Ativan (lorazepam) [Benzo]

[SAS]

Lorazepam is a benzodiazepine drug with short to medium duration of action. It has a relatively potent anxiolytic effect and its best known indication is the short-term management of severe anxiety. It is less useful in panic disorder. It also has a relatively high addiction potential.

More info:

• Drugs.com
• Wikipedia

User ratings/reviews:

• AskAPatient.com
• Drugs.com
• DailyStrength.org
• WebMD
• RXList.com
• Revolution Health

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by Keith

Treatment Experience
Works fast, good for situational anxiety. It made me feel a bit more depressed and wears off quicker so i ended up switching to xanax. It helped to take durning panic attacks to calm me down.I think it works the best for situational anxiety, but if your like me and have constant anxiety xanax or klonopin is a better option.

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by meyaj

Social Anxiety Background
I've been dealing with SA since around 9-10 years old.

Picture this: a "bright" kid with (undiagnosed at the time) ADD gets moved to a "gifted program" at school, and basically grows up with the exact same driven, motivated kids for the next decade.

As you can imagine, being a kid with ADD was almost an insult in it itself to the overachievers. So, friendless, without many opportunities for making new friends, this kid never really evolved socially, and is now pretty much terrified of it.

Other Treatments
Benzos: Ativan, Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, Temazepam
Too many others to list.

CBT (1 year now)

Treatment Experience
As somebody who is physically tense 100% of the time, ativan can be a real gem. It has very strong muscle relaxant propeties, which kind of helps loosen you up mentally too.

The good: Sublingual Ativan is available.. if you're having a panic attack, it kicks in in less than 5 minutes. Great to have on hand!

The bad: It also tends to have fairly potent amnesic effects. If you've got important things to remember, you're better off using something.

The amnesia properties were bad enough for me to tell my doctor I didn't want them

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by rocknroll714

Social Anxiety Background
I've had social anxiety disorder for several years and I've experimented with various medications and street drugs for anxiolytic purposes. The benzodiazepines are the best I've come across for instant on the spot anxiety relief. For me they're even more effective than alcohol.

Other Treatments
I find klonopin to be superior personally and I prefer it to ativan. Equal anxiolysis but less side effects with klonopin (like irritability, memory impairment, loss of balance, etc) and it lasts much longer. I could dose and the next day I'd still feel it. Klonopin is by far my favorite benzo so far. Also note I heavily prefer both ativan and klonopin over alcohol. They're far more anxiolytic. I've also tried soma and I found it to be perhaps the least anxiolytic of the lot (though still effective).

Treatment Experience
Found to be similar but stronger and shorter in duration in comparison to klonopin. Very effective for anxiety and shot my mood through the roof. Whenever my stress and anxiety are gone I just feel wonderful. Made me very irritable and even aggressive however. Also experienced memory impairment and slurring of the speech among other light but still prominent cognitive deficits.

Went into a psychotic state (mixed with a ton of adderall, possibly benzo overdose and amphetamine psychosis at the same time) with complete memory loss after ingesting 2 pills. Don't remember anything that happened but there was physical evidence something crazy happened when I finally came out of it. Took way too much. Not a good idea at all. Don't overdo it! Half a pill will do the trick for many.

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by SadZak

Social Anxiety Background
Terribly shy since 5 years old. Self medicating with alcohol since 18. Stopped drinking a little under a year ago. Need to find a solution that won't kill me.

Other Treatments
Lots of SSRI's, tricyclics, attention deficit drugs, beta blockers, etc. All the usual options.

Treatment Experience
The experience for me is similar to being slightly drunk. 2mg will allow me to socialize comfortably, make eye contact, not be terrified, and to not have a near heart attack when going out for coffee with a friend. There are drawbacks however. The positive effects are short lived. And I've been taking it for 8 months now and have bad mood crashes any day i would try to go without it. I just ran out of my prescription 3 weeks ago and don't have a doctor as i've just moved to California, and my mood has been much more stable. I have a few Klonopins left, but they just make me exhausted. .5 mg of Klonopin and i'm passing out within a half hour. I've tried 18 different medications in the past 3 years. Ativan is my favorite, despite giving me horrendous spells of depression the next day. Unfortunately, I'm not finding medication to be that helpful at all.

