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 Gender males first. 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 | anxiety, PTSD | none | Didn't work at all for me. I took 4 times the dosage and nothing happened. No edge off my anxiety what so ever. I switched to Xanax and am much happier. | F | 22 | 2 months | 2/23/2008 | 1 | antiety/panic attacks | muscle tension, shortness breath, anger/violent thoughts, anxiety, tightness in chest, weight gain, fatigue, memory loss, nerve pain in face, inability to tolerate others, suicidal thoughts | I've taken ativan for 21 years. I never felt I was abusing it (.5mg prn, and I didn't take it every day for many years until recently) and I NEVER did deal with the issues I was taking it for to begin with, (anxiety). I forgot why I was taking it! It made me feel better for many years, that's all that mattered! my doctor who was giving it to me since I'm 17 just retired.. now I'm forced to stop it or go begging like an addict for more. I have a good job and I can afford to DR shop but now that I'm going through this thought process I see my addiction for what it is and has become. This drug will make you feel better,(no doubt about it!).. but, this drug will make you a lunatic on it and if you try to stop it.. consider the worst panic attack imaginable.. all that hell doesn't even compare to what you will feel and how your body will react when you have no more little pills left. It hurts and it doesn't just go away..this withdrawl duration. forwarned is forarmed. I can't express it i | F | 38 | 21 years | 1/14/2008 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 1 | migraines,anxiety, depression, | had to be admitted to hospital detox unit for ativan addiction. HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!! (within 5-7 days of use)Withdrawing from this drug was the most painful experience of my life (unmedicated childbirth was easier) Causes rebound anxiety after continued use-ie-anxiety increased.I NEVER took this drug at higher than prescribed doses-followed docs directions ALWAYS. Because it involves the same receptors in the brain as alcohol,began self-medicating with alcohol in between doses. Increases depression. | Had to be hospitalized to detox because of the potential of seizures,cardiovascular complications,even death. The withdrawal is horrendous- worst pain physically ive ever experiened! every muscle in my body cramped- chest pain- unbelievable shaking- insomnia. this drug is POISON!! it took my life away. im grateful i didnt die/and to have my life back | F | | 11/13/2004 | 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 | 1 | Made Me Crazy | The side effects I got from this medication where: disinhibition, confusion, disorientation (which made me behave abnormally wild and violent) amnesia, memory impairment, (I couldn't remember behaving wildly) depression (made me horribly depressed. tried to kill myself 3 times) | DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICATION. IT COULD POSSIBLY RUIN YOUR LIFE. If you have anxiety try Bendryl. It may make you sleepy but at least you won't be going nuts. See a complete list of the side effects at http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/loraz_ad.htm | F | 31 | 365 days | 4/7/2008 | 1 | Was given it by my doctor for grief | Ativan is a horrible drug, and anyone looking for the REAL story about it should see: www.benzo.org.uk This is a VERY addictive drug, and one must taper off of it VERY slowly. NEVER EVER stop this drug suddenly, EVEN AFTER SHORT TERM USE. I was taking a | Do not take this drug or any other benzodiazepines...highly addictive. Not recommended for bereavement or trauma. Short-term use only, no longer than 3 weeks maximun. See the website, www.benzo.org.uk. Please read the Ashton Manual. | F | 41 | 11 months | 12/9/2003 | 1 | Anxiety | I felt drunk and had hallucinations. I was so exhausted I could hardly stand up. I was getting ready to leave the house, and I could see people walking past the door of my bedroom. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy - I knew they weren't there! But I could still see them! | I won't take it again - I switched to Xanax and it works great for me with no side effects. | F | 30 | 1 days | 6/27/2007 | 1 | Dr. prescribed for IBS | Foggy brain, depression, gastrointestional problems. My doctor was in idiot | I would not recommend this medication for IBS. I was terribly depressed from this medication, so I was put on anti-depressants... my stomach hurt worse, I could not think straight. It did, however, help with the anxiety after my dad died. I never felt addicted to this, and did not take it to get a high, or low, or whatever. I titered myself off over a period of 2-3 weeks, first cutting my dosage in half, for a week to ten days, then, into quarters for around 3-4 days. I still have 30 pills left, and no desire to take any. I will keep the pills for when I fly, as I am terrified of flying. My dosage was 1mg 4 times a day. There were no withdrawl symptoms, other than getting "hot" in more ways than one, once in awhile. When taking this medication, if I didn't take it on time, I would feel the need to take it. Quite frankly, I was shocked I didn't have any withdrawl symptoms. Best of luck to those of you quitting this medication, and to those of you who still take it. Like I ment | F | 51 | 6 years | 5/17/2007 | 1 | anxiety | sleep walking, insomnia, | F | 51 | 2 years | 10/27/2007 | 1 | anxiety | Horrible withdrawal! I thought I was losing my mind. Stopped taking it after 2 weeks and experienced panic attacks, severe depression, depersonalization/derealisation, the worst insomnia