Drug info - Guide Lines on how to approach a doctor who wants to take you off Benzodiazepines

[Lunar Loops]

This is from the BCNC website (http://www.bcnc.org.uk/guidelines.html) :

Guide Lines on how to approach a doctor who wants to take you off Benzodiazepines quickly, or for those who want to see their doctor with a view to undertaking a reduction/withdrawal


By A. Weatherburn

Too often we hear cases where the patient’s doctor informs the patient that he/she intends to stop prescribing benzodiazepines forthwith because of Government Guidelines, or because some patients are reportedly selling their medication to a third party.

This is a very familiar story from doctors who seem to have very little knowledge about withdrawing from benzodiazepines. There is no directive that I am aware of, from the government, telling doctors to suddenly stop benzodiazepines, which can be extremely dangerous for the patient. There is a campaign to try to get people to stop taking this class of medication because long term usage can result in anxiety disorders, panic disorders, irritable bowel symptoms, agoraphobia, sleeplessness, depression, feeling afraid, lack of concentration, lack of confidence, making one prone to falls etc. The medication is ineffective after a month, but during that time can result in the patient becoming dependent on the medication and often results in the patient having a worsening of the symptoms of the problem that the patient was originally put on the medication to overcome.

If anyone comes across this type of situation and wants to begin to either carry out a reduction or withdrawal, then there needs to be a strategy in place to help overcome either of these scenarios. The following is what we at BCNC would recommend.

The strategy that should be used is laid down in the Prodigy Knowledge document for benzodiazepines and Z drug withdrawal and this document is one that we at BCNC have had an input to. Prodigy Knowledge is written for the NHS by doctors. In this document it tells doctors not to force any patient to withdraw against their wishes, as it seldom works and is counter productive. It then goes on to tell the doctor how to manage a person who wants to withdraw and spells out how it has to be done slowly over a period of time and that the rate of withdrawal has to be at a rate that suits the patient, who must be in control of the withdrawal at all times. I would suggest that one asks ones doctor to look at this document, which is available to all OHS staff on the Internet, and then take it from there.

One could also print off this document, plus papers from our website, highlighting how we at BCNC advise people to withdraw, if they choose to, and at the sort of rates we recommend.

The following are some documents that the prodigy have made available to the general public on this subject.

http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23069203/

http://www.prodigy.nhs.uk/benzodiazepine_and_z_drug_withdrawal/extended_information/management_issues

http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40024896/

If a doctor refuses to reinstate the medication and is not willing to discuss the Prodigy approach, I would recommend that the patient either finds a new doctor who is more understanding and knowledgeable about this subject, or approaches their local PCT and contacts the Head of Medicine Management.