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by rustybob

Social Anxiety Background
Had social anxiety pretty much forever from growing up in a racist town. Definitely not the textbook social anxiety case, as I did have friends, played team sports, worked since I was 10 years old, did sales jobs, etc etc. I never realized I had it until I finally decided to fix my sleep problems.

My whole life I've been unable to get more than 1.5 hours straight of sleep (unless I was sick). So even though I got 8 hours I still felt like crap. This is what initially got me into trying to figure out what's wrong with me. Once I seen the list of symptoms for seratonin deficiency I knew that was my problem. My whole life have suffered from a lack of energy and motivation.

Other Treatments
Effexor(made me suicidal)
Valium (not obtained through a doctor, worked great though)
Zoloft (Awful)
Wellbutrin (Still using, working great with Remeron)
Remeron (Amazing, has me feeling like a normal person)
5-HTP (Helped mood slightly, sleep was just as bad due to crazy nightmares)

Treatment Experience
This was initially prescribed to me to help me get to sleep while I was on Zoloft (since I could sleep fine once I got to sleep, but would take an hour+ to get to sleep). For sleep, it was absolutely useless, in reality it seemed to energize me.

For social anxiety though, amazing. I realized how good it was for this at a music festival during the summer. The previous year I ended up leaving early because I really wasn't having any fun, not talking to people, nothing. That was all my fault though. The year after with Ativan I was a completely different person. Those were the best five days of my life, and gave me hope that I could overcome social anxiety.

The only real negative for me were it's amnesic effects.

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by Sasha

Treatment Experience
Ativan turned me into a complete zombie. All I wanted to do was sleep. It didn't help me with any of the issues it was prescribed for. I had no energy to do anything. It might be good for someone who needs to be frequently calmed down, but if you're already a calm person when you're not nervous, I wouldn't recommend it. Besides, I still had panic attacks while I was on it.

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by Phobiac

Social Anxiety Background
Have had social anxiety disorder since childhood. Ativan was not prescribed for SAD, but for the panic attacks experienced when confronted with needles.

Treatment Experience
I am prescribed Ativan for situations that cause me extreme anxiety and nervousness. I have only used it a few times in the past to calm myself enough for getting needles.

Extremely effective for getting rid of anxiety.
Started working within an hour. Made me feel very calm and relaxed to a very noticeable degree. Where a usual visit to get a needle involves a horrible panic attack, and the doctor's eventual refusal to give me the needle; medicated visits go without a hitch.

I noticed that my emotional range is limited when on Ativan. I experience a general feeling of contentedness, but never any extreme emotion. I also receive a mild confidence boost, and a feeling that nothing can hurt me emotionally.

My thinking isn't terribly clear, and I'm not too alert when on Ativan. I am more likely to blurt out things I'll regret saying later.

This is an addictive drug for me, even though I haven't gone so far as to abuse it. For a couple weeks after taking the pill, I crave another dose badly. If someone were to approach me with Ativan at this moment [it's been a few years since I had it last], I would definitely take it although I don't require it.
This drug should not be taken if you have had problems with addictions in the past.

I had no side effects with Ativan, though it should be noted I only take it on certain occasions.

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by imntcrzy

Social Anxiety Background
Since I can remember, especially when I was around 13.

Other Treatments
Prayer, meditation, journalling, excersize, talking to others with the same affliction, positive self talk, eating right, smiling on purpose even when I don't feel like it, helping someone else or others, long walks, white noise to sleep better, etc.

Treatment Experience
Now off of Wel Butrin. It made my ears ring, my food taste like metal, and my attacks continued.

Zoloft is working to keep me calm and not crying all of the time.

Ativan makes me sleepy, and all the other symptoms described, but most of all, I can't remember the simplest things. I am on my way OFF and am glad to get rid of the Ativan. I have lost so many things that are important and can't remember anything about where I was last with these items or where they could be. Items like my diamond engagement ring, my glasses, and my mind! No but really, I stumble over my words and can't remember simple words like marble or papercut. I feel so stupid, and I stutter. I am so on my way off of this stuff. No matter what, it has been useful to me in getting me to calm down in the first place when I was having panic attacks continually all day, every day, but now that I have other ways to help myself, I can't wait to get off this medication. My psych told me it will take a long time, but I don't care, as long as we've started.

