Benzodiazepine Use Might Result In Long-Term Neurological Dysfunction

Doctors commonly prescribe benzodiazepines for treating anxiety disorders and insomnia. The efficacy of benzodiazepines has been well-documented. Some of the them have even become household names: Xanax (alprazolam), Ativan (lorazepam), Klonopin (clonazepam), and Valium (diazepam). In the last year, over 30 million Americans had reportedly used benzodiazepines. But after people who were prescribed benzodiazepines discontinued taking them, a recent study found that they can cause withdrawal symptoms for several months on end or even for longer than a year.

Recently published in the journal PLOS One, a team of researchers documented that the most common withdrawal symptoms are low energy, distractedness, memory loss, nervousness, and anxiety. And this is because using and then discontinuing a benzodiazepine might be linked to nervous system injury.

“Benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND) has been proposed as a term to describe symptoms and associated adverse life consequences that may emerge during benzodiazepine use, tapering, and continue after benzodiazepine discontinuation. Not all people who take benzodiazepines will develop benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction and risk factors for BIND remain to be elucidated,” the researchers concluded in their study.

To assess how discontinuing these medicines might affect patients, the team conducted an online survey that included 1,207 benzodiazepine users who belonged to support groups and health sites. Some participants were reportedly taking their full doses of benzodiazepines s prescribed to them (136) . While 294 of them were in the processing of tapering off the medicines, the other 763 had fully discontinued using them. Most of them (43.7%) were prescribed benzos for anxiety. The second most common reason was insomnia (40.3%) followed by panic attacks (39.9%).

A little more than 88% of them still experienced anxiety, fear or nervousness, and almost 87% complained of sleep disturbances. Eight six percent had low energy levels, and 85.3% faced difficulties concentrating on tasks or experience distractedness. The most concerning finding was that 54.4% had suicidal thoughts or attempted suicide. Around 76.6% of them answered “yes” to the survey questions on withdrawal symptoms and reported they experienced them for several months and for an entire year or longer.

“Patients have been reporting long-term effects from benzodiazepines for over 60 years. I am one of those patients. Even though I took my medication as prescribed, I still experience symptoms on a daily basis at four years off benzodiazepines. Our survey and the new term BIND give a voice to the patient experience and point to the need for further investigations,” said co-author of the study, Christy Huff, M.D, in a press release, who is a cardiologist and also director of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition.

“Practical, evidence-based, safe and effective approaches are urgently needed for benzodiazepine de-prescribing and managing the enduring neurological sequelae of benzodiazepine use. The name BIND is an important first step in this direction. Thus, BIND describes a constellation of functionally limiting neurologic symptoms (both physical and psychological) that are the consequences of neuroadaptation and/or neurotoxicty resulting from benzodiazepine exposure,” the researchers added in the study.

They further highlighted that benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND) can have disastrous life consequences: from being fired to suffering financial losses due to decreased productivity. Unfortunately, people suffering from BIND are left without support because most doctors/medical professionals still do not recognize it as a debilitating condition. “The mechanisms underlying these prolonged effects have not been elucidated but are likely different from the mechanisms of acute withdrawal, which are well understood,” the researchers wrote.