Medication for insomnia and anxiety, medications that cause sleeplessness - How to DIY

Benzodiazepines were once the darling of the medical world and they are still prescribed in high frequency. Increasingly, studies suggest that dietary and lifestyle habits as well as prescription medications may account for the rising diagnoses of old age diseases. A 2012 landmark study published in the British Medical Journal got a lot of press for demonstrating that the risk of dementia among the elderly is increased by the use of a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are psychoactive drugs structurally synthesized from two fused rings of benzene and diazepine. Therefore, benzodiazepines are used in the treatment of insomnia, anxiety, muscle spasms, seizures and alcohol withdrawal.
Outside the nervous system, GABA also inhibits nerve conduction and, therefore, has a relaxing effect on muscles.
The most common side effects of benzodiazepines include drowsiness, dizziness, impaired mental alertness, lack of muscular coordination and decreased libido.
Less common side effects include euphoria, mental confusion, loss of personality, blurred vision, nausea, loss of appetite and nightmares.
When given by intravenous route, benzodiazepines have been known to cause hypotension and slow down breathing. Other paradoxical side effects of benzodiazepines include irritability, violence, suicidal tendencies and other personality changes. Those who experience rebound symptoms experience the same set of symptoms for which they were given benzodiazepines.
Researchers agree that benzodiazepines provide the least benefits for old people and the greatest danger. In fact, benzodiazepine-induced dementia is reported to account for the majority of memory impairments in elderly patients. Researchers have demonstrated that when taken off benzodiazepines, most of these symptoms quickly resolve in the elderly and often the underlying condition being treated does not get worse.
A 2002 paper published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology detailed a nested case-control study conducted to investigate the possible association between benzodiazepine use and the risk of dementia in an elderly population. For this study, the researchers recruited a total of 3,777 elderly persons who were at least 65 years old between 1989 and 1997.
A 2005 review of past studies published in the journal, Psychological Medicine, searched through the medical research database, MEDLINE, to find well-designed studies investigating the link between dementia and benzodiazepine use. The reviewers called for more epidemiological studies to fully address the possible effect of benzodiazepines on cognition.
In comparison, episodic and recurrent users scored better than chronic users but their risks of cognitive decline were still higher than for non-users. In this case, the researchers pooled 1,063 elderly persons who had no dementia before the study and who only started taking benzodiazepines no earlier than the third year of the 15-year period under investigation.
The authors of this study considered their methodology design robust enough and their results conclusive enough to warn against the indiscriminate prescription of benzodiazepines.
In their opinion, benzodiazepines should be used far less not only because of the increased risk of dementia demonstrated by their study but also because of the many serious adverse effects associated with this class of medications.
A 1995 study used brain imaging techniques to investigate the affinity of benzodiazepine for GABA-A receptors as well as the slow metabolism of glucose in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
For this study, the researchers conducted autopsies on 7 normal controls and 7 Alzheimer’s patients. They found that benzodiazepine binding sites were significantly reduced in the frontal and temporal cortices of the hippocampus in brains of the Alzheimer’s patients. This study suggests that benzodiazepines increasingly provide less benefits for people suffering from dementia even as they make changes in the brain that impairs cognitive functions. Moderex, a natural remedy for anxiety and insomnia, contains natural neurotransmitters that have been shown to help combat anxiety and insomina.
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Many different types of medications are used in the treatment of anxiety disorders, including traditional anti-anxiety drugs such as benzodiazepines, and newer options like antidepressants and beta-blockers.
If you have anxiety that’s severe enough to interfere with your ability to function, medication may be right for you. Therapy and self-help strategies can help you get to the bottom of your underlying issues and develop the tools to beat anxiety for good.
Anti-anxiety drugs, also known as tranquilizers, are medications that relieve anxiety by slowing down the central nervous system. Because benzodiazepines are metabolized slowly, the medication can build up in the body when used over longer periods of time. Despite their sedating properties, some people who take anti-anxiety medication experience paradoxical excitement. Because of the many safety concerns linked to anti-anxiety drugs, other medications for treating anxiety have gained in popularity.
