Christy Huff, MD, is a cardiologist and director of Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, a nonprofit that educates about the adverse effects of prescribed benzodiazepines. Dr. Huff attended medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern where she graduated Alpha Omega Alpha. She completed an internal medicine residency at Washington University in St. Louis and a cardiology fellowship at U.T. Southwestern, with a focus in advanced cardiovascular imaging and noninvasive cardiology. Dr. Huff is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and was a private practice cardiologist in Fort Worth, Texas until 2011, when she became a stay-at-home mom after the birth of her daughter.
Dr. Huff experienced benzodiazepine adverse effects and injury firsthand after three weeks of prescribed Xanax use for insomnia in 2015. Over a three-year period, she slowly tapered off benzodiazepines utilizing Valium, and suffered a protracted and disabling withdrawal. Her personal experience led her to realize the serious risks of these medications and the severity of the benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome, neither of which were emphasized during her medical training. Dr. Huff specifically advocates for better education of physicians regarding the adverse effects of benzodiazepines and how to safely taper patients off these medications. In addition to her work at BIC, she is a member of the Colorado Consortium’s Benzodiazepine Action Work Group.
First Do No Harm with Dr Christy Huff
I encourage listeners of this episode to visit https://benzoinfo.com. There is extensive information on the site for doctors and patients. While you are there, search for articles written by Dr. Huff.
therehab.com
Cardiologist Discusses her Personal Experience with Benzodiazepine Withdrawal | Interview
Dr. Christy Huff is a cardiologist and director of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, a not-for-profit organization that educates people about
trialsitenews.com
What you need to know about the updated benzodiazepine boxed warning [PODCAST]
Christy Huff is a cardiologist and co-director, Benzodiazepine Information Coalition. She can be reached on Twitter @christyhuffMD.She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, “The updated benzodiazepine boxed warning: What you need to know.”
www.kevinmd.com
Why You Should Try a ‘Coffee Nap’—and Other Surprising Tips on How to Sleep Better
Want to know how to sleep better? You’re not alone. According to the National Sleep Foundation’s Inaugural Sleep Health Index, 45 percent of Americans say that poor or insufficient sleep has impacted their daily activities at least once in the past seven days. And in addition to affecting your perfo…
parade.com
SURVIVING XANAX…CHRISTY HUFF AND NICOLE LAMBERSON
Hosted by Dr. Patricia Halligan:SURVIVING XANAX…WHEN THE DOCTOR BECOMES THE PATIENTCardiologist Dr. Christy Huff and Physician Assistant Nicole Lamberson t…
www.youtube.com
Benzo nightmare: US doctor on a personal mission to highlight the dangers of the drug
Dr Christy Huff wants people to hear warnings she was never given, writes Margaret Jennings
www.irishexaminer.com
He Went on Anxiety Meds for a Short-Term Fix. There Were Long-Term Consequences.
As more patients seek treatment for anxiety, more doctors are prescribing pills. But what happens when a temporary treatment becomes a long-term problem?
www.menshealth.com
Healing From Benzo Withdrawl w/ Dr. Christy Huff
We talk to Dr. Christy Huff director of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition about the side effects of benzos, how patients can cope, and how we can chan…
www.youtube.com
Safe Prescription Drug Use | Avoiding Addiction
Learn about the risks and dangers of opioids, benzodiazepines and other prescriptions drugs, and how to avoid dependency and addiction.
www.drugwatch.com
Christy Huff, M.D.: The Benzodiazepine Information Coalition
I encourage listeners of this episode to visit https://benzoinfo.com. There is extensive information on the site for doctors and patients. While you are there, search for articles written by Dr. Huff.
therehab.com
The Rise of the Social Media Doctor
Fighting fake health news requires doctors to get online, too.
www.self.com
Cracking Down on Legal Xanax Could Be a Deadly Disaster
Street dealers will just get more creative—and reckless.
www.vice.com
These Pills Could Be Next U.S. Drug Epidemic, Public Health Officials Say
Officials call for prescription curbs, as anxiety drugs show up in more overdose deaths.
www.pewtrusts.org
Dangers of rising benzo prescriptions raise alarms of next drug crisis
Doctors are prescribing benzodiazepines, like Xanax and Ativan, at skyrocketing rates. But most don’t know about their debilitating, even deadly, effects.
www.nbcnews.com
With benzos, a doctor discovers ease of dependency, ordeal of withdrawal
Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of a four-part series on the role of sedatives known as benzodiazepines in the nation’s opioid crisis. Dr. Christy Huff, a Texas cardiologist, was prescribed Xanax after a dry-eye syndrome caused her eyes to “feel like…
www.gazettenet.com
Dr. Christy Huff Keynote Speaker at CSAM Conference
Our director is presenting her lived benzodiazepine experience as a keynote speaker for the California Society of Addiction Medicine’s 2022 conference, August 24 through the 27th. The California Society of […]
www.benzoinfo.com
Surviving Harm from a Prescribed Medication with Dr Christy Huff: Director of Benzodiazepine Information Coalition. Prescribed Benzodiazepines, recovery and positive change. – Cassette Monkeys #PressPlay
Today’s episode features Christy Huff: Cardiologist, Director of Benzodiazopine Information Coalition and a fellow survivor of prescribed Benzodiazepine harm.Christy shares her story of needing to taper off of Xanax for 3 years after just a 3 week…
www.buzzsprout.com
CHOICES: Recovering From Benzodiazepine Use for Peer Specialists
CHOICES -NEW! Recovering From Benzodiazepine Use for Peer Specialists by Embark/ PCA Colorado – Monday, December 5, 2022 09:00 AM at 411 RECO in Colorado Springs. Buy tickets and find information on Universe.
