It is extremely dangerous to mix benzodiazepines with other depressant/downer drugs like alcohol, gabapentin and opioids (such as heroin, buprenorphine and methadone). All of these drugs can depress breathing resulting in a serious risk of death if mixed.
Misusing benzodiazepines can be dangerous because it can lead to an overdose, which can stop your breathing. They can interact dangerously with alcohol and certain drugs. Benzodiazepines can interact with drugs like opioid pain medications (such as oxycodone or hydrocodone) or with alcohol.
Because of their muscle relaxant action, benzodiazepines may cause respiratory depression in susceptible individuals. For that reason, they are contraindicated in people with myasthenia gravis, sleep apnea, bronchitis, and COPD.
Using benzodiazepines, even as prescribed, can lead to physical dependence and withdrawal if you stop taking the drug suddenly. Withdrawal can be life threatening. Taking this drug can also lead to misuse and addiction. Misuse of [drug name] increases your risk of overdose and death.
feeling dulled and slow. feeling isolated and unreal. feeling cut off from your emotions. feeling irritable and impatient.
Like opioids, benzodiazepine use causes tolerance, dependence, and, in some, addiction, and may result in considerable discomfort during withdrawal. Indeed, long-term benzodiazepine use can contribute to depression and increased anxiety, similar to the phenomenon of opioid-induced hyperalgesia.
Avoid breastfeeding while taking benzos as they can make the baby too drowsy and interfere with effective feeding. Avoid abrupt discontinuation. If benzos are used habitually for an extended period of time, the patient should speak to their MD about tapering off the medication.
Though benzos are good at relieving anxiety, they can cause side effects like drowsiness or thinking problems. They may also increase the risk for car accidents, falls, and hip fractures. All benzodiazepines come with the risk of misuse and addiction.
Benzodiazepines work by enhancing a very important neurotransmitter called GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) at the GABA A receptor. This results in the sedative, hypnotic (sleep-inducing), anxiolytic (anti-anxiety), anticonvulsant, and muscle relaxant properties for which the drugs are prescribed.
Pharmacology. Benzodiazepines are a group of CNS depressants which induce feelings of calm (anxiolysis), drowsiness and sleep. They act by facilitating the binding of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA at various GABA receptors throughout the CNS.
Caffeine may antagonize the effects of benzodiazepine and even relatively small amounts can aggravate symptoms associated with anxiety disorders.
Confounding the issue of adding benzodiazepines to antidepressants is the belief that benzodiazepines can exacerbate or cause depression. It is well established that in some individuals, benzodiazepines can have a paradoxical effect, i.e., causing irritability or agitation (generally referred to as “disinhibition”).
These are assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
Indications for benzodiazepines include acute stress reactions, episodic anxiety, fluctuations in generalised anxiety, and as initial treatment for severe panic and agoraphobia.
It has been previously demonstrated that benzodiazepines can help reduce acute elevation of blood pressure in hypertensive patients.
Mental and physical health. The long-term use of benzodiazepines may have a similar effect on the brain as alcohol, and is also implicated in depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mania, psychosis, sleep disorders, sexual dysfunction, delirium, and neurocognitive disorders.
The most common symptoms of overdose include central nervous system (CNS) depression, impaired balance, ataxia, and slurred speech.
For its high-potency and long-lasting effects, the most potent benzodiazepine is Clonazepam, also known as Klonopin. Other high-potency but short-acting benzos are alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), and triazolam (Halcion).
Benzodiazepines can impair cognition, mobility, and driving skills in older people, as well as increase the risk of falls.
Diazepam (Valium)
It has 100% oral bioavailability and doses range from 2–10 mg for adults. The long elimination half-life of diazepam (20–80 hours) is due to a number of active metabolites (desmethyldiazepam and oxazepam) which may contribute to the daytime drowsiness and “hangover” some may experience.
There is evidence use of these drugs stops the normal adjustment response that would gradually lessen anxiety over time, and may increase anxiety in the long term, especially if used repeatedly. Diazepam and similar controlled drugs are illegal in a number of countriesi.