Many medications originally approved for the treatment of depression have been found to relieve symptoms of anxiety. Antidepressants are often preferred over the traditional anti-anxiety drugs because the risk for dependency and abuse is smaller. The antidepressants most widely prescribed for anxiety are SSRIs such as Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro, and Celexa. All antidepressants are required by the FDA to carry a warning about the risk of suicidal thoughts, hostility, and agitation. Since the risk of dependence is low and it has no serious drug interactions, buspirone is a good option for older individuals and people with a history of substance abuse. Beta blockers are a type of medication used to treat high blood pressure and heart problems. Used alone, anti-anxiety medications such as Xanax or Valium rarely cause fatal overdose, even when taken in large doses.
Taking anti-anxiety medication with alcohol, prescription painkillers, or sleeping pills can be deadly. Anyone who takes anti-anxiety medication can experience unpleasant or dangerous side effects. Anti-anxiety medication causes drowsiness and poor coordination, which contributes to accidents at home, at work, and on the road.
There are many treatment alternatives to medication, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is widely accepted to be more effective for anxiety than drugs.
The advantage of non-drug treatments for anxiety is that they produce lasting changes and long-term relief.
If you decide to take medication for your anxiety disorder, it is important to learn all you can about your prescription and to take it as directed. Make regular appointments with a psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders and who is up on the latest research on benzodiazepines and other anxiety medications and therapies.
Finding the right dosage is a trial and error process, but you should be concerned if it keeps increasing.


Anti-anxiety medications including popular benzodiazepines such as Xanax, Klonopin, Valium, and Ativan are meant for short-term use. You have ever cut down or stopped taking your pills and have felt ill or anxious or experienced unusual symptoms. Anxiety Help Center: Explore the various types of anxiety disorders and their symptoms, and what you can do to get relief. Benzodiazepines – Covers the short and long-term effects of the benzodiazepine medications for anxiety.
Toxicity and Adverse Consequences of Benzodiazepine Use – Looks at the drawbacks, including oversedation, impaired memory, and depression. Benzodiazepines and Pregnancy (PDF) – A guide to the risks of taking benzodiazepines during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. Guidelines for Medication Use – Offers advice to help you decide whether or not to take anxiety medication.
Beta Blockers and Performance Anxiety in Musicians – Learn how beta blockers work for anxiety, what their side effects are, and how they affect performance. The study published in the BMJ-British Medical Journal showed medications that include Valium (diazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), Xanax (alprazolam) and Klonopin (clonazepam), if used regularly for three months or more, can increase the chances of an individual developing Alzheimer’s disease by 51 percent. But some people feel tense and anxious day after day, even when there is little to worry about. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. However, a spate of recent damning evidences from multiple clinical trials and epidemiological studies is highlighting that the dangers of this class of drugs far outweigh the benefits.
The therapeutic uses of benzodiazepines derived from their anxiolytic, hypnotic, sedative, anticonvulsant and muscle relaxant properties.
Through this interaction, benzodiazepines can induce sleep, relieve anxiety and relax skeletal muscles. The types of cognitive decline associated with benzodiazepines include impaired mental concentration, verbal learning, eye-limb coordination and even intelligence.
Therefore, instead of relaxing the muscles, benzodiazepines can sometimes tighten the muscles and cause seizures. For example, these side effects are a lot more common among children and teenagers taking benzodiazepines as well as among those given high doses of these drugs.
However, recent studies have repeatedly and conclusively proven that benzodiazepines in the elderly is not only a bad idea but linked to the increased diagnoses of dementia in this age group. Our goal is to help you and your loved ones with information you can trust that will strengthen your emotional heath, improve your relationships, and help you take charge of your life. If you are taking a medication for anxiety, do not change your dosage without consulting your physician!
