LORAZEPAM TABLETS AND ORAMORPH

[susiecue62]

HAS ANYONE TAKEN ANY OF THE ABOVE FOR COPD,WENT TO HOSPITAL WEDNESDAY AND PUT ON AMBULATORY OXYGEN, BUT WAS ALSO TOLD I COULD USE ABOVE INSTEAD ,HAS ANYBODY ANY INFORMATION ON THIS SUSIECUE62

[libby7827]

Hi, I have lorazepam for when my breathing gets so bad it turns into a panic attack, but have never used oramorph. My community matron did mention I may be able to have some morphine based medication, but then said I couldn't. I imagine, from your post, that you went to hospital as an emergency as you were hyperventilating? Even though my consultant recommended lorazepam, it was a fight to get my gp to prescribe it, with phone calls back and forth between the consultant and the gp, so if your gp is reluctant, don't give up! What your consultant says overrules the gp! Libby PS: couldn't manage without knowing the lorazepam is there for me should I need it.

[AbbyRudi]

Lorazepam and oramorph are used to reduce anxiety,whether or not you are using oxygen. If you need ambulatory oxygen it is because your blood saturation of oxygen gets too low for you to walk or move about without getting short of breath, so the oxygen keeps your blood oxygen level up to where it should be when moving.

I'd ask for clarification, because oxygen and meds to manage anxiety do entirely different things to the body. And I've never heard of anyone being offered ambulatory oxygen if they didn't really need it; with or without anxiety issues. It's too darn expensive, much more so than meds. In addition, using supplemental oxygen can cause serious problems in some people if it is not required.

My husband has used both, but he reacted badly to lorazepam and he said Oramorph didn't help.

[susiecue62 in reply to AbbyRudi]

no i dont think i made myself clear,i was offered the meds instead of the oxygen if i wanted, but having looked up this medication i felt the side affects were to great a risk

[AbbyRudi in reply to susiecue62]

It's being offered meds instead of and not in addition to oxygen that's the confusing part and I'd suggest you go back and clarify it. I'd ask whether or not your blood oxygen levels are low enough when you are moving about to warrant supplemental oxygen. If the answer is yes than I'd opt for the oxygen, if you are getting anxious when you're moving about because of breathlessness it might resolve the anxiety.

On medicines in general - every one has side effects and even for the most commonly prescribed and readily available meds the list of possible effects is as long as your arm. If it was required to write side effects for something as common as salt the list would be longer than your two arms and legs combined. For drugs like lorazepam and oramorph it comes down to quality of life, not medical necessity. You deserve the best quality of life possible and any doctor offering you the option of taking those drugs has made the judgement it's worth it. Besides, both those drugs are something that you can try a few times and if you are not happy with them or they don't work you can stop.

[Hidden]

Hi susiecue, Abby gives good advcie. Oxygen is not an either/or situation in my understanding. You either need it because your sats are low or you do not. Perhaps ringing the BLF helpliene may help you clarify the situation?

[tanyamarie]

Not everyone is suitable for oxygen therapy longterm so the oramorph comes into its own then. It has been proven to work to open up the airways to assist with breathing and not just to help with pain relief.