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Lorazepam
Pronounced lor-AZ-e-pam
Brand names: Ativan
Type: Benzodiazepine (sedative) · All Mental Health Medicines
What Lorazepam is used for
- Anxiety, short-term
- Seizures, including prolonged seizures (hospital)
- Sedation before procedures
- Alcohol withdrawal (hospital)
◆ Kidney note
Often the benzodiazepine chosen in liver disease; no dose change is usually needed for kidney function alone.
Common side effects
- Drowsiness
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Unsteadiness
Important cautions
- Can be habit-forming with regular use, and withdrawal can be dangerous — it is tapered, never stopped suddenly after regular use
- Combined with opioids or alcohol it can cause fatal slowed breathing
- Increases falls and confusion in older adults
How it comes
Tablets, liquid, injection (hospital). This guide lists forms only — it never lists strengths or doses.
Related medicines — Mental Health Medicines
Please note: This page is a patient-education summary, not medical advice, and it deliberately contains no doses. Medicines affect everyone differently — always follow your own prescription and talk to your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.