VERSED Reviews (MIDAZOLAM HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.7 (1094 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare VERSED with similar:
Type: Brand name discontinued; available as generic
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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 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 |
More on VERSED: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR VERSED | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 3 | Colonoscopy | Had demerol with versed. Do not remember any of the procedure until afterwards. Side effects were bothersome - dizziness, headache, slight nausea - lasted until the next morning. When nurse called the next day & telling her about the side effects, said they were typical and that maybe I was dehydrated (I had an IV running so how could I have been dehydrated?). I've had conscious IV sedation before (don't know what they used) with no after side effects. | Don't know if I'd want it used again because of the troublesome after effects. I need to find out what I was given for a previous colonoscopy 6 yrs. ago. I guess versed works differently for everyone. | F | 73 | 1 times | 1/1/2009 | 5 | colonoscopy | drowsiness and no memory of the procedure | I was drowsy for the rest of the day but next day was back to normal with no residual. I remembered everything leading up to procedure and shortly after but no recall of the procedure itself. | M | 38 | 1 days | 1/2/2009 | 5 | Colonoscopy | None. I don't remember much of what the doctor said afterwards. | It took a couple hours before it totally wore off. I don't remember any of the procedure. 12 hours later, I don't feel like I even had the procedure done. | F | 50 | 1 times | 1/5/2009 | 1 | Colonoscopy | My memory of the procedure is choppy - apparently I was coming and going the whole time. | I was given the "something to relax you" subterfuge and I don't appreciate being lied to. I was in pain but not agony. I think they felt like they could get away with more since they expected me to have amnesia. Versed is not a pain killer and I don't see why it is used. | M | 39 | 1 days | 1/5/2009 | 1 | Spinal Surgery | After being administered versed, a catheter was being inserted when I became violently combative. I found this out from my night nurse as I attempted to urinate that evening in the hospital. She said that 'all of the nurses' knew about my 'big fight against the catheter' in the O.R. This is the second time that I was given versed and became combative during a procedure. | Always makes me nauseous after being administered... | M | 61 | 3 times | 1/5/2009 | 5 | Endoscopy, 4 yrs. ago a colonoscopy | Side effects? None I just showed up, checked out, had the procedure, returned to the here and now and was driven home. | I would take this again and again any time I preferred to not be cognitively present for an event. I had absolutely nothing negative take place either time. For me, it was perfect. | F | 69 | | 1/7/2009 | 5 | colonoscopy | None, worked as described | Would certainly use again (and just did, with fentanyl, for lipoma removals). Reviews show a wide range of satisfaction, was I just one of the lucky ones? Was success due to medical staff? As with ANYTHING pharmaceutical, you just never know, there are ALWAYS exceptions. Sorry to hear of so many severe situations... | M | 56 | | 1/8/2009 | 5 | Endoscopy | No side effects except what are most common -- amnesia and sedation | I would not hesitate to use this medication again. Who wants to remember swallowing in plastic snake? Prior to the procedure, I had determined to ask my wife three questions and when I started to come out from under the effects, she told me that I kept asking them over and over and over again until she refused to answer them. | M | 45 | 1 days | 1/8/2009 | 1 | Pre-Op Anxiety | I was nervous before my surgery and I too got "something to relax" me. Unfortunately, the last thing I remember was getting _more_ anxious, not less. The next thing I remember I was in recovery, shaking. Like others have said, I felt like something _bad_ had happened, but I don't know what. | It is over a year later and I still get upset thinking about my experience. I will never trust Versed again to relieve anxiety. | F | 67 | 1 times | 1/8/2009 | 5 | lung transplant | Have had many endoscopies and have had versed each time. Seems the period of sleepiness lasts longer each time. The forgetfulness is shown in repeating the same comments over and over again so family gets tired of hearing the same thing. Other than that, versed is the greatest as I have no memory whatsoever of anything after