ativan and my dad.....not for the elderly

My 86 year old grandmother was so agitated that I could not get her to quiet down. She had just been screaming at me. A doctor gave me Ativan .5 lowest dose, which I gave her, once. She is resting now, I hope she does not have any issues like others have :(
Will it be ok if I just stop giving Ativan to her once this one pill wears off?

Rachel wrote:

My 86 year old grandmother was so agitated that I could not get her to quiet down. She had just been screaming at me. A doctor gave me Ativan .5 lowest dose, which I gave her, once. She is resting now, I hope she does not have any issues like others have :(
Will it be ok if I just stop giving Ativan to her once this one pill wears off?

Hi...I'm sorry about what you're going through with your grandmother, for you and for her. You could call you pharmacy and ask them what to do...you'll probably be way more likely to get an immediate answer than if you wait for a call back from the doctor. Just be sure you tell them her age and any other pertinent info...best of luck to you...

My father 80 year old went into the hospital last week for surgery. After surgery he was given ativan for restlessness. My father was always healthy, walked,talked,fed himself and sharp minded. After being on ativan for one day, he was confused, could not swallow, can not walk, seeing things that do not exist. He mumbles and is like a vegetable. Why is this drug still being used in hospitals?

My grandfather went in for knee surgery on December 12' 2011. According to hospital staff my 86 year old grandfather became agitated and tried to remove his IV and wouldnt take some tylenol. He was pretty healthy for an 86 year old prior to the 12th. Because of his agitated stated they contacted his general practicioner, via telephone, and requested to give him 1mg of Ativan. This was apparently given to him sometime after 3 am on the 14th. He was found non-responsive around 515am. We buried my grandfather on 22nd. One doctor stated that it could it was possible that he was so sedated that he may have choked on his own saliva. We are beside ourselves and feel that this agitation could have been dealt with, without medication and maybe a simple phone call to us and asking us to come in and be with him. Maybe him being out of his element was makingg him anxious and maybe he wanted to leave.

I am SO sorry!!! It makes me sick to say it, but I think hospitals are way too aggressive with giving Ativan to the elderly when things get a little tough...I've heard story after story about the effects Ativan has on them and it should NEVER be used, because the elderly simply do not tolerate it well (for the most part). When my Mother was given Ativan because she didn't want the catheter (which is very painful for an older person), and the only reason for the catheter to be used was for the benefit of the staff, certainly not my Mother...she never recovered...and she was 102.
I absolutely agree that they should have called you to see if your presence might be helpful...I would talk to your grandfather's physician and ask how he felt it appropriate to give an 86 year old man Ativan.
Again, I am very, very sorry for your loss.
Blessings to you and your family.

RGV wrote:

My grandfather went in for knee surgery on December 12' 2011. According to hospital staff my 86 year old grandfather became agitated and tried to remove his IV and wouldnt take some tylenol. He was pretty healthy for an 86 year old prior to the 12th. Because of his agitated stated they contacted his general practicioner, via telephone, and requested to give him 1mg of Ativan. This was apparently given to him sometime after 3 am on the 14th. He was found non-responsive around 515am. We buried my grandfather on 22nd. One doctor stated that it could it was possible that he was so sedated that he may have choked on his own saliva. We are beside ourselves and feel that this agitation could have been dealt with, without medication and maybe a simple phone call to us and asking us to come in and be with him. Maybe him being out of his element was makingg him anxious and maybe he wanted to leave.

Athena wrote:

I am SO sorry!!! It makes me sick to say it, but I think hospitals are way too aggressive with giving Ativan to the elderly when things get a little tough...I've heard story after story about the effects Ativan has on them and it should NEVER be used, because the elderly simply do not tolerate it well (for the most part). When my Mother was given Ativan because she didn't want the catheter (which is very painful for an older person), and the only reason for the catheter to be used was for the benefit of the staff, certainly not my Mother...she never recovered...and she was 102.
I absolutely agree that they should have called you to see if your presence might be helpful...I would talk to your grandfather's physician and ask how he felt it appropriate to give an 86 year old man Ativan.
Again, I am very, very sorry for your loss.
Blessings to you and your family.
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Thank you. I appreciate your comments and familiarity with the situation. We are presently trying to get answers from the hospital and his doctor.

I can certainly add to that and empathize with all concerned. My mother has been taking ativan. I didn't know how dangerous it was. She was walking and communicating just fine. She is on HOSPICE AND Now, her left side is paralyzed and she cannot get up out of bed. Speech is almost nonexistant. Wish there was something I could do to reverse the effects. Ativan is horrible and it is the drug of choice. How sad the medical community would do this to the elderly or anyone for the sake of a buck and to euthanize the elderly.

