While the US and the world is convulsed by COVID-19, a dramatic admission has been made by the US Food and Drugs Administration about dangerous benzodiazepine drugs, acknowledging patients have suffered severe withdrawal side effects that have “lasted from weeks to years.”
Their study reports that patients can be made “physically dependent” after taking benzodiazepines for as little as “several days.”
They have also said stopping benzodiazepines abruptly or reducing the dosage too quickly can cause severe withdrawal reactions “including seizures which can be life threatening.” Their study reports that patients can be made “physically dependent” after taking benzodiazepines for as little as “several days.”
Patients Campaign for Change
The FDA has not produced a report on the hundreds of thousands of complaints that have been made to them about benzodiazepines, but just 104 “focused case series,” in the FDA’s own Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) to which citizens can make a complaint about prescribed drugs. Benzodiazepine Information Coalition (BIC) almost certainly had an input to this FDA awakened awareness of the dangers of BZs through its campaign since 2017 to get those injured by the drugs to report their cases to the FDA’s MedWatch, with guidance on their site to demonstrate how to make a complaint, and assurance of its confidentiality.
This campaign in the US was also recommended to patient support groups around the world. This apparent success in the US informing realism within the FDA about how huge numbers of patients taking benzodiazepines as prescribed have had their lives destroyed, will make an international follow-up with patients informing their governments and their health agencies directly about this medical disaster more urgent and important.
The FDA’s hard-hitting statement says: “Physical dependence can occur when benzodiazepines are taken steadily for several days to weeks, even as prescribed. Stopping them abruptly or reducing the dosage too quickly can result in withdrawal reactions, including seizures, which can be life-threatening.”
The statement continues: “The current prescribing information for benzodiazepines does not provide adequate warnings about these serious risks and harms associated with these medicines so they may be prescribed and used inappropriately.”
The current prescribing information for benzodiazepines does not provide adequate warnings about these serious risks and harms associated with these medicines so they may be prescribed and used inappropriately.
This is an historic and welcome U-turn by the FDA. Up till now they had been rejecting these injuries and dangers. It more resembles the golden age of the FDA when they refused to license Thalidomide in the sixties and saved the US from the terrible widespread birth deformities caused the drug. Benzodiazepines arrived in the late 1950s. The FDA are going to require a new box warning of the dangers on the drugs.
The FDA was first formally asked a decade ago to accept these real dangers of the drugs in a US Citizens’ Petition in 2010 signed by thousands of those injured by prescribed benzodiazepines, as well as concerned professionals, led by the late Professor Heather Ashton, a renowned world expert who died last year.
The Petition called for a black box warning – there was none – on the packaging of benzodiazepines. But that, and the suggested changes in the information leaflet, were ruled out in a breathtakingly complete denial and refusal of the entire Citizens’ Petition in 2015. Then, in 2017 the FDA rowed back, but very narrowly, conceding a request from just two doctors for a box warning – but only saying not to take benzodiazepines with opioids.
The Reports
It’s worth putting in context the FDA use of 104 FAERS cases to decide their new approach to benzodiazepines. Up to 2018 there had been 300,000 cases of reported complaints to FAERS about benzodiazepines and the so-called Z drugs (mainly sleeping pills, not strictly classified as benzodiazepines, but which have the same actions). That number of complaints outstripped opioids until that year.
Up to 2018 there had been 300,000 cases of reported complaints to FAERS about benzodiazepines and the so-called Z drugs. That number of complaints outstripped opioids until that year.
“Approximately 80% of the FAERS cases described benzodiazepine withdrawal, including CNS effects (e.g., insomnia, increased anxiety or panic attacks, memory impairment, depression), cardiovascular effects (e.g., heart rate or rhythm fluctuations), and gastrointestinal effects (e.g., abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea). These cases reported a wide range of time to dependence, with some describing the onset as early as days to weeks after the start of a benzodiazepine. Similarly, there were variations in the duration of the withdrawal symptoms that lasted from weeks to years,” the FDA says.
