Pronunciation: lor-A-ze-pam
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 846-49-1
Formal Names: Ativan, Temesta
Type: Depressant (benzodiazepine class).
Federal Schedule Listing: Schedule IV (DEA no. 2885)
USA Availability: Prescription
Pregnancy Category: D

Lorazepam [Ativan, Temesta] Uses. This antianxiety drug is also known for its sedative properties and is used to promote sleep and to fight convulsions. The substance is given to treat status epilepticus, a dangerous condition in which people have one epileptic seizure after another, back-to-back. It can reduce and sometimes even eliminate vomiting from cancer chemotherapy.  Lorazepam has been used to treat LSD and methamphetamine overdose and has been a standard medicine to help alcoholics through the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Recreational sedative users report euphoria from lorazepam. When given experimentally in combination with other drugs, it has helped reduce depression. In contrast, experimentation using motion picture excerpts to evoke particular emotions found that lorazepam may reduce happy feelings and increase unhappy ones. One study found that lorazepam worked as well as alprazolam for treating panic attacks, and a case report tells of success in treating mania. Lorazepam has been used to cure both catatonia (in which people are frozen in place) and akathisia (compulsive moving around). Patients being prepared for surgery receive the drug to calm them and to cloud their memory of the event. Read the rest of this entry »