Although the duration of the noticeable effects of Xanax can be as short as a few hours, the drug can remain in the body for some time and influence body functions. These more subtle influences become apparent when a patient attempts to withdraw from taking Xanax. All benzodiazepines enhance the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which slows or ceases neuron firing, or will actually replace GABA at the neuro receptors. GABA is the body’s own natural tranquilizer and, when enhanced by Xanax, acts to reduce alertness, memory, muscle tone and co-ordination, anxiety, heart rate and blood pressure.

When too much Xanax is taken, however, the body becomes over-sedated and drowsiness and poor concentration can result. Too much of the drug can also impair memory and can actually increase anxiety, insomnia and irritability. Long-term users of Xanax often develop depression, most likely due to a decrease in the amount of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain.

Like all benzodiazepines, tolerance develops with prolonged use – the original dose has less of an effect and a higher dose is required. Withdrawal symptoms can occur even if the patient continues to take the drug. Long-term use may actually exacerbate anxiety disorders, resulting in panic attacks or agoraphobia, due to the development of tolerance to the anti-anxiety effects of the drug.

A patient who is addicted to Xanax cannot stop cold turkey. Rather, he must be gradually weaned off the drug. Unfortunately, primary care physicians are typically not properly trained in addiction medicine; they often add to the problem by prescribing Xanax for anxiety without understanding how addictive it can be.

Because each person will experience different, and potentially life-threatening, withdrawal symptoms, withdrawal from Xanax should be supervised by a trained addiction specialist. Once a person has acknowledged the need for Xanax detox, he must then decide what level of help he needs in order to be successful. The addiction specialist plays an important role in helping to identify the pros and cons of different treatment options. Although many Xanax users will benefit from a residential drug rehab program, not all users will have the time or resources necessary to embark on such a journey. However, other options do exist such as short-term detox in a detox facility or adherence to a Xanax detox tapering plan drafted by an addiction specialist. In addition to Xanax detox, a course of behavioral therapy may help deal with the underlying issues that initially caused the patient’s anxiety.

If detox will not occur in a supervised setting, the most successful self-detox tapering plans involve asking a trusted friend or family member to maintain control of the medication in order to avoid increasing the dosage again if uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms do occur. However, this unsupervised tapering method has many risks and a very low chance of success due to the intense nature of cravings and the many ways an addict can obtain the drug regardless of how well friends and family can monitor them.

No matter what type of Xanax detox is chosen, the first step is taking an honest inventory of both the amount of Xanax and the rate at which it is being consumed. From this inventory, a schedule of slow dosage tapering must be created, as abrupt withdrawal can lead to convulsions, psychosis, and severe anxiety. The withdrawal could take several months in order to gradually reduce the amount of Xanax in the blood and tissues, allowing the brain to return to its pre-Xanax state. Since Xanax has actually taken the place of GABA to some extent, these receptors must be allowed to regenerate as GABA inactivity can lead to severe withdrawal symptoms. Just how long it will take to withdraw from Xanax depends on dosage, length of use, personality, lifestyle and the body’s rate of healing. Many long-term users can take over a year to successfully stop using Xanax, although initial detox can happen much more quickly.

Withdrawal from Xanax can cause serious injury or death if not done correctly and a consultation with a trained addiction specialist is absolutely essential at the outset of detox. Tapering by very small amounts over a prolonged period of time tends to have the most long-lasting results as patients are less likely to experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that often result in abandonment of the detox and reverting back to larger doses. Only a trained professional can determine the appropriate amount of tapering for a particular patient.

Many addiction specialists recommend switching to a long-acting benzodiazepine (such as Valium) during Xanax withdrawal. This allows the body to experience a smooth and gradual reduction of benzodiazepine in the blood, reducing the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms. The switch to a longer-acting benzo happens in concert with the Xanax tapering schedule so that when Xanax levels decrease Valium levels increase. Once the patient has withdrawn from Xanax, a tapering schedule must be created to help the patient withdraw from the Valium. Again, only an addiction professional familiar with the relative potencies of these drugs is qualified to develop the dosage and tapering schedules.

Xanax Detox: Can I Do It Myself? is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

Keith Andrew, 74, has been taking benodiazepines for the last 45 years. “My wife Joan says these drugs turned me into a zombie, but the truth is I wouldn’t know, as I have hardly any memory of the past 40 odd years,” says Keith, a retired electrical engineer. He was first prescribed Valium in 1965.

“We’d bought a new house to renovate and it had a big garden. I became stressed about finding the time to do the work on it as well as my full-time job. It was a change in me, as I wasn’t the anxious type,” says Keith. ‘The tablets calmed me down at first, but within a few months I began to feel nothing at all—they dulled all my emotions and I withdrew into a shell. I lost interest in all my hobbies like watching rugby and gardening.”

