It's about time! Link
For help on getting off Benzos, check out Dr. Ashton's site and manual.
Showing posts with label benzodiazepines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label benzodiazepines. Show all posts
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Dr. Ashton's Benzodiazepines Co-operation Not Confrontation (BCNC) Group
http://www.bcnc.org.uk/
"Do You Have a Problem with Benzodiazepines or Z drugs?
Do You Need Help and Support?
The group is known as: Benzodiazepines Co-operation Not Confrontation (BCNC). It is primarily aimed at prescription supplied benzodiazepines, although help will be given wherever it is needed...
We need people to join us in helping to run this group which will be a local branch of what will eventually be a nationwide group whose aim amongst others is to challenge current knowledge of benzodiazepine and Z drugs in the medical profession and to change it for the better. This will include reducing prescribing rates for benzodiazepines and Z drugs beyond 2 - 4 weeks to new patients and improved withdrawal guidance and knowledge for managing long term users of benzodiazepines or Z drugs.
The benzodiazepine problem is largely a medically induced one and if it is to ever change it will require the medical profession to change. This website it is hoped will provide knowledge for the long term users of benzodiazepine or Z drugs internationally, to recruit volunteers to take up the task of changing the medical professions views on benzodiazepines and Z drugs and as well as to serve as a platform to get our views across to the medical profession.
Long term use of benzodiazepines is associated with considerable numbers of both general and mental health problems Included amongst these are over sedation, which has contributing effects on Road Traffic Accidents, accidents in the home and also accidents at work, forgetfullness, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, emotional blunting, suicidal thoughts, and an extreme or irrational fear of open or public places (agorophobia).
These side effects as well as others are more pronounced in the elderly often causing mental confusion and dizziness which results in falls and fractures which often leads to hospitalisation.
There are over 1.2 million people dependent on this class of drug in the UK. Are you or any of your family affected by the dependency on long term prescription supplied benzodiazepines, which can be used by the medical profession for a variety of illnesses both of the physical and psychological nature?"
"Do You Have a Problem with Benzodiazepines or Z drugs?
Do You Need Help and Support?
The group is known as: Benzodiazepines Co-operation Not Confrontation (BCNC). It is primarily aimed at prescription supplied benzodiazepines, although help will be given wherever it is needed...
We need people to join us in helping to run this group which will be a local branch of what will eventually be a nationwide group whose aim amongst others is to challenge current knowledge of benzodiazepine and Z drugs in the medical profession and to change it for the better. This will include reducing prescribing rates for benzodiazepines and Z drugs beyond 2 - 4 weeks to new patients and improved withdrawal guidance and knowledge for managing long term users of benzodiazepines or Z drugs.
The benzodiazepine problem is largely a medically induced one and if it is to ever change it will require the medical profession to change. This website it is hoped will provide knowledge for the long term users of benzodiazepine or Z drugs internationally, to recruit volunteers to take up the task of changing the medical professions views on benzodiazepines and Z drugs and as well as to serve as a platform to get our views across to the medical profession.
Long term use of benzodiazepines is associated with considerable numbers of both general and mental health problems Included amongst these are over sedation, which has contributing effects on Road Traffic Accidents, accidents in the home and also accidents at work, forgetfullness, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, emotional blunting, suicidal thoughts, and an extreme or irrational fear of open or public places (agorophobia).
These side effects as well as others are more pronounced in the elderly often causing mental confusion and dizziness which results in falls and fractures which often leads to hospitalisation.
There are over 1.2 million people dependent on this class of drug in the UK. Are you or any of your family affected by the dependency on long term prescription supplied benzodiazepines, which can be used by the medical profession for a variety of illnesses both of the physical and psychological nature?"
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Treatment for Benzodiazepine Withdrawal by Charles Gant, N.M.D., Ph.D.
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/benzo.htm Link
Treatment for Benzodiazepine Withdrawal by Charles Gant, N.M.D., Ph.D.
(This protocol should not be used in place of a recommended treatment provided by your health care provider and should only be used with their approval. I have found this protocol to be useful for many of my patients but I cannot guarantee that it will be effective for everyone. Normally, I would recommend a full integrative medicine workup including amino acid plasma levels, RBC minerals, essential fatty acids and other diagnostic testing to determine precisely which of the interventions noted here are actually needed.)
Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs often used as tranquilizers. Full information on "benzo" problems is available at www.benzosupport.org
Here is my current and ever-changing protocol for benzodiazepine withdrawal.
1) GABA 500 to 2000 mg., two or three times a day (GABA, like tyrosine, may not cross the BBB unless the patient is very stressed and it appears that the studies that suggest that GABA does not cross were done on unstressed subjects.)
2) Theanine 200 to 600 mg., two or three time a day (Theanine competes with glutamate receptors to mitigate the neuroexcitatory effects. In another elegant balancing mechanism, the brain balances glutamate (excitatory) which is made into the generally inhibitory GABA (requires B6) The theanine in green tea may be one reason that the also present caffeine does not seem to stimulate tea drinkers as much.)