“While this is a small subset of FAERS cases received for benzodiazepines as a whole, we selected a focused case series to identify the most descriptive reports of dependence or withdrawal. Most patients reported that dependence and subsequent withdrawal symptoms developed even when the benzodiazepine (clonazepam, alprazolam, lorazepam, diazepam, triazolam, or oxazepam) was prescribed for therapeutic use.”
Most patients reported that side effect injuries happened when they were taking therapeutic doses of prescribed benzodiazepines, and they suffered “withdrawal symptoms that lasted from weeks to years.”
This is very clear. Most patients reported that side effect injuries happened when they were taking therapeutic doses of prescribed benzodiazepines, and they suffered “withdrawal symptoms that lasted from weeks to years.” The FDA acknowledges that some patients suffer injury indefinitely after stopping the use of these drugs. Unfortunately for an uncounted multitude made severely ill by these drugs, this protracted injury after ceasing benzodiazepines was publicly revealed in medical studies by two leading international experts on the drugs, Professors Heather Ashton and Malcolm Lader, during the 1980s. However, their research was ignored by governments, the industry and the medical profession. In fact, it was frequently dismissed by medics, who told patients it was “all in their heads,” or the emergence of pre-existing conditions, anything but admit it was the benzodiazepine.
Too Little, Too Late
In my documentary launched in 2016, The Benzodiazepine Medical Disaster long term injury and illness caused by the drugs was a major theme. Professors Ashton and Lader spoke in the documentary about their decades old discovery of long-term injury caused by these widely prescribed drugs, the risks of severe withdrawal illness and life-threatening seizures. Both described the prescription misuse of the drugs as a “medical disaster.” Thankfully the video stands as a record of their great work since both have died in the past year. It has been voluntarily translated and then subtitled in Japanese, French and Spanish and English at the request of many whose languages are not widely spoken.
The late Professor Lader said he had spent forty years trying to convince the medical profession that exactly this was happening – people were being injured on prescribed therapeutic doses of benzodiazepines, and additionally, they were not escalating the dosage.
It is also worth noting that, ironically, the danger of seizures from abruptly ceasing the drugs was first reported in the US in a 1961 study carried out by Dr. Leo Hollister on the first Roche benzodiazepine, Librium, even before Valium was launched.
The FDA laments the lack of epidemiological research on the drugs, launched in the late fifties and sixties, when proper testing did not exist. It begs the question as to why the FDA does not commission detailed research into the huge number of complaints that it has available to it; or why it does not specifically recommend to the health agencies in the US that such epidemiological, and indeed long-term injury research should be carried out?
In the documentary Professor Lader called on Roche, the drug company that discovered benzodiazepines and made a fortune with Valium from the 1960s onwards, to fund such research “from past profits.”
While it is progress for the FDA in recognition of the dangers, it is far too late and far too limited in listing the severe long lasting side effects that can injure patients, many of whom suffer multiple symptoms. It is also worth noting that, ironically, the danger of seizures from abruptly ceasing the drugs was first reported in the US in a 1961 study carried out by Dr. Leo Hollister on the first Roche benzodiazepine, Librium, even before Valium was launched. Hollister’s study of a group of patients taking and stopping Librium was ignored by governments and the industry. We have no knowledge of the number of patients who have died because of this as the deaths would never have been attributed to the drugs.
Bernie Silvernail, founder and director of the US Alliance for Benzodiazepine Best Practices, said that “more than 20 voluntary organizations with over a hundred thousand members worldwide have been dedicated for years to informing the world of the dangers of benzodiazepines. Some 30 years after Ashton and Lader warned us, it is good to see that the FDA has finally reviewed the data it collects and agrees with the need to change benzodiazepine prescriptive practice.”
There is still an issue of concern about the FDA statement, mixing misuse, abuse, and addiction with the distinctly separate and more insidious issue of continuing harm and injury that is caused through medical prescriptions to patients. The FDA conflation of these categories in relation to prescribed benzodiazepine drugs has done almost as much harm as the drugs themselves. Its approach is still flawed, acknowledging the therapeutic prescription dangers, but then turning immediately to words facilitating patient blaming. So, when a patient is prescribed the drug and takes it as prescribed, and is injured, the patient can be accused of misuse, abuse and addiction. That unfortunately is what has been happening for more than half a century.
