Description

Ativan- detailed information on this medication

Ativan is a drug mainly used for the treatment of anxiety disorders. It belongs to a group, or family of drugs known as benzodiazepines. This family of drugs has a calming effect on your nerves and work to slow down atypical brain activity, which is a common problem for anxiety patients. Ativan, like any other drug of the benzodiazepine group of drugs boosts the effects of certain neurochemical that your brain is creating called GABA. What this specific chemical does is transmitting impulses between brain cells and brain regions. Ativan restores the balance of these neurochemicals to their normal levels.

Ativan, also known as Lorazepam, is not used only to treat anxiety as it can be used to treat other conditions as well. Using Ativan for anything else save the treatment of anxiety is called ?of label? usage of Ativan. But, don?t worry if your doctor writes you a prescription for this drug if you are not suffering from anxiety disorders or attacks. He is not trying to harm you. Your doctor knows exactly what he is doing. Just don?t try to use Ativan yourself without a doctor?s prescription and consult with your doctor about its uses if he decides to give you Ativan for other purposes than the treatment of anxiety.

Ativan is commonly used as a prescription drug. It is usually prescribed and given in the form of tablets or pills, although in the hospital environment it can be given to the patient as an injection. This is usually done when the patient needs to be sedated before a surgery. As for the tablets, which are the most common form in which this medication is given, there are three dosages that your doctor can prescribe to you: 1/2 mg. 1 mg and 2 mg. Your doctor can prescribed based on your condition and how difficult your anxiety is.

This medication is taken orally with some water. It can be taken both before or after a meal. Normally, the doctor will instruct you to take Ativan 2 or three times per day, based on the severity of your problems and your reaction to this medication. If some side effects begin to show, the doctor will lower your dosage. The single prescribed dosage to one patient is almost never larger than 2 mg.

Never take more Ativan than you are previously prescribed. This can be quite dangerous, more so because of the fact that this drug can be highly addictive if you use it in higher dosages. This is especially possible if you previously had drug or alcohol related problems. In case you develop dependence on Ativan, you can expect one of the following withdrawal symptoms: seizures, insomnia, increased heart beat, hallucinations, high fever, rapid breathing and some others. In order to avoid these symptoms, you need to slowly decrease your dosage in consultation with your doctor, stopping with its use abruptly will make you more susceptible to the withdrawal symptoms of Ativan.

ATIVAN

Ativan

Ativan has a marked sedative effect on central nervous system, causing muscle relaxation and anticonvulsant effect that has a slight sedative effect. The medicine suppresses feelings of fear, anxiety and stress. In large doses Ativan suppresses psychomotor agitation. The medicine is manufactured in form of tablets Ativan 1mg and Ativan 2mg.

Ativan is normally prescribed for the patients suffering from various kinds of neurotic states accompanied by anxiety, agitation, tension, increased irritability, insomnia, functional cardiovascular neurosis, neuroses of the gastrointestinal tract, migraines, menopausal disorders, as well as in the course of preparation of patients for surgery and during the postoperative period; diseases with symptoms of obsessions, anxiety, fear, tension, depression and hypochondriacal states, epilepsy, and withdrawal syndrome in alcoholism.

The means of application vary from patient to patient, largely depending on the age of the person it is prescribed for. Adults are usually prescribed 2 to 3mg of Ativan 3 times a day, sometimes the dose can be increased to 15mg per day with a gradual decrease. Children from 6 to 12 years are prescribed 0.5 to 1mg of the medicine 2 times a day. The drug withdrawal is realized through gradually reducing the dose.

Ativan has but a few known contraindications. Acute liver and kidney disease, myasthenia gravis, increased sensitivity to drugs in this group are among them.

The most common side effects of the medicine include drowsiness, dizziness, itching, nausea, and constipation.

The patients with the following states are not allowed to take Ativan: hypersensitivity (including to other derivatives of benzodiazepine), a severe form of myasthenia, coma, shock, angle-closure glaucoma, abuse in history (drugs, alcohol, except for treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome), a state of acute alcoholic intoxication of varying severity (especially with the weakening of the vital functions), acute intoxication with drugs, providing a depressing effect on the central nervous system (narcotics, sleeping pills and psychotropic drugs), severe COPD (risk of progression of respiratory failure), acute respiratory distress syndrome, sleep apnea, pregnancy, lactation.

Take Ativan with caution in case you have one of the following health problems: hepatic and / or renal failure, cerebral and spinal ataxia, hyperkinesis, organic brain disease, severe depression (suicidal tendencies may occur), psychosis (possible paradoxical reactions), hypoproteinemia, sleep apnea (or suspected), old age, infancy (up to 12 years ? the safety and efficacy are not identified).