After struggling to quit smoking on my own and not knowing where to turn, an online search led me to several horribly confusing weeks in detox and rehab facilities. Despite intervention, I was still plagued by endless sleepless nights, heart palpitations, intense agitation, and trembling. After all, I was one of the lucky ones. My withdrawal was not only tragic, it could have been long and even life threatening.
Ann Estimate Thirty million adults in the United States take benzodiazepines such as Klonopin, Ativan, Xanax and Valium for anxiety, stress and related mental health conditions. millions more Take a sedative-hypnotic containing Ambien for sleep. Like benzo, it acts on a specific brain neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid. Gabba.
there is more low consciousness Learn about the effects of stopping long-term or high-dose use of these drugs and how to do so safely. Even primary care physicians write half Most people on all prescription benzodiazepines are often unaware of the need for a slow, monitored taper off.
“The majority of physicians do not consider these drugs to be addictive or habit-forming,” said Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and director of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. says Anna Lembke. The medical community often “overestimates the benefits and underestimates the risks of long-term benzodiazepine use.”
The higher the dose, the more likely it is to cause harm
Experts say safe weight loss usually takes much longer than a week-long detox or 28-day rehab, on average six to 12 months.
Last year, the Food and Drug Administration announced: Commit up to $2 million Fund efforts to develop new guidelines for safe withdrawal from benzodiazepines. Experts say the measures are desperately needed.
Benzodiazepines and “Z-dragLike Ambien (generic name: zolpidem), it is not intended for long-term use. “There is no reliable evidence of efficacy beyond a few weeks, and we know that the longer you take benzodiazepines and the higher your dose, the more likely you are to experience benzodiazepine-related harm,” says Lembke. says Mr.
In 2020, the FDA added a “most prominent safety warning” to benzodiazepine packaging: a boxed warning. To clarify that “Continuous use of benzodiazepines for days to weeks can lead to physical dependence.And Ambien’s FDA warning has been updated over the years to make it clear that it is. shown For “short-term treatment for insomnia,” we mean within a few weeks.
However, many doctors do not follow the guidelines. One reason is that doctors typically learn very little about drugs in medical school, Lembke said.
Sarah Nadav, who recently founded a company called Cohir, says even doctors who understand the risks are unaware of the withdrawal challenges. provides online services to help people safely wean from benzodiazepines. “I see a lot of people who are suddenly cut off from treatment by their doctors,” she says.
Studies estimate that about 10 to 15 percent of patients taking the drug long-term experience symptoms such as: long-term withdrawal syndrome Withdraw too early and withdraw “cold turkey” can cause Seizures, including potentially fatal ones.
Alexis Litvo, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and medical director of the nonprofit Alliance for Benzodiazepines Best, says that patients often feel like they’re on their own, especially if they’ve been on the drug for more than three months. They say they lack the health literacy to understand what to expect. practice.
“They just know that they work very well in the short term,” she says. “Then they realize that they can’t sleep or feel anxious or irritable if they don’t take drugs.” There is a nature. Even dosages can be misleading, she says. For example, her 0.5 milligrams of Klonopin, which I took fairly regularly for her 4 months, may not sound like much, but it really is. Equivalent to 10 milligrams of barium.
Not all drawers look the same
Nadav says he experiences long-term withdrawal syndrome. Six weeks after starting to cut back on Xanax and Ambien in 2021, she said, “her hands and head were shaking and she was hallucinating.” During delirium ( well documented Symptoms) If resolved within 3 months, the symptoms can be dangerous. Nadav says her doctor should have sent her to the emergency room.
Former physician assistant Nicole Lamberson, who went on a detox 13 years ago to cut off Xanax, Klonopin and Ambien, is still fighting. After being bedridden for years, she is still unable to work full time.
“My nervous system healed very slowly. It was like crawling out of hell,” she said.
Recent article PLOS One published these patient testimonials in its journal, showing that discontinuation of benzodiazepine use may be “associated with persistent neurological damage and adverse quality of life.” .
Co-author Christy Huff is a cardiologist, Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, she is also a patient. “She took her medication as prescribed, and after four years off benzodiazepines, she still has symptoms every day,” she said.
The ideal withdrawal scenario is one that patients can tolerate, and it varies from person to person, Lembke said. Even if she doesn’t consider herself an “addict,” she’s an addict who knows how to manage withdrawal properly “until the average doctor is better educated.” She suggests finding a doctor.
For prescribers, the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition and Alliance on Benzodiazepine Best Practices It has a lot of resources, Ritvo added.
“We need to find ways to help prescribers navigate through this situation, rather than just ‘I won’t prescribe’ or ‘I’m going to take the patient home right away,'” she said. To tell.
I wish I had understood my options before forging my own path to withdraw from Klonopin and Ambian. I was lucky that I was able to recover without any aftereffects, but in retrospect, I wish I had slowly tapered off the medication. Instead, I landed hard.