Its approach is still flawed, acknowledging the therapeutic prescription dangers, but then turning immediately to words facilitating patient blaming. So, when a patient is prescribed the drug and takes it as prescribed, and is injured, the patient can be accused of misuse, abuse and addiction.
This has contributed to a reticence among patients to insist on attributing bizarre and extremely painful symptoms to the drugs. In my opinion it is worth investigating the occurrence of the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia alongside the prescription of benzodiazepines. The severe neurological pain caused by benzodiazepines is remarkably similar to that associated with Fibromyalgia. This investigation should be done, even if it is just to rule out a link with the mysterious condition, so long as the study is carried out honestly. Unfortunately, again, many studies of the drugs have often been motivated by career advancement, contain nothing of value, and frequently have been misleading or inaccurate. (See also Can Medicine be Cured by Professor Seamus O’ Mahony and the work of Robert Whitaker in the USA)
Campaigners are hopeful that the newly aware FDA realises that this complex situation requires an approach stressing the harms and injuries particularly the disabling long lasting side effects. That would have a hugely beneficial effect on the health of people worldwide prescribed benzodiazepines, making doctors and patients much more careful. If it had been done in the US decades ago many among the 300,000 FDA complainants could likely have avoided their suffering. I suggest these box warnings:
DO NOT TAKE FOR MORE THAN 2-4 WEEKS – RISK OF SERIOUS LONG-TERM DISABLING INJURY. IN WITHDRAWAL DO NOT STOP ABRUPTLY – RISK OF SEIZURE AND DEATH.
The use of such warnings in a black box worldwide, could save many from disabling illness and potential death. Ashton called the scourge of prescription induced benzodiazepine illness “a pandemic all over the world,” words that resonate now. Today we have the means to finally eradicate this prescription plague after half a century.
If it had been done in the US decades ago many among the 300,000 FDA complainants could likely have avoided their suffering.
Ashton ran a clinic in the UK for 12 years treating victims of benzodiazepine injury and reported that side effects/withdrawal symptoms could start while patients are taking benzodiazepines, as prescribed, at normal therapeutic doses. Everything acknowledged and proposed by the FDA was indicated in her studies of the 1980s and her legendary Manual on benzodiazepines, published on the internet in the early 1990s. When I interviewed her, she stressed that her understanding of the harms caused by BZs grew because she listened to her patients: They were the experts on the symptoms they were suffering. With its review of complaints, the FDA is now finally using this ‘best practise’.
Ashton with her Manual was the friend, consultant and advocate for patients, doing the job of governments, medical bodies and consumer protection agencies worldwide for decades when patients got no succour from those responsible for caring for and protecting them.
The FDA now has an opportunity to change that story. Let’s hope they continue to advance beyond the important Rubicon they have already crossed with their new warnings of the dangers of benzodiazepines. In this matter the US has already finally shown some honourable medical leadership.
* Italics are the author’s emphasis.
The Benzodiazepine Medical Disaster can be viewed freely on Vimeo or YouTube.
Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/188181193
YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVoFlGR7Lhs
After decades of use for sleep disorder my doctor now calls it a ‘bad’ drug and will not prescribe. I took it nightly and slept. I believe I was functioning well in the world. Since being taken off I no longer have a fulfilling life. I never had anxiety until being taken off. Now I have such a low quality of life. I sleep very little, cry a lot and do not want to leave my home.
