This is an interesting topic. Some people find that Ativan and the elderly just do not work well together, yet some other practitioners feel the two pair just fine in certain circumstances.
Today I was talking with a resident about the worst thing they ever did. He explained to me how as an intern he was trying to make an elderly man more comfortable, so he kept giving him Ativan. The man got so confused that he got out of bed and starting walking around--then tripped on his IV lines and aspirated.
I've noticed that overall the residents hate prescribing Ativan in the elderly, I guess many have run into bad experiences. According to this article, which is a summary from a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Ativan should be avoided in the elderly. Any experiences?
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
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4 comments:
i was wondering the same thing...the relationship between sedatives, narcotics and the elderly. i expereince the same thing with the residnets.
i am a nurse from hamilton ontario
I wouldn't have looked this up if didn't have a concern. My mother and father are in an assisted living facility and are giving ativan for anxiety. My mother has been seeing people and hearing voices. Crying for help and seems to be more depressed than before. I have talked to the doctor at the residence and he says he has never had a problem with Ativan before in patients. Should I asked to have it stopped and maybe find another medication to help her with her depression and anxiety. She has suffered a stroke and TIA's it is very sad to see her in such distress.
Five days ago, my 79-year old mother was given Ativan to help decrease her aggitation upon being admitted to the hospital for congestive heart failure issues. She received 2 injections 10 hours apart at .5 mg each. Prior to Ativan, she was lucid and ambulatory. Since Ativan, she cannot converse other than "yes" and "no" responses. She cannot wake up for more than a minute or two and then only if she's roused with loud verbal commands. "Mom, open your eyes!" She cannot feed herself, get out of bed, or do anything else toward her own care. All CT's, EEG's, and x-rays are clean. We don't know what's happened or what to expect. Could the Ativan still be affecting her this adversely after all this time?
Hi everyone. Well my grandfather is 88 years old and this is the second time he has been in the hospital and they gave him ativan, now from reading about this, i understand that it is the ativan making him have slur speach, he is very weak , very tired, hallucinating, very confused at times, a few months ago he was in the hospital and they gave him ativan and he started acting like this, we told the doctors/nurses and they told us that this happens with the elderly when they go into the hospital, he went home a few days later and he was fine, now this time, he is in again, and they are giving him that ativan and he is acting strange again, well we just contact the doctors and nurses and told them that we dont want him on this anymore. I read alot of articles about this medication, and it is not good in elderly at all..it states that serios side effects include: confusion, depression, double vision, hallucinations, lightheadness, mood changes, muscle cramps, restlessness, tremors, weakness or tiredness, constipation or diarrhea, loss of memory....and the list goes on... there needs to be some way that we can stop the use of ativan in elderly patients.
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