Ativan vs Valium – Battle of the Brands?
Ativan and Valium are two very similar drugs. Not only do they have the same scope of action, they are also derived from exactly the same family of active ingredients - with only minor differences between them.
Ativan contains the active ingredient Lorazepam, whereas Valium contains the active ingredient Diazepam. To draw a very unscientific conclusion, you can see that these two generic drugs are from the same family as they both ended in “zepam”. Indeed, the family is called benzodiazepines - and interestingly, Lorazepam and Diazepam are not the only two in the family.
Seeing as these two drugs both contain different ingredients, what actually are other differences, and why would one be prescribed over another? Let's take a look to see if we can identify the key differences between these drugs.
Ativan vs Valium Benefits
The benefits of Ativan are wide and sparse. The drug is used in the treatment of the following conditions:
- Anxiety & Generalized Anxiety Disorders
- Depression
- Insomnia
- Muscle Tension
By adjusting the dose of Ativan, the results of the drug vary. For example, treating muscle tension will require a lower dose than treating depression.
The benefits of Valium are slightly different. Given that Valium comes in varying doses also, there are a few additional symptoms that Valium is specialised to deal with. These include:
- Hallucinations
- Overdose of CNS stimulants
Because of its effect on the brain, Valium is commonly used during the overdose phases of party drugs – to calm the body down, and ensure that it returns to a normal state. This is something which Ativan struggles to achieve.
Which Should You Be Prescribed?
Whilst they may seem very similar on first glance, your doctor is the best person to offer you advice on which one of the two drugs you should choose. Additionally, each of the drugs has a specialty.
For Ativan, it is treating anxiety and generalised anxiety disorder. For Valium, it is most successful when used to calm the stimulations of the central nervous system.
Of course, one of the other key ingredients when investigating whether one drug is better than the other is whether there are more or less side-effects to deal with. In this case with Ativan vs Valium, the side-effect and safety profiles are almost identical (excluding contraindications) making for a fairly even playing field.