I was on Lorazapam for 5 or more years. I took it for anxiety and insomnia. Low dose of .5 mg. then increased to 1.0 a few years ago because it was no longer effective. In December, I decided to wean off of it or taper slowly. My general care practitioner would not refill my Rx. I went cold turkey after being on it for that long. I have experienced a feeling of intoxication, achy joints, muscle weakness and general ill health. I don’t know how I came across this group but I hope it was divine intervention. I don’t want to feel this way for the rest of my life, I’m only 57 and some days feel so hopeless. I’m not ready to die this way. It’s too late to taper, I don’t know who to turn to for help. I’m scared. When I brought it up recently (after reading this) my GP said, you wouldn’t be still feeling side effects from withdrawal after 3 months. I feel very cheated and unheard. I’m not crazy and I’m not a hypochondriac. What can I do? I’m currently seeing a naturopath and will share this info with her. This is the second drug I’ve been improperly weaned off of Cymbalta was the first and that made me really sick too. I’m losing faith in doctors who are ill informed and pharmaceutical drugs. (although I did get the Covid shot and pray it’s not going to do me dirty) Thank you for any help you can share.
I couldn’t believe it when I read ‘in a historical change of stance for the FDA’ or whatever exactly… I thought I’d never read those words in regards to this. I’m 40 was first prescribed klonopin around 24 or 25 and most of the years between then and now have been spent suffering to no end, being denied by the same Dr.s as to the reality of my situation. If I don’t live to see 2022 this itself feels like the most redemption or acknowledgement I’ve known for seems like a dozen lifetimes. Unfortunately, my family, marriage, life, friends, job, sanity often times… Long gone now. This is a suffering no label could ever warn or prepare one for. Minutes last for what seems like years during the worst of it. So many people kill themselves. Those people need to have some light shed on the circumstances to their loved ones left behind. Because the decline, without acknowledgement, is about the most dehumanizing, dark, torturous spiral I can imagine being sent down. At least the truth is coming to light. I know it will be a process. But full denial has ended it seems. Thank God. Anyone still in the midst of this, my heart goes to you and someone knows how strong you’ve been and more will in days coming. Keep hanging on, it not “all in our heads” and we aren’t “making it up” anymore. We’re real! Thanks so much FDA, bang up job on this one. That’s sarcasm. Btw. Smh
I have been on 30 mg / day diazepam for 15 yrs. It has been a life saver!! I had a really debilitating anxiety problem before this. I have zero side effects. I am dependent on it, but thats okay, because I can function without being an anxoius mess now. The only way benzos can ” ruin your life” is when you do not know how to take them. If you are dependent on them, you have to take the same doses every day….not more…but NOT LESS either!!! Also diazepam is the gold standard. The main reason they keep coming out with new ones like klonopin is because the patents run out and they cannot make money off them. Klonopin is crap. Diazepam is awesome and works great with very little side effects if you take it correctly. All the “new” ssri meds are useless for my anxiety.
Please ignore the posts by so-called Jamie. They are just hawking advertisements for some unheard of character, possibly himself, who has no standing on this subject, trying to make money out others suffering.
Really. I could care less about a lawsuit. I want one doctor to recognize what I m going through at 16 months off of a cold turkey. I m barely functioning. Does this ever end? Does anyone ever heal? BIC is not helping those of us who are suffering. It’s us the patients who need help? Not awareness .
There should also be lawsuits for those who have lived with a sufferer. My friend was prescribed two anti depressants at the same time. It caused a mania. While in the manic phase, he forgot to renew his prescription for a Benzo which he had been on since 1985. IT was now 2010! The side effects were horrific; hallucinations, terrible ringing in his ears; I had to take down the wall clock; awake all night; day after day; I was at risk too as he was a combat vet and in his hallucinations anything could have happened. The suffering this man went through being in the military with heavy responsibilities for many years … he and I both survived but he described the rapid withdrawal event as unimaginable hell and I agree; it was akin to torture and this terrible episode was the coup de grace after decades of suffering. He is now off them; has a good doc… and many symptoms which were attributed to ptsd simply disappeared.
100% CORRECT!!!
I was prescribed Ativan…. it stopped working after about 1 week… I took it for another week and then started cutting down….. What ensued was a life changing trip to hell that lasted over 2 years..nonstop physical and mental torture. Now at about 3.5 years… I am 100% back to normal. Someone that has not experienced severe benzo withdrawal has absolutely, not even the slightest idea on how bad it is.
