Ativan..did you experience increased appetite or no appetite?

[shirl000]

Just looking for personal experiences, not what the listed side effects say. Thank you

[AnxiousNoMore]

You are better off going with the trial results which the listed side effects state. Anecdotal evidence from a chatline can be faulty because the layman patient may not be able to differentiate the correct cause when 2 events occur simultaneously. Loss of appetite might be from a different cause than the med (such as gastritis), but another person may incorrectly self-diagnose that the med made him lose his appetite.

[Paxiled]

The above is both correct but not totally correct.  Unfortunately, drug trials with humans are very short term and use very few subjects, and generally make sure nobody with any serious problems are included as that would make the drug less likely to be approved.  Most of the side effects, therefore, are learned after the drug is approved and is in wide use.  If you go on sites such as WebMD you can find those side effects, and they will also be on the information packet that comes with your first prescription.  Most of us don't read it.  But what will always be hidden is that every individual will react differently to medication -- the trials will result in generalizations that don't necessarily apply to the person sitting in front of the doc who prescribes the medication.  When you mess with brain neurotransmitters, lots of different things can happen.  When your friends use pot or drink alcohol you see a wide range of reactions; the same is true for medication.  So while this med isn't known for affecting appetite, it might for you.  One way that can happen is, when some people are anxious they eat more and some eat less, and when you relax when you take the med the same can happen.