Your distinction between "dependency" and "addicton" is not based on any
serious analytical distinction. People who are hooked on benzos--sometimes
with as little as two weeks of regular use--often have worse withdrawal
symptoms and a harder time getting off them than heroin addicts--there is
a
vast literature to sup****t these realities.
Second, short-term memory loss is COMMON in people who take benzos even in
the short term. Your denial of this fact is simply at odds with a vast
literature on the subject. Cognitive deficits are common with longer-term
use as well.
These are far from bengign drugs. This discussion shows that there is a
great deal of credible evidence--both in the form of scientific studies
and
personal testimonies of the cited Internet discussion groups--that they
can
have grievous side effects even in the short term, but especially with
long-term use. True, there are psychiatrists who take a Pollyanna view
about
such drugs thanks to the blandishments of Big Pharma, but there are as
many,
thank goodness, with the independence of spirit to investigate and warn of
the dangers.
Benzos can help people through terrible life anxieties in the short term
if
used prudently and for a limited time. Used for longer periods, they can
be
a recipe for problems that dwarf those that drove one to take them in the
first place; the rebound anxiety and insomina people suffer trying to get
off these meds are often far more nightmarish than any symptoms they had
to
begin with.
People might consider valerian and/or melatonin for sleep and Kava or GABA
for daytime anxiety. If those don't work, discuss benzos with your doctor,
but proceed with caution, and educate yourelf about the risks.
"Philip Peters" <philip@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:4853c608$0$14343$e4fe514c@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> anon schreef:
>> BENZODIAZEPINES
>>
>> Quotations & Abstracts
>
>
>
> Sigh.....OK, one more time.
> Long term benzo use *does* indeed often cause some (reversible)
short-term
> memory loss, mostly more annoying than debilitating. Impairment of
> cognitive function is highly debatable and mostluy occurs in the elderly
> and as a result of unskilled prescribing.
> I always admitted benzos cause *dependence* (not to be confused with
> *addiction* with its hallmarks *tolerance* and *craving* which hardly
ever
> occur when medication is properly prescribed for the right reasons). So
do
> myriads of other prescription drugs including antidepressants, insulin,
> digoxin, pain killers etc.etc.
> When prescribing a benzo (or one of these many other meds) for
maintenance
> use the doctor should warn the patient that dependence will occur and
that
> they can run into problems trying to stop the meds which should only be
> done by way of a slow taper. See the Ashton manual and the
> Lexington-on-line site.
> The second part of this (mis)information contains nothing that is
relevant
> for the discussion about the prescription of benzos for anciet/panic.
It's
> about street abuse, dependence in babies (no one should take benzos
while
> pregnant and the baby's dependence will be the least of the probems this
> can cause such as severe birth defects) and the fact that cognitive (if
> any) and memory problems are reversible after stopping the drug which
only
> proves my point.
>
> We are posting here in a newsgroup for people with anxiety disorders.
> I'm not in it to win an argument but to balance the information which I
> regard as totally lopsided and biased.
> I am now seriously leaving this thread and let everyone make up their
own
> minds on the basis of the presented evidence from both sides.
