Lorazepam is sold under the brand name Ativan. It belongs in a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines, much like Valium and Xanax. It is used to treat various anxiety disorders. It does have other uses, but this post will be focused on its use as a medication to treat anxiety and panic attacks.
Lorazepam Side Effects
A lot of the medications that are used to treat mental illnesses come with a long list of side effects, and lorazepam is no different. Some of the side effects that you may experience include the following:
Drowsiness
Headaches
Nausea
Dizziness
Loss of coordination
Constipation
Heartburn
Changes in appetite
If you have any of these side effects, or even more serious ones, then you should tell your doctor immediately so they can make a decision as to whether to continue using this medication.
What Happens When You Mix Lorazepam And Alcohol?
It is best to avoid alcohol altogether if you are taking lorazepam or any other benzodiazepine. Both alcohol and lorazepam inhibit the central nervous system, and combining the two can lead to serious side effects such as slowed breathing, lowered heart rate, extreme tiredness, coma and even death.
Alcohol does increase the effects of lorazepam, and lorazepam increases the effects of alcohol. In fact, studies have shown that a large number of alcoholics abuse benzodiazepines to increase the effects of alcohol. Lorazepam can also be used to help with alcohol withdrawal, so it is especially dangerous if the person resumes drinking again while taking this drug.
How Does Ativan Make You Feel?
Ativan acts as a tranquilizer and slows the activity of the brain and nerves. This can leave you feeling calmer and relaxed. You may also feel some of the side effects listed previously after taking this medication. It is quite common to feel drowsy and sleepy after taking Ativan, especially if your body is not used to this drug.
How Fast Does Ativan Work For Anxiety?
Ativan is a fast acting drug which makes it ideal for treating anxiety and panic disorders. You will usually feel the drug start to work in around 20-30 minutes. It takes around 60-90 minutes for it to reach its full effect.
How Long Does Ativan Last?
As mentioned previously, Ativan will reach its full sedating effect in around 60-90 minutes. This effect will usually last for around 6-8 hours after taking it. Whether you have had the tablets, liquid or injection, you can expect it to last for the same amount of time.
Lorazepam Vs Diazepam
Both lorazepam and diazepam are benzodiazepines and are used to treat anxiety disorders and panic disorders. Although they are both similar, there are some key differences.
Diazepam has a higher potential of interacting with other drugs than what lorazepam does.
Diazepam stays in the body for longer than lorazepam. Diazepam has a half life of up to 48 hours, whereas lorazepam is only 18 hours approximately. Due to the shorter amount of time it takes for lorazepam to leave your system, there is a reduced risk of suffering from side effects.
Other than that, there aren’t a lot of differences between Valium (diazepam) and Ativan (lorazepam). They can both be effective medications to treat anxiety, but due to their sedating effect long term use is not recommended and can lead to addiction. Neither drug is safe to take when drinking alcohol, so drinking should be avoided completely.
Lorazepam Review
I have been on both Ativan and Valium, as well as other benzodiazepines. I have found that they are a very effective way of calming me when my anxiety is at a high level. The problem is, the more I use them the less effective they get. They are not meant to be a long term solution and doctors typically won’t keep you on them long term because they are addictive. With continued use, I went from feeling like a sleepy zombie whenever I took the medication, to a point where it didn’t seem to have much of an effect on me unless I took a higher dose.
Usually when I took lorazepam it would make me drowsy and sleepy, and I couldn’t really do much for the rest of the day. Sure, they worked to calm my anxiety, but the cost was I became a bit of a zombie. For that reason I could not take it if I had things I needed to do or be alert for, such as driving to pick my kids up from school. So often I was stuck dealing with the anxiety without the medication, and couldn’t take it until I was finished doing what I needed to do that day. Taking it later in the day or evening definitely helped me to sleep, so there were some benefits.
The other problem I have found is that although they can calm me when I am anxious, they are not doing anything to prevent the anxiety returning. And it usually returns when the medication wears off. To me, taking lorazepam was not a solution to my problem, it was just a way to reduce the symptoms I was experiencing.
Why I Don’t Need Lorazepam Any More
Although I liked the calming effect of lorazepam, I knew that I could not rely on it solely to treat my anxiety. After all, it was only ever meant as a short term solution. I knew I would have to find a way to manage my anxiety without being reliant upon benzodiazepines.
So I started researching what I could do. I couldn’t continue to exist like this and I was desperate to find a way to give me even a little bit of relief from my anxiety and panic attacks.
During my searching, I came across a product called Panic Away. It was basically a whole course dedicated to treating anxiety and panic attacks without relying on any medication at all. The website claimed that the course could eliminate panic attacks in a very short space of time. I was sceptical, but they had a lot of proven success stories and offered a money back guarantee so I decided to buy it. The cost was about the same as what I would spend on a month of anxiety medication, so it was relatively cheap to buy.
I didn’t have high expectations for the course, but I was prepared to do what it instructed me to do and commit to following it. I figured even if it can provide me a small amount of relief from my anxiety then I will happily take that as a win.
By the time I finished reading the course, I knew exactly what I had to do to finally get on top of my anxiety. I was full of confidence that I had finally found the way forward. I was so confident in what I had learned that I immediately went out and put myself in an anxiety triggering situation (crowded place) knowing that I could now handle it.
It’s been a while now since I bought this course and it is the best thing I have ever done for my anxiety. Although I haven’t completely eliminated panic attacks from my life, on the rare occasions when I do get one now I can handle it with ease. My general anxiety level is also much lower than it used to be and I have been able to get back out into the world no longer scared of being overwhelmed. I was agoraphobic before I bought this course, but now I have no trouble leaving the house. It has done so much for me and I’m enjoying living a life that is close to normal again. If you would like to learn more about Panic Away, then you can use the link below.
Click here to learn more about Panic Away
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