lorazepam vs valproate
Side-by-side comparison of lorazepam and valproate. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.
minor Known Drug Interaction
Concurrent administration of lorazepam with valproate results in increased plasma concentrations and reduced clearance of lorazepam. Lorazepam dosage should be reduced to approximately 50% when coadministered with valproate. The effects of probenecid and valproate on lorazepam may be due to inhibition of glucuronidation.
Recommendation: Your doctor should reduce your lorazepam dose by about half when taking these two medicines together.
Lorazepam is a medicine that can help with anxiety. It belongs to a class of drugs called benzodiazepines, which slow down activity in the brain.
Valproate sodium injection is used when you cannot take valproate pills. It helps control seizures.
Lorazepam is used to manage anxiety disorders. It can also provide short-term relief from anxiety symptoms or anxiety linked to depression. However, it is not for the stress of everyday life. Talk to your doctor regularly to see if you still need this medicine.
This medicine treats certain types of seizures. It can be used alone or with other medicines to treat complex partial seizures. It also treats simple and complex absence seizures, and multiple seizure types that include absence seizures.
Lorazepam works by affecting certain chemicals in your brain. It enhances the effects of a natural brain chemical called GABA. This helps to calm your nerves and reduce anxiety.
Valproate affects the levels of certain chemicals in your brain. These chemicals help to control seizures. This medicine helps to reduce the frequency of seizures.
- • Feeling sleepy or drowsy
- • Dizziness
- • Headache
- • Dizziness
- • Nausea
- • Pain at the injection site
- Tiredness 13,458
- Feeling sick to your stomach 13,333
- Loose stools 10,352
- Difficulty breathing 9,234
- Feeling worried or nervous 8,840
- The medicine is interacting with another medicine 1,187
- The baby was exposed to the medicine during pregnancy 1,043
- Sleepiness 951
- Seizures 813
- Harmful effects from different substances 757
Taking lorazepam with opioid medicines can cause very serious problems, including slowed or shallow breathing, coma, and death. Only take them together if there are no other options. Lorazepam can be habit-forming, leading to abuse, misuse, and addiction, which can result in overdose or death. Using lorazepam for a long time can cause you to become dependent on it. Stopping it suddenly can cause dangerous withdrawal symptoms. Your doctor will slowly lower your dose to prevent withdrawal.
Valproate can cause life-threatening liver problems, especially in the first 6 months of treatment. Children under 2 and people with mitochondrial disorders have a higher risk. Valproate can also harm an unborn baby, causing birth defects and lower IQ. It can also cause pancreatitis, which can be fatal.
Lorazepam may harm an unborn baby. Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding while taking this medicine. It can pass into breast milk and affect the baby.
Valproate can cause serious birth defects if taken during pregnancy. Do not take this medicine if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant unless other medicines don't work for you. There is a pregnancy registry for women who take valproate during pregnancy; call 1-888-233-2334 to enroll.
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How to Read This lorazepam vs valproate Comparison
lorazepam is classified in the Benzodiazepine drug class, while valproate sits within the Anticonvulsant / Mood Stabilizer class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are prescription-only, so a licensed provider must authorize use.
Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, lorazepam has 55,217 submissions while valproate has 4,751. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known minor interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to valproate slows down how fast the liver breaks down lorazepam, which causes the drug to build up in the body.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.
A table cannot substitute for clinical judgment. Effectiveness, tolerability, drug-drug interactions with your other medications, kidney and liver function, pregnancy status, insurance formulary, and price all feed into a decision that only a licensed prescriber can make responsibly. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This page is for educational purposes only, is not medical advice, and should not be used to self-switch between lorazepam and valproate - always consult your physician or pharmacist first.
Important: This comparison is for informational purposes only. Drug effects vary between individuals. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist for personalized medical advice.