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Trends in annual ambulatory prescribing of Schedule IV benzodiazepines,... | Download Scientific Diagram
Trends in annual ambulatory prescribing of Schedule IV benzodiazepines, Schedule II opioids, or both, United States. Number of annual visits among each medication group, 1993-2014; all analyses were conducted using survey-design elements for visit or physician weight, clustering, and stratification to yield national inferences.
Stephen Colbert Shares His Struggle With Anxiety and Why He Stopped Taking Xanax | Entertainment Tonight
"I was actually medicated," he says. "I mean, in the most common, prosaic way. Xanax was just lovely. Y’know, for a while. And then I realized that the gears were still smoking. I just couldn’t hear them anymore. But I could feel them, I could feel the gearbox heating up and smoke pouring out of me, but I was no longer walking around a couch."
"I had a bit of a nervous breakdown after I got married -- kind of panic attacks," he continues. "My wife would go off to work and she’d come home -- because I worked at night -- and I’d be walking around the couch. And she’s like, 'How was your day?' And I’d say, 'You’re looking at it.' Just tight circles around the couch."
The Truth About Prescription Pills: One Writer's Story of Anxiety and Addiction — Vogue - Vogue
Like me, she wasn’t a vodka-in-the-morning drinker, but when she drank—usually California Chardonnays—she couldn’t stop. She’d get high and silly and then, at the drop of a dime, she’d turn mean, lashing out at those closest to her. It was so contrary to her fundamental nature—kind, compassionate, sensitive—and she hated herself for the times she hurt our family. But ultimately, no pill or drink, no amount of love, could soothe her sadness. When I was 22, she took her life. I worried that her suffering was a warning, a glimpse of what my future might be if I didn’t change things.
Psychiatric drugs killing more users than heroin, cocaine: experts | Vancouver Sun
Kerr noted that the rise in BZD-related deaths — “It’s been an epidemic brewing for many, many years” — very closely mirrors a rise in opioid-related deaths that has been widely documented. He cited a fourfold increase in BZD-related deaths in the United States between 1999 and 2014, and also noted that there are 50 per cent more deaths each year in the U.S. due to psychiatric medicine than heroin.
Shhhh
Investigators turned to Paddock’s physician. The doctor described Paddock as “odd” and as a man who showed “little emotion.” He believed that Paddock may have had bipolar disorder but told police that his patient had refused to discuss the issue further. Paddock didn’t appear to be abusing any medications, the doctor noted. In fact, he seemed fearful of medication in general. While he had been treated for anxiety, Paddock had refused antidepressant medication.
JCM | Free Full-Text | Benzodiazepines I: Upping the Care on Downers: The Evidence of Risks, Benefits and Alternatives | HTML
Benzodiazepines are some of the most commonly prescribed medications in the world. These sedative-hypnotics can provide rapid relief for symptoms like anxiety and insomnia, but are also linked to a variety of adverse effects (whether used long-term, short-term, or as needed). Many patients take benzodiazepines long-term without ever receiving evidence-based first-line treatments (e.g., psychotherapy, relaxation techniques, sleep hygiene education, serotonergic agents). This review discusses the risks and benefits of, and alternatives to benzodiazepines. We discuss evidence-based indications and contraindications, and the theoretical biopsychosocial bases for effectiveness, ineffectiveness and harm. Potential adverse effects and drug-drug interactions are summarized. Finally, both fast-acting/acute and delayed-action/chronic alternative treatments for anxiety and/or insomnia are discussed. Response to treatment—whether benzodiazepines, other pharmacological agents, or psychotherapy—should be determined based on functional recovery and not merely sedation.
Our Other Prescription Drug Problem | NEJM
Benzodiazepines have proven utility when they are used intermittently and for less than 1 month at a time. But when they are used daily and for extended periods, the benefits of benzodiazepines diminish and the risks associated with their use increase. Many prescribers don’t realize that benzodiazepines can be addictive and when taken daily can worsen anxiety, contribute to persistent insomnia, and cause death. Other risks associated with benzodiazepines include cognitive decline, accidental injuries and falls, and increased rates of hospital admission and emergency department visits. Fortunately, there are safer treatment alternatives for anxiety and insomnia, including selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors and behavioral interventions. Just as with opioids, some patients benefit from long-term use of benzodiazepines. But even in low-risk patients, it is best to avoid daily dosing to mitigate the development of tolerance, dependence, and withdrawal.
Florida’s Deadliest Rx Drug is Not a Painkiller — Pain News Network
The most deadly prescription drugs in the state are not opioid painkillers, but benzodiazepines – a class of anti-anxiety medication that includes Xanax (alprazolam) and Valium (diazepam). Xanax alone killed more Floridians last year (813) than oxycodone (723).
The medical examiners analyzed toxicology and autopsy results for 11,910 people who died in Florida in 2016, noting not only what drugs were present at the time of death, but which drug actually caused the deaths.
The distinction is important and more accurate than the death certificate (ICD) codes often used by the CDC, which merely list the drugs that were present. Critics have long contended that CDC researchers cherry pick ICD data to inflate the number of deaths "involving" or "linked" to opioid medication, in some cases counting the same death twice.
Personal experience with Xanax
I started out taking Xanax 0.25 mg nightly only as a sleep aid, as my eyes felt like sandpaper and were interfering with my sleep. After only a few weeks, I began to experience severe anxiety during the day, which required more Xanax (up to 1 mg per day). I began to think that I was going crazy. I also developed a tremor and underwent an extensive neurologic evaluation, including a lumbar puncture that resulted in a severe spinal headache and an ER visit for a blood patch to stop the leaking cerebrospinal fluid. Xanax was never suggested as a cause for my tremor, although my dose relieved the symptoms of the tremor. It got to the point where I needed to dose every 6 hours as the Xanax would only last a few hours, then I would experience severe symptoms like difficulty breathing, chest tightness, and inability to swallow. I lost about 15 pounds (I am only 5’3” and got down to 115 pounds). I looked like a skeleton. I was terrified to be alone. I would wake up at night after 3 hours of sleep with my heart pounding and in a sheer panic. After doing my own research, I discovered that I was experiencing inter-dose withdrawals and had become dependent on Xanax.
