{"id":27746,"date":"2025-05-14T09:00:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T09:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=27746"},"modified":"2025-05-14T09:29:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T09:29:43","slug":"benzo-withdrawal-symptoms-can-be-life-threatening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=27746","title":{"rendered":"Benzo Withdrawal Symptoms Can Be Life-Threatening"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The drugs treat disorders such as anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia, but stopping them abruptly can compound users\u2019 symptoms and even endanger their lives.<\/p>\n

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Tasha Hedges took Xanax for 20 years to treat her anxiety and panic attacks, exactly as a psychiatrist had prescribed it. Then in 2022, that doctor unexpectedly died.<\/p>\n

A general practitioner continued her prescription but retired shortly afterward. The next doctor moved to Canada. Finally, Ms. Hedges found a new psychiatrist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing he did was start yelling at me that I had been on Xanax too long,\u201d said Ms. Hedges, 41, who lives in Falling Waters, W.Va. \u201cHe ripped me off my meds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discontinuing the drug typically requires decreasing the dose slowly over months or even years, a process called tapering. Ms. Hedges stopped cold turkey. Debilitating withdrawal symptoms followed: hot flashes, cold sweats, restless legs, the shakes and teeth grinding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt was a nightmare,\u201d she said. Two years after discontinuing the medication, she is still dealing with the fallout. \u201cMy brain has not been the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

In social media groups and websites such as BenzoBuddies, people like Ms. Hedges say they have become physically dependent on benzodiazepines. Many then get cut off from their medication or taper too quickly, and face dangerous and potentially life-threatening withdrawal symptoms that can linger long after the drugs are discontinued. Some doctors, fearful of the risks and stigma associated with these drugs, refuse to prescribe them at all.<\/p>\n

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The drugs treat disorders such as anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia, but stopping them abruptly can compound users\u2019 symptoms and even endanger their lives.Tasha Hedges took Xanax for 20 years to treat her anxiety and panic attacks, exactly as a psychiatrist had prescribed it. Then in 2022, that doctor unexpectedly died.A general practitioner continued her prescription but retired shortly afterward. The next doctor moved to Canada. Finally, Ms. Hedges found a new psychiatrist.\u201cThe first thing he did was start yelling at me that I had been on Xanax too long,\u201d said Ms. Hedges, 41, who lives in Falling Waters, W.Va. \u201cHe ripped me off my meds.\u201dDiscontinuing the drug typically requires decreasing the dose slowly over months or even years, a process called tapering. Ms. Hedges stopped cold turkey. Debilitating withdrawal symptoms followed: hot flashes, cold sweats, restless legs, the shakes and teeth grinding.\u201cIt was a nightmare,\u201d she said. Two years after discontinuing the medication, she is still dealing with the fallout. \u201cMy brain has not been the same.\u201dIn social media groups and websites such as BenzoBuddies, people like Ms. Hedges say they have become physically dependent on benzodiazepines. Many then get cut off from their medication or taper too quickly, and face dangerous and potentially life-threatening withdrawal symptoms that can linger long after the drugs are discontinued. Some doctors, fearful of the risks and stigma associated with these drugs, refuse to prescribe them at all.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27748,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27746"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27749,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27746\/revisions\/27749"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}