Long-term consequences of benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction: A survey, 2023, Martin et al

Long-term consequences of benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction: A survey
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0285584


Background
Acute benzodiazepine withdrawal has been described, but literature regarding the benzodiazepine-induced neurological injury that may result in enduring symptoms and life consequences is scant.

Objective
We conducted an internet survey of current and former benzodiazepine users and asked about their symptoms and adverse life events attributed to benzodiazepine use.

Methods
This is a secondary analysis of the largest survey ever conducted with 1,207 benzodiazepine users from benzodiazepine support groups and health/wellness sites who completed the survey. Respondents included those still taking benzodiazepines (n = 136), tapering (n = 294), or fully discontinued (n = 763).

Results
The survey asked about 23 specific symptoms and more than half of the respondents who experienced low energy, distractedness, memory loss, nervousness, anxiety, and other symptoms stated that these symptoms lasted a year or longer. These symptoms were often reported as de novo and distinct from the symptoms for which the benzodiazepines were originally prescribed. A subset of respondents stated that symptoms persisted even after benzodiazepines had been discontinued for a year or more. Adverse life consequences were reported by many respondents as well.

Limitations
This was a self-selected internet survey with no control group. No independent psychiatric diagnoses could be made in participants.

Conclusions
Many prolonged symptoms subsequent to benzodiazepine use and discontinuation (benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction) have been shown in a large survey of benzodiazepine users. Benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND) has been proposed as a term to describe symptoms and associated adverse life consequences that may emerge during benzodiazepine use, tapering, and continue after benzodiazepine discontinuation. Not all people who take benzodiazepines will develop BIND and risk factors for BIND remain to be elucidated. Further pathogenic and clinical study of BIND is needed.

 

Similar to antidepressants, discontinuation problems caused by benzos have long been reported and dismissed by medicine. There are very few studies of this, despite huge numbers of reports. There is a clear and blatant bias towards not finding uncomfortable truths, just as significant and corrupt as what we see in any other industry.

Acute benzodiazepine withdrawal and its effective treatment are well known and have been described in the literature [1–4]. However, symptoms that persisted for months or even years after complete benzodiazepine discontinuation were observed decades ago [5, 6]. Prior to our survey, the largest study of this phenomenon, in which 50 subjects were examined, was carried out in 1987 and noted that symptoms in some patients persisted for months to years.
...
This analysis presents survey evidence that enduring symptoms along with adverse life consequences emerged de novo with benzodiazepine use. Although protracted symptoms following discontinuation of benzodiazepine use have been reported previously [9, 13, 14], it has generally been tacitly assumed that these symptoms were withdrawal phenomena that would resolve with time. ​

Honestly this pattern of dismissing reports for decades, assuming a preferred version of facts, will probably require significant legal trials and major investigations eventually. It is as egregious as the behavior of the tobacco industry and other industries responsible for serious health and environmental harm that they knew about and covered up.

This is a cover-up, there is no way to describe it any differently. If the truth were any good, there would be no hesitation to study this, especially with prescriptions in the tens of millions, but like almost all pollutants that ended up causing massive harm, everything is assumed to be safe until proven otherwise, no matter how many reports to the contrary there are.

 

A close friend took benzos for several years prescribed by a well-known CFS doctor. He used the titration approach and was very fortunate that he was able to stop after only 3 months. But for some it's a continuing nightmare and pretty much impossible.