Does Ativan Cause Dementia?

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I had a doctor tell me once that Ativan is a short term med. No longer than 2 or 3 wks. Long use of the medicine can cause dementia/short term memory loss. At the time I was telling him that I had been on the Ativan, he asked the dosage, etc. I told him that I started it in 1994 and had been on and off of it to the present time which was 2004. That was ten yrs for the most part (I would stop taking them from time to time but never for very long}. By 2004 he had me taking 2mg tabs 4x daily. I felt like it was working well for me. I am bi-polar and it would keep me at a good level. Very seldom any severe ups and downs. He about passed out when I told him how much I was taking. He said I should be comatose with that dosage. Then he told me the damage could be dementia. Is this true???

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The short term memory loss is a well known side effect of all benzodiazepines, actually. However, it is usually reversible, once the medication is discontinued.

As to the dementia, that is only in reference to it being used in the elderly, from the reports I've read on it.

Learn more Ativan details here.

In most cases, the preference for short-term use of such medications is actually due to their highly addictive nature.

They can also cause other side effects, such as nausea, dizziness, headache and irritability.

Is this the only medication you take for your bipolar?

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No sir, Ativan is not the only thing I take for Bi Polar. Actually I take Ativan and Klonipin for anxiety. I'm on Prozac again for the bipolar and ambien and something else for sleep I think it's called Mirtrazin or something like that anyway, and hydrocodone along with tramadol for severe/chronic back pain. I start with a pain management dr on the 19th.

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Kind Sir, when we refer to Dementia we are basiclly refering to the memory impairment. Remember that Alzheimer is a type of dementia who´s main sign is a persons ability to forget stuff. Most benzodiazepines will help with memory loss (meaning that you won´t be as agile as you used to be). But don´t worry it´s not like you are going to get Alzheimer all of a sudden

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