Keith says he also felt unable to express any feeling towards his two children, David and Catherine. “Joan did everything for them, I just went to work and fell asleep in a chair when I came home. I then started to have regular panic attacks and insomnia, too, and didn’t want to socialize. My weight also dropped dramatically within a year, from more than 11st to just 7st 10lbs at my lowest. I was in a terrible state.

“What I didn’t realize was that it was the pills I’d been prescribed for anxiety that were actually making me ill. My GP put me on repeat prescriptions and didn’t mention its side effects. I never connected my symptoms with the pills and thought it was just down to my anxiety and breakdown, so I never thought to mention it to him,” Keith continues.

The withdrawal effects of these drugs are severe, but in the UK there is little help available to those who are trying to stop using—unlike the help that is available for people addicted to drugs like heroin and cocaine.

MPs are now so concerned about the lack of help available to these patients they have complained to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. This is on the basis that they have been discriminated against by not having access to specialist rehabilitation help which users of hard illegal drugs have.

“These people are not drug abusers but victims,” says Jim Dobbin, MP for Rochdale, and chairman of the All Party Group on Involuntary Tranquilliser Addiction. “Many suffer from side effects, and don’t know where to go for help. The Department of Health provides no funding for involuntary tranquilizer addiction, with the exception of a handful of cases. We want the Government to recognize the problem and to help people come off these tablets by providing prescription drug withdrawal clinics in every area.”
Benzodiazepines are a group of drugs which include diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), oxazepam (Serax) and lorazepam (Ativan) and chlordiazepoxidex (Librium).
Many have a strong sedative effect, helping to ease the insomnia that often accompanies anxiety, producing drowsiness and slowing down mental activity. They are designed to provide short-term relief, and cannot tackle the underlying causes of anxiety.

In 1988, the UK’s Committee for Safety of Medicines issued guidance to GPs advising that benzodiazepines should be prescribed for no more than two to four weeks, because of the high risk of addiction. This was confirmed by research published last month by the Universities of Zurich and Geneva which found that anxiety drugs such as Valium and Xanax use the same potentially addictive pathways in the brain as illegal drugs such as heroin.

Although UK benzodiazepine prescriptions have fallen since their peak of 31 million a year in 1979, there were still 10.7 million prescriptions for the drugs written in 2008.

“There is still work to be done in getting the message across to GPs that benzodiazepines are not the most appropriate treatment for anxiety and sleep problems in many cases,” admits Dr. David Baldwin, chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrist’s psychopharmacology group.

‘There are better alternatives for treating anxiety such as psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy. Undoubtedly, some GPs prescribe benzodiazepines too readily and inappropriate prescribing does happen.”

Five months after Keith was first prescribed the drugs, he felt well enough to return to work. His GP said he could have Valium on repeat prescription, says his wife Joan. “No one mentioned anything about it being addictive—but I suppose they didn’t know back then,” she says. “His character changed, putting a big strain on our relationship, and I admit there were times when I wondered if I should leave. Somehow though, I knew the old Keith was still in there somewhere and I didn’t want to desert him.”

In 1979, Joan persuaded her husband to switch GPs, as she hoped a new doctor would help him wean off the tablets. “Although the practice were sympathetic, they referred him to a psychiatric clinic who switched him to another benzodiazepine called Xanax,” she says. “If anything the side effects—anxiety, restlessness, agitation, and agoraphobia— were even worse, and an hour after taking his pills he was pacing the room waiting for his next dose. We had no idea though, at the time, that his new drugs could be causing these symptoms.”

It wasn’t until his symptoms lead to a breakdown in 2007 that Keith was finally told the drugs were the cause of his problems. Even then help came not from medical staff but a support worker from the Oldham Drug and Alcohol Service.

Joan says: “She was the first person to mention that the drugs that might be causing his problem—it was also the first time anyone offered him help to come off his prescription in 42 years.”

The first step was to change from Xanax back to diazepam (or Valium), which is easier to withdraw from because it is metabolized slower than Xanax, allowing a smooth, gradual fall in drug concentration levels in the blood.

It has taken three years for Keith to gradually reduce his daily dosage from 30mg to 5.5mg. “The withdrawal symptoms—including headaches, agonizing stomach pains, problems with swallowing and anxiety have been horrendous.”

Support is often provided by charities. The group that helped Keith, Oldham Drug and Alcohol Service, was founded by Barry Haslam, an accountant who suffered long-term brain damage due to benzodiazepine addiction. Barry was prescribed Ativan, Librium, and Valium for ten years, after suffering anxiety trying to juggle two jobs alongside accountancy exams. He claims they wiped his memory and left him with brain shrinkage, which was visible on a scan.