the delivery of the drug in my system. | Have had probably 6 instances of using versed in the past four months. | F | 63 | | 1/9/2009 | 5 | I am an endo nurse who routinely administers Versed to patients. It saddens me that there are so many people who blame the medical community for being "sadistic" or "giving me more drugs when I didn't ask for them". No one is "lying/tricking/deceiving" you-the medication IS intended to relax and help you forget. If you appear uncomfortable during the procedure, we DO give you more-because our goal is to make you as comfortable as possible. The doctors and we nurses have concluded that it is mostly the patients who have experienced sexual abuse or traumatic experiences who have the reactions of 'violation' and 'something bad having happened'. Perhaps it is their own unfortunate experiences that cause PTSD, not the Versed? | You need to sign a consent form PRIOR to being sedated (which discusses sedation and it's risks), which is your patient responsibility to read. If you don't understand it, ask. You do have the option to have the procedure without sedation. I in no way dispute that there are those who have had some of the more severe side effects from Versed, but I see 99.9% of our patients waking up feeling great-and coming back for repeat procedures with no complaints from the last time. | F | 35 | | 1/9/2009 | 1 | Shoulder adjustment | My husband is still not himself, memory loss, uncoordinated, anxiety. | I told my husband not to let them give him Versed after I read about it on-line. The minute I left the room, they gave it to him anyway. He may never be the same and the out patient clinic says it can't be the Versed and he might have had a small stroke? He is only 33 and was fine except for his dislocated shoulder. I can't believe they would do this behind my back and after we told them not to use this drug. What did they do to cause him to have a stroke and act like this? Never let them use this on you!!! | M | 33 | 1 days | 1/9/2009 | 5 | Knee Surgery | Versed was great. It made me feel relaxed and "at peace" with my impending surgery. I remember the inital feeling of being dosed - a wave of calm. I also remember the activities surrounding me about 5 minutes after being administered Versed -the operating table being pulled up beside me for transfer. I was lying back and then I don't remember anything else. It felt like I just fell asleep however I was probably still conscious but short-term memory was impaired. Very impressed with Versed. Positive experience. No discomfort. | I would not be afraid to use the Versed again for surgery. I give credit to the stellar competency of the HCPs at University of Pennsylvania and to the Pharmaceutical industry for manufacturing this product. | F | 37 | 1 days | 1/10/2009 | 1 | The endo nurse whose comment appears a few below this one seems to have conferred upon herself an honorary doctorate in psychology. Using her logic, the effects of Versed are dependent upon patients' life experiences. Given such a poorly defined method of predicting adverse reactions to the drug, exactly why would she then see fit to "routinely" administer the drug? Versed is a drug that's caused the deaths of over 40 people, as reported in this NY Times article: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE0DB113DF937A35754C0A967958260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all It has also caused intense, ongoing suffering in hundreds more, as is clear from the comments posted below. For the endo nurse to hypothesize that underlying mental problems in the patient (e.g., PTSD) -- rather than the drug itself -- are responsible for adverse reactions, is a predictable attempt to essentially demonize as "psychos" anyone who happens to object to Versed. | Concerning the endo nurse's assertion that it's the patient's responsibility to read and understand the consent form, I'd say that a far greater responsibility rests with medical personnel like herself -- namely, to fully explain to patients the effects of Versed, a process which frequently does not happen. Versed is not necessary to induce or maintain general anesthesia and is used mainly to cause temporary anterograde amnesia, which medical science has apparently deemed a benefit to the patient. Versed is also the most potent benzodiazepene currently in existence. It works mainly by impairing GABAergic neurotransmission. Given the drug's potency, I think that it's naive for medical practitioners to assume that this effect is merely temporary, and that permanent damage to hippocampal neurons is not possible. It is unconscionable that this drug remains in such widespread use. | M | 38 | | 