>
> Philip
>
>>
>> Twenty-one patients with significant long-term therapeutic
benzodiazepine
>> (BZ) use, who remained abstinent at 6 months follow-up after
successfully
>> completing a standardized inpatient BZ withdrawal regime, and 21 normal
>> controls matched for age and IQ but not for anxiety, were repeatedly
>> tested on a simple battery of routine psychometric tests of cognitive
>> function, pre- and post- withdrawal and at 6 months follow-up. The
>> results demonstrated significant impairment in patients in verbal
>> learning and memory, psychomotor, visuo-motor and visuo-conceptual
>> abilities, compared with controls, at all three time points. Despite
>> practice effects, no evidence of immediate recovery of cognitive
function
>> following BZ withdrawal was found. Modest recovery of certain deficits
>> emerged at 6 months follow-up in the BZ group, but this remained
>> significantly below the equivalent control performance. The
implications
>> of persisting cognitive deficits after withdrawal from long-term BZ use
>> are discussed. [SUMMARY p. 203]
>>
>> "The main cognitive functions *****sed in this study include working
>> memory, verbal learning and memory, visuo-motor and visuo-conceptual
>> skills. The lack of evidence for clinically significant cognitive
>> recovery raises concern about the severity and reversibility of any
>> underlying BZ-induced organic impairment." [p. 211]
>>
>> "The adverse effects of acute diazepam administration on memory and
>> arousal in man are well known (Lister & File, 1984; Lister, 1985), and
>> have been linked to the high density of BZ receptors in the hippocampus
>> and reticular formation (Wolkowitz et al. 1987), although the
>> neurochemical basis of chronic post-withdrawal deficits has yet to be
>> demonstrated." [p. 212]
>>
>> "Persisting neuropsychological deficits affecting psychomotor function
>> and new verbal learning have occupational implications. Driving and
>> safety at work with machinery may both be impaired (Skegg et al. 1979,
>> Roy-Byrne & Cowley, 1990).Patients' impairment, following withdrawal
from
>> long-term BDZ use, is likely to be less than that due to acute drug
>> ingestion or the early withdrawal phase. Yet, one must be cautious in
>> predicting either rapid or comprehensive cognitive recovery for those
>> patients contemplating or undergoing a withdrawal regime, or in
>> estimating the cognitive effects of mood dysfunction, which require
>> further investigation." [p. 211] Lack of Cognitive Recovery Following
>> Withdrawal from Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use. Tata PR, Rollings J,
>> Collins M, Pickering A, Jacobson RR, Psychological Medicine 1994; 24:
>> 203-213.
>>
>> "...the use of benzodiazepines in patients with chronic pain would
>> theoretically be ill-advised because they reduce the turnover of
>> s*****onin, thus interfering with natural sleep and lowering the
tolerance
>> to chronic pain. However, the most significant problem that
>> benzodiazepines create seems to be cognitive impairment with associated
>> EEG changes (--). Acute, single dose administration of diazepam does
seem
>> to produce impairment in learning, memory, and psychomotor
functioning."
>> [p. 828]
>>
>> "...the evaluating psychiatrist noted that a great deal of cognitive
>> impairment seemed to occur more often in patients using benzodiazepines
>> than in patients using only narcotics." [p. 828]
>>
>> "...one could conclusively state that benzodiazepines were far more
>> likely to produce cognitive impairment, with concomitant EEG changes,
>> than were narcotics."[p. 830] " While neither narcotics nor
>> benzodiazepines should be used on a long-term basis, cognitive
impairment
>> was far more apparent with the latter class of drugs. The question of
the
>> reversibility of the benzodiazepine effect is the subject of current
>> research, but at this time one may only underscore a recent suggestion
by
>> the Food and Drug Administration that benzodiazepines be limited to
>> short-term use." [p. 830] Comparison of Cognitive Impairment Due to
>> Benzodiazepines and to Narcotics. American Journal of Psychiatry 1980;
>> 137: 828-830.
>>
>> "The committee further noted that there was little convincing evidence
>> that benzodiazepines were efficacious in the treatment of anxiety after
>> four months' continuous treatment. It considered that an appropriate
>> warning regarding long-term efficacy be included in the
recommendations,
>> particularly in view of the high pro****tion of patients receiving
>> repeated prescriptions for extended periods of time ... It further
>> suggested that patients receiving benzodiazepine therapy be carefully
>> selected and monitored and that prescriptions be limited to short-term
>> use" Committee on Review of Medicines, Systematic Review of the
>> Benzodiazepines, Brit Med J, 29 March 1980, 910-912.
