Like most other drugs, Lorazepam has its set of side effects and while some of these can be quite common and can be observed in most users, some are rare and need to be brought to the notice of a medical practitioner so that immediate action can be taken.

Common Side Effects of Lorazepam

Before we start talking about the specific side effects of Lorazepam it might be of interest to know how exactly side effects of a drug are tested. The process though might be complicated depending on the drug being tested; the fundamental system is pretty straight forward. The clinical trials to test the side effects involve two groups of people. While one group is exposed to the effects of the drug the other group is not administered any such drug. Over a period of time, the former group will show effects on their body, both physical and psychological, that will not be evident on the latter group. Any of these effects that were not initially desired when designing the drug will be termed as a side effect. This is how researchers and pharmaceutical companies gather the knowledge of the side effects. Of course both the groups are made up of volunteers who have willingly joined to allow the test being carried out on their body.

In such clinical trials, the most frequently observed side effects of Lorazepam have been found to be sedation where the person under the drug feels a calming effect, often hampering his working abilities (this side effect has been observed in about 16 percent of all the people clinically tested) , a certain dizziness (again found in high proportion of users of almost 7 percent), unsteadiness and weakness has been complained by around 4 percent of users.

There is a whole list of other side effects in using Lorazepam. These would include drowsiness and a general feeling of lethargy, fatigue and getting easily tired from minor exertion, a short term memory loss (especially of events that have happened recently), a lack of ability to decide and focus and a general sense of confusion, a feeling of disorientation, hallucinations including visual and auditory ones, severe headaches, slurred speech resulting from an impairment of motor activities, nausea, constipation, vertigo (not just fear of heights but the sense of the head spinning continuously), a loss of libido or other changes in sex drive, erectile dysfunction or impotence, minor levels of low blood pressure and hair loss in some cases.

Serious Side Effects of Lorazepam

While the common side effects of Lorazepam can be ignored for a few days and most of them are not that serious, the rarer side effects of Lorazepam must be informed to the doctor who has prescribed the drug so that the issue is settled before it gets out of hand. Most of these side effects are sorted out by changing the dosage of the drug. Some of these side effects are extreme depression, suicidal tendencies, seizures, breathing difficulty, allergies, aggression or violent behavior and insomnia.