3) P5P (pyridoxal-5-phosphate) 50 mg. - One capsule two or three times a day (Some people don't phosphorylate B6 well). (Vitamin B5)
4) Glutamine powder - One level teaspoonful twice a day to three heaping teaspoonfuls a day, dissolved in water, one hour before meals, last dose at bedtime (Especially important for hypoglycemic patients, as glutamine deficiency is by far the main immediate cause of hypoglycemia and glutamine is the precursor for glutamate).
5) Magnesium taurate - 1000 mg. twice a day to 2000 mg. three time a day
6) Salt food lightly with NuSalt/NoSalt (potassium chloride)
7) 5HTP - 100 mg. twice a day to 200 mg. three times a day
8) Purified soy lecithin - 1000 mg. three times a day (B5 (pantethine (not pantothenic acid) needed to acetylate the choline to acetylcholine, generally relaxing and downregulating of catecholamines)
9) Pantethine 500 mg. - One twice a day
10) Optizinc - 20-30 mg. twice a day. (Lowers the commonly high copper, which inhibits 5HTP decarboxylase. Activates digestive enzymes to help with amino acid absorption.)
11) Lipoic acid - 300 mg. twice a day (oral chelation for neuroexcitatory heavy metals, especially mercury)
12) Mutivitamin/multimineral
13) Distilled fish oil (omega 3) 4000 mg a day and Borage oil (omega 6) 1000 mg. a day (Essential fatty acids ultimately increase the neuroplasticity of cell membranes, possibly assisting receptor activity).
14) Add herbal "sedatives" if necessary
http://www.understand-andcure-anxietyattacks-panicattacks-depression.com/5-htp-Melatonin.html Did you know that sleep deprivation is used as a torture technique? Sleeplessness can occur during meds withdrawal, and Melatonin and 5HTP can help - this article explains need-to-know biochemistry.
Treatment for Benzodiazepine Withdrawal by Charles Gant, N.M.D., Ph.D.
(This protocol should not be used in place of a recommended treatment provided by your health care provider and should only be used with their approval. I have found this protocol to be useful for many of my patients but I cannot guarantee that it will be effective for everyone. Normally, I would recommend a full integrative medicine workup including amino acid plasma levels, RBC minerals, essential fatty acids and other diagnostic testing to determine precisely which of the interventions noted here are actually needed.)
Benzodiazepines are a class of drugs often used as tranquilizers. Full information on "benzo" problems is available at www.benzosupport.org
Here is my current and ever-changing protocol for benzodiazepine withdrawal.
1) GABA 500 to 2000 mg., two or three times a day (GABA, like tyrosine, may not cross the BBB unless the patient is very stressed and it appears that the studies that suggest that GABA does not cross were done on unstressed subjects.)
2) Theanine 200 to 600 mg., two or three time a day (Theanine competes with glutamate receptors to mitigate the neuroexcitatory effects. In another elegant balancing mechanism, the brain balances glutamate (excitatory) which is made into the generally inhibitory GABA (requires B6) The theanine in green tea may be one reason that the also present caffeine does not seem to stimulate tea drinkers as much.)
3) P5P (pyridoxal-5-phosphate) 50 mg. - One capsule two or three times a day (Some people don't phosphorylate B6 well). (Vitamin B5)
4) Glutamine powder - One level teaspoonful twice a day to three heaping teaspoonfuls a day, dissolved in water, one hour before meals, last dose at bedtime (Especially important for hypoglycemic patients, as glutamine deficiency is by far the main immediate cause of hypoglycemia and glutamine is the precursor for glutamate).
5) Magnesium taurate - 1000 mg. twice a day to 2000 mg. three time a day
6) Salt food lightly with NuSalt/NoSalt (potassium chloride)
7) 5HTP - 100 mg. twice a day to 200 mg. three times a day
8) Purified soy lecithin - 1000 mg. three times a day (B5 (pantethine (not pantothenic acid) needed to acetylate the choline to acetylcholine, generally relaxing and downregulating of catecholamines)
9) Pantethine 500 mg. - One twice a day
10) Optizinc - 20-30 mg. twice a day. (Lowers the commonly high copper, which inhibits 5HTP decarboxylase. Activates digestive enzymes to help with amino acid absorption.)
11) Lipoic acid - 300 mg. twice a day (oral chelation for neuroexcitatory heavy metals, especially mercury)
12) Mutivitamin/multimineral
13) Distilled fish oil (omega 3) 4000 mg a day and Borage oil (omega 6) 1000 mg. a day (Essential fatty acids ultimately increase the neuroplasticity of cell membranes, possibly assisting receptor activity).