>>
>> "Benzodiazepine dependence would be of minor clinical significance if
it
>> occurred only in those few individuals taking high doses of drugs; but
it
>> would be very im****tant indeed if it supervened even to a minor degree
in
>> patients on usual clinical doses. Our clinical impression is that many
>> patients experience symptoms on reduction or withdrawal of their
>> benzodiazepine medication, and that whilst these symptoms somewhat
>> resemble those of anxiety they differ qualitatively and are often more
>> severe than those for which the medication was originally given" C.
>> Hallström, M. Lader, Benzodiazepine withdrawal phenomena, Int.
>> Pharmacopsychiat, 1981, 16, 235-244.
>>
>> "Dependence on the benzodiazepines does occur. Patients taking these
>> drugs, even at therapeutic doses, for two or more months, may develop a
>> physical withdrawal syndrome. The cardinal feature of the syndrome is
>> anxiety, which may be mistakenly interpreted as a recrudescence of the
>> original anxiety for which the drug was prescribed" N. Hockings, B.R.
>> Ballinger, Hypnotics and anxiolytics, in New Drugs, [London: British
>> Medical Association, 1983, 149-155.
>>
>> "The medical profession took nearly 20 years from the introduction of
>> benzodiazepines to recognise officially that these minor tranquillisers
>> and hypnotics were potentially addictive. The 'happiness pills', which
>> had been propping up a fair pro****tion of the adult population since
the
>> early 1960s, were found to have an unexpectedly bitter aftertaste:
>> doctors and patients alike were unprepared for the problems of
dependence
>> and withdrawal that are now known to be common even with normal
>> therapeutic doses" Editorial (Anon), The benzodiazepine bind, The
Lancet,
>> 22 September 1984, 706.
>>
>> "The extent of pharmacological dependence with regular as opposed to
>> intermittent dosage of benzodiazepines was not fully appreciated until
>> recently. This was probably because prominent features of drug
>> dependence, such as tolerance and escalation of dosage, are uncommon
>> among patients starting on normal doses. The chief manifestation is a
>> withdrawal syndrome on stopping the drug" Anon (A. Herxheimer, ed.),
Some
>> problems with benzodiazepines, Drug & Ther Bull, March 25 1985, 23 (6),
>> 21-23.
>>
>> "In the UK, 11.2% of all adults take an anti-anxiety drug at some time
>> during any one year. But over a quarter of these people (3.1% of all
>> adults) are chronic users, taking such medication every day. Even at a
>> conservative estimate, 20% of these will develop symptoms when they
>> attempt to withdraw. That means a quarter of a million people in the
UK.
>> The sooner the medical profession faces up to its responsibilities
>> towards these iatrogenic addicts, the sooner it will regain the
>> confidence of the anxious members of our community" M.H. Lader, A.C.
>> Higgitt, Management of benzodiazepine dependence - Update 1986, Brit J
>> Addiction, 1986, 81, 7-10.
>>
>> "There is now little doubt that regular use of benzodiazepines can lead
>> to drug dependence in patients who are not drug abusers. Such patients
>> come to rely on the drugs for psychological comfort and suffer
withdrawal
>> symptoms if the drug is stopped or the dosage reduced. It is estimated
>> that one-third of patients taking benzodiazepines for six months become
>> dependent... Present estimates suggest that perhaps 500,000 people in
the
>> UK... are now dependent on benzodiazepines" H. Ashton, Dangers and
>> medico-legal aspects of benzodiazepines, J. Med Defence Union, Summer
>> 1987, 6-8.
>>
>> "It seems likely that many popular beliefs about benzodiazepine
>> 'addiction' are related to the clear cut and increasingly do***ented
>> phenomenon of withdrawal reactions following the use of these drugs and
>> to the resulting difficulty anxious patients sometimes have stopping
drug
>> treatment because of such reactions. This phenomenon (ie inability to
>> discontinue the drug because of withdrawal symptoms) is termed
>> 'dependence' and by itself is enough to qualify patients for the new
>> DSM-III-R. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd
>> ed., revised) diagnosis of 'psychoactive substance dependence" (P.R.
