Benzodiazepines - Articles - Page 5

How to Safely Prescribe Z-Drugs

August 13, 2020

There’s good reason to be careful prescribing Z-drugs. Here’s an overview of Dr. Reban Aziz’s recent article in The Carlat Addiction Treatment Report.Safety Tips Go short-term or intermittent to reduce the potential for adverse events and withdrawal. Avoid for SUD or complex sleep disorders. Use as last resort after considering...

EXPERT Q&A

Benzodiazepines: Old Medicines, New Concerns

June 10, 2020

Kenneth Morford, MD

Kenneth Morford, MD
Assistant Professor and Program Director, Collaborative Behavioral Health & Addiction Medicine in Primary Care (CHAMP) at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Morford has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Benzodiazepine use is on the rise, and is implicated with a significant portion of opioid-related overdose deaths. Dr. Morford gives the latest on benzodiazepine prevalence and suggests strategies to employ in addiction treatment settings when working with patients who use benzodiazepines.

Benzodiazepines: New Risks for an Old Drug

September 1, 2018

Chris Aiken, MD

Chris Aiken, MD Editor-in-Chief of The Carlat Psychiatry Report Practicing psychiatrist, Winston-Salem, NC. Dr. Aiken has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

In the May 2018 issue of TCPR, we wrote about using benzodiazepines for anxiety and other disorders, and we got some reader feedback that we did not provide a thorough enough review of medication risks. So, in a follow-up article this month, I will focus on two groups where benzos pose the greatest risks: opioid users and the elderly.

Benzodiazepines in Children and Adolescents

March 1, 2018

Murat Pakyurek, MD

Murat Pakyurek, MD Director, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division, University of California, Davis Medical Center Dr. Pakyurek has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Because of their quick action, benzodiazepines (BZDs) are frequently prescribed to treat patients with anxiety and other conditions. However, clinicians need to consider the potential for unintended and problematic consequences of benzodiazepine use.

CLINICAL UPDATE

Medication Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Substance Abusers

May 1, 2016

Daniel Carlat, MD

Daniel Carlat, MD

Editor-in-Chief, Publisher, The Carlat Report.

Dr. Carlat has disclosed that he has no relevant relationships or financial interests in any commercial company pertaining to this educational activity.

While benzodiazepines are effective anti-anxiety workhorses for many patients, most guidelines tell us to avoid prescribing them to substance abusers. The concern is that the benzo high will remind patients of their substances of choice, and that benzo withdrawal symptoms will lead to old substance abuse habits.

EXPERT Q&A

Benzodiazepines: Dependence, Tolerance, and Addiction

May 1, 2016

Alex Stalcup, MD

Alex Stalcup, MD
Medical director of the New Leaf Treatment Center in Lafayette, CA.
Dr. Stalcup has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this
educational activity.

One good way to think of benzodiazepines is that they are literally, physiologically anyway, alcohol in a pill. Especially the fast-onset/fast-offset benzodiazepines like alprazolam (Xanax) have a very similar pharmacologic profile to alcohol. This discussion with Dr. Alex Stalcum covers strategies of using benzodiazepines as anxiety treatments for substance-abusing patients.

Do Benzodiazepines Cause Dementia? Latest Study Casts Doubt

March 1, 2016

It’s possible that BZD use causes cognitive decline, but it’s equally possible that patients with preexisting dementia are prescribed BZDs to alleviate psychiatric symptoms related to dementia. A new, very large study adds to our fund of knowledge on this issue.

EXPERT Q&A

What Psychiatrists Should Know About Sleep Medicine

September 1, 2015

Robert S. Rosenberg, DO, FCCP

Robert S. Rosenberg, DO, FCCP

Medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Prescott Valley, AZ, and author of Sleep Soundly Every Night, Feel Fantastic Every Day (Demos Medical Publishing, 201

Dr. Rosenberg has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

What basic questions should we be asking our patients who complain of sleep problems? We talk to Robert S. Rosenberg, DO, FCCP, to get his insight on sleep disorders, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, sleep studies, and benzodiazepines.

Benzodiazepine Use and Alzheimer’s Risk

March 1, 2015

Daniel Carlat, MD

Daniel Carlat, MD

Editor-in-Chief, Publisher, The Carlat Report.

Dr. Carlat has disclosed that he has no relevant relationships or financial interests in any commercial company pertaining to this educational activity.

If you’re like most psychiatrists, you get your fair share of older folks who come into the office complaining of difficulties with sleep or with significant symptoms of anxiety.