about Ativan obviously used it more then they should have... You have to take control of yourself and not let this drug take control of you... Addiction to drugs is NO FUN just remember that before you pop a pill!... | F | 42 | 10 months 0.5 mg 1X AN | 1/6/2012 | 1 | Blurry Vision, Dizziness, Light Sensitivity, Memory Loss, Trouble Walking, Siezure, Migraines, Muscle Pain, Balance Issues, Motor Skill Imparement, Cognitive Imparement, Exhaustion. | This medicine is fine until your body develops a tolerance to it and/or you try to go off it. Then you wish you would die. This medicine should be illegal. Do yourself a favor and don't ever take this poison. | M | 36 | 3 years 2 1X day | 1/15/2012 | 3 | Panic attacks | Very addictive but necessary when panic hits you ! | M | 26 | 2 years 8mg | 1/17/2012 | 5 | Anxiety | A little groggy at times. Mind a bit foggy too, but that could just be my age. | Ativan has helped me tremendously. My panic/anxiety was horrible and this drug gave me my freedom back. The only thing I dread is the day I have to go off of it. Yikes! | F | 46 | 4 years 1 3X day | 1/19/2012 | 1 | ANXIETY | MY ELDERLY FATHER TOOK THIS FOR A FEW YEARS BEFORE I KNEW. He was making his own visits to the doctor. I am a nurse and knew about the dangers of it, so when I found out 2 years ago I tried to wean him down with the help of the pharmacist. My father was hooked and refused, but when he started falling I had had enough. We took his ativAn and brought it over to him several times a day and tried to wean him down. He slept 24 hours a day and only got up to eat and take his med. He became so deconditioned he could hardly walk. He became suicidal and very paranoid (the phone, the neighbours, etc) He fell again and we sent him to the hospital where he spent several weeks going through detox. It was horrible to watch! He then went to a nursing home where he fell the first day and developed some serious bloodclots in his leg. Due to this, and his deconditioning he doesn't walk at all anymore. His mind is now clear, he is awake all day, and could be home if he could walk. | M | 82 | 5 years 1 MG 3X day | 1/23/2012 | 1 | My mother was | Insomnia, paranoia, fits of rage, not thinking clearly, shaking, anxiety...... | I can not believe this drug is on the market. It is a dangerous substance & physicians are prescribing it like candy. There need to be stricter guidelines for physicians to educate their patients before writing the script. Patients trust their doctors. I understand that as a patient you need to be responsible as well, but my mother was given that in the hospital after almost turning septic, & then her doctor continued to prescribe it. I'm so angry right now & watching my father trying to deal with this is heartbreaking. My mother was an active woman and to see her so distraught is beyond sad. I'm absolutely disgusted at how pharmaceutical companies are valued more then the actual patient! | F | 42 | 5 years 1mg 1X day | 1/25/2012 | 5 | Generalized Anxiety Disorder | None that I know about | Helps a lot. | F | 46 | 5 years .5 1X day | 1/28/2012 | 1 | trouble sleeping after amxiety attk | Hot flashes, trembling arms, weakness, mind racing, agitation, increased blood pressure and heart rate. | M | 46 | 2 weeks .5 | 1/28/2012 | 4 | Anxiety,Pain,Muscle Cramps,Insomnia | Drowsiness and Fatigue when taking during the day. Taken at night for sleep, it works great. | I take it as needed. Never a problem with withdrawl or major side effects. Used to hear voices in my head telling me bad things. Now we have regular conversations and they finally make sense. I'd be lonely without it. | F | 88 | 20 years .5 - 2mg 2X day | 1/29/2012 | 5 | Anxiety | None. | I have panic attacks out of nowhere. My heart starts to race, it's hard to breath, my whole body tremors, I get a bad headache and my hands/feet get so cold! My doctor prescribed me Ativan to make sure that it was actually anxiety that I was experiencing and not another condition. I take Ativan as needed (not very often). My doctor originally gave me 5 pills on December 30 and I just took my last one yesterday on February 9. I am not scared of becoming addicted because I will not allow it to happen! When I get a panic attack, I wait a while to see if I can calm myself down on my own first and then decide if I need to take a pill. I can usually calm myself down but Ativan is my fall back if I absolutely feel that I need it. It works very well. It takes about half an hour for me to completely calm down. It makes me feel relaxed and drowsy but not to the point where I feel like I need to sleep. | F | 24 | 1 months 1 MG 1X AN | 2/9/2012 |