>> Roy-Byrne, D. Homer, Benzodiazepine withdrawal: overview and
implications
>> for the treatment of anxiety, Am J Med, June 1988, 84, 1041 - 1052.
>>
>> "It has been estimated that one in three patients prescribed
>> benzodiazepines in normal therapeutic doses for six weeks would
>> experience withdrawal symptoms if treatment were withdrawn abruptly.
Even
>> with gradual withdrawal, patients would request further prescriptions.
>> Thus, there is a considerable risk of dependence even in comparatively
>> short-term use" M.A. Cormack, R.G. Owens, M.E. Dewey, The effect of
>> minimal interventions by general practitioners on long-term
>> benzodiazepines use, J Roy Coll Gen Practitioners, October 1989, 39,
>> 408-411.
>>
>> "The presence of a predictable abstinence syndrome following abrupt
>> discontinuance of benzodiazepines is evidence of the development of
>> physiological dependence... "Historically, long-term, high-dose,
>> physiological dependence has been called addiction, a term that implies
>> recreational use. In recent years, however, it has become apparent that
>> physiological adaptation develops and discontinuance symptoms can
appear
>> after regular daily therapeutic dose administration ... in some cases
>> after a few days or weeks of administration. Since therapeutic
>> prescribing is clearly not recreational abuse, the term dependence is
>> preferred to addiction, and the abstinence syndrome is called a
>> discontinuance syndrome" American Psychiatric Association Task Force on
>> Benzodiazepine Dependency. Benzodiazepine Dependence, Toxicity, and
>> Abuse. Wa****ngton DC: APA, 1990.
>>
>> "I don't think anyone really knows what long-term effects the
>> benzodiazepines are likely to have on the brain tissue ... [they] may
>> damage your brain cells and produce real physical damage to your
thinking
>> processes and there is also the risk that the benzodiazepines will
cause
>> psychological damage." Dr Vernon Coleman, Life Without Tranquillisers,
>> 1985, p55.
>>
>> Drug companies making these products constantly warn doctors not to
allow
>> patients to take them for more than a week or two. They advise doctors
>> not to make these drugs available on 'repeat prescription'. Evidence
>> showing that these drugs are addictive and potentially dangerous has
been
>> ac***ulating rapidly since the early 1970s. Numerous research papers
have
>> been published showing that products in this group can cause problems
>> such as memory loss as well as anxiety, depression and sleeplessness.
>>
>> Ironically, these are the three symptoms for which they are most
commonly
>> prescribed. The Committee on Safety of Medicines has received re****ts
>> showing that these drugs are well known to cause well over 100
different
>> side effects. Earlier this month the DHSS and the Home Office publicly
>> admitted that the size of Britain's tranquilliser addiction problem is
>> worrying them by bringing these drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act
>> 1971 - the same legislation that controls drugs such as heroin. And yet
>> thousands of doctors don't seem to take any notice. It may be true that
>> many still don't know what else to do for patients who are suffering
from
>> anxiety or stress-related diseases. The only conclusion I can draw is
>> that several thousand British doctors do not read articles in the
medical
>> journals nor do they study literature which is published by the drug
>> companies.
>>
>> These painfully ignorant doctors have between them created the biggest
>> drug addiction problem this country has ever known. It's their
addiction
>> to prescribing these terrible drugs that has given us a nation of
>> junkies. The nightmare pills: How millions are caught in the
>> tranquilliser trap, Today, 07 May, 1986, Dr Vernon Coleman.
>>
>> "Anxiolytic treatment should be limited to short periods... because of
>> the danger of insidious development of dependence and subsequent
>> difficulty in withdrawing the drug... Withdrawal of the drug following
>> either high dosage or long-term administration should be gradual as
>> abrupt withdrawal may produce confusion, toxic psychosis, convulsions
or
>> a condition resembling delirium tremens. In milder cases symptoms may
be
>> similar to the original complaint and encourage further prescribing."
