My father is 50 years old. He often has anxiety, depression, sleep disorders and has bp, sugar, gases. As prescribed he is taking ativan 1 mg tablet daily before sleeping since 4 months. So, is it okay to continue. Because my relatives recently says, sleeping disorder medicine shouldn't be consumed in high dosage and also shouldn't be taken for more than 3 months. Is it true? Kindly suggest.

Dr. Murugaraja VPsychiatrist3yrs exp

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Ativan 1 mg is the lowest dose available. As age increases our sleeping time decreases and nothing wrong in elderly patients taking sleeping pills. Lorazepam is a ultara short acting benzodiazepine. Do no need to worryonly thing is you should not increase it with out consulting your doctor.  

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Dr. Souvik ChakrabortyPsychiatrist15yrs exp

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Though opinion varies, I generally do not prefer to prescribe sleeping pills for long times. There are other medicines which are better and not addictive. You should consult a psychiatrist for detailed evaluation and treatment. Your father needs treatment of anxiety and depression primarily which will improve the sleep also. Meanwhile google for sleep hygiene and practise them.  

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