Two days ago, on July 9, Richard Lewis published on Mad in America a post in which he draws attention to the prolific worldwide prescribing of benzodiazepines, and the problems that this creates. The article includes a music video of a song which Richard has written and performs. The song is called Benzo Blue, and… Continue Reading
Klonopin and prozac withdrawal
It’s been almost 3 months since I have ingested any antidepressants or benzos. Almost died after drinking a large amount of vodka with the daily does of pills. Went to a rehab for a month and have been clean since. This is after over 27 years of benzos and prozac. I am 60… Continue Reading
Benzodiazepines: Miracle Drugs?
The first benzodiazepine – chlordiazepoxide – became available, from Hoffman-La Roche, in 1960, under the brand name Librium. It was soon followed by: diazepam (Valium) 1963; nitrazepam (Mogadon) and oxazepam (Serax) in 1965; temazepam (Restoril) 1969; clorazepate (Tranxene) 1972; flurazepam (Dalmane) 1973; clonazepam (Klonopin) 1975; lorazepam (Ativan) in 1977; and alprazolam (Xanax) in 1981; etc. Benzodiazepines… Continue Reading
Benzodiazepine Withdrawal: A Dilemma
On March 17, 2013, I wrote a post titled Withdrawal from Benzodiazepines. In that post I wrote: “Withdrawal from these drugs is potentially dangerous, incidentally, and medical supervision is a good idea, especially if the dependence is marked. Try to find a physician other than the one who got you hooked on them in the… Continue Reading
Benzodiazepines and Aggression
On November 19, 2014, the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry published Benzodiazepine use and aggressive behaviour: A systematic review, by Bonnie Albrecht et al, from Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. Here are the authors’ conclusions: “There appears to be a moderate association between some benzodiazepines and subsequent aggressive behaviour in humans. The circumstances under… Continue Reading
More on Benzos and Cognitive Damage
On September 9, 2014, the BMJ published an article by Sophie Billioti de Gage et al. The article was titled Benzodiazepine use and risk of Alzheimer’s disease: case-control study, and concluded: “Benzodiazepine use is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The stronger association observed for long term exposures reinforces the suspicion of a… Continue Reading
Benzodiazepine Use and Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
On September 9, 2014, the BMJ published an article by Sophie Billioti de Gage et al. The article is titled Benzodiazepine use and risk of Alzheimer’s disease: case-control study. The research was a study based on data from the Quebec health insurance program database. Here are the authors’ conclusion: “Benzodiazepine use is associated with an… Continue Reading
Benzodiazepines: Disempowering and Dangerous
I recently read an article by Fredric Neuman, MD, Director of the Anxiety and Phobia Center at White Plains Hospital, NY. The article is titled The Use of the Minor Tranquilizers: Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, and Valium, and was published in June 2012 by Psychology Today. Thanks to Medicalskeptic for the link. Dr. Neuman opens by… Continue Reading
Benzodiazepines: Dangerous Drugs
On February 25, Kristina Fiore published an article on MedPage today. It’s titled Killing Pain: Xanax Tops Charts. The article is based on a study conducted by Jann M et al, and published in the February 2014 issue of the Journal of Pharmacy Practice. The study is titled Benzodiazepines: a major component in unintentional prescription… Continue Reading
Benzodiazepine Withdrawal
On November 28, I put up a post on the adverse effects of benzodiazepines, including the potential for protracted and serious withdrawal problems. Since then I’ve become aware of a helpful and interesting resource in this area. It’s called Benzo Info, and is on Monica Cassani’s blog, BeyondMeds. Monica has first-hand experience of benzodiazepine withdrawal, and her… Continue Reading
Benzodiazepines – Adverse Effects
On November 25, Mad in America posted a link to an article in the Journal of Neurological Sciences. The article is by Harnod et al, and is titled An Association between Benzodiazepine Use and Occurrence of Benign Brain Tumors. The authors studied the records of 62,186 individuals in Taiwan who had been prescribed a benzodiazepine… Continue Reading
Akathisia
Melissa, a commenter on a recent post, asked if I would do a post on akathisia. Akathisia literally means inability to sit. People with this problem typically pace for long periods, and if they do sit down, they continue to keep moving and shifting their position in the chair. In severity it can range from… Continue Reading
Benzo Withdrawal: Another Story
There’s another benzo withdrawal story on Mad in America: The 99th Mile: When Benzo Withdrawal Meets Parenthood by Melissa Bond. Melissa recounts that when her Down’s syndrome son was 18 months old and her baby daughter was three months, she consulted a physician because of problems with insomnia and consequent exhaustion. He prescribed 2 mg… Continue Reading
More on Benzodiazepine Withdrawal
In my earlier post on this topic, I mentioned that benzo withdrawal can be dangerous, but it’s been drawn to my attention, by Monica, that perhaps I didn’t adequately stress how dangerous it can be in some cases. If you click here, you can read Monica’s own account of her experience in a detox center… Continue Reading
Withdrawal from Benzodiazepines
Important updates on this subject can be found at the posts listed at the bottom of the post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I’ve recently come across an article by Matt Samet called Social Vacuum. It’s dated March 2013, and was published on Robert… Continue Reading
Business As Usual
Christopher Lane, author of Shyness has written an interesting post. The gist of the matter is as follows. There’s a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines (benzos for short) that are promoted by Pharma and prescribed by psychiatrists to “treat” anxiety. (As if anxiety were an illness!) See my post on the So-called Anxiety Disorders. Benzos… Continue Reading