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RE: Psychiatrists And The Horses They Ride In On
You know, this reminds me of something we learned the hard way about Ativan while treating Ben's grandma: It tends in most people to simply strengthen resolve to do whatever you were already doing. For instance, Grandma didn't want to go to sleep so it would take away any reservations or different thoughts about insisting on staying awake all night. So giving her Ativan made her much more difficult to help because it intensified irrational impulses.
Now that's not something advertised on the label....:(
I wonder if this happens more frequently in elderly patients. My experience with this medication is kind of the opposite of what you describe, as it has more of a calming effect. Older people react to many medications differently than we do, and as you've pointed out, we don't always get the warning.
Not sure...I know the nurse we were working with at the time had a strange nickname for it, like the burglar drug or the crime drug - she said people were known to take it before committing crimes because it would settle jitters and make them more likely to carry through with the crime.
You're absolutely right, though - old people do react to medications so differently, especially if they're taking lots of other medications. You never know what's interacting with what!
Interesting...I guess it makes sense that the criminally minded would use it that way.
Bad guys think of ways to do everything...