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Article: Brain Damage From Benzodiazepines: The Troubling Facts, Risks, And History Of Minor Tranquilizers


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#1 FiveNotions

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 10:09 AM

http://www.psycholog...istory-minor-tr

This article is from 2010, and it's well worth reading, and taking to heart ... there's a ton of research from the years before big pharma infiltrated and took over academia, independent research, and the government/quasi-government regulatory agencies, on the dangers of long term benzo use ... most of that research has now been suppressed ... if you do a focused search for materials in the 1980's and 1990s, you'll find what I am, and this article is, referring to ...
 
I know we suggest benzos to use if the anxiety gets really bad, and to have on hand "just in case" ... but we also need to bear in mind, in the very front of our minds, that these meds have a real down-side ... a real "dark side" ...
 
There are exceptions to this, of course...in fact, we've got at least one forum member who's been able to use a benzo for years without any apparent problems...
 
but I wasn't so lucky ... a doc years ago put me on Xanax... and never gave me any warning...and let me take it "as needed" ... it stopped working at the lower doses ... as is typical ... after a few months ... so, I kept upping the dose and the frequency ... until I was taking 12-16 mg a day ...
 
It took me 2 full years to get off the stuff ... from 2006 to 2008 ... and about another 2 years after that to feel like I'd actually healed/recovered....
 
Fishinghat is currently getting off Lorazepam ... and it's taking him a long time ... a slow, slow process because these meds get so deeply "embedded" in our brain functions ...
 
So, please be careful in how long you take these .. and how often ... and at what doses ...
 
Please consider the other, less risky and just as effective alternatives ...
 
non-drug: therapy (especially CBT, cognitive behavior therapy), yoga, meditation, acupressure, acupuncture, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), etc. ...
 
meds/drugs: clonidine, hydroxyzine, and others (someone here recently mentioned buspar) ...

#2 fishinghat

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 10:28 AM

You are a 110% correct FN. The more often you use them the harder it is to get off them and the more 'damage' done to our brain.


#3 lady2882Nancy

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 03:52 PM

With all the information we have on Benzos I was quite shocked to see the posts on this site recommending them to deal with the anxiety from Cymbalta withdrawal.

Sure they help with anxiety but so does going on a low dose of another SSRI antidepressant with a long half life while discontinuing Cymbalta if started as soon as the anxiety rears its ugly head or if the withdrawal syndrome is bad.  

Having already gone the route of Benzos myself with the slow tapering off and then a year of feeling overheated once I was off them completely I would never suggest this to anyone.

Benzos are a last resort for extreme cases where the anxiety is out of control and nothing else will help.

I will add that Benzos can also cause depression which will lead you back to needing antidepressants if not careful


#4 brzghoff

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Posted 20 December 2014 - 04:15 PM

thank you thank you thank you. i certainly understand the value of a benzo for specific applications. such as making it through an event with a beginning and an end, like an airplane flight or getting an MRI. with the more generalized anxiety many of us struggle with from withdrawal we don't necessarily know when it will end. thats why i prefer using clonidine and would consider buspar or hydroxizine if necessary. i realize they don't provide 100% relief - but then thats where CBT comes in. when anxiety goes from 0-60 in a matter of seconds - its good to get it under some kind of control. for me, when anxiety is very bad and a benzo is so effective, well, it would be too tempting to just keep popping them. i know others have been successful without getting in trouble - but i don't trust myself. i keep thinking of the old rolling stones tune "Mother's Little Helper"

 

this is a link to where i posted an article a couple weeks back that is a scary but good read as well. i know a few read it, but its worth bringing to our attention again.

 

https://www.cymbalta...ut-distressing/





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