Erowid Benzodiazepine Vault : Bits & Pieces

Benzodiazepine

Bits & Pieces

by Erowid

The "Bits & Pieces" section is intended for random snippets of information which don't fit
easily elsewhere and/or which have been newly added, but not yet carefully categorized.

Regular use Leads to Tolerance and Increased Dosages
Benzodiazepines are well known for causing rapid tolerance to their effects. Using benzodiazepines daily or even several times per week can cause users to require substantially increased amounts to achieve their desired effects.

Withdrawal Risks: Anxiety, Insomnia, Seizures, Death
Regular use of benzodiazepines leads to phyiscal addiction (strong withdrawal effects upon cessation of use). Stopping or reducing dosages can lead to mild to severe anxiety, including panic attacks, insomnia, and extreme dysphoria (very bad mood).

Stopping chronic use of benzodiazepines without tapering dosages down can lead to very dangerous physical complications. Case reports include seizures, psychotic behaviour, and even death:
- Haque W, Watson DJ, Bryant SG. "Death following suspected alprazolam withdrawal seizures: a case report". Tex Med. 1990 Jan;86(1):44-7.
- DuPont RL, Swinson RP, Ballenger JC, Burrows GD, Noyes R, Rubin RT, Rifkin A, Pecknold JC. Discontinuation of alprazolam after long-term treatment of panic-related disorders. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 1992 Oct;12(5):352-4.
- Freeman S. The realities of clonazepam discontinuation. Psychiatr Serv. 1997 Jul;48(7):881-2.
- Mena Martin FJ, Duenas Laita A, Perez Castrillon JL, Martin Escudero JC. [Seizures as late manifestation of alprazolam withdrawal syndrome] (Spanish language). Med Clin (Barc). 2002 Dec 7;119(20):797-8.
- Search PubMed for Benzodiazepine Withdrawal > > >
Memory Problems : Anterograde Amnesia #
Benzodiazepines are well known for causing memory encoding problems, so that from the time the effects begin until the substance is substantially metabolized and out of the blood stream, memories may be lost (new ones not encoded). Higher doses, mixing with alcohol or other sedatives, certain benzodiazepines, and individual sensitivies all set how strong the amnesia is.

There has been some work to try to reduce the amnesic effects of benzodiazepines and a variety of different chemicals have been tried to block this effect. Some success has been noted with:
- Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) : There is some preliminary evidence that high doses of Vitamin C may reduce or block benzodiazepine amnesia.
  - Parle M, Dhingra D. Ascorbic Acid : a promising memory-enhancer in mice. J PHarmacol Sci. 2003 Oct; 93(2):129-135. [PubMed Abstract]
- Piracetam : Piracetam at high doses has been shown to reduce amnesic effects in several drugs, including benzodiazepines.
  - Pan JC, Zhang SS. [Antagonism of piracetam on the amnestic effect of diazepam in mice]. Yao Xue Xue Bao. 1996;31(2):91-4. [PubMed Abstract]
  - Lenegre A, Chermat R, Avril I, Steru L, Porsolt RD. Specificity of piracetam's anti-amnesic activity in three models of amnesia in the mouse. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1988 Mar;29(3):625-9. [ PubMed Abstract ]
- Vinpocetine : Some evidence that vinpocetine may reduce amnesic effects of benzodiazepines.
  - Bhatti JZ, Hindmarch I. Vinpocetine effects on cognitive impairments produced by flunitrazepam. Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 1987 Oct;2(4):325-31. [ PubMed Abstract ]
  - Storm G, Oosterhuis B, Sollie FA, Visscher HW, Sommer W, Beitinger H, Jonkman JH. Lack of pharmacokinetic interaction between vinpocetine and oxazepam. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1994 Aug;38(2):143-6. [ PubMed Abstract ] (note this did not show memory improvements)