Question about Lorazepam?

Question:

have a dental appointment at 9 am on Wed. I will be taking lorazepam before the procedure and hubby will be driving me to and from. I know I will be zonked when I get home but I am wondering how long I will need to wait before I drive. Is it 24 hours, 12 hours? I tried to call the dental office today to ask this question but they are closed the 3rd and 4th for the holidays. Thanks!

Answers:
I would think 12 hours would be plenty, possibly eight hours since it is normally taken at night. I have taken it before to help with sleep and normally by the next morning the effects are gone, so definitely no more than 12 hours. Check out this site to see if it helps. Happy Fourth! (and good luck at the dentist!)

Other Answers:
what is it?

Wait 24 just to be sure.

Depends on how much you take.one or two milligrams and you should be fine to drive by 9 pm that night, more and you should probably wait til the next day

depends on your system and your metabolism, but personally i would wait for 24 hours. it has a half life and can stay in your system for awhile. been thru the same procedure and i am a small person. put me thru a loop also. take care with it and don't abuse it.

Do not drive for 24 hours after you take a lorazepam.

I would wait at least 24 hours to make sure it's out of your system. But ask the dentist what they would recommend at the time of the appointment.

This is similar to the class of drugs that Valium belongs to. You didn't list the dose (mg) or what medication will be administered in the Dentist office. It is a short acting drug and unless it is a large dose (3mg or more) you should be able to drive after 4-6hrs. The medication for the procedure will probably give you more problems than the Lorazepam.
Source(s):
14yrs as pharmacy tech

Depending on the dosage, you should be fine in about 6-8 hours max.

My dental office tells me its 12 hours.. but, if you call a pharmacy, they can tell you. a hospital or doctors office SHOULD be able to tell you as well. there's also the company that makes it. you should be able to find a toll free number for them and they'll likely have somebody on that can help

I think 12 hours should be fine, but if you feel groggy then wait longer, especially since you are having what sounds like a pretty difficult procedure- you might want to take it easy! Good luck!

Also- you can call a pharmacist at any pharmacy Walgreens, Brooks, etc- that's what they are there for, just find out the dosage. Lorazepam is pretty powerfull- I would imagine you would be taking only 1mg.

One dose of Lorazepam (usually 10mg for this purpose) should wear off within 4-6 hrs depending on your sensitivity to the drug and your body metabolism. You should be fine by about 4pm ,but depending on your reaction it might be best to wait till later that evening. the bottom line is the way you feel. you may feel sleepy and take a nap afterwards. One word of caution if you have never taken Lorazepam before you might want someone you know and trust around you it can on rare occasions cause disinhibition similar to when someone has a few too many drinks. no way to tell until you take it.
Good Luck..

The half-life of lorazepam in a healthy adult is about 12 hours. This means, technically, that every 12 hours, the amount in your blood stream will be decreased by one half. So, in 24 hours, you will have about 25% of the original dose still floating around. For most people, waiting 24 hours is a good guideline. If you are "older," then you might even want to wait longer. It is such a variable thing, though, that you can probably exercise your own judgement as long as at least 12 hours has passed. If you find it difficult to exercise any judgement, then face the fact that you are still impared.

If you have liver disease or if you are over 65, you can expect that it will take a lot longer to clear your system.

Also, lorazepam is kind of known for weird reactions in older patients - 65 or so. It can really get them agitated instead of calming them down. Just be aware of that, as it can happen to younger patients too, but only rarely.

A lot depends on your metabolism. Lorazepam is supposed to be quick acting, in and out of the system. But, I have seen it kick butt at times and especially in the elderly, they may wake up in 3 hours or it may take 2 days.

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