• If you are allergic to anything, including medicines, dyes, additives, or foods.

• If you have any medical conditions such as kidney disease, liver disease (including hepatitis), heart disease, congestive heart failure, seizures, or brain disease. These conditions may require that your medicine dose, regimen, or timing be changed.

• If you have asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, sleep apnea, or other breathing problem. This medicine can worsen breathing.

• If you have depression, myasthenia gravis, porphyria, or serious mental illness. This medicine may make the symptoms worse.

• If you have glaucoma. People with acute narrow-angle glaucoma should not use this drug.

• If you are taking any medicine that makes you calmer or drowsy (sedatives), or if you drink alcohol. Combining lorazepam with alcohol may produce serious side effects.

• If you have ever had a problem with alcohol or addiction in the past. This drug can be habit forming, and those with previous addictions are more at risk.

• If you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or if there is any chance of pregnancy. There may be an increased risk of harm to the fetus if a woman takes this drug during pregnancy. In addition, newborns whose mothers take the drug regularly in late pregnancy may have withdrawal symptoms after birth.

• If you are breast-feeding. The drug may pass into breast milk and harm the baby.

• About any other prescription or over-the-counter medicines you are taking, including vitamins and herbs. In fact, keeping a written list of each of these medicines (including the doses of each and when you take them) with you in case of emergency may help prevent complications if you get sick.

The drugs valproate (Depakote, Depakene), or probenecid can also cause lorazepam to build up in the body, raising the risk of serious side effects. If you need one of these medicines while you are taking lorazepam, your doctor may be able to reduce your lorazepam dose.

Loxapine or clozapine, given with lorazepam, have been reported to raise the risk of serious effects on the brain, breathing, and circulation.

This medicine will add to the effects of other medicines that make you sleepy or less alert, such as:

• antihistamines
• tranquilizers (sedatives)
• sleeping pills
• muscle relaxers
• barbiturates
• anti-seizure medicines
• opioid pain medicines
• anesthetics
• antidepressants
• anti-psychotic drugs
• certain anti-nausea medicines
• alcohol

Using these kinds of substances while taking lorazepam can result in losing consciousness (passing out) and possibly death.

Oral contraceptives ("the pill") may cause the body to get rid of lorazepam more quickly, which can reduce the effectiveness of lorazepam.

Check with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about whether other medicines, vitamins, herbs, and supplements can cause problems with this medicine.

Store the medicine in a tightly closed container away from heat and moisture and out of the reach of children and pets. The liquid concentrate must be kept in the refrigerator and protected from light.

Lorazepam may cause you to feel drowsy or dizzy. This is more likely if you are taking other drugs that depress the nervous system such as opioids, anti-anxiety drugs, muscle relaxers, or some anti-nausea medicines. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how the drug affects you. Talk to your doctor or nurse if you feel too drowsy or have dizziness that does not go away.

The injectable form of lorazepam commonly affects people for 24 to 48 hours. Your reflexes and alertness may be impaired for 2 days after your dose.

This is a controlled substance, and may be habit-forming. Take lorazepam only as directed by your doctor. Lorazepam can cause physical dependence (body goes into withdrawal if drug is suddenly stopped). Signs of physical dependence are common when the drug is taken for more than a few weeks. Physical dependence can be managed by stopping the medicine gradually over time. A few people also become psychologically dependent on lorazepam, which can lead to addiction. Some signs of psychological dependence are a strong desire to keep taking the medicine and wanting larger doses of the medicine. Talk with your doctor if you think this is happening to you.

Do not stop taking this drug without talking with your doctor. If you have been taking this drug for more than a few weeks, you may experience withdrawal symptoms for several days if you stop it suddenly. Most often this appears as irritability, nervousness, trouble sleeping, stomach cramps or upset stomach, trembling or shaking, and even hallucinations and seizures in those who have taken high doses for a long time. Talk with your doctor or nurse about stopping the drug by lowering the dose over time.

Tell anyone who is planning surgery on you, including dentists, that you are taking this medicine.

If you notice any strange or unusual thoughts or behavior while on this medicine, discuss these with your doctor. Rarely, people get confused, agitated, or start seeing or hearing things that are not there.

Call your doctor if you have seizures, confusion, shuffling walk, restlessness or tremor, fever, irregular heart rate, yellow skin or eyes.

Older people are more likely to have sleepiness, dizziness, or falling while taking lorazepam. Have a responsible adult with you for a few days after you start this medicine and any time you change doses.

Rarely, allergic reactions happen with this medicine. Call your doctor if you notice severe rash, swelling in the mouth, face, or throat, or trouble breathing or swallowing.

Rather than getting calmer, a few people respond to the drug in the opposite way, and become irritable, nervous, excited, anxious, hostile, and less sleepy. If this happens, call your doctor or nurse.

If you think that you or someone else may have taken an overdose of this medicine, get emergency help right away. Taking too much lorazepam, or taking it with alcohol or any other medicine that slows the nervous system, can cause confusion, severe drowsiness or weakness, and trouble walking or talking.

• drowsiness
• tiredness
• confusion
• weakness
• headache

• nausea
• dry mouth
• constipation
• dizziness
• lack of coordination
• unsteady walking*
• decreased mental alertness
• problems with memory and concentration
• change in heart rate
• low blood pressure
• confusion

• vivid dreams, hallucinations
• bizarre behavior
• vomiting
• change in weight
• heart palpitations
• swelling of feet
• slowed or irregular breathing and symptoms similar to overdose (with injectable form, at higher doses, or if combined with another sedating drug or alcohol)*
• paradoxical (opposite) reaction in which the person gets "hyper" and excited rather than calmer*
• withdrawal symptoms if drug is stopped suddenly, such as anxiety, irritation, nausea, trouble sleeping*
• allergic reaction*

*See "Precautions" section for more detailed information.