The elderly metabolise benzodiazepines more slowly than younger people and are more sensitive to the adverse effects of benzodiazepines compared to younger individuals even at similar plasma levels.

This medication can increase the effects of alcohol. It may further reduce the patient's ability to protect his or her airway during sleep. Among benzodiazepines, lorazepam has a relatively high addictive potential. edit Special groups and situations* Children and the elderly – The safety and effectiveness of lorazepam is not well determined in children under 18 years of age, but it is used to treat acute seizures. Some experts advise that patients should be warned against drinking alcohol while on lorazepam treatment, but such clear warnings are not universal. If regular treatment is continued for longer than this, dose increases may be necessary to maintain effects, but treatment-resistant symptoms may in fact be benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms. What other drugs will affect Ativan?Before taking Ativan, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs:* a barbiturate such as amobarbital (Amytal), butabarbital (Butisol), mephobarbital (Mebaral), secobarbital (Seconal), or phenobarbital (Luminal, Solfoton); * an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate); * medicines to treat psychiatric disorders, such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine), haloperidol (Haldol), mesoridazine (Serentil), pimozide (Orap), or thioridazine (Mellaril); * narcotic medications such as butorphanol (Stadol), codeine, hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), levorphanol (Levo-Dromoran), meperidine (Demerol), methadone (Dolophine, Methadose), morphine (Kadian, MS Contin, Oramorph), naloxone (Narcan), oxycodone (OxyContin), propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvocet); or * antidepressants such as amitriptyline (Elavil, Etrafon), amoxapine (Asendin), citalopram (Celexa), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Sinequan), escitalopram (Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine (Luvox), imipramine (Janimine, Tofranil), nortriptyline (Pamelor), paroxetine (Paxil), protriptyline (Vivactil), sertraline (Zoloft), or trimipramine (Surmontil). 5 mg, 1 mg, or 2 mg lorazepam, with some differences between countries. J. Long-term effects of benzodiazepines include tolerance, dependence, a benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome and cognitive impairments which may not completely reverse after cessation of treatment; however, for most patients, cognitive impairment is not severe.