What you should know about benzos before you take them

Within 10 minutes of disclosing his sleepless nights to his household doctor, Georges Marcoux had a small achromatic pill successful his hand.

His doc successful Shediac, N.B., prescribed him a sleeping pill, Oxazepam, which gave him alleviation for a fewer weeks.

"I got the prescription, and that's it. Nobody was asking questions. I was not asking questions."

But 35 years later, Marcoux realized helium had been taking the aforesaid pill to assistance him slumber each night.

After seeing a communicative successful the insubstantial astir a survey correlating long-term benzodiazepine usage to hazard of cognitive impairment, helium knew it was clip to quit. 

These pills, portion of a people of drugs called benzodiazepines, person been astir since 1955. Their usage and misuse are portrayed successful songs, movies and astir precocious successful the TV bid White Lotus and The Pitt.  

A 2024 survey published successful the diary Sleep Medicine, surveyed astir 4000 Canadians, and 15 per cent of each respondents said they had utilized a slumber medication.

The survey besides recovered that 1 successful 4 respondents 65 and older, and astir 1 successful 10 betwixt 36 to 49, utilized a prescribed slumber medicine successful the preceding 12 months.

According to a survey published successful the Canadian Journal of Public Health successful 2023, a scope of studies peg the prevalence of benzodiazepine usage betwixt 5 and 10 per cent of the populations successful Canada and the United States betwixt 1996 and 2019.

But determination are superior risks that travel with taking benzodiazepines, and aesculapian experts accidental the cause is being over-prescribed.

Dr. Paxton Bach, a specializer successful addictions medicine astatine Vancouver's St. Paul's Hospital, told Dr. Brian Goldman, big of CBC podcast The Dose, that erstwhile a dependency to the cause is formed, it takes a batch of effort to quit. 

What are benzodiazepines?

Benzodiazepines are medicine medications chiefly utilized for short-term attraction of circumstantial aesculapian conditions specified arsenic acute anxiety, panic attacks oregon terrible situational stress. 

Doctors whitethorn prescribe them to halt oregon forestall seizures, supply impermanent alleviation for slumber disorders, arsenic a musculus relaxer oregon to assistance negociate alcohol-withdrawal symptoms. 

Taking benzodiazepines comes with risks, said Bach, who is besides a objective adjunct prof astatine the University of British Columbia. 

"It's important to recognize that these medications are intended for precise little usage — typically lone a fewer days to a week — due to the fact that they tin rapidly pb to carnal dependence."

What are the risks of taking benzodiazepines?

Within days to weeks of regular use, patients tin make a habit, said Bach. 

"Withdrawal symptoms scope from accrued anxiousness and restlessness to perchance life-threatening complications, similar seizures oregon coma."

He said broadside effects to taking the cause see sedation, decreased cognitive function, impaired reflexes, and accrued autumn risk. 

"Long-term usage tin pb to tolerance, requiring higher doses to execute the aforesaid effect, and tin beryllium much challenging to discontinue than adjacent opioid medications."

When combined with different substances, specified arsenic opioids oregon alcohol, Bach said, benzodiazepines dramatically summation overdose risk. 

WATCH | Warnings astir the overprescription of Benzodiazepines:

Why are physicians disquieted astir benzodiazepines?

Dr. Camille Gagnon, adjunct manager astatine the Canadian Medication Appropriateness and Deprescribing Network, said there's a superior occupation with benzodiazepines being implicit prescribed. 

While benzos tin beryllium utile to patients with the qualifying symptoms, Gagnon said physicians should "also admit that these are not the champion attack for patients, particularly not agelong term."

Gagnon recommends different alternatives to insomnia treatment, specified arsenic intelligence therapy, but said determination are barriers to accessing those options, specified arsenic high-costs and deficiency of publicly-funded psychotherapists. 

She said entree to medication, whether it's from a pharmacist oregon unprescribed, is often the much accessible option. 

Bach said he's noticed immoderate of his patients had been prescribed benzodiazepines without due connection of the risks. He said that is simply a cardinal origin physicians should instrumentality into relationship to forestall dependency. 

"I anticipation that patients who've been connected 1 of these medications agelong word person been communicating with their prescriber astir the risks and benefits," said Bach.

"There are surely times erstwhile longer-term usage of benzodiazepines whitethorn beryllium needed, but successful general, these are medications that are chiefly intended for precise short-term use," helium said.

Twelve radical who spoke to Radio-Canada's Enquête said they were prescribed the drugs by a doctor, but astir said they were not warned astir broadside effects, including life-altering withdrawal symptoms.

How bash I discontinue taking benzodiazepines?

Quitting benzodiazepines abruptly tin beryllium highly risky, said Bach.

It tin origin superior withdrawal symptoms, which tin scope from mild symptoms similar anxiety, insomnia, and restlessness, to terrible complications including seizures, delirium, coma, oregon adjacent death.

"If you deliberation of benzodiazepines arsenic benignant of a broad oregon a interruption connected the encephalon activity, and that's withdrawn precise suddenly, you tin ideate things benignant of footwear into overdrive."

Bach said quitting tin instrumentality from months to years, but helium believes anyone tin marque a program with their doc to halt utilizing these medications.

"In my experience, anyone and everyone tin taper disconnected these medications eventually. It's conscionable astir making definite we instrumentality the clip and supply that level of engagement to bash truthful successful a cautious and thoughtful way, specified that we minimize that hazard and maximize the accidental of success."

It's not casual to quit, said Gagnon, but it's surely imaginable with assistance from a primary-care provider.

"The extremity is to marque it collaborative. It's wholly modifiable. It's thing that evolves with the person, and it tin beryllium done for sure."

Marcoux has been disconnected of benzodiazepines for 2 years now, but helium says it wasn't easy.

"I was a small spot frightened and I had withdrawal symptoms … but I americium overmuch happier without it."

He made a program with his household doc to trim the dosage of his benzodiazepine each 3 months.

"I questioned my prime to halt often erstwhile I was trying to chopped it off, but I knew I had to try," said Marcoux. 

He said helium created a idiosyncratic extremity to effort and wean disconnected his medicine wrong a year, and stuck to it.

"Now I'm turning 80 and I whistle successful the greeting and I consciousness better. It's thing that I person ne'er felt before."