Here's part 4 of my interview with Dr. Anna Lembke where we discuss the consequences of staying on Benzodiazepines for too long.
Video transcript:
Dr. Patricia Halligan:
Let me ask you, benzodiazepines and Z drugs … and that was a great explanation of what they are and what they do … what are the consequences of staying on them for too long, longer than the two to four week indication?
Dr. Anna Lembke:
Well, the major consequence is the risk of tolerance – needing more and more to get the same effect over time. The only solution for which is to either taper off of them or go to a higher dose. The problem with going to a higher dose is that there's no limit to that because then you'll develop tolerance at the higher dose and then you'll have to go higher and on and on. And we know the risk of addiction is directly correlated with dose and duration of use. So the longer you're on them and the higher the dose, the more likely you are to become addicted to them. Now, addiction is different from pure physiologic dependence. They're related, but they're not the same thing. But of course, once patients develop a physical dependence, even if they're not yet addicted, that means that getting off can be very, very hard … and in some cases just devastatingly hard. And I think that's what we're seeing more and more is this small subset of individuals who were put on Benzodiazepine for a minor medical condition, stayed on it for a long time and then decided they wanted to get off or found it wasn't working as well as it used to or working at all. Or maybe even making their anxiety insomnia worse, which it can do over time. And then found that getting off was near impossible.
For more information or to contact Anna Lembke, MD, please visit:
www.annalembke.com
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