The Low-Down on Benzodiazepines

Anxiety disorders like social phobia and panic disorder can be treated with a number of medications. One such class of these medications is benzodiazepines, known as benzos for shorts. It is important, whatever your medical condition, to understand how your medications work. This will help you stay in control of your treatment and your life. Therefore, if you have anxiety disorders, you should understand how benzos work so that you can make the best medical choices for yourself.

Benzos are considered very mild tranquilizers. Qualities of benzos that you’ll hear used to describe these drugs include hypnotic, sedative, anxiolytic, muscle relaxant, and amnesic. They work, in short, by slowing down your central nervous system. You can use benzos for a number of medical conditions, not just anxiety, which include things like incomnia, seizures, muscle spasms, and alcohol withdrawal. Dentists also sometimes use benzos in their work. Those who abuse stimulant drugs, such as speed, sometimes also abuse benzos to come down from the high. Common drugs classified as benzos are Xanax, Valium, Serax, Rohypnol, Halcion, Librium, Mogadone, and Ativan, among others.

There are a number of side effects to consider if you are thinking about using benzos to treat your anxiety disorder. First and foremost, some benzos are extremely addictive. While some report no addictive feelings, others report complete addiction in as little as a few days. It depends on the strength of the drug you are using and your body’s specific reaction to it. Other side effects are drowsiness, ataxia, confusing, imbalance, impaired judgment, and forgetfulness. Some benzos are stronger than others and all have drug-specific side effects to consider as well. Once you are dependant or addicted to benzos, withdrawal can be difficult as will include symptoms like insomnia, panic attacks, hypertension, tremor, depression, sweating, loss of appetite, and dysphoria. Sudden withdrawal may cause immediate convulsions, catatonia, delusions, psychosis, and delirium tremens. The ultimate result could be death.

Only anxiety disorder patients to prescriptions and strict instructions from their doctors should take benzos. Uncontrolled, the use of these drugs (like with most prescriptions drugs) can be very harmful to your health. Benzos may be able to help you regain control during a panic attack or in your day-to-day life. Many anxiety disorder patients have, in fact, found great success with this kind of medication. However, there are disadvantages to benzos as well. Make sure that you fully understand how to use benzos and how they will affect your body before beginning to take them.