# Are doctors moving away from prescribing benzodiazepines? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 20, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586 "2017-03-20T03:00:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/41 "2017-06-22T01:08:53Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Interesting. Benzos are basically the replacement for barbiturates, they’re kind of a relic of a certain decade just like quaaludes. Yep but they are still around and legitimately prescribed. The reason I know this is because I’ve been prescribed Fioricet (for headaches) in the past, which is a barbiturate with acetaminophen and caffeine. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/42 "2017-06-22T02:24:21Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > It’s one of the most effective drugs ever. It solves the problem so well, and makes one competent and able. But that alone is cause for a pause. Because it does this by changing your nervous system. People end up with more anxiety than they originally had, and they don’t know if thy’ll ever heal. I was presecribed Xanax when I had some out-of-the-blue anxiety issues about 15 years ago (started off with a random fainting spell on a tram that suddenly flipped something in my brain that made going out very difficult–although I forced myself to do so.) Xanax worked so damn well. One pill and the anxiety melted away, but it also left me in this weird state of being sedate but buzzed at the same time; maybe something like having the caffeine jitters but the mellowing effects of alcohol at the same time. Plus it slowed down my brain too much for my liking. I took it for a month and then just trashed the rest of the prescription, as the fear of dependency scared the shit out of me. But that shit worked real good, minus the points above. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/43 "2017-06-22T02:32:55Z")
One big strike against benzos for me is the next day grogginess. It’s intense. I’ve had great success using a benzo to get to sleep. However, the whole point of getting sleep seems to be undermined by the level of next day grogginess. What’s the point? I’d feel better if I just stayed up all night. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/44 "2017-06-22T03:27:45Z")
That’s odd. I take Ativan as needed, usually for sleep, sometimes during the day, and the whole thing runs its course in about 30 minutes. I’ve never had a hangover of any sort, and often wish the effects lasted. But it is great for acute anxiety. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/45 "2017-06-22T03:37:30Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > That’s odd. I take Ativan as needed, usually for sleep, sometimes during the day, and the whole thing runs its course in about 30 minutes. I’ve never had a hangover of any sort, and often wish the effects lasted. But it is great for acute anxiety. Yeah my reaction to benzos might be affected by the other prescriptions I take. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/46 "2017-06-22T03:47:12Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Yeah my reaction to benzos might be affected by the other prescriptions I take. Just personal variation, I think. I was on no other medications when I took my Xanax, and I had a similar hangover-like effect for hours after taking it. To continue my coffee analogy, a bit like the crash after a caffeine high. But everyone’s different. I didn’t take it in the evening, as I had no anxiety issues then, so I can’t speak to next-day effects, but taking it in the morning it did somehow slow me down for the rest of the day. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/47 "2017-06-22T16:21:54Z")
Some benzos are faster and some slower. Related with half-life. And obviously the dosage is a factor. And this can be adjusted, but it’s better not to even try. Librium, the original, is very slow. Valium is pretty slow. Xanax is like lightning. Temazepam is the fastest I know. That being said, if it makes you hung over leave it behind and never look back. You are lucky. Some people can stop without trouble but a significant percentage of the population will go through hell, and the research is not conclusive about whether or not it might be a forever thing(!?) . Check out Benzo UK on the web. This is a big deal there. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/48 "2017-06-22T16:45:55Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > That’s odd. I take Ativan as needed, usually for sleep, sometimes during the day, and the whole thing runs its course in about 30 minutes. I’ve never had a hangover of any sort, and often wish the effects lasted. But it is great for acute anxiety. Heh. The NYT acrostic had a clue the other week: “Pharmaceutical answer to angst” and the solution was Ativan. It seemed to make light of what it’s really used for – serious stuff. I took it when I had panic attacks so bad I thought I wouldn’t make it, and I had to get some rest to be able to work through them. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/49 "2017-06-22T18:24:32Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Some people can stop without trouble but a significant percentage of the population will go through hell, and the research is not conclusive about whether or not it might be a forever thing(!?) . Check out Benzo UK on the web. This is a big deal there. [Welcome to benzo.org.uk : Main Page](http://www.benzo.org.uk/index.htm) may be the site you are referring to – although a google search for benzo-related sites turns up beaucoup blogs, message boards, how-to-quit sites, etc. Be sure to read the Ashton Manual linked there – written by a (now-retired) neurology professor who ran a benzo rehab clinic for a dozen years. Discusses, in a mostly non-technical way, benzo addiction, withdrawal issues, and recovery strategies. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586/50 "2017-06-22T20:53:20Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > [Welcome to benzo.org.uk : Main Page](http://www.benzo.org.uk/index.htm) may be the site you are referring to – although a google search for benzo-related sites turns up beaucoup blogs, message boards, how-to-quit sites, etc. > > Be sure to read the Ashton Manual linked there – written by a (now-retired) neurology professor who ran a benzo rehab clinic for a dozen years. Discusses, in a mostly non-technical way, benzo addiction, withdrawal issues, and recovery strategies. I don’t do HTTPs. But it is the first site on my google search with a main page and sub pages. Ashtons charts are being modified by many real life taperers as time goes by. They are even a little too aggressive for some people. You will notice that in the manual there is no actual double blind research as to how long one may be disabled, or if it ever ends. Here is a page for World Benzo Awareness day which is coming right up! July 11 2017. Save the date. > **[World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day is on 11th July -](https://cepuk.org/2017/06/11/world-benzodiazepine-awareness-day-11th-july/)** > > On 11th July 2017 World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day (W-BAD) celebrates its second year and the launch of its official website which can be found at http://w-bad.org. W-BAD is a grassroots victim-organized and led campaign that seeks to raise... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-moving-away-from-prescribing-benzodiazepines/782586.md?page=2)