1/11/2009 | 5 | colonoscopy; defib. surg.; c. cath. | Four procedures so far. No side effects; like waking from a nap. I have some memories from the surgery, but only along the lines of "Hmm, that's interesting.." when I distinctly heard my surgeon say "Oh shit!" during the procedure. On that experience, I'd say the antianxiety effect is pretty good. | I know I'm no shrink, but it seems to me that most of the people who have had a bad experience with this drug also have some pretty significant other "issues" as well. Bottom line is that during the procedure, you are partly conscious and aware that you aren't in control. If you've got control issues, you may be better off with the sledghammer anesthesia | M | 58 | | 1/12/2009 | 2 | colonoscopy | None, including the sedation supposed to take effect just before the procedure. | This medication may work for those who take no other benzodiazapines. I advised the Dr. just before the procedure that I take 10mg of Valium a day and would need MORE Versed for my colonoscopy. He ignored me resulting in me having to watch the colonoscopy on the moniter while I yelled in pain. | M | 67 | 1 days | 1/12/2009 | 1 | Cataract Operation | Since the drug causes amnesia (I found out AFTER the fact) I have to go by what I was told. What they admit is that things were fine until a few minutes after they gave me Versed. I clearly did not know where I was or why I was there. I became restless and then combative, trying to get up and leave. I was not able to have the procedure since all they could do was spend the time trying to calm me down. | I have never had a bad experience with an operation until this one. They recommended that I never use Versed again, but that goes without saying. | F | 68 | 1 days | 1/12/2009 | 2 | colonoscopy | Anger upon waking up, gradually becoming livid, furious anger over the next several hours. Followed by severe insomnia lasting about a week. Paranoia mixed in as I didn't know what caused me to be so angry - thought something had gone wrong during the procedure. Still have bouts of anxiety and depression three weeks after. | My wife is a nurse and said this drug "whacked me out". She's seen it before in patients. What should have been a couple days of mild anxiety followed by relief at being done turned into a week of pure hell. Livid anger, persistent insomnia, paranoia & obsession to try and figure out why I was totally screwed up. I'm very level-headed and have had none of these issues before. However, I was totally out during the procedure, felt no pain (also had fentenyl) and don't remember anything until I was in recovery. Talked to my Dr. a week after and listed Versed under allergies as a drug I cannot tolerate. Will use an alternate in 5 yrs. IF I decide to allow this procedure again. | M | 50 | 1 times | 1/13/2009 | 1 | surgery | The 58-year-old male who posted a comment on Jan. 12th, like the endoscopy nurse from Jan. 9th, makes yet another convenient and predictable effort to demonize anyone who is opposed to the use of Versed. In this latest instance, Versed critics are characterized as having "some pretty significant other 'issues'" and "control issues." In other words, if you don't like Versed, you're crazy or otherwise defective. After all, the *drug itself* can't be defective or unsafe, right? (Just like Vioxx wasn't unsafe.) Still another recent comment (also from Jan. 12th) creatively implies that only people who are *already* on psychiatric drugs (translation: who are crazy - and whose viewpoints, consequently, should not be given any credence) experience adverse reactions to Versed. Again, there could not possibly be anything wrong with the *drug* - rather, there's something wrong with *you* if you have an adverse reaction to it. Um, right. | Such comments beg the question: Why would any "real" person actually take time out of his or her day to discredit total strangers who have had adverse reactions to a drug? Unless that person has some kind of agenda (like protecting the continued use or sales of said drug), to do so would make no sense whatsoever. | F | 36 | 1 times | 1/13/2009 | 5 | transesophogeal echocardio gram | As near as I can tell I had no side effects. The medication was started and 30 minutes later I became aware of my surroundings again. I was told that I was responsive and cooperative during the procedure. I have no recollection of that time and, once I recovered from the sedatives also given, I was fine. | This is my second experience with Versed. My first was a colonoscopy. With that procedure I remember coming in and out of awareness after the procedure. No other side effects that I recall. | M | 62 | | 1/15/2009 |