Prescribed Ativan and clonazepam together originally 30 years ago
As well as quetiapine and nine antidepressants and zopiclone.
No informed consent,not told quetiapine is an antipsychotic.
Developed type 2 diabetes,heart problems,thyroid disorder.At the same time prescribed tramadol included for I b S (probably caused
by the drugs) Then after reaching the highest dose of tramadol
had to go on Suboxone which necessitated daily pharmacy visits to
consume in a back room,all at the age of70. Told I would have to take
for rest of life. Now off all antidepressants Got myself off Suboxone
Diazepam from 80 mg daily to 2 mg daily
Convinced diabetes, cataracts thyroid problems heart Q T problems
Kidney problems relate to antipsychotic use.Now 80 and suffering
Chronic problems from these drugs. Hope black box warning and
informed consent can help prevent the horrific suffering these drugs cause
By Gods blessing I began self tapering in November of 2019. After 24 years of Klonopin, 14 yrs at 1.5 mg / 10 yrs at 3 mg and also being on oxycodone it was becoming obvious that at some point sooner than later the prescription monitoring system would flag me resulting in a forced taper.
The doctor shrugged me off and continued prescribing 3 mg per day until May of 2020 when he was arrested on a list of charges including selling prescriptions, ( a doctor who treated addiction) Fortunately I had saved a good supply to continue my now urgent taper.
I brought the topic up to other physicians and explained that my taper plan was based on the Ashton manual and could take about two years and at some point I would need small prescriptions of perhaps 15 mgs every 1 – 3 months. ALL 3 refused and in no uncertain terms because of the opioid combination. After explaining that I took it upon myself and had reduced my consumption to 1 mg in just 8 months or 2/3rds less than what I had taken without a problem for a decade. But I would need help when I reached about .5 mg -NO !
All had stated that I was tapering far too long and that I should simply reduce by 25% per week and be done. When I explained how difficult it was becoming now and the miserable symptoms ranging from insomnia to colon cramping to muscle twitching and myoclonic jerks, depersonalization, depression / mania and on the list goes… It was suggested that I see a neurologist and GI doctor ! No worries about seizures or permanent damage though.
MY POINT being physicians, PA’s, APRN’s RN’s and paramedics need to be educated properly on benzodiazepine withdrawal and modern tapering programs. Existing medical professionals desperately need the same AND the freedom to prescribe as needed without fear of state and federal agencies.
And for what its worth, I don’t think I will ever be free of this horrible drug or damage done until I die. The reduction from .625 mg to .5 mg was like hitting a brick wall that I just can not get used to after 3 months
When I got to where you are I asked for the Ativan to be compounded into liquid. That way you can go much more slowly to get to where you want to be and decrease as slowly as you like.I too was stuck where you are.
It’s something you might want to try. Good luck!
How is it going. My dr advised I START on 1mg of klonopin for severe insomia I am 66 and the lack of sleep is killing me..but the horror stories I read etc scare the fell out of me And advice
Thanks to all who are continuing to bring public awareness to benzodiazepine prescribing and the debilitating consequences. It gives me hope. I was prescribed xanax for 32 years and it is difficult if not impossible to completely heal from the damage these drugs inflict. I hope progress and knowledge continue so more people can effectively navigate the healing process.
How much Xanax were you on? I’ve been on them for 25 years and dr just switched me to Valium and I know it’s easier to taper from Valium but I don’t like the side effects from it.