www.universe.com
Benzodiazepine Induced Neurological Dysfunction (BIND)
The third in a four part series presented by the Colorado Consortium’s Benzodiazepine Action Work Group on May 17, 2022. Presenters:Christy Huff, MDD E Foste…
youtu.be
Mental Wealth Mastery Summit Nov 22-24 – Benzodiazepine Information Coalition
The summit features presenters: Prof. Joanna Moncrieff William F. Pettit, Jr, M.D. Adele Framer Jamie Smart James Moore Christy Huff, M.D. Dr. Anne Guy Terry Rubenstein Dr. Elizabeth Corcoran Dr. Amy Johnson Dr. Bryan…
www.benzoinfo.com
Christy Huff, MD Testimony for Massachusetts Benzodiazepine Bill
Dr. Christy Huff gave testimony on November 8, 2021 to the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery for Massachusetts Benzodiazepine Bill…
www.youtube.com
Colorado Opioid Epidemic Symposium
Dr. Christy Huff presented Safe Prescribing Protocols of Benzodiazepines: Lessons Learned from the Opioid Crisis alongside Dr. Alexis Ritvo on July 18, 2021. [pdf id=17349]
www.benzoinfo.com
West Coast Symposium on Addictive Disorders
Drs Christy Huff and Sandra Steingard presented on benzodiazepines at West Coast Symposium on Addictive Disorders WCSAD 2020.
www.benzoinfo.com
Benzodiazepines: A Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight
Dr. Christy Huff, Dr. Stephen Wright and Dr. Anna Lembke presented Benzodiazepines: A Crisis Hidden in Plain Sight at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry’s 2020 Annual Meeting. Their talk focused on benzodiazepine risks, the importance of safe tapering, The Ashton Manual, the differences between addiction and physical dependence, along with Dr. Huff’s story of prescribed benzodiazepine […]
www.benzoinfo.com
The updated benzodiazepine boxed warning: What you need to know
I agree that a slow taper guided by withdrawal symptoms is the best approach for discontinuation in physically dependent patients. Better provider education about prescribing and deprescribing practices is certainly warranted as well.
www.kevinmd.com
Stop cutting patients off their prescribed benzodiazepines
This is contributing to another crisis: Patients being forced off long-term benzodiazepines, often with serious consequences.
www.kevinmd.com
A Xanax prescription that should have been rejected
Patients deserve to be given all the information needed to make the best decisions regarding their health: Anything less is unacceptable.
www.kevinmd.com
Don’t miss this adverse drug reaction when tapering benzodiazepines
Please keep akathisia in mind as part of the differential diagnosis for your patients — especially when medication changes are part of the clinical picture. It could save a life.
www.kevinmd.com
Internet support forums for benzodiazepine withdrawal: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Armed with this knowledge, you can help your patient discern right from wrong in the advice they receive on the internet and support them through prescribed drug withdrawal.
www.kevinmd.com
10 tips to help patients through benzodiazepine withdrawal
A doctor with a dependency gives her insight.
www.kevinmd.com
Enduring neurological sequelae of benzodiazepine use: an Internet survey – Christy Huff, A. J. Reid Finlayson, D. E. Foster, Peter R. Martin, 2023
Introduction: Benzodiazepine tapering and cessation has been associated with diverse symptom constellations of varying duration. Although described in the liter…
journals.sagepub.com
Supporting safe and gradual reduction of long‐term benzodiazepine receptor agonist use: Development of the SAFEGUARDING‐BZRAs toolkit using a codesign approach
Introduction
Long-term benzodiazepine receptor agonist (BZRA) use persists in healthcare settings worldwide and poses risks of patient harm. Objective
This study aimed to develop an intervention t…
Long-term benzodiazepine receptor agonist (BZRA) use persists in healthcare settings worldwide and poses risks of patient harm. Objective
This study aimed to develop an intervention t…
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Experiences with benzodiazepine use, tapering, and discontinuation: an Internet survey
Over 92 million prescriptions for benzodiazepines are dispensed in the United States annually, yet little is known about the experiences of those taking and discontinuing them.
journals.sagepub.com
Response to “Acute and Persistent Withdrawal Syndromes following Discontinuation of Psychotropic Medications” by Cosci et al. (2020)
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
www.karger.com
Informed Consent
Informed consent is the process by which the treating health care provider discloses appropriate information to a competent patient so that the patient may make a voluntary choice to accept or refuse treatment. It originates from the legal and ethical right the patient has to direct what happens to his or her body and from […]
www.benzoinfo.com
Position Statement on the Use of Benzodiazepines in Patients Receiving Buprenorphine Treatment
BIC Position Statement on the Use of Benzodiazepines in Patients Receiving Buprenorphine Treatment Laura C. Huff M.D. [a], Peter R. Martin, M.D., M.S.[b],, A. J. Reid Finlayson, M.D., M.M.H.C.[c] [a]Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, Director [b]Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology [c]Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral […]
www.benzoinfo.com