Similarly renal disease has minimal effects on lorazepam levels.

The prolonged sedation from lorazepam may, however, be an acceptable trade-off for its reliable duration of effects, particularly if the patient needs to be transferred to another facility. What other drugs will affect Ativan?Before taking Ativan, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs:* a barbiturate such as amobarbital (Amytal), butabarbital (Butisol), mephobarbital (Mebaral), secobarbital (Seconal), or phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton); * an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate); * medicines to treat psychiatric disorders, such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), haloperidol (Haldol), mesoridazine (Serentil), pimozide (Orap), or thioridazine (Mellaril); * narcotic medications such as butorphanol (Stadol), codeine, hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), levorphanol (Levo-Dromoran), meperidine (Demerol), methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), morphine (Kadian, MS Contin, Oramorph), naloxone (Narcan), oxycodone (OxyContin), propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvocet); or * antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil, Etrafon), amoxapine (Asendin), citalopram (Celexa), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Sinequan), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine (Luvox), imipramine (Janimine, Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), paroxetine (Paxil), protriptyline (Vivactil), sertraline (Zoloft), or trimipramine (Surmontil). However, adverse effects such as behavioural disinhibition may make benzodiazepines inappropriate for some acutely psychotic patients. edit PharmacologyLorazepam has anxiolytic, sedative, hypnotic, amnesic, anticonvulsant as well as muscle relaxant properties. Ativan can cause birth defects in an unborn baby. Lorazepam was first introduced by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 1971 under the brand names of Ativan and Temesta. Also, one must ascertain whether other drugs were also ingested. Samples of Ativan purchased on the Internet have been found to contain haloperidol (Haldol), a potent antipsychotic drug with dangerous side effects. * Amnesic effects: Among benzodiazepines, lorazepam has relatively strong amnesic effects, but patients soon develop tolerance to this with regular use. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at your next regularly scheduled time.