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by mcsboy8

Social Anxiety Background
had sa since beginning of 2008

Other Treatments
various benzodizepines, lexapro, prozac, paxil, zoloft, buspar, remeron

Treatment Experience
Works very quickly and well for anxiety however this is the most sedating in my opinion of all my benzos and the only benzo that works for me, it sometimes also causes depression afterwards

[SAS]

(Copied over from old review system)

Posted by Arisa1536

Social Anxiety Background
Since i was a toddler, always shy and scared of people
alot better now thanks to meds, therapy and support
Actually pretty social now, just have paranoid thoughts from time to time

Other Treatments
Cognitive therapy
Buspirone, temporarily, it sucked by the way
Quetiapine for a month or two, it was horrid, the weight gain was horrendous and black outs were shocking.
Venlafaxine 300MG per day and it works for me
Promathezine 20MG once a night
Zopiclone 7.5 once a night
both aid sleep and stop nausea

Treatment Experience
Okay so i have had my share of different medications, including benzodiazepines for social and general anxiety.
I am currently on Klonopin and could do well on 5MG but the doctor is strict and only allows me 2MG a day which for most people works great, but for me Ativan/lorazepam was amazing
2.5MG once a day and i was on cloud nine, and a social butterfly, all my nerves disappeared and the side effects were minimal
i had no tiredness or nausea and lost my appetite and wanted to exercise which was good for me, as with all meds, you get thirsty so drink heaps of water...

My choice if i could choose would be lorazepam as it acts faster than Clonazepam (klonopin) and compared to Diazepam, which i have also taken in a mildly high dose.

Number one definitely

[Arisa1536]

LOVE ativan its brilliant and turns me into a social butterfly
well i do not need it anymore, but i like its effects, calming, happy and generally at peace with the world when i am on them

i also find i do not need as many to calm me down
i found i needed more clonazepam to calm me than i did lorazepam which is odd considering clonazepam is the most potent along with Xanax in the benzo department
well not counting triazolam the strongest of all

But i give lorazepam a 5/5

[yesanded]

I was prescribed Ativan to be taken "as needed" a couple of months ago. I am also taking Pristiq in the morning and Trileptal in the evening.

The first couple of times I took Ativan, the results were dramatic. I experienced a very relaxed state, both mentally and physically. The immediacy of the effects quickly made it my "go to" for any occasion I anticipated would cause me anxiety. This eventually became an everyday thing. I also increased from .5 to 1mg because the .5 stopped having much effect. So now I am taking 1 mg every day out of sheer necessity, which is unfortunate, because if I skip it I become extremely jittery and somewhat irritable. I'm planning a few days to wean myself down to .5 and then to none. After that, I'll take it as initially intended: as needed.

A large part of my anxiety problem lies in irritability and aggression. In that respect, Ativan is the best treatment I've experienced to date. It puts me at ease about the world, and I am able to turn off the mind-bending hyper-vigilance that turns my Jekyll to Hyde at the drop of a hat.

Unfortunately, the other large part of my condition involves procrastination, a serious lack of focus, and a deeply-rooted pattern of avoidance when it comes to completing tasks. This is especially crucial now, as I'm trying desperately to complete a couple of incomplete college courses before they turn into Fs. This is where a daily dose of Ativan is probably more a hindrance than a help. It really does make you want to put your feet up and just chill...and nothing else.

As I cycle back into the occasional usage, I'm hoping to level things out a bit. The stuff is so damned good and effective, I found it almost impossible to not become addicted to it. And I've never had an addiction to anything in my life.

I will continue to use Ativan as a tool. I've talked to my therapist about the purpose of my medication. I'm working towards conditioning my brain to respond differently. (Aren't we all?) So if I take Ativan before I drive on the highway, or walk through busy foot traffic in the Loop, (I'm in Chicago) my lack of reactions to otherwise stressful situations, because of the Ativan effect, will eventually become the norm.

CBT and drugs...do your dance!

[albert3366]

people say this is a strong drug, no it is not, if you take this drug at the right dosage you will feel relaxed, i love it, but when it comes to more intense anxiety situations ativan isnt noticable at all.

