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 |
| 5 | Colonoscopy | I communicated to Doctor that I was nervous about waking up during the procedure. He said he would use sufficient dosage so that would not happen. I was injected just prior to the procedure, woke up afterward slightly groggy. No memory of the procedure, which is the purpose. Sketchy memory of ride home. Fully recovered that evening. Completely painless, no discomfort at all. | Do not let the hypochondriacs and drama queens on these websites scare you. I have looked at other pages on this site and people will complain about Advil, and will suggest it be outlawed. Communicate with your doctor, understand that the temporary blockage of memory is normal for this drug. You will be fine. | M | 46 | 1 days | 4/2/2009 | 2 | Endoscopy/Sigmoidoscopy | My daughter was amnesiac and anxiety ridden for two days after her procedures. She did not remember either procedure nor most of the following 48 hours. She seems fine now; we are monitoring her carefully. I want to state strongly that she had no bruises and was not mishandled, and the hospital staff was alert, caring, observant, and really just good folks; I'm just not sure the medicine itself was right for my child, even though I'd prefer her not to have to remember her endo/sigmoid. | Her doctor is good, gentle, and told us in his office that she would not remember the procedure because of the drugs, so I was well informed prior to the surgeries. Not sure why she had this reaction; very unnerving to watch her. I personally would not have this drug for myself unless my husband was present due to the loss of dignity and lack of control over circumstance. Oh, and to the commenter who said, "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." How dare you??? No, you are not a "shrink" and you have NO business making an insinuation like that. You disgust me and your little innuendo is the earmark of an uneducated, ignorant, shallow mind. Keep your guesswork to yourself, please. | F | 18 | 1 days | 4/2/2009 | 4 | PreOp Anxiety | No side effects. Simply a calming effect prior to being wheeled into the operating room. I don't feel as if this drug was "pushed" on me or that it was meant to completely wipe my memory clean. It simply made the experience a lot less frightening. And I feel that's the main goal of a good physician...to make the patient feel safe and secure prior to a procedure. You do, in fact come out of anesthesia the same way you go in. Wouldn't you rather go in with a calm relaxed feeling? | To each his own...I have had this drug a number of times. Side effects are no worse than general anesthesia itself. A little sleepy and can't drive for a bit. | F | 32 | 1 days | 4/3/2009 | 1 | endoscopy | The bottom line on midazolam (brand name: Versed) is this: Why screw around majorly with your brain chemistry, especially when this drug is totally unnecessary? There are tons of other alternate drugs that can be used for sedation, that have different mechanisms of action and do not produce the myriad serious side effects listed here. As regards the people below who say "don't listen" to anyone advising you to avoid midazolam -- such comments seem a little odd. If these were real patients, exactly why would they care so much to say that? I mean, when is the last time you, as a patient, went out of your way to post a comment on a Web site telling people TO TAKE a particular drug? A heavy sedative, no less? Not only that, the same people invariably seem to go out of their way to bash anyone who doesn't like midazolam, which seems even stranger. | For the most recent instance of bashing, see the below comment from 4/2/2009 in which anyone opposed to the use of midazolam is labeled a "hypochondriac" and "drama queen." What is even more hilarious about this particular comment is that its author actually attempts to also discredit the ENTIRE Web site (i.e., not just the Versed ratings page) by pointing out that elsewhere on the site, there are complaints about Advil, including suggestions that Advil be outlawed. This, of course, is meant to imply that anyone here who posts any comment that is critical of a drug, is some kind of crackpot or other miscellaneous nutcase, and, as such, should not be listened to. | M | 53 | 1 times | 4/3/2009 | 1 | (continued from above) | By contrast, I think it's pretty understandable why people who have suffered adverse effects from a drug would post comments about it -- i.e., I'd imagine they'd want to raise other people's awareness to the drug's side effects, so that others could be spared the same suffering. Indeed, it seems completely logical that a person who had a bad experience with a drug would have every reason to post about it. But why would someone who had a POSITIVE experience with a drug, care so much as to seek out a Web site and write about it? It makes no sense. I mean, let's say you just came back from the dentist after getting a tooth pulled, and the novocaine that the dentist used worked well for you. After leaving the dentist's office, would it be high on your list of priorities to go on the Internet and actually write about how much you liked the novocaine? I think not. | Anyway -- go ahead and ask any doctor if there is a single medical situation in which the use of midazolam is actually NECESSARY. You'll quickly learn that the drug is quite simply NOT NECESSARY for the induction or maintenance of general anesthesia, or for colonoscopies and endoscopies. It does, however, remain in frequent use for each. So, given that midazolam is totally unnecessary, *and* that it produces serious ongoing side effects in tons of patients, why is the drug used at all? The likely answer is, it makes doctors' and nurses' jobs easier -- by zonking unsuspecting patients into a compliant, memory-devoid oblivion. Never mind that midazolam has, in numerous scientific studies, been shown to produce