Benzodiazepines Research Paper

Thomas rose
HSSA 101 winter 2010
L romwall Term paper Benzodiazepines Benzodiazepines are by far the most widely used sedative-hypnotic in the united states.(uppers downers all arounders) this class of drugs was developed in the 1950s as an alternative to barbiturates. Because they have a fairly large margin of safety, many healthcare professionals initially overlooked their peculiarities: the length of time they last in the body tissues, their ability to induce tissue dependence at low levels of use, and the severity of withdrawal from the drug. For these reasons almost all recommendations for use today emphasize that they should be used short term and for specific conditions, not as long term medications. The most widely used benzodiazepines
Methamphetamine and cocaine abusers often take them to come down from excess stimulation. This combination is connected with spasms of the coronary arteries that can damage the heart (starcevic& sicaja,2007). Heroin addicts frequently take them when they cant get their drug of choice, and alcoholics use them or are prescribed them to prevent convulsions and other life threatening withdrawal symptoms. For example, depending on the study, 20% to 40% of alcoholics and 25% to 50% of heroin or methadone maintained addicts abused benzodiazepines(miller & gold, 1990). Here is a quote from a 48 year old female abuser of benzodiazepines. “if I threw down 10 valium, I really didn’t feel that much. It wasn’t like taking Nembutal or other barbiturates where you get a real rush. I would have to take an awful lot to feel anything. It relieved certain anxieties; it alleviated depression. You tell the doctor, I am anxious or depressed. Okay, take some valium.”(uppers downers all
Age dependent reverse tolerance also occurs with these drugs, however, meaning that a younger person can tolerate higher doses of benzodiazepines than can someone older. The effect of a dose on a 50 year old first time user can be two to four times stronger than the same dose on a twenty year old. Many diagnoses of dementia are actually due to overuse of benzodiazepines and other drug interactions. Here is another quote from a user. “ I was unhappy and wanted the easy way out. I will go back to the same psychiatrist and get a prescription of xanax. It starts out 25mg, and I ended up doing between 800 to 1000mg a day.” Physical addiction can develop if the patient takes 10 to 20 times the normal dose daily for a couple of months or longer or takes a normal dose for a year or more. Because many benzodiazepines are deactivated over a period of several days, even low dose use can lead to tissue dependence and addiction when these drugs are taken daily over a number of years. In addition, the pleasant mental effects and reinforcing aspects of the drugs can result in psychological