“GPs are good at putting people on these drugs but not so good at taking them off,’ says GP Dr. Arun Ghosh, who last year helped set up a private prescription drug withdrawal clinic (the first of its kind) at Abbey Sefton Hospital, Liverpool.

“The biggest users of benzodiazepines are the elderly. As a GP, I feel frustrated there is so little assistance for the profession-to help patients quit these drugs,” he says. “Every city needs one of these clinics—we are getting some referrals from PCTs but it’s a bit hit and miss. The trouble is, the cost of the drugs is cheap and the cost of getting patients off them at a clinic like ours is high, at around £10,000 per patient for four weeks. There just isn’t the financial incentive for them to refer to us.”

Royal College of General Practitioner’s chairman Professor Steve Field says although benzodiazepine dependence is still a problem, the number of prescriptions has dropped dramatically.

“This is a problem we’ve known about for a long time and the teaching at medical schools to trainee GPs covers the problems of drug dependency. GPs are increasingly prescribing alternatives for anxiety such as talking therapies, yoga and relaxation techniques. The problem is not as bad as it was, but there are still too many benzodiazepine prescriptions issued—it’s still not good enough.”

Joan Andrew feels relieved that her husband is nearly off benzodiazepines. “I never thought I’d hear Keith laugh again, but he’s got his sense of humor back and he’s interested in sports again. It’s lovely for our children; they never really knew the real Keith. It’s not a fairytale ending yet, though—he feels he still has a long way to go.
I’m angry no doctor or psychiatrist ever suggested Keith should stop taking benzodiazepines. GPs should be more careful about how long they prescribe these drugs.”

Benzodiazepines and the Elderly in the UK is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

The findings, published in the journal Nature, will hopefully pave the way for the development of new treatments that can alleviate symptoms without resulting in dependency.

Scientists know that drugs like opium, heroin, and cannabinoids are addictive because they trigger a neural circuit that causes a surge in levels of a brain chemical called dopamine. The molecular path the drugs take to unleash this chemical is well understood.
Benzodiazepines such as Valium, Xanax, Librium, Ambien and other well-known drugs also stimulate the dopamine system, but scientists are just now discovering how they accomplish this.

The team of researchers led by Christian Luscher at the University of Geneva claim to have figured how such drugs work after a series of experiments performed on mice.
They found that benzodiazepines turn on an intermediary neurotransmitter called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA, and increase dopamine levels, leading to the strong craving associated with addiction.

The uncovered pathway does not have an impact on the therapeutic effects of benzodiazepines. Therefore, it should be possible to make new drugs that offer the same benefits without getting the user hooked, said the researchers.

Arthur Riegel and Peter Kalivas of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston referred to the work as “a landmark for the field.”

"These authors are the first to identify a molecular mechanism contributing to benzodiazepine abuse," the authors wrote.

Scientists Discover Cause of Addiction to Some Prescription Drugs is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment

To identify Ativan, look for a five-sided, white tablet with a raised “A” on one side. The drug is available in three different strengths and is only legally available by prescription. Those seeking the drug illegally can find it on the Internet, but these alternatives are likely to contain dangerous ingredients.

The potential for misuse of Ativan is high and can cause psychological and physical addiction. The drug creates a feeling of well-being, activating an intense reward system in the brain. Abuse occurs in either recreational use when the drug is used to achieve a high or where it is used long term against medical advice. It is believed that those with addictive personalities are more likely to become addicted to this type of medication.

The drug has also been known to be used by criminals deliberately seeking to raise their sense of inhibition before committing a crime and as a date rape drug when mixed with alcohol. According to a U.S. government study of pharmaceutical-related emergency room visits, Ativan and other benzodiazepines are the most commonly used pharmaceutical drugs in attempted suicides.

An Ativan user who is actually abusing or overdosing on the drug can exhibit symptoms that can vary according to amount of use, but generally include:

• Central nervous system depression
• Drowsiness
• Coma
• Mental confusion
• Paradoxical reactions
• Dysarthia
• Lethargy
• Ataxia
• Hyptonia
• Hypotension
• Cardiovascular depression
• Respiratory depression
• Hypnotic state

In the worse case scenario, abusers can overdose on Ativan to the extent that it causes death. If the drug is combined with alcohol, it can cause fatal respiratory depression. Taken together with alcohol can also cause synergistic enhancement of the effects such as reduced inhibitions, and it can create memory loss.

Ativan users that have come to abuse the drug will experience severe withdrawal symptoms if the drug is stopped abruptly. Behavioral therapies are often used to treat Ativan addiction and can include counseling, psychotherapy, support groups, or family therapy. Experts recommend that for long-term success, medical treatment should be combined with concurrent behavioral therapies and social services.

Ativan & Lorazepam Addiction is a post from: Drug Addiction Treatment