Patient/caregiver was educated on how to take Versed as follows:

1. Take the medication dose at the same time every day, for the duration prescribed. This can help with maintaining the required therapeutic concentration of medication in the blood and maintain compliance with intake of medication.
2. When prescribed for relief of insomnia, versed is usually taken 30 minutes before bedtime. Having a regular sleep routine can help intake of versed on time. Observe a regular sleep time every evening, as sleep is a habit that can be trained. Take the dose of versed about 30 minutes before the sleep time, as it needs about 20 – 30 minutes to show the desired effect of sleep induction. Maintaining compliance with the sleep time and medication intake half an hour before the sleep time can help avoid forgetting the medication intake.
3. On some random day, if your schedule changes and you are not going to bed at the usual time, adjust your intake of versed accordingly. As the medication quickly induces sleep, taking the medication at the usual time and delaying your bedtime, can leave you severely drowsy. Trying to remain active in a drowsy state can invite risk for injury and accidents.

2. Maintain strict compliance with intake of the medication as ordered, with regards to dosage and frequency, to derive the benefit of the medication.
3. Do not change the dose on this medication without consulting your doctor.
4. Oral versed can induce some nausea and vomiting, when taken on empty stomach. Taking the pill with a glass of water and some food or snack can help avoid these unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms. If it is prescribed to allay any anxiety before the surgical procedures, follow the NPO precautions or check with your doctor.
5. Take the regular tablet as a whole with a glass of water. If you encounter difficulty swallowing the whole regular tablet, check with your doctor if you may cut the pill and swallow it in pieces with a glass of water. Usually tablets that can be cut bear a scoreline, displaying the line of cut. Check if your tablet has any. For individuals with swallowing difficulties, other preparations of medication could also be available to help an easy intake. Check with your physician on the same.
6. To provide relief from anxiety before any surgical procedures, versed could also be prescribed as intravenous/intramuscular injections, when it is administered into a vein/muscle. This requires special medical conditions and orders from your doctor.
7. When taking versed as an oral syrup/suspension, use a measuring spoon/cup/dropper to measure the correct dose being taken, in order to avoid risk for over/under dosing. This oral suspension can be concentrated and likely to precipitate unpleasant nausea and vomiting sensations. Mixing the liquid medication into a salad or snack and consuming it after gentle stirring for a few seconds can help avoid the unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.
8. Versed can quickly induce dizziness and make one drowsy. When prescribed for longer periods of time, starting the medication at a low dose and gradually increasing the dose, to help optimum control of your symptoms yet minimizing the side-effects, can help to reduce the risk for drowsiness and dizziness due to the medication. If the unpleasant side-effects becomes bothersome, report them to your physician and other health care personnel, for any change in plan of care to be considered.
9. Do not take versed with alcohol. Both alcohol and versed cause dizziness and depress the respirations. When taken together, their side-effects on respirations and dizziness can get added up. This can result in compromised safety, lead to severe respiratory depression, and can even be fatal.
10. When prescribed for longer duration, versed can take some time to fairly adjust to your body, before any consistent relief with your complaints and easing of side-effects is experienced. So, do not discontinue taking the medication without your physician’s consult, as you failed to see the desired result immediately after taking the medication.
11. Continue taking Versed as ordered, even if you experience relief from the symptoms of anxiety, panic symptoms, seizures, and insomnia, depending on the reason for which it is prescribed. Discontinuing the medication abruptly can result in exacerbation of anxiety episodes, precipitation of seizures, muscle spasms and unpleasant withdrawal symptoms of insomnia and hallucinations. Discontinuing the medication should be gradual and only as recommended by your physician.
12. Individuals develop tolerance to the dose of Versed with diminished therapeutic response over time. Report to your physician regarding any blunting of therapeutic response, with reverting of anxiety episodes, seizures, muscle cramps, nervousness, irritability, restlessness, and insomnia. Your physician could consider a change in the plan of care to provide the desired therapeutic relief.
13. Your physician could change the dose of Versed, based on the response you show. So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments and be accommodative to the plan of dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
14. Notify your doctor of any unresolving anxiety, muscle spasms, worsening muscle pain and discomfort, episodes of seizures, insomnia, excessive dizziness, or other continuing unpleasant side-effects, so that, your dosage on the medication could be revised.
15. If you miss a dose, try taking it at the earliest notice of noncompliance. If it is time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take the dose scheduled. Do not take an extra dose to try making up for the missed dose, to avoid toxicity with Versed. Notify your doctor and other health care personnel regarding your dose noncompliance.