The dangers of rising benzo prescriptions raise alarms of the next drug crisis

When Christy Huff developed a sore eye problem leading to insomnia, her doctor had a common solution: Xanax. She took the medicine as directed.

A pill at night gave her some relief, but soon she began to feel anxiety, day terrors and tremors. Then Huff had a surprising realization. When she came out of Xanax, she was going to withdraw. And when she was on it "all that just melted," she said.

In just three weeks, his body was dependent on Xanax.

"I do not remember getting any warnings from doctors as far as" Huff, who is a cardiologist, told NBC News. "I was completely shocked to see how sick I was."

Xanax is part of a class of drugs called benzodiazepines, sometimes called "benzos". Benzodiazepines are sedatives used primarily to treat anxiety and insomnia. The class of drugs also includes Valium, Ativan and Klonopin.

Anna Lembke, Chief of Addiction Medicine at the Stanford University Medical Center, said that benzodiazepine-related complications, such as addiction and drug addiction, fuel a hidden epidemic that is occurring in the United States. apparent to the opioid crisis

"Medical students, residents and even doctors do not recognize the addictive potential of benzodiazepines," she told NBC News. "There has been all this awareness about opioids, but very little about benzodiazepines and yet people are dying."

According to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there were 8,791 deaths from benzosis in 2015, compared to 1999 when there were 1,135 deaths by overdose involving benzos. At about the same time, the benzo prescriptions filled by adults rose by 67%, reaching 13.5 million in 2013, according to the institute.

The dangers of benzos are much less well known, perhaps because of the opioid crisis. Opioids, including prescription opioids, heroin and fentanyl, have killed more than 42,000 people in 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lembke says more precautions need to be taken when prescribing benzos

"The opioid epidemic was confirmed by the fact that the medical community has recognized that we need to better educate the Doctors on opioids and their risks, "said Lembke," but we still do not do it for benzodiazepines. "

She explained that since benzos work so well for anxiety and l? insomnia and patients respond immediately, doctors are quick to prescribe. But patients can quickly develop tolerance, leading to higher and higher doses and painful withdrawal symptoms between doses. Long-term use can even cause neurological damage, said Lembke.

Benzos is extremely hard to kick, she said. For some of her patients, it is easier to stop taking opioids. Benzos can be particularly dangerous when it is combined with opioids, which is not uncommon and can multiply by four the risks of overdose.

Huff has been working on kicking benzos for almost three years

. the doctor did not take it seriously.

"She said," this is just just worry, " said Huff from his doctor. "You can reduce it in three weeks, but honestly, I think you can just cold turkey. "

When she tried to stop taking Xanax, she developed severe symptoms, could not sleep more than three hours at night, had difficulty eating and swallowing, and 20 pounds.Lembke said that stopping the cold turkey can cause convulsions and even death.

After some online research, Huff realized that she had to When she drops her dose, she goes through a period of intensifying symptoms, but progresses slowly.

When Huff became dependent on benzos, she had already stopped practicing medicine for taking care of her little daughter, Kathryn. The first year Huff was sick was the last year of his daughter's kindergarten. She had planned to spend time with her daughter before starting kindergarten, such as going to the zoo and the park. Instead, she had to stay home and rest while a nanny was leaving her daughter.

"There is a lot of anger," Huff said. "It's bad enough that I suffer this way, but not being able to fully participate in my daughter's life, it's just the ultimate insult."

Huff hopes that in another year, she will be completely benzos, but what worries her, is long-term damage. She is now fighting with memory and fatigue – forgetting to do simple tasks, like putting her contact lenses in the morning.

Lembke points out that the reduction can take a long time. As doses decrease, the percentage of drug carried is higher, so withdrawal symptoms may be more intense.

Today, Huff is trying to give warning so that others do not find themselves in the same situation. She runs a non-profit organization, the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition. Its mission is to educate doctors and patients on what it means to be prescribed benzodiazepines.

"I just want the world to know that it's a huge problem," Huff said. "I have met so many patients who have been injured by these medications, just by taking them as prescribed by their doctor, they have never been informed of the possible consequences that they have suffered." "

Lembke gave the following advice to patients:

• Before taking benzos, ask your doctor about the risks. Ask if there are other treatment options like antidepressants or cognitive behavioral therapy
• Benzos should be used as a short-term and intermittent treatment. Avoid long-term use.
• Never stop taking benzos suddenly. Talk to a doctor about a plan to decrease with time.
• Tell your doctor about other medicines you are taking and ask him to take them together.
• Parents should know that some benzos can be purchased online. should talk to their teenagers about the dangers and be on the lookout for mysterious packages and accurate scales, which are used to measure the doses. Even tiny doses can be deadly.

Lembke hopes that eventually, doctors will be better informed, but for now, it is up to patients to be aware of these concerns.