14) Add herbal "sedatives" if necessary
http://www.understand-andcure-anxietyattacks-panicattacks-depression.com/5-htp-Melatonin.html Did you know that sleep deprivation is used as a torture technique? Sleeplessness can occur during meds withdrawal, and Melatonin and 5HTP can help - this article explains need-to-know biochemistry.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
UK: Action on an epidemic of pill addiction
Action on Britain's epidemic of pill addiction
Peer to use House of Lords speech to reveal relative's addiction to prescription drug
The Independent
UPDATE - JAMA: Antidepressant meta-analysis reveals 22 years of deception; treatment worthless for most
"The full magnitude of severe harm produced by these drugs in otherwise healthy people for whom antidepressants were misprescribed has not yet been fully collated--the human casualties include thousands of drug-induced suicides, mania, drug-exacerbated depression, drug dependence, birth defects..."
Link
It is possible withdraw from medication without doing harm to yourself.
See
The Ashton Manual - Dr. Heather Ashton re Benzos/Tranquillizers
Halting SSRI's - Dr. David Healey - PDF re Antidepressants
Icarus Project Harm reduction guide to coming off psychiatric drugs
Peer to use House of Lords speech to reveal relative's addiction to prescription drug
By Jeremy Laurance, Health editor
Saturday, 31 October 2009
As early as 30 years ago, the addictive properties of tranquillisers such as Valium were known, but critics maintain the Government is still not doing enough to help
The Department of Health has launched a review of the million-plus patients addicted to prescribed drugs in the UK in a tacit admission that attempts to control the problem over the last two decades have failed.
An estimated 1.5 million people are addicted to prescription and over-the-counter drugs including benzodiazepine tranquillisers, sleeping pills such as zoplicone - implicated in the death of Hollywood star Heath Ledger - and painkillers containing codeine.
The review, which began in July, was disclosed in a Westminster hall debate last June but has not been formally announced. It followed a report by the House of Commons all-party group on drugs misuse which called for better training for doctors in the risks of over-prescribing, greater awareness of the scale of addiction and more centres for treatment....
snip
Case study: 'My life has been shattered'
Matthew (not his real name), was prescribed Efexor, an antidepressant, and Clonazepam, a benzodiazepine, to help him sleep following the failure of a business venture in 2001.
He was living abroad but returned to Britain where the prescription was continued. “For seven years I was fine. I didn’t really think about the pills, I took them as vitamins. It was something I did at the end of the day.”
Earlier this year increasing fatigue prompted him to try and withdraw from them. His doctor advised a “cold turkey” approach involving a few days in hospital, after which he would be drug free.
“I went in as a happy confident person and in two days I was a train wreck. I felt I had woken up in a horror film, I couldn’t walk or think and I had lost my memory. It was indescribable torture.”
Nine months on, he is still trying to put his life back together. Married with two children, he has been unable to return to work.
“I am still terrified of going outside, I can’t think straight or concentrate and I have very bad depression. Every single stimulus seems scary and heightened. It is absolutely extraordinary a prescription drug can do this to you. My life has been shattered.”
“There is nowhere for me to go for support except to other sufferers on the internet and one or two people who have set up support groups round the country.”
“I have seen several doctors since and they cannot believe my doctor kept me on these drugs for seven years. I have lodged a formal complaint about him.”
The Independent
UPDATE - JAMA: Antidepressant meta-analysis reveals 22 years of deception; treatment worthless for most
"The full magnitude of severe harm produced by these drugs in otherwise healthy people for whom antidepressants were misprescribed has not yet been fully collated--the human casualties include thousands of drug-induced suicides, mania, drug-exacerbated depression, drug dependence, birth defects..."
Link
It is possible withdraw from medication without doing harm to yourself.
See
The Ashton Manual - Dr. Heather Ashton re Benzos/Tranquillizers
Halting SSRI's - Dr. David Healey - PDF re Antidepressants
Icarus Project Harm reduction guide to coming off psychiatric drugs
Monday, September 7, 2009
Times UK: The growth of prescription drug addiction
Image: Mick Jagger, singer of "Mother's Little Helper", in pills
"The revelation about the mass of prescription drugs that were pumped around Michael Jackson’s body by his enabling doctor reminded me of a brief flirtation with the world of tranquillisers when I was living in New York. It was soon after 9/11, and having witnessed the terrorist attacks, I was jittery about a flight to LA. A friend suggested Xanax, one of the family of so-called benzodiazepine drugs that includes Valium, so off I went to my dishy doctor. Xanax was duly prescribed with a bedside manner (“Any questions or concerns?”). I discovered that the relaxing haze it induced was rather essential on all flights, anxiety or no anxiety. Fortunately, I was on a repeat prescription. No questions asked. As long as I had the $80 or thereabouts (insurance paid some, but by no means all, of the bill), the pills were mine.
Back in the UK, it was a different story. Contemplating the jet lag of an upcoming trip to Malaysia, I went to my GP to get sleeping pills. Once I’d convinced him I wasn’t an addict (he barely looked up from his pad during this “conversation”), I left with a prescription for four pills. Four! I felt as I imagine my toddler feels when I won’t allow her a second helping of ice cream."
Article here
For information on safe withdrawal from benzodiazepines, antidepressants and other psychoactive prescription drugs, look at
Dr. Ashton's Benzo Manual http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/
Dr. Healy's SSRI information - PDF
and other links in our right-hand column.
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