Anxiety medication can provide temporary relief, but it doesn’t treat the underlying cause of the anxiety disorder. Anxiety medication can cause a wide range of unpleasant and sometimes dangerous side effects. However, many people use anti-anxiety medication when therapy, exercise, or self-help strategies would work just as well or better—minus the side effects and risks. Their relaxing and calming effects have made them very popular: anti-anxiety drugs are the most widely prescribed type of medication for anxiety.
Because they work quickly, benzodiazepines are very effective when taken during a panic attack or another overwhelming anxiety episode. However, some people feel sleepy, foggy, and uncoordinated even on low doses of benzodiazepines, which can cause problems with work, school, or everyday activities such as driving. Long-term benzodiazepine users are often depressed, and higher doses are believed to increase the risk of both depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts and feelings. Paradoxical reactions to these anxiety medications are most common in children, the elderly, and people with developmental disabilities.
The alternatives to the anti-anxiety tranquilizers include antidepressants, buspirone, and beta blockers. These include certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and the newer atypical antidepressants. These work by regulating serotonin levels in the brain to elevate mood and have been used to treat panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). If discontinued too quickly, antidepressant withdrawal can trigger symptoms such as extreme depression and fatigue, irritability, anxiety, flu-like symptoms, and insomnia.
There is also the risk that antidepressants will cause an increase, rather than a decrease, in depression and anxiety. Buspirone relieves anxiety by increasing serotonin in the brain as the SSRIs do and decreasing dopamine. While the tranquilizing anti-anxiety drugs are relatively safe when taken only occasionally and in small doses, they can lead to severe problems when combined with other substances or taken over long periods of time. But when combined with other central nervous system depressants, the toxic effects of these anxiety medications increase.
Dangerous drug interactions can also occur when anti-anxiety drugs are taken with antihistamines, which are found in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines and sleep aids.
Anyone with a current or former problem with alcohol or drugs should avoid anti-anxiety drugs or use them only with extreme caution.
Studies show that taking anti-anxiety medication increases your risk of having a serious traffic accident. It’s also important to learn about the common side effects of the anxiety medication you are considering. Medication may treat some symptoms of anxiety, but can’t change the underlying issues and situations in your life that are making you anxious. If your anxiety is so severe that it interferes with therapy, medication may be useful in the short-term to get your symptoms under control.
The more you know about your anxiety medication, the better equipped you’ll be to identify and deal with side effects, avoid dangerous drug interactions, and minimize other medication risks. Keep a close eye on your reaction to the anxiety medication, including any physical and emotional changes you’re experiencing. Medication can control the symptoms of anxiety, but it doesn’t treat the underlying problem. If you need higher and higher doses to achieve the same effect, this is a sign of a developing drug dependency.
However, if you’ve taken anti-anxiety medication for a few months, you may still experience some withdrawal symptoms.
They are used to treat things an array of illness including anxiety, alcohol withdrawal and seizures.
The longer the patient took the medication the higher their chances were of developing dementia. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and should not be relied on to make decisions about your health. This article catalogs the many side effects of benzodiazepines and provides the body of scientific work that proves they can cause dementia in old age. In fact, it is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain and its effects counteracts the actions of stimulants and excitatory neurotransmitters such as epinephrine.

Therefore, even a single dose and short-term therapy can impair different aspects of mental performance. Many medications for anxiety are also habit forming and physically addictive, making it difficult to stop taking them once you’ve started. There are other effective treatment approaches that can be taken in addition to or instead of medications.
It works for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), but doesn’t seem to help the other types of anxiety disorders. Furthermore, some people will have adverse reactions to any amount of anti-anxiety medication. Even small doses can cause confusion, amnesia, loss of balance, and cognitive impairment that looks like dementia.
