Author: James Anderson

Benzodiazepines Uses, Indications, and Side Effects

Alcohol can increase side effects such as drowsiness, and it also increases the risk of an accidental overdose. Older adults are at a higher risk of benzodiazepine side effects such as memory problems and falls. People ages 65 years and older should avoid these medications, according to criteria developed by the American Geriatric Society. The College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists recommends that people ages 55 years and older avoid benzodiazepines.

Long-term worsening of psychiatric symptoms

Your healthcare provider can tell you more about what you can do to avoid dependence on these drugs or developing benzodiazepine use disorder. Alcohol can interact with these drugs, causing dangerous side effects or complications. There may be other circumstances where you shouldn’t take benzodiazepines with certain foods or beverages. Your healthcare provider can answer questions about whether to change what you eat or drink while taking these medications.

  1. In those without co-existing conditions such as depression or a history of substance abuse, benzodiazepines may be used cautiously for a short period of time.
  2. Benzodiazepines work by enhancing your brain’s response to a neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
  3. Neurotransmitters (your car key) can only fit into the right receptor (your car ignition).
  4. For example, most benzodiazepines have a sedative effect in addition to their primary effect.
  5. The time needed to taper off of a benzodiazepine generally ranges from 4 weeks to 6 months, but can exceed a year in some circumstances.

Generalized anxiety disorder

In a 12-month period spanning 2014 and 2015, experts estimate that at least 30.5 million people in the U.S. took benzodiazepines prescribed by a healthcare provider. The strength and duration of action of benzodiazepines are important in what conditions they treat. Short-term or emergency conditions usually merit the use of stronger, short-acting benzodiazepines. Chronic, non-emergency conditions are usually treatable with lower-strength, longer-acting benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are often prescribed for conditions like anxiety and insomnia, even though other treatments exist that show equal or better results with fewer risks and side effects. Many traditional benzodiazepines are broken down in the liver and when combined with drugs that block this action, blood levels can rise, leading to side effects.

When discontinued, benzodiazepines should be slowly tapered to help avoid withdrawal symptoms like rebound insomnia and anxiety. The primary disadvantage of benzodiazepines is the risk of abuse, dependence, and overdose (especially with opiates). Selection of drug therapy should be based on issues with dosing, possible side effects or drug interactions, and cost.

What are benzodiazepines (benzos), and what are they used for?

Some people develop a paradoxical reaction to benzodiazepines – this is the opposite reaction to what you would expect. They may become agitated or very anxious, develop hallucinations, have difficulty sleeping or exhibit bizarre behavior such as taking off their clothes in public or taking unnecessary risks. To avoid withdrawal symptoms, your doctor will slowly lower the dosage of the benzodiazepine. Benzodiazepines should not be combined with alcohol or other substances that inhibit the central nervous system either.

What are the disadvantages, side effects and complications that are possible with benzodiazepines?

In those without co-existing conditions such as depression or a history of substance abuse, benzodiazepines may be used cautiously for a short period of time. It is very difficult to recover from benzodiazepine addiction because these drugs change the chemistry of the brain. Contact a drug addiction treatment center if you or a loved one are suffering from a addiction. Quitting cold turkey is not likely to be successful and can be dangerous because of symptoms of withdrawal. Doctors and other health care professionals that treat addiction will formulate a taper schedule to slowly wean off the medication to reduce the severity of withdrawal symptoms during treatment.

Antidepressants (SSRIs/SNRIs) are considered first-line therapy for most patients with anxiety, but benzodiazepines may play an adjunctive role in the treatment of GAD to address acute symptoms while the antidepressant takes effect. Only short-term use of low-dose benzodiazepines (2 to 6 weeks) is recommended, with a slow, gradual tapering once the antidepressant effect takes hold. Concerns about risks of tolerance, dependence, and diversion with benzodiazepines limit their usefulness in GAD. A Boxed Warning, the FDA’s most stringent safety warning, exists on all benzodiazepine product information. When benzodiazepines are combined with other sedatives, opiates or alcohol, the risk of serious side effects such as profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death may occur.

Panic disorder

Benzodiazepines are a class of medications that slow down activity in your brain and nervous system. They’re most often used for treating anxiety and related mental health conditions, as well as brain-related conditions like seizures. These medications are tightly regulated and are only available with a prescription.

People who drink alcohol while taking this medicine will feel the effects of alcohol faster. One view is that many of the short-term effects continue into the long-term and may even worsen, and are not resolved after stopping benzodiazepine usage. Another view maintains that cognitive deficits in chronic benzodiazepine users occur only for a short period after the dose, or that the anxiety disorder is the cause of these deficits. The short-term use of these medications is usually safe and effective, but long-term use can lead to tolerance, dependence, and other adverse effects.

If you’re taking a benzodiazepine, check with your doctor to see if it’s safe to drive a vehicle, operate machinery, or perform activities that require a focus on details. A 2018 study in Psychiatric Services, a journal by the American Psychiatric Association, found evidence of increasing use — and misuse — of benzodiazepines in the United States. According to a 2016 study in the American Journal of Public Health, the number of U.S. adults filling prescriptions for benzodiazepines increased by 67 percent from 1996 to 2013.