>> 1981 British National Formulary.
>>
>> Anxiolytic treatment should be limited to the lowest possible dose for
>> the shortest possible time... Prescribing of these drugs is widespread
>> but dependence (both physical and psychological) and tolerance occurs.
>> This may lead to difficulty in withdrawing the drug after the patient
has
>> been taking it regularly for more than a few weeks. Hypnotics and
>> anxiolytics should therefore be reserved for short courses to alleviate
>> acute conditions. British National Formulary, March 1998 edition.
>>
>> Benzodiazepines are indicated for the short-term relief (two to four
>> weeks only) of anxiety that is severe, disabling or subjecting the
>> individual to unacceptable distress, occurring alone or in association
>> with insomnia or short-term psychosomatic, organic or psychotic
illness.
>> The use of benzodiazepines to treat short-term 'mild' anxiety is
>> inappropriate and unsuitable. Benzodiazepines should be used to treat
>> insomnia only when it is severe, disabling, or subjecting the
individual
>> to extreme distress. The Committee on Safety of Medicines, January
1988.
>>
>> "Prolonged or excessive use of benzodiazepines may occasionally result
in
>> the development of psychological dependence with withdrawal symptoms on
>> sudden discontinuation. This is more likely in patients with a history
of
>> alcoholism, drug abuse or patients with marked personality disorders.
>> Treatment in all patients should be withdrawn gradually. Careful
>> monitoring of all patients is essential." 1983 John Wyeth Data Sheet.
>>
>> "It is more difficult to withdraw people from BDZs than it is heroin,
it
>> just seems that the dependency is so ingrained and the withdrawal
>> symptoms you get are so intolerable that people have a great deal of
>> problem coming off. The other aspect is that with heroin, usually the
>> withdrawal is over within a week or so, with BDZs, a pro****tion of
>> patients go on to long term withdrawal & they have very unpleasant
>> symptoms for month after month, & I get letters from people saying you
>> can go on for two years or more. Some of the tranquilliser groups can
>> do***ent people who still have symptoms ten years after stopping."
>> Professor Malcolm H Lader, Royal Maudesley Hospital, "You & Yours" -
BBC
>> Radio 4, 1999.
>>
>> The benzodiazepines are still extensively used in psychiatry, neurology
>> and medicine in general. Anxiety disorder and severe insomnia are
>> im****tant syndromal indications, but these drugs are widely prescribed
at
>> the symptomatic level, resulting in potential overuse. The official
data
>> sheets recommend short durations of usage and conservative dosage.
>> Although short-term efficacy is established, long-term efficacy remains
>> controversial, as relevant data are scanty and relapse, rebound and
>> dependence on withdrawal not clearly distinguished. The risks of the
>> benzodiazepines are well-do***ented and comprise psychological and
>> physical effects. Among the former are subjective sedation, paradoxical
>> release of anxiety and/or hostility, psychomotor impairment, memory
>> disruption, and risks of accidents. Physical effects include vertigo,
>> dysarthria, ataxia with falls, especially in the elderly. Dependence
can
>> supervene on long-term use, occasionally with dose escalation. The
>> benzodiazepines are now recognised as major drugs of abuse and
addiction.
>> Other drug and non-drug therapies are available and have a superior
risk
>> benefit ratio in long-term use. It is concluded that benzodiazepines
>> should be reserved for short-term use - up to 4 weeks - and in
>> conservative dosage. Professor Malcolm H Lader, Institute of
Psychiatry,
>> University of London, UK. Limitations on the use of benzodiazepines in
>> anxiety and insomnia: are they justified? In: Eur Neuropsychopharmacol
>> 1999 Dec;9 Suppl 6:S399-405.