[anxiousgirl79]

Totally agree with what Albert just said. Ativan IS calming, but it still allowed me to have panic attacks. It is definitely the most "gentle" benzo I have been on. I am now taking Xanax XR (I don't think it's very widely-prescribed bc no one seems to have any knowledge of it), but Ativan even as a band-aid did not stop panic attacks.

[RegisteredUser]

I was prescribed ativan but it scares me so I haven't taken it. What scares me is the wikipedia article on it.

I still have the tablets, in 0.5mg form sitting near my bed. When I wake up with a panic attack I grab the container of them and threaten my self "Calm down... I'll take one if you don't calm down!...." so I open the container and pull one out, I hold it for a moment really imagining that I'm going to take it and my anxiety usually starts to subside after a few minutes.

If it doesn't, I certainly will have to take one. Panic attacks scare me almost as bad as that article when I start to slip into the "I've lost my mind, I'm out of control" point.

[albert3366]

Originally Posted by RegisteredUser

I was prescribed ativan but it scares me so I haven't taken it. What scares me is the wikipedia article on it.

I still have the tablets, in 0.5mg form sitting near my bed. When I wake up with a panic attack I grab the container of them and threaten my self "Calm down... I'll take one if you don't calm down!...." so I open the container and pull one out, I hold it for a moment really imagining that I'm going to take it and my anxiety usually starts to subside after a few minutes.

If it doesn't, I certainly will have to take one. Panic attacks scare me almost as bad as that article when I start to slip into the "I've lost my mind, I'm out of control" point.

what scares you about, ativan has nearly no side effects and if you over dose the worst that can happen is that you crash (fall asleep all of a sudden) but thats really it, the drug isnt life threatening in any wway.

[wxolue]

My experiences with ativan:


First try: .5mg (one tablet): Extremely tired to the point of almost putting me to sleep. this was in my house, so I can't really speak to the anti anxiety effects.

Second try: 3 tablets: Slightly less tired than the first try. Still very tired though. The anti anxiety affects were very noticeable. I had very little anxiety, even though i was visiting my old school (a big trigger for me).

Third try: 6 tablets: My high school prom. Not only is seeing my old classmates a big trigger for me, but prom means dancing. This is perhaps the biggest trigger for anxiety that I have. Its the only reason I've been worrying about my imminent prom for the past two years. Not only was I able to completely let myself go on the dance floor, but I was interacting with people left and right. The drowsiness was minimal. I was able to stay awake at the overnight after-prom and didn't fall asleep until 10am the next day.

fourth try: 4 tablets: No noticeable affects at all. My anxiety was still there.

fifth try: 5 tablets: Again, no noticeable affects.

I'm not sure what to say about how fast i developed a tolerance for it. The five tries were taken over three weeks fairly spread out. I haven't developed any addiction, and haven't experienced any withdraw effects since I finished my with my bottle about a week ago. Going from .5mg nearly knocking me out to 2.5mg doing nothing seems a bit unusual to me.

TLDR: I became really tolerant really fast. Overall very good things to say about ativan, and I highly suggest it. only side effect was drowsiness.

I probably wont be buying anymore. Partly because I hate the idea of medication in general, partly because bezo addiction is a nightmare, and I have no intention of experiencing it, and partly because I'm not sure how I would deal with my high tolerance.

[filmfidelity]

I was just prescribed this. I'm curious; I tend to have my panic attacks at work more than anywhere else. I work in the produce department at a grocery store, and get the attacks more when I'm closing the department by myself at night from 2-8pm. Would it be safe taking this before I head into work? Or will it make my managers think that I just got stoned/drunk before I came in, thus getting me fired?

[anxiousgirl79]

Ativan seemed to me as the most "gentle" benzo. I could usually feel its effects in about 40 minutes. I would suggest that you try and take it on a day that you're not working, but make sure you are alert and on your feet as you would be at work so test it. Meaning, don't take it and then go watch TV. That would not be a good test. Also, notice how long it stays effective in your system so you're not driving home and risk a DUI.

The other BIG THING...

Do NOT carry one extra or emergency pill in your pocket or car for just in case. You must ALWAYS have it either in the bottle or a copy or your prescription in case the police pull you over. Ativan (lorazepam) is a controlled substance, and you can be charged with possession if you cannot show that it is indeed yours!

Just something I learned by asking a lot of questions.

Good luck!

Kaley