you could imagine, nausea and constant muscle twitches all over my body. | This drug ruined my semester at school. The withdrawals took over a month and I still have muscle twitching. This is a highly addictive medication, and can cause rebound symptoms from withdrawing even if you're only on it for a short period of time. It works for a few hours when you're on it, but quickly wears off and you will crave more. It only worsens anxiety in the long run. It's withdrawals put me through HELL. | F | 22 | 14 days | 12/14/2007 | 1 | Anxiety, insomnia | Nausea, general malaise, insomnia, addictive (withdrawal symptoms even after short-term use). | I took 1 mg of Ativan per day at nighttime for 19 days total. It did not seem to help my insomnia or anxiety at all. Instead I started feeling nauseated for several hours every morning. Once I stopped taking it, the insomnia and nausea got even worse. The third day after stopping it I spent most of the day in bed. On the fourth day it appeared to have cleared my system and the nausea is gone and sleep was slightly improved. | F | 37 | 19 days | 3/31/2007 | 1 | panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia | HORRIBLY ADDICTIVE, DANGEROUS DRUG!! I would give it a 0, if it were an option here. After taking .5mgs per day for 12 weeks I tried to reduce my dosage to .25 and felt like I was going insane for an entire month. | I was visiting this site in October when I was having so much trouble and I saw so many positive comments about Ativan but I knew the hell I was in from trying to cut my dose down. I saw the ONE comment about benzoisland.com and that's where I found the truth. Thank you, whomever posted it!!! My side effects were panic attacks 24/7, constant anxiety, depersonalization, derealization, tremors, heart palpitations, suicidal thoughts, leg cramps and many more. I successfully switched doctors to one who knows the dangers of benzos and I crossed over to valium and I'm currently tapering via The Ashton Method. I thank God I found that one comment here or I would be on much higer doses of Ativan, trying to get more relief. THAT'S THE TRAP! Everyone here should learn about what exactly they are on. Very, very dangerous. I'm not affiliated in any way to benzoisland.com. They just helped save my life! | F | 36 | 17 weeks | 2/14/2007 | 1 | Insomnia due to hyperactive thyroid | I started taking 2 mg per day at bedtime. After about a year, I experienced anxiety during the day, and my doctor thought that my thyroid condition was getting worse, so he doubled my Ativan dose. A few months later, I became anxious again, and it turned out the anxiety was caused by the fact that I had reached tolerance to the Ativan and needed more in order to feel | Ativan should only be taken on a short-term basis. It's actually possible to become addicted to Ativan after taking it for as short a time as a month. It is very potent and highly addictive. Had I known it would affect me in the way it did, I never would have taken it in the first place. I tried to wean myself off Ativan, but was unsuccessful in doing so because I suffered from severe interdose withdrawal symptoms. A kind, caring doctor in an attempt to wean me off the Ativan switched me to Valium so that I could taper myself off that drug. Valium has a longer half-life, so it's much easier for people who are addicted to Ativan to get off Benzodiazepines by switching to Valium. The website, www.benzo.org.uk contains a copy of the Ashton Manual, which is considered the best resource to use if you're considering tapering off a Benzodiazepine tranquilizer, such as Ativan. I am 58 years old. I never took recreational drugs in my life, and I discovered at age 55 that I was a geriatric junkie because of the Ativan. Patients should exercise extreme caution before taking this drug. It took me three years to beat this addiction. | F | 58 | 4 years | 4/15/2005 | 1 | anxiety, insomnia | first few days grogginess during day; withdrawal symptoms: extreme anxiety and insomnia (unable to sleep for 3 days), panic attacks, flu-like symptoms, headache | I knew ativan was addictive, but Dr. told me nothing about side effects, or how quickly I could experience withdrawal/tolerance. I am only realizing from this web-search that what I am experiencing is related to the Ativan. Dr. prescribed 2 mg nightly for a 1 week period. I am very sensitive to most meds, but was told this dose and time period was not a concern. But, I am practically climbing the walls from anxiety and lack of sleep, much, much worse than before I began the ativan. Not worth the one week of sleep at all! | F | 28 | 7 days | 4/23/2005 | 1 | Anxiety caused by other drugs | At first the Ativan helped control the anxiety at a very low dose, but after a while I became tolerant to it and had to increase both the dose and the frequency of taking it since I was starting to suffer severe interdose anxiety. Then it reached a point where it no longer controlled the anxiety, but caused severe anxiety and depression. | It is extremely powerful addictive drug that sneaks up on you and destroys your life. It takes all the pleasure and meaning out of your life. It is very difficult to stop taking. Withdrawal from it is incredibly painful both physically and emotionally, causing anxiety, depression, suicidal ideations, hopelessness, paranoia, panic attacks, obsessive negative thoughts,depersonalization and a number of physical symptoms ranging from dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, flu like symptoms to even seizures. Even though in total I have taken the Ativan for 1 year, I used it sporadically for the first 6 months. | F | 47 | 1 years | 4/10/2005 |