Benzos Linked to Dementia And Death

Wow, the results of this study are quite disturbing. Seems the higher dosages taken and longer someone is on these drugs, the greater chance of death and Alzheimer disease.

I am not familiar with these. I wonder if they contain fluoride compounds since there have been similar issues with fluoride and Alzheimer disease?

disinfo.com...

In a recent study, benzodiazepines (Valium, Ativan, Klonopin and Xanax) have been linked to an increase in Alzheimer’s.

A recent study found that taking benzodiazepines for three to six months increased the Alzheimer’s risk by 32%.

Taking the drug for more than six months increased the risk by 84%.

www.spring.org.uk...

Revealed: Long-Suspected Danger of Anti-Anxiety and Sleeping Drugs

Massive study of 100,000 people finds evidence for long-suspected danger of anxiety and sleeping drugs.

Like many drugs, those prescribed for anxiety disorders, like diazepam and temazepam, have a number of known side-effects like daytime sleepiness, falls, an increased risk of dementia — and they are also addictive.

It found that taking anti-anxiety drugs (like diazepam) or sleeping pills (like zolpidem/Ambien) doubled the risk of death.

This just reminds me of those commercials that show all these happy people enjoying their lives after getting the meds to help whatever condition.

That was the first 15 seconds of the commercial.

Then the next 45 seconds show happy old and young people still enjoying their lives all the while some soft spoken fast talker iterates all the possible side effects, including death.


Its rediculous anymore.

originally posted by: smirkley
This just reminds me of those commercials that show all these happy people enjoying their lives after getting the meds to help whatever condition.

That was the first 15 seconds of the commercial.

Then the next 45 seconds show happy old and young people still enjoying their lives all the while some soft spoken fast talker iterates all the possible side effects, including death.


Its rediculous anymore.

The side effects talker sounds like an auctioneer. Some of those meds make it sound like you'd live longer without them.

a reply to: infolurker

This is beginning to be a common occurrence surrounding prescription drugs. After several years on the market, the public guinea pigs find out the drugs they've been taking are linked to devastating illnesses.

a reply to: infolurker

We knew these things couldn't be good long term - sure, they help relieve one of their anxiety, help with sleep, relaxation, etc. but at what cost?

I used to be prescribed lorazepam (a benzo), and they really do make you feel super relaxed and somewhat drowsy - I think back to that old famous saying "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction", well, alzheimers and dementia may be what's on the other side of the equation...

Yeah, they're not the safest of all drugs.

Highly addictive, some have long half life, terrible side effects when with drawing...

I know people who take these as a heroin substitute and I often, often think they'd be better off on the smack.

originally posted by: infolurker
Wow, the results of this study are quite disturbing. Seems the higher dosages taken and longer someone is on these drugs, the greater chance of death and Alzheimer disease.

I am not familiar with these. I wonder if they contain fluoride compounds since there have been similar issues with fluoride and Alzheimer disease?

disinfo.com...

In a recent study, benzodiazepines (Valium, Ativan, Klonopin and Xanax) have been linked to an increase in Alzheimer’s.

A recent study found that taking benzodiazepines for three to six months increased the Alzheimer’s risk by 32%.

Taking the drug for more than six months increased the risk by 84%.

www.spring.org.uk...

Revealed: Long-Suspected Danger of Anti-Anxiety and Sleeping Drugs

Massive study of 100,000 people finds evidence for long-suspected danger of anxiety and sleeping drugs.

Like many drugs, those prescribed for anxiety disorders, like diazepam and temazepam, have a number of known side-effects like daytime sleepiness, falls, an increased risk of dementia — and they are also addictive.

It found that taking anti-anxiety drugs (like diazepam) or sleeping pills (like zolpidem/Ambien) doubled the risk of death.

These are incredibly eye awakening statistics my friend..thank you for bringing this to our attention

I would tend to agree with most benzos. I was prescribed several during my bad years. Valium was the most mellow, though. I'm getting back on it when I can because it was the only (legal in my state) substance that calmed me down to the point I no longer clenched my jaws to the point I broke molars. I'm high strung...anxiety disorder I guess the "pros" would say.

I was also diagnosed with several forms of depression at the time. Life is better now. I only get depressed due to my anxieties that keep me from being all I could be.

