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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 study in 2000 found that long-term benzodiazepine therapy does not result in brain abnormalities. [75] Withdrawal from high-dose use of nitrazepam anecdotally was alleged in 2001 to have caused severe shock of the whole brain with diffuse slow activity on EEG in one patient after 25 years of use. After withdrawal, abnormalities in hypofrontal ...
High doses of many shorter-acting benzodiazepines may also cause anterograde amnesia and dissociation. [4] These properties make benzodiazepines useful in treating anxiety, panic disorder, insomnia, agitation, seizures, muscle spasms, alcohol withdrawal and as a premedication for medical or dental procedures. [5]
"Time to peak" refers to when maximum levels of the drug in the blood occur after a given dose. Benzodiazepines generally share the same pharmacological properties, such as anxiolytic, sedative, hypnotic, skeletal muscle relaxant, amnesic, and anticonvulsant effects. Variation in potency of certain effects may exist amongst individual ...
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 ...
In rare cases, people taking escitalopram may be advised to take a benzodiazepine along with the medication for the first few weeks, as benzodiazepines can help reduce the early adverse effects of ...
Many drivers had blood levels far exceeding the therapeutic dose range, suggesting a high degree of potential for misuse of benzodiazepines, zolpidem, and zopiclone. [116] In Northern Ireland , in cases where drugs were detected in samples from impaired drivers who were not impaired by alcohol, benzodiazepines were found in 87% of cases.
The word "overdose" implies that there is a common safe dosage and usage for the drug; therefore, the term is commonly applied only to drugs, not poisons, even though many poisons as well are harmless at a low enough dosage. Drug overdose is sometimes used as a means to commit suicide, as the result of intentional or unintentional misuse of ...