Lorazepam/Ativan taken daily???

starwood · April 13

My husband has developed a periodic urgency about the need to get to school to administer a test (college professor for 30 years) and becomes very agitated that I’m not helping him do that. The hospice nurse recommended I give him a dose of Lorazepam to calm him down. I’ve done this now twice and both times he sleeps for hours afterward. I noticed the directions on the bottle says as needed or every 2 hours. Has anyone actually given this on a regular basis and what was the result? It’s good that it calms him down eventually, but I don’t like that he sleeps so much afterwards although his body may adjust over time and the sleepiness dissipate. I’d be interested in feedback about regular administration of this drug.

Chris20cm · April 13

I would like to know more about this also. My DW takes Quetiapine and Zoloft and that combination has helped her paranoia and hostility the past 8 years. Now she is distraught imagining that she is living in her grandma's house and that "people" are coming to "take our stuff." She also imagines neighbors have stolen their lawn ornaments from us. Things we never would have in our yard in the first place.

I wonder if Lorazepam would help, but maybe that wouldn't work well with the other meds. She has trouble differentiating between thoughts/fears and reality. She adamantly refuses therapy.

brupt30 · April 14

My DH took a small dose of Lorazepam occasionally for several years for severe anxiety and it really helped him to "take the edge off". Now that we are on this new journey, doctors have told me recently that Lorazepam is terrible specifically for people with memory issues and we were persuaded to use Buspar instead on a daily basis for his anxiety/depression. Apparently, in addition to being a narcotic, Lorazepam blocks the deeper level of sleep that promotes dreaming, which is the most important stage of sleep to reinforce memories (it was explained to me that this is intentional since some patients with mental health issues were acting out in their dreams and sometimes violent). This was news to me after getting the prescription refilled for years! I don't know if there is some new research out in the medical community but we've been warned by several doctors not to take Lorazepam. I'm actually sad about that because it worked really well. Buspar is fine but is more an ongoing dose and can't really be taken "as needed".

jfkoc · April 14

Beware of the Ativan…it is known to have an adverse action for many. You can google this.

CindyBum · April 15

I ask this gently. If your DH is in hospice, do you need to be worried about a medication making him sleep when the alternative is him being highly agitated?

SDianeL · April 15

I would ask the hospice nurse if the dose can be reduced and gradually increase as necessary?

sandwichone123 · April 15

Hospice is often very flexible about dosing, so you may be able to give half a pill and see how that goes, and maybe the other half later if the first didn't help much. I'd talk to the nurse about it and see what they think.

starwood · April 22

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/270375#Comment_270375

Thank you for helping me put this in perspective. I’m afraid my past work experience has impacted my outlook here. Working with residential facilities, I emphasized the importance of not using medication as a type of restraint..to manage behavior as opposed to actively engaging the person. However, this is a totally different situation as you point out.

Kit_Kat · April 22

I also imagine if he's OK when alert, it is nice to have some quality time.
Take care.

jhop · April 29

I'd like to know more about the use of Ativan vs other drugs. They dropped all of his drugs and will use the Ativan. Withdrawal looks to be tough....but I've read comments that indicated it did work like all of the Alzheimer's drugs....I know I am second guessing the Hospice decision after 13 years....and maybe this is better for him. These past few days I feel much less confident about our journey...

starwood · April 30

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/270956#Comment_270956

Yes!

starwood · April 30

I did talk with hospice nurse, and she verified that it is okay to give as often as he needs it. But that it is typically used for extreme anxiety and not those times when you can talk your way through or redirect. At least, now I don’t feel quite so hesitant to use it or guilty that I’ve not done enough to get him through the anxiety. Which is probably good because he’s having more frequent and longer episodes. This disease is so exhausting because you never know what to expect. Things go along with him seemingly doing well physically and mentally, then out of the blue, he’s not eating, having more confusion and disorientation. You think it’s a decline and then there’s improvement….or the other way around. It’s like having someone in the critical care unit in hospital, except the ups and downs go on for years. Exhausting!

Lorazepam/Ativan taken daily???

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