Common questions about lorazepam - Brand name: Ativan

Lorazepam belongs to a group of medicines called benzodiazepines.

It's thought to work by increasing the levels of a calming chemical, gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), in your brain.

Depending on your health condition, this can make you feel calmer, relieve anxiety or stop a seizure or fit.

Lorazepam tablets and liquid start to work in around 20 to 30 minutes. It reaches full sedating effect after 1 to 1.5 hours and lasts for around 6 to 8 hours.

A lorazepam injection works much faster but also lasts around 6 to 8 hours.

Lorazepam will help you feel calmer and it can help reduce your feelings of anxiety.

It can also make you feel sleepy if you're having trouble falling asleep.

It's possible to become addicted to lorazepam. But you're not likely to become addicted if you take it at a low dose for a short time (2 to 4 weeks).

Addiction is more likely if you've ever had problems with alcohol or recreational drugs.

Speak to a doctor if you've had problems with alcohol or recreational drugs. They may want to try you on a different medicine.

If a doctor recommends you stop taking lorazepam, they'll reduce your dose gradually. This will be done by reducing the number of tablets you take and how often you take them.

This allows your body to get used to being without the medicine and reduces the chance of side effects when you stop taking it.

This is important if you have been taking a high dose or a doctor has prescribed it for more than 4 weeks.

If you stop taking lorazepam suddenly, you may get side effects, such as:

• confusion
• having a seizure or fit
• depression
• feeling nervous or irritable
• sweating
• diarrhoea

If you get any of these side effects, speak to a doctor.

For anxiety, depending on your symptoms, you may need a medicine to treat your physical symptoms as well as your psychological ones.

Your doctor will usually start you on a type of antidepressant called a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), such as sertraline, paroxetine or escitalopram.

There are also different types of talking therapies for anxiety, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and counselling.

For sleep, your doctor will discuss your condition with you and help you decide which medicine is best for you.

Lorazepam will not affect any contraception, including the combined pill, progestogen-only pill or emergency contraception.

Some contraceptives may make lorazepam less effective. Talk to a doctor if you're taking a contraceptive and you think your lorazepam is not working very well.

Do not drive a car or ride a bike if lorazepam makes you sleepy, gives you blurred vision, or makes you feel dizzy, clumsy or unable to concentrate or make decisions.

This may be more likely when you first start taking lorazepam, but could happen at any time, for example, when starting another medicine.

It's an offence to drive a car if your ability to drive safely is affected.

It's your responsibility to decide if it's safe to drive. If you're in any doubt, do not drive.

Even if your ability to drive is not affected, the police have the right to request a saliva sample to check how much lorazepam is in your body.

Talk to a doctor or pharmacist if you're unsure whether it's safe for you to drive while taking lorazepam. GOV.UK has more information on the law on drugs and driving.

Do not drink alcohol while you're taking lorazepam. Alcohol can increase the effects of lorazepam.

It can make you go into a very deep sleep. There's a risk you will not be able to breathe properly, and may have difficulty waking up.

Using cannabis, heroin or methadone with lorazepam will increase the drowsy effects of lorazepam.

It can make you go into a very deep sleep. There's a risk you will not be able to breathe properly, and you may have difficulty waking up.

Using cocaine or other stimulants such as MDMA (ecstasy) and amphetamines with lorazepam can also make you drowsy.

Talk to a doctor if you think you might use recreational drugs while taking lorazepam.

You can find out more about the side effects of recreational drugs on the Frank website.

It's a good idea to avoid grapefruit or grapefruit juice while taking lorazepam. Grapefruit juice may increase the amount of lorazepam in your blood.

It's best to not have drinks such as coffee, tea, cola or energy drinks, or to eat a lot of chocolate, because these contain caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant and may reduce the calming effects of lorazepam.

Alcohol can increase the effects of lorazepam and make you go into a very deep sleep. It's important not to drink alcohol while you're taking lorazepam. There's a risk you will not be able to breathe properly, and you may have difficulty waking up.

If you have anxiety, lifestyle changes you can make to help ease your symptoms include:

• reading a book or taking an online course about anxiety
• a talking therapy for anxiety, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or counselling
• exercising regularly
• learning to relax
• avoiding caffeine
• quitting smoking
• avoiding alcohol
• contacting support groups run by charities such as Anxiety UK, Mind and Rethink Mental Illness

If you're having trouble sleeping, there are things you can do to help with insomnia and getting to sleep:

• set regular times for going to bed and waking up
• relax before bedtime – try taking a warm bath or listening to some calming music
• use thick curtains or blinds, an eye mask and earplugs to stop you being woken up by light and noise
• avoid caffeine, cigarettes, vaping, alcohol, heavy meals and exercise for a few hours before going to bed
• do not watch TV or use phones, tablets or computers just before going to bed
• do not nap during the day
• write a list of your worries, and any ideas about how to solve them, before you go to bed to help you forget about them until the morning