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Lorazepam vs. Gabapentin Safety

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  • Lorazepam vs. Gabapentin Safety

    Hi there,

    Since my daughter was a few days old I started taking a low does (.25 to .5mg) of lorazepam each night. My doctor said that it was totally safe to take, even long term. My daughter is now 6 months old and about a month ago I tried to get on an anti-depressant so that I could get off the lorazepam. I had a horrible reaction to the antidepressant, so was taken off and am still on the lorazepam. Due to the difficult month I took around 1mg at bedtime of the lorazepam during that month. Currently, I am taking .75-1mg at night.

    From all I have read, your recommendations seem to be only to use the lorazepam short-term and intermittently. I, however, have been using it for over 6 months and breastfeeding. My doctor seems to think it's fine as long as I stay below 2mg once a day.

    That said, my doctor suggested that I try gabapentin for anxiety and sleep stuff and I would most likely only need 100 to 300mg at night.

    My question is this- it seems that gabapentin isn't highly studied but that you think it's safe. In my situation, would you recommend trying the gabapentin to get off the lorazepam? Would it be safer? Or, is the lorazepam at the dosage that I'm on (or up to 2mg) safe and should I just continue on that?

    I am hoping to breastfeed my daughter past a year, depending on how things go. She was sleeping good stretches at night but with teething has been up more. So, I always take the lorazepam after I nurse her but sometimes she's up 3 hours after that I nurse again. Should I supplement during the nighttime if I want to continue on lorazepam?

    Thanks!

  • #2
    JHarms,

    I would say if the lorazepam is working for you and your infant is not symptomatic (too much s[COLOR=#333333][FONT=lucida grande]edation, slowed breathing rate, not waking to feed/poor feeding and not gaining weight)[/FONT][/COLOR]
    I would recommend you continue to take the lorazepam instead of switching. Your infant is accustomed to metabolizing this medication already. Just remember that when you decide to stop breastfeeding to wean your infant slowly so there are no withdrawal symptoms, or if you decide to stop taking the medication wean slowly also.

    Sandra Lovato R.N.
    InfantRisk Center
    806-352-2519

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    • #3
      On eHealthMe, Lorazepam (lorazepam) is often used to treat stress and anxiety. Gabapentin (gabapentin) is often used to treat neuralgia. Find out below the conditions the drugs are used for, how effective they are, and any alternative drugs that you can use to treat those same conditions.

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