I will risk pooping my pants and forgetting what decade it is in thirty years if it means a quality life for those thirty years if I can have Valium back.
Xanax and other benzos I will never take again. Yeah, it can lead to bad things and the zombie like state it puts me in, calms me surely, but is so...off.

a reply to: tony9802

Looks like alternative medicine sounded the alarm a few years ago

articles.mercola.com...

My Mother was a meds nurse and ate Benzo's like candy.

She died from Alzheimer...

They make me weird. Great information.

#, I used to be heavily addicted to benzos (think chugging back an entire months supply in 1 night). I got clean, Just hope I'm not screwed..

a reply to: FamCore

sure, they help relieve one of their anxiety, help with sleep, relaxation, etc. but at what cost?

That's up to the individual, I'd say, whether the cost is worth it or not. As owlbear has illustrated, sometimes its a matter of risk vs reward. It is unfortunate, however .. and I've got my own anecdotal evidence; an aunt that has been prescribed benzos for some time is now showing signs of Alzheimer's. Would she have used them for so long if she had known the correlation shown in OP's links associated with the meds and the disease, I don't know.

For me, I'm not particularly surprised that these drugs have severe detrimental effects but the time frames involved - A mere six months+ of use appears to up the risk by 84%? Wow.

a reply to: the owlbear

Just an FYI, you should get checked for a hyper adrenal problem.

It is more common than you think, can easily be controlled with beta blockers to block adrenaline and other hormone rushes.

Doctors just throw anti anxiety medicine at people without even trying to find out if there is a true physical cause of the problem.

originally posted by: infolurker
a reply to: the owlbear

Just an FYI, you should get checked for a hyper adrenal problem.

It is more common than you think, can easily be controlled with beta blockers to block adrenaline and other hormone rushes.

Doctors just throw anti anxiety medicine at people without even trying to find out if there is a true physical cause of the problem.

Funny you should mention that...

Most of my family has "hair triggers" when it comes to confrontation. I had to learn how to control the extra adrenal rush I guess I feel more than most people.

I will look into it. I thank you wholeheartedly. It sucks having your adrenaline trip at nothing. I've learned to control that aspect of my anxiety. But there is more, but I'm not a pro...when I get the money, I'll take all of this information to a pro and see if I agree.

Looks like there will be a huge market taking care of folks over 40 coming soon!

Doubt this news will slow down the usage.

originally posted by: Lysergic
Looks like there will be a huge market taking care of folks over 40 coming soon!

Doubt this news will slow down the usage.

According to this article in Feb 2015, in 2008 5.4% of USA population used Benzos:

In 2008, approximately 5.2% of US adults aged 18 to 80 years used benzodiazepines. The percentage who used benzodiazepines increased with age from 2.6% (18-35 years) to 5.4% (36-50 years) to 7.4% (51-64 years) to 8.7% (65-80 years). Benzodiazepine use was nearly twice as prevalent in women as men. The proportion of benzodiazepine use that was long term increased with age from 14.7% (18-35 years) to 31.4% (65-80 years), while the proportion that received a benzodiazepine prescription from a psychiatrist decreased with age from 15.0% (18-35 years) to 5.7% (65-80 years). In all age groups, roughly one-quarter of individuals receiving benzodiazepine involved long-acting benzodiazepine use.
archpsyc.jamanetwork.com...

So what is that, 18-20 some million people? And I'm sure since then the figure has only grown since the system is inductive to chemical dependency. This is not just scary, it's horrific. As a young adult, I was prescribed Xanax for anxiety which the psychiatrist was only too happy to continue refilling. After three weeks of intermittent use, I knew it wasn't for me. Even though the dosage was minimal, I felt it put me in an almost catatonic state of being whenever I took it. I quit taking it but didn't tell the doc. When I went back to him for a "session", he asked me how I was doing, did I have any questions.....all the while writing out my new prescription and then pretty much dismissed our meeting. I'm sure he was billing my insurance for a few hundred dollars for my 5 minute meeting. I didn't fill the meds and I never went back.

I had severe problems with anxiety for a couple of years and never did understand why, but with time and an attitude adjustment towards them, they decreased in occurrence, duration and intensity. I now might get a mild one every 5 or so years. I just weather through the best I can, try to get more rest and take a time out of ALL social demands and anything causing stress in my life. It seems to work for me anyway.

What I'm seeing here and from all the info I've read, we as a people suffer from anxiety. We need to learn how to deal with it in a non-chemical form if at all possible.

If the stats are true then why would a doctor give script for such over extended periods of time. What diagnosis would require extended use of such?