I was given klonopin originally for sleep disorders, vestibular issues, and anxiety. For 30 years. I never exceeded the prescribed dose. I was told not to worry about dependency since I would likely be on them for life. That was all seemingly well and good until my prescribing doctor moved out of state and I could not find anyone to prescribe. One doctor was willing to give me enough to wean off within two weeks. I tried but it was impossible. I had also had a bad fall and had a severe concussion, so I was in bad shape. My vestibular issues became chronic and severe. I was hospitalized and lost almost one third of my body weight. I had no other option but to go into a drug rehab program. They took me off klonopin in one week. It was absolute hell on earth. My vision was so blurry I couldn’t read. I had auditory hallucinations, I retched constantly for weeks, the panic attacks were indescribable, I had trouble with balance, and a crawling sensation on my skin. I couldn’t tolerate lights, noise or too much motion. Etc. it’s over a year later and I still have withdrawal issues. I’ve developed restless leg syndrome, I have shooting pain, I have horrible insomnia and irritability. Fortunately, after being off klonopin for awhile, my crippling vestibular issues have subsided. I can now go for a walk and drive a car and go into grocery stores. A doctor told me that the klonopin was suppressing my vestibular function and was not giving my brain the ability to heal. If I had only known!
I’m here reading the comments after my 21 y.o. daughter is suffering from benzo withdrawal (& an antipsychotic med, olanazapine/Zyprexa). I’m so sorry to read about all these terrible experiences. Recently, I came across the YouTube channel, “Better Mental Health with Natural Remedies” by Peter Smith (in the UK; he also does video consultation for personal treatment). So far, his suggestions (for supplementation to heal the brain) have been helping my daughter in her recovery from the horrible aftermath of being on Ativan & Zyprexa for two months. I can see that it will likely take some time, but I believe that healing can happen. I hope you can find some relief & healing, too.
100 percent agree with the article! Benzodiazepines are dangerous and people must be properly informed. Took clonazepam as prescribed and ended up in tolerance withdrawal as all of my doctors watched me deteriorate. They had no clue that patients can develop withdrawal symptoms without ever reducing their dose. Countless doctors visits and testing came up with visual migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, anxiety disorder, tmj disorder, the list is long. I tapered on my own based on the Ashton Manual . Completely drug free the past 9 months after 4 months of taper. Still suffering from muscle twitches, depersonalization/de realization, paranoia and cannot leave my house at all because of constant, unbearable fear. Was on this drug under psychiatric care, for 8 years. Never thought this can happen. Never exceeded the prescribed dose. Due to my deteriorating state my doctors literally dropped me, was not willing to discuss tolerance withdrawal or how to proceed with the taper. Refused to acknowledge that my condition was caused by the medication they prescribed.
I was first prescribed Lorazapam abouta 15 YEARS ago. It was for severe on-going insomnia, and my doctor and I tried endless treatments (from meditation/deep breathing and other psychological tools), to supplements (herbs such as lavender, chamomile, hops etc. to magnesium and many others) to a very long list of medications and nothing worked. I also suffered anxiety and panic attacks, Fibromyalgia, chronic pain, Chronic Lyme disease, and an endless list of other medical issues. We didn’t take the decision lightly. But I was truly desperate. But then in 2019 laws changed. My doctor told me that by law I was REQUIRED to either stop taking opiates (I was on Oxycodone and Morphine) OR stop taking the Lorazapam – even though I had NEVER had any medical problems with taking both. At that point my life turned into a living hell and it hasn’t stopped. I was forced into seeing a doctor who claimed to be an expert at tapering. And yet, when I asked to do the Ashton’s method (with supporting documents and a schedule) he stated, “That is too complicated” and then he FORCED me into withdrawal for months because he made me taper to much too fast. I reported the severe withdrawal – both in words and writing. And he gas-lit me. He was sarcastic. He told me it was all in my head. I was in agony 24/7 in withdrawal for months. Eventually I found another doctor to take over. But the damage has been done. And the doctor who did this damage will never be punished, doesn’t think he did anything wrong, and has a reputation in the community of being a “great” doctor. I would have never seen that doctor except that since I was on both a high amount of opiates and Lorazapam, no doctor was interested in helping me. The doctor who originally prescribed this for me – and did for about 15 years, had NO CLUE how to taper someone off and encouraged me to find psychiatrist to help me. That was an entirely different story of hell.
