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The prosuicidal effects of benzodiazepines are suspected to be due to a psychiatric disturbance caused by side effects or withdrawal symptoms. [11] Because benzodiazepines in general may be associated with increased suicide risk, care should be taken when prescribing, especially to at-risk patients.
Deaths from single-drug benzodiazepine overdoses occur infrequently, [3] particularly after the point of hospital admission. [4] However, combinations of high doses of benzodiazepines with alcohol, barbiturates, opioids or tricyclic antidepressants are particularly dangerous, and may lead to severe complications such as coma or death.
A high degree of tolerance often occurs in people who use benzodiazepine long term, especially if they take high doses, which can lead to benzodiazepine dependence. The benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome seen in chronic high dose benzodiazepine users is similar to that seen in therapeutic low dose users but of a more severe nature. Extreme ...
The central nervous system-depressant effects of benzodiazepines may make driving or operating machinery dangerous, and the elderly are more prone to these adverse effects. High single doses or repeated low doses have been reported to produce hypotonia, poor sucking, and hypothermia in the neonate, and irregularities in the fetal heart.
The high potency benzodiazepines alprazolam and triazolam and long-acting benzodiazepines are not recommended in the elderly due to increased adverse effects. Nonbenzodiazepines such as zaleplon and zolpidem and low doses of sedating antidepressants are sometimes used as alternatives to benzodiazepines.
Discontinuing benzodiazepines or antidepressants abruptly due to concerns of teratogenic effects of the medications has a high risk of causing serious complications, so is not recommended. For example, abrupt withdrawal of benzodiazepines or antidepressants has a high risk of causing extreme withdrawal symptoms, including suicidal ideation and ...
Drugs used to treat blepharospasm are anticholinergics, benzodiazepines, baclofen, and tetrabenazine. [43] The proportion of patients who benefited from anticholinergics ranged from 1 in 9 in Oregon [44] to 1 in 5 in England. [11] Besides failing to resolve the blepharospasm, some drugs present the risk of side effects.
Nordazepam is among the longest lasting (longest half-life) benzodiazepines, and its occurrence as a metabolite is responsible for most cumulative side-effects of its myriad of pro-drugs when they are used repeatedly at moderate-high doses; the nordazepam metabolite oxazepam is also active (and is a more potent, full BZD-site agonist), which ...