Benzodiazepines & sleeping pills

Many of us turn to drugs to deal with sleeplessness. This article offers a drug-free alternative.

For decades, Kate Edgley struggled with insomnia. She tried everything, but nothing seemed to work… Here, she reveals the terrible toll it took on her life — and how she eventually realised her dreams. — How I finally learned to sleep

Benzodiazepine withdrawal is characterized by sleep disturbance, irritability, increased tension and anxiety, panic attacks, hand tremor, shaking, sweating, difficulty with concentration, confusion and cognitive difficulty, memory problems, dry retching and nausea, weight loss, palpitations, headache, muscular pain and stiffness, a host of perceptual changes, hallucinations, seizures, psychosis, and increased risk of suicide. — Wikipedia

If you need help recovering from benzo addiction, these resources can help:

• Self-Help and Support Groups
• Benzo Help Blog: Benzodiazepine and Sleeping Pill Addiction, Tapering & Recovery
• Benzodiazepine Recovery Tips

Ashton Resources for Health Professionals

Dr. C. Heather Ashton is an expert in benzodiapines, including her taper method discussed in The Ashton Manual — detailed information on discontinuing and safe tapering off benzodiazepines.

Dr. Heather Ashton's Maine Benzodiazepine Conference Presentations (Oct./05)

• Introduction
• 1st presentation Overprescribing of Benzodiazepines: Problems and Resolutions
• 2nd presentation History of Benzodizaepines: What the Textbooks May Not Tell You

Dr. Heather Ashton's lectures on Benzodiazepine Dependence and Withdrawal Methods to heath care providers in Victoria and Vancouver, B.C. are available on DVD:

• Get Dr. Heather Ashton's DVD here!

These pages deal with policy — things we can change to avoid problems in the future:

• Why British Columbia Needs A Comprehensive Benzodiazepine Strategy

Bonnie was a brilliant, creative, curious, kind person who took her life due to Benzodiazepine withdrawal. She had worked very hard to taper off of benzodiazepines for over 21 months then took her life 4 weeks after completing her taper.

Bonnie's Story (PDF–84 KB) is a tribute to Bonnie's struggle to recover from benzodiazepines.

Dr. Ashton's DVD

Order Dr. Heather Ashton's DVD

Dr. Heather Ashton on YouTube