I was put on xanax for 9 months in 2018 I was taken off the drug in 5 days I have throat and chest spasms still Sometime my throat starts to close I feel so scared and alone Would be so happy if someone would talk to me that has been through this So scared Debbie
All GP doctors and addiction specialists I’ve interacted with are completely ignorant of Ashton manuel guidelines and the dependency caused by benzodiazepines. During a 2 week inpatient detox, I had a doctor remove me from taking 40mg of Valium daily and klonopin 6mg per day over a period of two weeks. He discharged me while I was in a state of akathesia after a week of phenobarbital substitution and titration. Said doctor was a benzodiazepine addiction specialist in Beverly hills, ca. He told me he doesn’t believe the claims patients make about all the mysterious insidious symptoms that afflict benzodiazepine users. After I checked out i couldn’t even drive home so their medical transportation had to take me home. Thank God I had a supply of Valium stored at home so I could feel normal. Otherwise I would of committed suicide.
I’m so sorry to read about your experience—I’m watching it happen to my dear daughter after only two months on Ativan. We are now implementing supplementation to help heal her brain, and though it’s only in the beginning stages and might be slow-going, so far it is helping. We watched, “Better Mental Health with Natural Remedies” by Peter Smith (London, UK). His suggestions have been very helpful; he also does video consults for personalized treatment suggestions, which were still going to do. Prayers & hope for your recovery.
It sounds like we have the same Dr. I don’t know what to do. He will not let me taper slowly and said he will not prescribe anymore if I don’t want to be on them. He went as far as calling the pharmacy and canceled my refills. I have never misused them. I just wanted to taper slowly. If you or anyone knows a Dr that will let you taper slowly plz let me know.
What in the world. Why would he do that? Will he consider reinstating your prescription?
I’m curious why there has not been a class action lawsuit or if it is even possible? I believe someone should be held accountable for completely ruining so many people’s lives.
I’ve been saying this for years. Why do attorneys refuse benzo cases? The doctors and pharmaceutical companies have gotten away scott free.
I Agree its been 1.3 eras and I’m JUST starting to feel somewhat normal. I wish I could get my year back.
I totally agree. Is there a Law Firm who could take this up? So much medical negligence, both from the Pharmaceutical companies who do not give accurate warnings and also refuse to make sufficiently low doses to facilitate a safe tapering, to the ignorant and uncaring doctors who I believe take an oath to “First do no harm”.
I agree with some sort of class action. Was given Ativan NO informed consent, got tolerance withdrawal and told I was being under treated so then given 3 mg clonazepam, told I would be on forever and of course got tolerance withdrawal. Multiple providers and lack of knowledge of how to get off this poison. I am tapering going on year 5 with years to go as my body does not tolerate. Then mirtazapine added, no informed consent so now I sleep fAIR BUT will have to wean off this stuff too. It’s a nightmare, lost job, health, freedom and they all act like they bear no responsibility. I am a train wreck, all because I had a reaction to Prednisone. Travesty for all!! I hear you!! Something has to be done….
So sorry…I’ve been seeing my daughter go through the same. Please check out “Better Mental Health with Natural Remedies” on YouTube with Peter Smith (London, UK). His suggestions for benzo withdrawal have been very helpful so far! He also does video consults.
Seeing this gives me hope that one day we might see litigation against Pharma for all the pain, suffering and damage they’ve caused with their benzodiazepines: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/insight-opioid-litigation-should-give-benzo-makers-anxiety
I am recovering from taken clonazepam 20 years, as prescribed. I am many years post-withdrawal, i.e. protracted.
Had anyone successfully t as ken a benzo basicly for life and is ok. OK do they benzo allways turn on you
I am 67 dr advised I go on klonopin basicly rest of my life..honestly at 67 I am considering ad all I really want is 10 more decent yrs. .any thaughts..tks
Yes you might
Don’t do it..Look into Natural Remedies..Slow but Safe.
An excellent article giving context to the new FDA situation. I am a fellow sufferer, after being prescribed lorazepam to be taken nightly for 5 weeks, at a “low” dose. I had a hellish withdrawal, and I am still experiencing physical and mental consequences from this drug almost three years later. I wish you well, and thank you for fighting the good fight. I know it isn’t easy. xx