I just got copies of my Mom's medical records from the hospital and if I read the number correctly (it didn't print out well for some reason) she was given 9mg of Ativan, this at 102 years of age...she never recovered...and the real killer for me is the ER said she had suffered a TIA and was RECOVERED from it when they saw her and that she should be going home the very next day and should be fine!!! My niece is going to go over the records and try to make sense of them for me when she and I can get together...I can't wait...I also don't see anywhere in the records where it says she was in kidney failure even though her doctor told me she was and said she would be best off with hospice care and left to die peacefully...no feeding tube, etc., which I was against anyway...I just don't know why I don't see this in the records, unless it's because of the "doctor scratch", or their inability to write clearly.
All of this happened in 2007, but for me it's like it happened yesterday...I am so very sorry for all of you and your loved ones who are suffering from Ativan (and the doctors who give it to them)...
Blessings to all...

My mother was given Adivan in the hospital when our father passed away since they were both on the same floor in the hospital....They were married many many years and I can understand mother being very upset to say the least. Mother was given Adivan...well the next 2-3 days mother couldnt feed herself, she was very groggy to say the least, she couldnt open her eyes she couldnt stand for a one person transfer and was incontinent.......I requested that she not be given anymore adivan.....we then transfered her to a nursing home as she was awaiting a bed anyway and thought that being off the floor where we lost dad would help mother,..this it did....Mother was doing fantastic....wheel chair bound but physically and mentally great.... I requested the nursing home doctor to not prescribe Adivan for mom because of what it did to her......then came the day mother fell out of her wheel chair in the nursing home....they didnt send her to the hospital for xrays etc....that night they gave her adivan because she was in severe pain and anxiety from that pain....the next day she was exactly the same way she was in the hospital when dad passed.....we lost mother 2 days after being finally sent to the hospital with regards to the fall....I query if they gave her ativan prior to her falling out of the chair....someday I hope to know

it cuts like a knife wrote:

My mother was given Adivan in the hospital when our father passed away since they were both on the same floor in the hospital....They were married many many years and I can understand mother being very upset to say the least. Mother was given Adivan...well the next 2-3 days mother couldnt feed herself, she was very groggy to say the least, she couldnt open her eyes she couldnt stand for a one person transfer and was incontinent.......I requested that she not be given anymore adivan.....we then transfered her to a nursing home as she was awaiting a bed anyway and thought that being off the floor where we lost dad would help mother,..this it did....Mother was doing fantastic....wheel chair bound but physically and mentally great.... I requested the nursing home doctor to not prescribe Adivan for mom because of what it did to her......then came the day mother fell out of her wheel chair in the nursing home....they didnt send her to the hospital for xrays etc....that night they gave her adivan because she was in severe pain and anxiety from that pain....the next day she was exactly the same way she was in the hospital when dad passed.....we lost mother 2 days after being finally sent to the hospital with regards to the fall....I query if they gave her ativan prior to her falling out of the chair....someday I hope to know

My God, here we go again with the doctors not listening no matter what you say to them!!! Your Mother should not have been given Ativan at all (IMO)...I am so sorry for your double loss, it's heartbreaking.
You should ask for your Mom's medical records from the hospital...have them include any ER records and EMT as well if they were involved...also get records from the nursing home (why did she fall out of the wheelchair...should she have been belted in?) and make sure they include everything, as well...then sit down with someone who can translate what the doctors scribble. If you question anything in her records, make an appointment with the doctor whose care she was under and make them explain everything...
This not only happened to me, but to my cousin's Mom...it was the first time I ever heard of it...they gave her Ativan and she never came out of it. I don't know how, but this has to be stopped...we are losing our parents to Ativan at an alarming rate...at least that's how it seems to me...
God Bless you...

My father was given Ativan and turned into someone no one new,he spoke jibberish and had no idea where he was. He was in the hospital for breathing issues and we were told he had sundown syndrome.The Dr gave him Ativan and that's when it all started.After numerous calls to the hospital we were finally told he had been restrained because he was getting violent.He was 87 yrs old and 125lbs.He was restrained without our knowledge or permission.When my brother found out he went to get him,we were assured by our Dr he would be fine in a day or so.My father died 2 days later.I am very angry that Dr's know this is a dangerous drug for the elderly and yet they continue to prescribe it.I am sorry for everyone who has had to deal with the effects of Ativan.

tkj stuart fl wrote:

My father was given Ativan and turned into someone no one new,he spoke jibberish and had no idea where he was. He was in the hospital for breathing issues and we were told he had sundown syndrome.The Dr gave him Ativan and that's when it all started.After numerous calls to the hospital we were finally told he had been restrained because he was getting violent.He was 87 yrs old and 125lbs.He was restrained without our knowledge or permission.When my brother found out he went to get him,we were assured by our Dr he would be fine in a day or so.My father died 2 days later.I am very angry that Dr's know this is a dangerous drug for the elderly and yet they continue to prescribe it.I am sorry for everyone who has had to deal with the effects of Ativan.