Since these anxiety medications cross the placenta, their use during pregnancy can lead to dependence in the baby. Side effects of anxiety medication range from mild nuisances such as dry mouth to more severe problems such as acute nausea or pronounced weight gain.
Lifestyle changes that can make a difference in anxiety levels include regular exercise, adequate sleep, and a healthy diet. Once your anxiety is at a manageable level, other forms of behavior and talk therapy can be successfully pursued. Everyone reacts differently to medications, so it’s impossible to predict what side effects you will have or how well your anxiety drug will work. This site is for information only and NOT a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment. This reprint is for information only and NOT a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment. 10, that the study revealed that taking benzodiazepines for three months or more in your lifetime drastically increases your risk for Alzheimer's disease later in life.
They can sap your emotional energy, send your anxiety levels soaring, and interfere with your daily life. This helps control the physical symptoms of anxiety such as rapid heart rate, a trembling voice, sweating, dizziness, and shaky hands. Anti-anxiety drug use in the elderly is associated with an increased risk of falls, broken hips and legs, and car accidents. Following birth, the baby will then go through withdrawal, with symptoms such as muscle weakness, irritability, sleep and breathing problems, and trembling.
For any anxiety medication, you will have to balance the side effects against the benefits. Other effective treatments for anxiety include talk therapy, meditation, biofeedback, hypnosis, and acupuncture. You will need to work closely with your doctor to find the right dosage and evaluate the anxiety drug’s effectiveness. But even in less toxic doses, alcohol and anxiety medication can cause poor coordination and impaired thinking, increasing the risk of motor vehicle accidents and other injuries. And while you should never stop your anxiety medication without talking to your doctor first, ultimately the decision is up to you. Therapy can help you get to the root of your anxiety problem and develop better coping skills. Drug tolerance is also common, with increasingly larger doses needed to get the same anxiety relief as before. The body is used to the medication, so withdrawal symptoms occur if the dose is decreased or discontinued. Unfortunately, these persistent withdrawal symptoms are frequently mistaken for a return of the original problem, causing some people to restart the medication.
Helpguide.org is an ad-free non-profit resource for supporting better mental health and lifestyle choices for adults and children. These anxiety drugs are excreted in breast milk, so they should be avoided while breastfeeding, too.
GAD: Emotional SymptomsThe main symptom of GAD is a constant and exaggerated sense of tension and anxiety. The disorder tends to appear gradually, with the first symptoms most likely to occur between childhood and middle age. Diagnosing GADThere's no lab test for GAD, so the diagnosis is made based on your description of symptoms.
You may have GAD if you have been feeling anxious or worrying too much for at least six months.
Self-Care for GADYou can support your treatment for GAD by making a few simple changes in your habits. Avoid caffeine, street drugs, and even some cold medicines, which can boost anxiety symptoms. And be sure to exercise; there's evidence that moderate physical activity can have a calming effect. Complementary Remedies for GADIt hard to know whether any non-traditional remedies for GAD work because they have not been well researched. Herbal Remedies for GADAmong herbal remedies, there is some evidence that kava may help ease mild to moderate anxiety. GAD and Other DisordersPeople who have GAD may also develop depression, alcoholism, or drug addiction.
These can include panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social phobia. Panic disorder affects about six million American adults, and it's one of the most treatable of all anxiety disorders. Rape, abuse, physical assaults, accidents, or a natural disaster can lead to this type of anxiety.
The symptoms include vivid flashbacks and a loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable.
OCD affects about two million Americans and is often treated with medication and psychotherapy. Social Anxiety DisorderPeople with social phobia feel overly panicky and self-conscious in ordinary social situations. Symptoms include a sense of dread before social events and sweating, blushing, nausea, or difficulty talking during the events. The disorder affects 15 million American adults and can be treated with psychotherapy or medications. Common phobias include heights, closed-in spaces like elevators or tunnels, dogs, flying, and water.
If an anxiety disorder seems likely, your doctor may recommend medication and refer you to a mental health professional.

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