Benzodiazepine Tapering off

A Secret Weapon for Stopping Benzodiazepines Safely

Benzodiazepines are some of the more commonly prescribed medications in the world. Lorazepam (Ativan), diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax) are examples of medications classified as benzodiazepines. Z-drugs are similar in their pharmacology—they also bind to and activate the brain’s benzodiazepine receptors±and include zolpidem (Ambien) and eszopiclone (Lunesta).

Although benzodiazepines and Z-drugs are useful therapeutic agents, often prescribed for sleep disorders, muscle spasms, anxiety, and seizure, they are ideally used only on a short-term basis because they are notoriously habit-forming. Unfortunately, many people end up on them long-term—up to 15 percent of people, studies say.

After as little as two weeks after someone starts using them daily, tolerance and potential for withdrawal set in. With tolerance, the medication‘s therapeutic effect weakens, and people need to take higher and higher doses to achieve relief. If people stop these medications suddenly, withdrawal can occur, and symptoms include anxiety, panic, and insomnia.

In severe cases, benzodiazepine and Z-drug withdrawal can be life-threatening, causing seizures and hallucinations. It’s no wonder that many people who make an attempt to stop quickly give up the fight, resigning themselves to being on them long-term.

About Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs: The Good and the Bad
These medications work by activating benzodiazepine receptors in the brain. If they are used for brief time periods, they can be very helpful for the problems they are designed to treat, like insomnia or panic. However, they can also come with a whole host of problems. Common side effects include slurred speech, memory loss, confusion, sleepiness, and increased fall risk. Car accidents from slowed reaction time or over-sedation can occur. If people become tolerant, and as the dose is increased to get more therapeutic benefit, the side effects get worse, too. Some people even start to crave these medications and use more than prescribed or develop an addiction to them. In the elderly, these medications can be downright dangerous. Several major psychiatric and medical organizations have put out society guidelines advising against their use in older adults, because they increase the risk of hip fracture, worsen the risk of dementia, and increase confusion, to name a few. In people with co-occurring substance use disorders, they are also very risky. Benzodiazepines and Z-drugs interact with opioids and other sedating drugs, and their combination perpetuates overdose and death. There are many reasons long-term benzodiazepine or Z-drug users are counseled to stop. Because of the risk of side effects in aging brains, anyone over 65 should do what they can to stop these medications. If people develop an addiction to alcohol, illicit drugs, or the benzodiazepine itself, they may also be instructed to taper off, even if they've been on them long-term and still suffer from the condition that prompted them to start the treatment. But here's the rub—by nature of the fact that they cause tolerance, withdrawal, and addiction, stopping is often much easier said than done. Success rates of getting off are low: less than a sixth of people were able to stop in patients getting usual care in a UK study, where people were simply given instructions by their primary care doctor on how to slowly taper off.
Study Findings
Clearly, we need to know more about how to make the stopping process, also called "deprescribing," easier. Slowing the rate of the off-taper, with dose reductions as slow as 10 to 25 percent of the dose every two to three weeks; medication-based support by prescribing alternate medications; and psychological support, such as cognitive-behavioral or supportive therapy, are all being explored. A new study wanted to find out whether supportive therapies, on the whole, would improve the success rates of stopping long-standing (more than four weeks), daily benzodiazepine or Z-drug use—something that hadn’t yet been measured. To do so, researchers pooled results from several published clinical trials and performed a metanalysis. What they found was that adding supportive therapy to a slow taper (in this study, 10 to 50 percent dose reduction at a time over four to 12 weeks) doubled people’s chance of stopping by four weeks (risk ratio of 2) and tripled their chances at longer than four weeks (risk ratio 3). Three-quarters of the group getting support were able to stop at four weeks, and almost half of the sample was still off the medications at long-term follow-up. Surprisingly, medication-based support—with melatonin, paroxetine, and/or switching to a different benzodiazepine—was helpful in the short-term for getting people off, but did not have a significant effect at long-term follow-up compared to standard care.
What Psychological Support Looks Like
So what was the nature of the psychological support? Several of the studies utilized cognitive-behavioral therapy-based interventions (Gosselin 2006, Voshaar 2003, Baillargeon 2003), whereas two others used a more simple intervention involving education, reassurance, and an individualized taper plan administered by trained providers plus (Vincens 2006) or minus (Vincens 2014) bi-weekly followup. In summary: The support techniques were straightforward. One weakness of the study was that most of the patients included did not have other mental health comorbidities like dementia, severe psychiatric disorder, or substance use disorder, nor did most patients use other psychoactive medications. People with mental health problems may end up needing more intensive treatment, but as of now their rates of successful stopping with or without psychological support are not known.
Takeaways
For those of us working in the mental health field, it may not be surprising to hear that psychological support makes a big difference. However, studies like these are important as they establish that what we do works. People wanting or needing to stop benzodiazepines can do it with appropriate help—and it may just take a handful of visits with a trained primary care provider or mental health provider. As a culture, we need to be careful to minimize our use and prescription of benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, using them only when absolutely necessary. Doing so will save lives, reduce morbidity, and lessen costs to healthcare systems.

Schedule Your Appointment Today

We are always here to serve you.

Schedule Appointment

Services That We Offer

We are dedicated to providing compassionate, personalized, and high-quality mental health care. Our expert team ensures tailored treatment plans to support your well-being and help you achieve a healthier, balanced life.

FAQs

An anxiety disorder is a mental health condition characterized by excessive fear, worry, or nervousness that interferes with daily activities. It goes beyond temporary stress and can significantly affect quality of life.

Common types include:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Panic Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder
Specific Phobias
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Agoraphobia

Symptoms can vary but often include:

Restlessness or feeling on edge
Rapid heartbeat or chest tightness
Trouble sleeping or concentrating
Muscle tension
Irritability
Panic attacks in some cases

Anxiety can be caused by a combination of factors, including:

Genetics
Brain chemistry
Stress or trauma
Personality traits
Underlying medical conditions or substance use

Diagnosis is made through a mental health evaluation, including discussions about symptoms, medical history, and sometimes standardized questionnaires.

Treatments may include:

Therapy (especially Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - CBT)
Medications (such as SSRIs, SNRIs, or benzodiazepines in certain cases)
Lifestyle changes (exercise, diet, sleep hygiene, stress management)
Mindfulness and relaxation techniques

Feel the difference

Book Now