I'm very, very sorry for your Father...this is very typical, it seems, doesn't it? If you can, go speak with the doctor whose care your Father was in (and who would have been the one to order the Ativan)...I would want the 'violence' explained to me, what exactly was your Father doing that was so violent? Sundowning can be caused by different things, such as being hungry, etc...did your Father have dementia? There are other ways of handling sundowning that would be far better than using Ativan, but Ativan is easier for the hospital...my Mom was given her huge Ativan dose when they were putting in a catheter, which is extremely painful in an elderly patient...WHY did they have to insert a catheter at that point? To make things easier on themselves, plain and simple.
Again, I'm so sorry for your loss...I hope you will keep us posted if you find out anything.

My mother in law was given Ativan in the hospital and she passed away exactly 1 week later. She had Triple Negative Breast Cancer that had metastasized to her lungs and liver. She was undergoing chemotherapy. I was over her house on a Tuesday and she seemed good. I spent the day with her. Her appetite was good and she even showered herself. She was bright and cheerful that day and went out to a doctor's appointment that afternoon. The next evening she started to have abdominal pain. My brother in law took her to the hospital the following morning (Thursday) where they administered Ativan. They said it would help her stomach. Almost immediately she became incoherent.
Friday she was still out of it. Saturday she was maybe a little better. Sunday she was out of it again and by Monday morning she was "unresponsive". After discussing the matter with her sons, the hospital gave her epinephrine to bring her blood pressure back up. It came up very slowly but she never regained consciousness. Tuesday morning the doctor told my husband and his brothers that it was hopeless and they discontinued the epinephrine. She died on Thursday - she was 72. I know that she was very sick and probably was not going to beat the cancer but she was in no way ready to go then-her lungs and liver were still functioning normally.I should also mention that, at one point during this ordeal, a woman was brought into my mother in law's room. This woman had come to the hospital for an ambulatory procedure and was supposed to go home that day. They administered Ativan to help calm her nerves. Because of her reaction to the Ativan they had to keep her in the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital the next morning her bed was empty. I was told she passed away during the night. The hospitals need to stop giving this drug to people just to keep them quiet. I feel that Ativan robbed my mother in law and her family of many months they would have had together. If anyone else is interested I would love to bring the problems with Ativan to the attention of Congress and maybe something can be done so that no one else has to lose their life to this drug.

Kathy wrote:

My mother in law was given Ativan in the hospital and she passed away exactly 1 week later. She had Triple Negative Breast Cancer that had metastasized to her lungs and liver. She was undergoing chemotherapy. I was over her house on a Tuesday and she seemed good. I spent the day with her. Her appetite was good and she even showered herself. She was bright and cheerful that day and went out to a doctor's appointment that afternoon. The next evening she started to have abdominal pain. My brother in law took her to the hospital the following morning (Thursday) where they administered Ativan. They said it would help her stomach. Almost immediately she became incoherent.
Friday she was still out of it. Saturday she was maybe a little better. Sunday she was out of it again and by Monday morning she was "unresponsive". After discussing the matter with her sons, the hospital gave her epinephrine to bring her blood pressure back up. It came up very slowly but she never regained consciousness. Tuesday morning the doctor told my husband and his brothers that it was hopeless and they discontinued the epinephrine. She died on Thursday - she was 72. I know that she was very sick and probably was not going to beat the cancer but she was in no way ready to go then-her lungs and liver were still functioning normally.I should also mention that, at one point during this ordeal, a woman was brought into my mother in law's room. This woman had come to the hospital for an ambulatory procedure and was supposed to go home that day. They administered Ativan to help calm her nerves. Because of her reaction to the Ativan they had to keep her in the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital the next morning her bed was empty. I was told she passed away during the night. The hospitals need to stop giving this drug to people just to keep them quiet. I feel that Ativan robbed my mother in law and her family of many months they would have had together. If anyone else is interested I would love to bring the problems with Ativan to the attention of Congress and maybe something can be done so that no one else has to lose their life to this drug.