widespread neuronal apoptosis in laboratory animals. In humans, this drug is also often the gateway to a living hell that can last months beyond the procedure for which it was administered. | M | 53 | 1 times | 4/3/2009 | 1 | colonoscopy | During my colonoscopy, my colon was perforated. Because of Versed, I was unable to move or speak and I had to lie there in terrible pain until the drug started to wear off. When I was finally able to scream, the doctor had finally noticed that something was wrong. Getting perforated is a risk that I accept, being unable to respond or cry out when I was in severe pain was unacceptable. | It's obvious that a lot of people have severe problems with this drug; the doctor doing the exam never informed me that this drug would render me imobile and unable to communicate. He did say that they hope that the drug will wipe out a patients memory of the procedure. Nice. | M | 53 | 1 days | 4/3/2009 | 5 | Wisdom teeth removal | Slightly groggy for about an hour or two afterwards, but it wore off quickly. | As a person who won't even take tylenol for headaches and is very sensitive to most drugs, I was really scared about having an IV sedative, especially one that would wipe out my memory for a period of time. But I did it anyway because I really didn't think I could handle being aware during the procedure. Surprisingly, it worked without a hitch for me. I was out within about 1 minute of receiving the drug, don't remember anything about the procedure and when they woke me up, my first comment was "That's it? That was so fast." It really felt like no time at all. I remember everything clearly up to the time I received the drug and everything after being woken up, and was only somewhat groggy for a couple hours afterwards. Was pretty much at 100% that same afternoon. It's unfortunate to read that so many people have had such bad experiences with this drug--I probably would have been freaked out if any of those things had happened to me. I guess everyone reacts differently and I feel lucky that it worked so well for me. I would definitely use it again for minor surgical procedures. | F | 30 | 1 times | 4/4/2009 | 1 | colonoscopy | This drug actually CAUSED ANXIETY, depression, fits of crying, and anger directed at not only the doctor who administered the drug without explaining the amnesia (after I requested to be awake for the procedure), but also toward medical professionals as a whole. | To the previous poster who said, "You do, in fact come out of anesthesia the same way you go in. Wouldn't you rather go in with a calm relaxed feeling?" -- YES, I WOULD, but since I actually experienced ANXIETY (not relaxation) when the drug entered my system, that is how I came out...and to me, I felt mentally "gone" for hours (no memory of 2 1/2 hrs recovery) and was SHOCKED to find out the procedure lasted only 12 minutes. A VERY BAD DRUG FOR SOME PEOPLE. Sorry, I do not believe for one minute that all those "5" postings are real... | F | 62 | 1 days | 4/5/2009 | 1 | Colonoscopy/ Cataract procedures | Violent, long lasting nausea and dizziness! | F | 58 | 3 times | 4/8/2009 | 4 | colonoscopy | chattering teeth/shaking, amnesia | Before going into the colonoscopy I had read extensively about Versed and knew to expect amnesia and possible side effects if I didn't make a note against it on my consent form. I had planned to do the procedure without it and only a painkiller as needed, but I am a HUGE needlephobe and two takes at the IV left me tense and crying. While the procedure itself sounded like no big deal at all, I was so scared of them finding something bad (I was going in for a cluster of colon cancer symptoms) I was in a horrible state, heart racing and decided to try the drug for relaxation purposes. I woke up in a new room, facing a different direction, with my hair now untied. Had I not read about the drug on my own this would have been hugely disturbing--I was never given any information but the line about being relaxed. As it was, I was calm, happy. It didn't occur to me to feel trepidation as the nurse came in with my results (hemorrhoids!) and little as she removed my IV, something I usually find nauseating. My teeth were chattering and my arm was shaking, but that quickly passed. So far, so good (procedure was this morning), but I really feel this drug should be considered elective at best. And truly, it is: Ask your doctor if it will be used, make an informed decision, and don't let them talk them into what you're not comfortable with. | F | 26 | 0.1 days | 4/9/2009 | 1 | ercp | none the drug did not work!!! i had been told it was concious sedation.. yes i was concious but no way was i sedated. i felt every thing gas being pumped in, cutting, everything. i was screaming despite having an endosope down my throat!! i had to be held down by 6 members of staff while the dr carried on. he warned me that if i tried to fight the proccedure i would do some severe damage to myself.... i had to have this proccedure repeated 2 further times - the sedation still had no effect but the 2nd dr was much nicer, and tried to make the proccedure better. | no memory loss - more the pity!! a student nurse was observing the proceedure and she was horrified by what she saw and in tears. | F | 34 | 3 times | 4/12/2009 | 3 | Hip Injection | Was also told this was short-term amnesia. It did relax me a little bit but I still remember everything including the pain of the injection. | Did not have any side effects and may request this sedation again. Not sure. | F | 42 | 1 days | 4/16/2009 | 1 | implantation of a pacemaker | I woke up mid-procedure, and remained awake until the final stitch was made to close the wound. I felt each cut, pull, push, and stitch. | I had had versed once before during a colonoscopy in 2000. I awoke in the middle of that procedure as well. | M | 62 | 1 days | 4/19/2009 | 1 | colonscopy | Out cold during the procedure. After