>>
>> The concepts of dependence, addiction and abuse comprise overlapping
>> clinical phenomena. The earlier anxiolytic drugs, in particular the
>> barbiturates, were prone to abuse, i.e., non-medical use, and to
>> high-dose misuse. Their modern counterparts, the benzodiazepines, are
>> abused in a patchy way and are sometimes taken in regularly high doses.
>> However, the main problem is physical dependence as manifested by a
>> withdrawal syndrome on discontinuation of the drug. The withdrawal
>> syndrome has been carefully described and comprises physical and
>> psychological features. In particular, perceptual symptoms such as
>> photophobia, hyperacusis and feelings of unsteadiness may predominate.
>> The syndrome may come on during dosage reduction but generally starts
>> 2-10 days after cessation of the benzodiazepine, depending on its
>> elimination half-life. About a third of long-term users suffer a
>> recognisable syndrome even after a tapered withdrawal, its duration
>> usually being only a few weeks. A few patients go on to a prolonged
>> withdrawal syndrome, often characterised by muscular spasm. The
treatment
>> of the withdrawal syndrome is sup****tive and non-specific. A few
patients
>> started on benzodiazepine therapy escalate the dose. They tend to show
>> the characteristic 'passive-dependent' personality features and may
>> previously have misused other CNS depressants such as the barbiturates
>> and alcohol. Abuse of benzodiazepines occurs in a rather varied way
from
>> country to country. Worldwide, flunitrazepam has caused concern but, in
>> the UK, the main problem has been the intravenous use of temazepam. The
>> molecular pharmacology of the benzodiazepine receptor has been
>> extensively studied and is undoubtedly complex. Professor Malcolm H
>> Lader, Department of Clinical Psychopharmacology, Institute of
>> Psychiatry, London, UK. Anxiolytic drugs: dependence, addiction and
>> abuse. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 1994 Jun;4(2):85-91.
>>
>> Withdrawal of benzodiazepines is currently advised for long-term
>> benzodiazepine users because of doubts about continued efficacy, risks
of
>> adverse effects, including dependence and neuropsychological impairment
>> and socio-economic costs. About half a million people in the UK may
need
>> advice on withdrawal. Successful withdrawal strategies should combine
>> gradual dosage reduction and psychological sup****t. The benzodiazepine
>> dosage should be tapered at an individually titrated rate which should
>> usually be under the patient's control. The whole process may take
weeks
>> or months. Withdrawal from diazepam is convenient because of available
>> dosage strengths, but can be carried out directly from other
>> benzodiazepine. Adjuvant medication may occasionally be required
>> (antidepressants, propranolol) but no drugs have been proved to be of
>> general utility in alleviating withdrawal-related symptoms.
Psychological
>> sup****t should be available both during dosage reduction and for some
>> months after cessation of drug use. Such sup****t should include the
>> provision of information about benzodiazepines, general encouragement,
>> and measures to reduce anxiety and promote the learning of
>> non-pharmacological ways of coping with stress. For many patients the
>> degree of sup****t required is minimal; a minority may need counselling
or
>> formal psychological therapy. Unwilling patients should not be forced
to
>> withdraw. With these methods, success rates of withdrawal are high and
>> are unaffected by duration of usage, dosage or type of benzodiazepine,
>> rate of withdrawal, symptom severity, psychiatric history or
personality
>> disorder. Longer-term outcome is less clear; a considerable pro****tion
of
>> patients may tem****arily take benzodiazepines again and some need other
>> psychotropic medication. However, the outcome may be improved by
careful
>> pharmacological and psychological handling of withdrawal and
>> post-withdrawal phases. Ashton CH, Department of Pharmacological
>> Sciences, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. The treatment of
>> benzodiazepine dependence, Addiction 1994 Nov;89(11):1535-41.
