Mark Leeds, D.O. is an osteopathic physician and deprescribing specialist in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He helps patients come off benzodiazepines and sleeping pills with a slow, patient-directed taper guided by the Ashton Manual and the Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines. Physical dependence is not addiction, and a careful taper is measured in months, not days.
How does a short-term benzodiazepine prescription become years on several medications? It happens one refill at a time, and then one added prescription at a…
Protracted withdrawal is what happens when the symptoms outlast the drug. Most people who stop a benzodiazepine feel the worst of it in the first…
Key Takeaways Burning, tingling, numbness, electric jolts, and deep aching in the limbs are documented benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms, listed in Chapter III of the Ashton…
What is akathisia, and can benzodiazepine withdrawal cause it? Akathisia is a state of inner restlessness with a compelling urge to move. The word comes…
Is vertigo a recognized symptom of benzodiazepine withdrawal? Yes. Dizziness, light-headedness, and poor balance sit together on one line of Table 1 in Chapter III…
Burning skin is a sensory symptom of withdrawal, and it is real. Burning skin is a sensory symptom of benzodiazepine withdrawal. Patients describe skin that…
Are allergy-like symptoms really part of benzodiazepine withdrawal? Is the itching real? Are the rashes, the flushing, and the new reactions to familiar foods really…
Are panic attacks a normal part of benzodiazepine withdrawal? Yes. A panic attack is a sudden surge of fear that peaks within minutes, with a…
Is this dysautonomia, or is it benzodiazepine withdrawal? Dysautonomia is a general term for an autonomic nervous system that is not regulating the body’s automatic…
If you are having thoughts of suicide right now, get help before you read on. If you are thinking about killing yourself, or you are…
What is interdose withdrawal? Interdose withdrawal is benzodiazepine withdrawal that arrives between doses, while the medication is still being taken every day and on time.…
The last dose is not the finish line. What happens after the last benzodiazepine dose? For many patients, more than anyone warned them about. The…