Hello, Kathy...it seems we all have something in common here and that is losing our loved one's life to Ativan...I'm very sorry for your loss...it certainly does sound like the Ativan is what took your Mother-in-Law's life...
I am definitely on board to rid the elderly of Ativan...do you know what it is we should do to get this going? Let me know, please, and I will help in any way I can...

Athena

Thank you Athena. No I don't know what we should do. I was hoping someone else did. I guess I could start by contacting my local Congressman. Anyone else have any ideas? I really would like to do something so that no one else loses their life to Ativan.

Kathy wrote:

Thank you Athena. No I don't know what we should do. I was hoping someone else did. I guess I could start by contacting my local Congressman. Anyone else have any ideas? I really would like to do something so that no one else loses their life to Ativan.

I'll see what I can find out on my end...where are you located, Kathy?
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY IDEAS HOW WE CAN PUT AN END TO ATIVAN AND IT'S DESTRUCTION OF OUR ELDERLY LOVED ONES??? Let's all get on board to help others...THANK YOU!!!

I have a question. I am almost 68 with lifelong chronic pain history. With all my doctors agreeing, I've been on time release ms contin for nine years- minimum dose and I have reduced it by half, being wary of it since I was put on Cymbalta @ 4 years ago. I've had all the side effects possible. I take one .5 Xanax at bedtime.
I had fallen twice before Cymbalta but now falling has become chronic, concussions, more pain etc.
During this time I have gone from vibrant to frail. After the fact I was also diagnosed as having had multiple head injury brain strokes and congenital brain AVM. I invite opinions as to which piece of this may contribute most to the falls, almost seizure falls . The stories re Ativan ( xanex) are alarming and I wonder if it is more of a culprit than I knew. I'll appreciate feedback.

Thanks Athena. Maybe we can get something going here. I am sure that the stories on this forum aren't even the tip of the iceberg. I see you are in LA. I am on Long Island. I will write a letter this week to my local Congressman and see what I can find out. A lawyer might be able to give us some advice also. If anyone else has any ideas or would like to get on board please let us know.

Kathy wrote:

Thanks Athena. Maybe we can get something going here. I am sure that the stories on this forum aren't even the tip of the iceberg. I see you are in LA. I am on Long Island. I will write a letter this week to my local Congressman and see what I can find out. A lawyer might be able to give us some advice also. If anyone else has any ideas or would like to get on board please let us know.

Hi, Kathy...I'll write, as well...
Do you know of an attorney who can advise you? I know of 2, but one is family law and the other is criminal (which Ativan is!)...maybe they can give me direction, I'll try to find out...
GOOD LUCK TO BOTH OF US...for ALL of us!!!

Such a relief to read these postings. My heart goes out to everyone who has gone through a similar experience. Our dear Mom went to the ER with a nosebleed. She had dementia but was very manageable for the most part. She was in there all day with no food and her nose bleeding. This was naturally very stressful for her. When they finally got around to her she had become agitated and pushed the doctor's hand away when he tried to block her nose with a large cotton wool swab - looked like a large tampax. The doctor became angry and ordered an IV with 4 mg of Ativan. Knocked her out but later in the night she touched her nose and they gave her another 1/2 mg.

My Mom walked in to the ER on my sister's arm. After the Ativan - they also put a catheter in - even though she was very capable of going to the bathroom on her own her health went downhill. This was a woman who was never sick - maybe a cold once a year. She had lots of energy and loved to go for walks and out for lunch and visit people. After the hospital visit she had to be taken home in an ambulance and slept for the best part of a week. After that she lost most of her faculties. Could only walk with assistance. A stair lift had to be installed. Had to be fed - had to use a commode with assistance. Couldn't speak properly and couldn't sleep at night. Called out all night like she had a bad fever and then was exhausted the next day. Never re left the house again. At the same time in the hospital she picked up a staph infection which wasn't diagnosed and had infections from November to February when we finally lost her February 6th 2010. I won't go into the nightmare of her final week in the hospital when she had pneumonia.

I'm writing this to warn people NOT to let their older relatives be given Ativan. Maybe it's a combination with Dementia but it definately had a huge affect on my Mom's health. The hospital told us the Dementia had taken a sudden downturn. One of them had already said she was probably in a delerium - this was after the Ativan of course. I don't believe that a progressive disease like this can suddenly take over. It was the drug and it's heartbreaking to think that this could have been avoided.

Anyone have any updates on the affects of this drug?