What is Ativan Prescribed For?
FDA CAUTION: The FDA label cautions that normal day-to-day stresses and tension of everyday life does not require a prescription of Ativan.
Anxiety Disorders
Ativan is approved for short-term use to treat anxiety disorders and for anxiety disorders mixed with symptoms of depression.2
Pre-surgery Use
Before surgical or other medical procedures, benzos are often used to calm and relax the patient, and suppress memory of the surgery. This is called retrograde amnesia. In rare instances, the benzo can cause reactions such as anaphylaxis (a life-threatening allergic reaction), cardiac events either dangerously elevating or slowing heart rate to the point of requiring resuscitation. Drug-induced rashes, and other complications can occur, which need specialized care so the surgery can go forward safely.4
Treating Severe Trauma
Persons who have suffered severe trauma are also one of the most frequently prescribed high-doses of benzodiazepines. A fascinating study by Swedish researchers found that not only was high-dosage prescription of benzodiazepines associated with trauma victims, but that other factors such as prior use of opioids, psychiatric co-morbidities, and older age were common risk factors in this population, associated with markedly elevated risk of death.6
Other Off-label Uses of Benzodiazepines
Off-label prescribing of benzodiazepines is not approved by the FDA but is actually a common practice.8 Benzodiazepines prescribed for off-label conditions makes up about half of all benzodiazepine prescriptions. Off-label benzodiazepines occur in 65% of women vs men, and the average age of anyone with an off-label prescription was reported as 60 or older, according to a large Canadian-based review published in the Springer Nature Journal.7
PLEASE NOTE: off-label uses are not FDA-approved, though common.
Other conditions and symptoms for which benzodiazepines are prescribed off-label include:
- Long-term treatment of anxiety
- Insomnia long-term
- Sedation in palliative care
- ADD/ADHD
- Depression
- Mania
- OCD
- PTSD
- Geriatric agitation
- Dementia
- Schizophrenia
- Psychosis
- Hallucination
- Bipolar
- Movement disorders
- Traumatic brain injury
- Pain
- Tinnitus
- Addiction
- Eating disorders
How Does Ativan Work?
Ativan is a benzodiazepine. A benzodiazepine is a fast-acting sedative that slows many functions in the body, such as heart rate, breathing, reaction time, relaxes the muscles, and softens or calms emotional responses.
The exact mechanisms of how benzos like Ativan work is not fully understood but its relaxant effects are thought to happen due to the drug’s capacity to amplify the responsiveness of GABA (natural neurotransmitter) receptors. GABA acts as a central nervous system depressant. With the enhancement of GABA receptors, what happens is a suppression of excitability, softened response to outside stimuli, and a neutralizing effect on excitatory neurochemicals like adrenaline or dopamine.11
How Long Should Ativan be Prescribed?
Guidelines have been published that recommend benzodiazepines like Ativan be prescribed only short term, which ranges from 2-4 weeks to a maximum of 4 months.2,12 This is to avoid the long-term effects of Ativan that are well-documented such as addiction and dependence, degenerative conditions, and many others.
Natural Alternatives for Anxiety
There are many natural and non-addictive courses of treatment that can be utilized to help anxiety or other unwanted symptoms. Discover a wealth of information on these alternatives to Ativan that can be discussed with your prescriber or care givers, to find the ones that will help eliminate your unwanted symptoms without risks associated with prescription drug use. Never abruptly stop taking a benzodiazepine but seek professional guidance to safely get off a benzodiazepine.
Coming Off Ativan Safely
There are significant health and safety concerns with coming off Ativan, and the withdrawal process calls for careful and close monitoring with a qualified physician. Done improperly or too fast, coming off benzos, especially after long-term use, can be fatal. Done too quickly can result in catastrophic outcomes including psychosis, seizures, delirium tremens, and other risks to health and safety.
Find out more about safe Ativan withdrawal and get medical help before trying it all on your own.
Ativan is a benzodiazepine drug, patented in 1977. Benzodiazepines are potent tranquilizers. Ativan has a shorter half-life than some other benzos, of 10 – 20 hours. Like the vast majority of drugs in this class, It has a relatively fast onset of about 15 to 30 minutes.1
Persons who are strongly cautioned against being prescribed Ativan include those who suffer COPD or compromised respiratory systems, pregnant women, depressed people with a history of suicidal ideation, people with impaired liver function, the elderly, people with a history of drug or alcohol misuse, and people with “hypersensitivity” to benzodiazepines or related drugs.