>>
>> This paper presents the results of a survey carried out to investigate
>> the benzodiazepine (BZD) prescribing patterns of the general
>> practitioners (GP) in the catchment area of a Drug Dependence Unit
>> located in a general hospital in Mataro (Barcelona, Spain). The aims of
>> the survey were: (i) to obtain descriptive information on the knowledge
>> of the GPs about BZD and its potential for dependence; (ii) to study
the
>> frequency of their prescribing; and (iii) to examine different factors
>> linked to their prescribing. The study was carried out using a
>> combination of a personal interview and a self-administered
>> questionnaire. A total of 68 doctors (88.3%) completed the
questionnaire.
>> The results show that the GPs have, in general, correct knowledge about
>> the therapeutic indications for BZD prescribing, but are far less aware
>> of their potential to induce dependence and how to manage withdrawal.
The
>> rate of prescribing seems to be high. Furthermore, the results of the
>> external check of validity point out that doctors tend to underestimate
>> the number of prescriptions. The majority of GPs express the need for
>> alternative resources to BZD prescribing. No significant associations
>> have been found between doctor's characteristics, such as postgraduate
>> training and type of practice, and their knowledge about BZD and
>> frequency of their prescribing. In our view, a more accurate knowledge
>> about BZD and alternatives to its use, both factors closely linked to
>> training, together with the availability of non-pharmacological
>> resources, are likely to improve the quality of doctors prescribing
>> habits, thus preventing risks such as dependence of BZD.
Benzodiazepines
>> in primary health care: a survey of general practitioners prescribing
>> patterns, Boixet M, Batlle E, Bolibar I, Unitat Assistencial de
>> Drogodependencias, Servei de Psiquiatria, Barcelona, Spain.
>>
>> Benzodiazepines are medications that are addicting - both in
combination
>> with other drugs and alone. The scope of the problem is thought to be
>> wide, but it has not been well do***ented for unclear reasons.
>> Pharmacologic dependence has been do***ented in virtually all long-term
>> users. Adverse effects occur secondary to their use and these effects
are
>> often subtle, but significant. Various benzodiazepines present
>> differences in reinforcement, withdrawal, and adverse effects.
Diagnostic
>> issues, withdrawal, and treatment issues are discussed. Benzodiazepines
>> and addiction. Psychiatr Clin North Am 1993 Mar;16(1):75-86. Juergens
SM
>> Virginia Mason Outpatient Chemical Dependency Program, Virginia Mason
>> Clinic.
>>
>>
>>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Some Highlights from The Beat the Benzos Conference, Croydon, November
>> 2000:
>>
>> Dr Nicholas Seivewright
>> Dr Seivewright is a psychiatrist working in the area of drug misusers.
At
>> the end of his talk he mentioned that he felt that his profession had
no
>> problem with reclassifying benzodiazepines (BDZs). He said that this
>> would solve the immediate problem of street abuse of the drugs,
although
>> there may be problems with other aspects of reclassification.
>>
>> Dr James Robertson
>> Paediatrician at Arrowe Park Hospital, The Wirral. Dr Robertson said he
>> categorised BDZs as more dangerous than opiates or methadone to the
>> newborn and that "babies affected can go on suffering for months and
>> months" and "that the parenting 'benzo babies' receive will be poor,
not
>> through any fault of the parent, but the fault of the drug plus the
>> parent".
>>
>> Professor Stefan Borg
>> Head of Addiction Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Sweden. Professor
Borg
>> has been researching the biochemical changes induced by long term BDZ
>> use. He said extensive research in this area showed that cognitive /
>> psycho-neurological impairment was measurable during long term BDZ use,
>> increased during acute withdrawal and very slowly reverses over months
or
>> years after cessation of the drugs. A most significant finding was that
>> flumazenil, a BDZ antagonist ("antidote") when given to people, who had
>> been off the drugs for some time but continued with unpleasant
symptoms,
>> improved or were completely relieved of these symptoms. Flumazenil is a
>> Roche product licensed for use in reversing the action of BDZs after
>> anaesthesia and overdose.
>>
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