What is the difference between Lorazepam and Xanax?
Ativan® or Lorazepam and Xanax® (alprazolam) are medicines that belong to the often prescribed drug class known as benzodiazepines. They have some recorded differences. This is evidenced by the way Lorazepam and Xanax® are used in the medical profession and in the way they are classified.
As a class, benzodiazepines are used as anxiolytics, anticonvulsants, hypnotics and antispasmodics. In other words, they can reduce anxiety, stop seizures, promote sleep or create muscle relaxation, but not all drugs are used for all things. Lorazepam and Xanax® have one overlapping use; and can be used as anxiolytics. Ativan® has further use as an anticonvulsive, while alprazolam is not effective in this respect. It seems that there is a high degree of preference between prescribing doctors on which benzodiazepines are best for anxiety, and sometimes both drugs are used as hypnotics, although Ativan® is likely to be more effective and Better benzodiazepines exist by PRabout sleep problems.
One way to compare benzodiazepines is to determine how quickly they act and their half -life. They can be divided into groups when they reach the peak concentration of sera in the blood and can be called short, middle and long -term depending on their half -life. Xanax® is short -term and Lorazepam is in the middle class. The alprazolam has a half -life between six to 12 hours and hits a top serum concentration in one to two hours; Lorazepam's half-life is 10-20 hours, with a peak for two to four hours. Xanax® works as anxiolytic, but Lorazepam works longer.
Xanax® can be used more appropriately for occasional anxiety very short duration, such as the length of the scary ride on the plane or for several hours before the operation, and many doctors prescribe only a few pills at a time. In particular, Xanax® has one significant medical advantage. In view ofThe fact that its clearance is faster can be a better choice for patients who take many other medicines because any drug interaction is likely to have a shorter time. If the aim is to provide longer relief to anxiety, it is possible to take more doses of Xanax® or turn to Lorazepam as it can provide longer anxiety relief time with a single dose.
Another way to evaluate the differences between Lorazepam and Xanax® is the view of the comparative dose force. The 0.5 mg Xanax® dose is roughly equal to the dose of one million Lorazepam. This means that patients take about twice as much Lorazepam as an alprazolam to achieve approximately the same effect. So basically Xanax® is stronger, but still working for a shorter time. To get the same anxiety coverage after 10-20 hours provided by Ativan®, people can have to take more doses of Xanax® because they don't last so long.
Lorazepam and Xanax® may vary in other ways that are individualized. Side -by -sideThe Incas are similar, but may have small features that are different, and individual patients may find that they prefer one of these drugs over another in terms of efficacy or less likely to experience adverse effects. It is also not the only options available in the Benzodiazepine class; Other comparable anxiolytic and/or anticonvulsive drugs include clonazepam, diazepam and oxazepam.