the procedure I was in extreme agony from either gas trapped in my colon or pierced colon, they were not sure which. I do not remember the procedure, nor do I remember getting dressed. I do remember being doubled over in pain, and then leaving the hospital wobbling down the corridors. In the car home, I remember being in pain, but nothing about the conversation. Upon arriving home, doubled over, I crawled up the stairs, into bed, and slept for about 3 hours. When I awoke, I was stressed out, crying, still in pain from the procedure, doubled over, and foggy headed. Ended up in a screaming match with my husband over his request to go to a concert he had tickets for that night. I was out of control with rage. | This is one week later, and I STILL cannot think clearly. I feel an uncontrollable exhaustion every day at around 2 p.m., and have to nap. I am a runner and long distance cyclist, very active athlete. I have been unable to stay awake during the day, swing wildly in my moods, cannot remember anything from last week. I am scared to death this has affected me permanently - I am having nightmares and crying jags. I will never have this drug again. It is way more than just an "amnesiac." It has long lasting effects. I just pray I can shake this. | F | 49 | 1 days | 4/20/2009 | 2 | Liposuction on knees | I didn't want anything that made me groggy. I had to return to work that afternoon and I wanted to be coherent (I work from home.) I don't remember anything from 5 min after receiving the medication. Apparently, I answered the phone from many of my husband clients and have no recollection of those conversations. I am still very forgetful 3 days later also a bit tired through out the day. I am 40 years old, a mountain biker and in great health, I would also add, that the doctor misrepresented the medication. I would not have taken it had I known the effects it could have had. | F | 40 | 1 times | 4/21/2009 | 1 | Upper GI endoscopy | The amnesiac effect of the drug continued well after the procedure was done. I continued to have memory problems and cogntive difficulties (sometimes I wondered if I was getting Alzheimer's at age 31!) for many months after the procedure. I had a second procedure three years later and asked to not have this kind of drug but it was administered anyway. This time my side effects were worse. I cannot in good conscience recommend this drug as the risk of side effects is too great. | Be very, very careful about having this drug administered to you for a procedure. If you want to completely forget the whole thing, then it is great but remember the effect can linger in some individuals sensitive to it. It does not provide any pain relief, it is mostly an drug to cause amnesia. You will still feel the pain but you will not remember it, which is not the same thing as not experiencing the pain at all. Your body will remember even if your mind doesn't. You may be more susceptible to its effects if you already have a memory or cognitive problem like "brain fog" from any number of autoimmune conditions, hypothyroid, ADD, brain damage, diabetes, low vitamins, etc. | F | 33 | 2 times | 4/22/2009 | 5 | endoscopy | dizziness, sleepiness | A few minutes after administration, I began to get dizzy, and the doctor said to close my eyes. Next thing I remember I felt the tube against the back of my throat, and the doctor and nurse saying, "swallow", which I did to which they cheered. Next I remember the nurse saying, "you're all done". Next, I'm putting my shirt back on. Next, I'm sitting in a wheelchair and the doctor is explaining the results. I remember everything after that, and felt back to normal after a good nap. | M | 36 | 1 times | 4/23/2009 | 3 | Colonscopy | Memory gaps for about 2 hours after IV inserted; fatigue set in several hours later. | I'd done some research beforehand, and a number of family members had similar procedures, so I went in knowing what to expect. Shortly after the IV was inserted, I asked the doctors when I should take off my glasses - they said they'd let me know. Moments later (or so it seemed), I was in the recovery room fully dressed. I don't remember my designated-driver father visiting me in the recovery room, or the post-procedure ginger ale and crackers that I apparently offered to share with him. A "moment later," I went out to meet my father and he asked me to wait at the door while he went to get the car. In the next "moment," I was walking up my back steps. The rest of the day was fine, except I was tired in the early afternoon. Although I did not have the negative experiences of a number of other respondents on this board, I'm inclined to forego the medication next time, because I'm rather inquisitive by nature and would've preferred to witness the entire procedure. | M | 52 | 1 days | 4/23/2009 | 1 | colonoscopy | I was given dimerol and versed before a colonoscopy. When my memory returned, I was violent and abusive towards staff and my wife. I had vivid painful memories of struggling during the procedure. I was given this drug with no description other than "oh you'll love it". I remain traumatized by not only what happened to me, but the feelings of guilt about how I treated my wife when I was semi-coherent. If anybody else ever tries to give me this drug, I will leave. Just because a patient can't remember trauma (and I did remember some) doesn't mean he/she didn't experience it. Perfect date/patient rape drug. | M | 44 | 1 days | 4/23/2009 | 5 | thoracic surgery | NONE! I felt and still feel this is the greatest medication (although when I asked a subsequent doctor for it for another procedure, he said it's not recommended for lung procedures) and Demerol was used. Side effects from Versed-0; side effects from Demerol-sudden loss of strength and sweating, almost passed out. This happened twice, and I'll never take Demerol again. But yes yes yes to Versed! | F | 54 | | 4/25/2009 |