What is Benzodiazepine Use Disorder?

This involves the problematic use of sedative medications often prescribed for anxiety or sleep, such as Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, or Ativan. Tolerance builds quickly, leading patients to need higher doses to feel the same effect, eventually resulting in physical dependence.

The Cost of Untreated BZP Use Disorder

• Cognitive Decline: memory loss, confusion, and slowed reaction times (increasing risk of falls or accidents).

• Overdose Risk: Extremely dangerous when combined with alcohol or opioids, leading to respiratory failure.

• Rebound Anxiety: The medication eventually causes the very anxiety it was meant to treat, leading to worsened anxiety between doses, especially when trying to cut down or stop use.

Our Medical Approach: The Slow Taper

Warning: Never stop benzodiazepines "cold turkey." Doing so can cause life-threatening seizures.

• Deprescribing (Tapering): We adhere to the Ashton Manual protocols. We switch you to a longer-acting medication, if necessary, and slowly reduce the dose over weeks or months.

• Comfort Meds: We may use non-addictive adjunctive medications to help manage anxiety and sleep as you reduce your dose.

We also address other mental and physical health conditions to improve your success in care and overall wellbeing. Commonly, this may include depression, anxiety, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, infections, or sleep disturbances.

Expectations & Outcomes

• Patience is Key: This is often a slower process than recovering from other substances. We adjust the pace based on your comfort and safety.

• Outcome: The goal is to free you from benzodiazepine dependence while developing a sustainable plan for anxiety management and sleep.