Dementia risk in seniors increases with use of this commonly prescribed drug

Get this message through

“The cure was better than the disease. But getting off the cure was 10 times worse.”

That was Sue’s experience with Xanax.

She became dependent. But when she tried to quit, she suffered weeks of crippling anxiety that the drug was supposed to help her avoid in the first place.

When it was over, she told me she was stunned to realize how a daily pill could be so physically and emotionally overwhelming.

She’s lucky. She kicked it and put it out of her life. If she had continued, she might have had something much worse and more dreaded than anxiety to contend with.

The mind reels

Xanax is a benzodiazepine — a class of tranquilizing drugs that includes Valium, Klonopin and others.

They’re also “psychoactive.” And that means seniors should stay as far from these drugs as possible.

Recently, I told you how drugs like this can mimic dementia symptoms. Sleep aids, painkillers, and anti-psychotic drugs are in this group.

In some cases, symptoms can be reversed. Even patients with history of dementia sometimes improve significantly when they stop their meds.

But it’s a much different story with benzodiazepines.

In new research, long-term benzo use sharply increased risk of dementia in people 65 and older. And these weren’t cases of reversible symptoms. This was the real thing. Dementia in all its horror.

But the age 65 cutoff refers to the lowest age of people in the study. So we should assume that this effect might easily occur in those who are 60, 55, or even younger.

These drugs can be addictive. That’s a huge part of the problem. Guidelines suggest that use be limited to just a few weeks. But many people take them for years. That’s why the study offers this advice… “Indiscriminate widespread use should be cautioned against.”

Amazing, isn’t it? Any doctor who prescribes these drugs should understand that. And yet, apparently it has to be said. Too bad it’s buried in a medical journal. They should write it in bright red, two-inch-high letters on every benzo bottle…

“MAY CAUSE DEMENTIA!”

That might get the message through.

If you use a benzo drug, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about alternatives. But be prepared. Getting off it might be a terrible experience so you’ll need to plan for that.

And if you help care for an older senior, check his prescriptions and make sure he’s not taking something that might cause irreversible damage to his brain. Then talk to his doctor about the concern and how to switch to a safer treatment.

Sources:
“Benzodiazepine use and risk of dementia: prospective population based study” British Medical Journal, Vol. 345, 9/27/12, bmj.com