Health - Benzos Harmful to liver?

[killagorilla187]

How toxic are benzos to a humans liver?

Compared to alcohol?

[Jatelka]

Benzodiazepines are physically very non-toxic drugs. They simply don't cause liver damage in the way that alcohol does.

If the liver is already damaged then there can be a problem with reduced benzodiazepine clearance and over sedation, and they should be avoided in liver failure.

[Zaprenz]

less toxic than alcohol but often more addictive partly because there is no self limiting factor (as with ethanol, hangovers, health effects etc). Benzo's are definately not the angelic compounds the medical profession once thought they were.

*Do NOT link to that website!* [Sorry]

Persistence of cognitive effects after withdrawal from long-term benzodiazepine use: a meta-analysis
Melinda J. Barker, Kenneth M. Greenwood, Martin Jackson, Simon F. Crowe
School of Psychological Science, La Trobe University, Vic. 3086, Australia

Despite the widespread prescribing of benzodiazepines, uncertainty still surrounds the potential for
cognitive impairment following their long-term use. Furthermore, the degree of recovery that may
take place after withdrawal or the level of residual impairment, if any, that is maintained in long-term
benzodiazepine users is also unclear. The current paper employed meta-analytic techniques to address
two questions: (1) Does the cognitive function of long-term benzodiazepine users improve following
withdrawal? (2) Are previous long-term benzodiazepine users still impaired at follow-up compared to
controls or normative data? Results of the meta-analyses indicated that long-term benzodiazepine users
do show recovery of function in many areas after withdrawal. However, there remains a significant
impairment in most areas of cognition in comparison to controls or normative data. The findings of this
study highlight the problems associated with long-term benzodiazepine therapy and suggest that previous
benzodiazepine users would be likely to experience the benefit of improved cognitive functioning
after withdrawal. However, the reviewed data did not support full restitution of function, at least in the
first 6 months following cessation and suggest that there may be some permanent deficits or deficits
that take longer than 6 months to completely recover.

Still switching chronic alcoholics to benzodiazepines is often the preffered option. Especially if they are 24/7 drinkers as they risk developing Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome through malnutrition and more importantly malabsorption of thiamine (alcohol prevents absorption).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernick...akoff_syndrome

(It's quite a tragic syndrome, pyschosis which when triggered is in most cases irreversible and produces a memory like a goldfish - always wondering around forgetting what they were planning on doing 8 seconds ago)

In severe cases of repeated chronic alcoholism the risk/benefit of alcohol or benzodiazepines definately favours the benzodiazepine option.

[flashcash]

SWIM loves xanax and likes all the other benzos, SWIM never does a lot, just maybe 1mg xanax three times a week or sometimes just 1/2 mg. SWIm use it mainly for his extreme anxiety and insomnia, not just for the high (he loves it though)
SWIM wants to know if alprazolam, clonazepam an lorazepam are liver damaging because swim has a history of liver disease (autoimmune hepatitis) that is now in resecion, he can pretty much do anything except drinking heavily but swim doesnt even taste any kind of liquor.
keep in mind that swim uses this meds with caution, in low dosages and not very often.

flashcash added 2 Minutes and 27 Seconds later...

Originally Posted by flashcash

swim has a history of liver disease (autoimmune hepatitis) that is now in resecion.

i think its spelled recesion, and it means the disease is not active right now, kind of like on hold.

[Riverhead]

Originally Posted by flashcash

SWIM loves xanax and likes all the other benzos, SWIM never does a lot, just maybe 1mg xanax three times a week or sometimes just 1/2 mg. SWIm use it mainly for his extreme anxiety and insomnia, not just for the high (he loves it though)
SWIM wants to know if alprazolam, clonazepam an lorazepam are liver damaging because swim has a history of liver disease (autoimmune hepatitis) that is now in resecion, he can pretty much do anything except drinking heavily but swim doesnt even taste any kind of liquor.
keep in mind that swim uses this meds with caution, in low dosages and not very often.

flashcash added 2 Minutes and 27 Seconds later...



i think its spelled recesion, and it means the disease is not active right now, kind of like on hold.

Liver damage caused by benzos is very rare. Especially if SWIY only takes 1mg xanax 3 times a week, that's not much, so I wouldn't worry if I were you.

Just make sure, as SWIY has a precondition to have himself tested every couple of months. SWIM has his blood analysed every 3 months for example.

Good Luck.

[waytoofertile]

If you have extreme anxiety are you seeing someone? My doc has me on a med that makes me go in every month to have my liver levels checked, also if you take alot of an opiate like percocet that has tylenol, that severely can effect you liver. Long ago a Dr had me on 2x the recommended daily dose for months and I got accidentally pregnant. They did a full blood panel and it said I had Hep B, months later after being off the percocet and my bloody vomiting had stopped, they said that it was a false poitive they thought was caused by Tylenol poisoning.

The liver acts as a strainer for all the junk we put in our bodies and so soaks up the bad stuff, like alchohol. I still can't drink except rare, rare occasions and then just a sip as it upsets my stomach so much. Did your Hep go into remission by itself or did you have the treatment, and if you did have the treatment was it as bad as they say? I have heard some go on disability for 6 months while going through it. True/ False....perhaps another thread.

Good Luck and Blessed Be

[Riverhead]

Originally Posted by waytoofertile

If you have extreme anxiety are you seeing someone? My doc has me on a med that makes me go in every month to have my liver levels checked, also if you take alot of an opiate like percocet that has tylenol, that severely can effect you liver. Long ago a Dr had me on 2x the recommended daily dose for months and I got accidentally pregnant. They did a full blood panel and it said I had Hep B, months later after being off the percocet and my bloody vomiting had stopped, they said that it was a false poitive they thought was caused by Tylenol poisoning.

The liver acts as a strainer for all the junk we put in our bodies and so soaks up the bad stuff, like alchohol. I still can't drink except rare, rare occasions and then just a sip as it upsets my stomach so much. Did your Hep go into remission by itself or did you have the treatment, and if you did have the treatment was it as bad as they say? I have heard some go on disability for 6 months while going through it. True/ False....perhaps another thread.

Good Luck and Blessed Be

benzos aren't opiates

[waytoofertile]

Originally Posted by waytoofertile

If you have extreme anxiety are you seeing someone? My doc has me on a med that makes me go in every month to have my liver levels checked, also if you take alot of an opiate like percocet that has tylenol, that severely can effect you liver. Long ago a Dr had me on 2x the recommended daily dose for months and I got accidentally pregnant.

Good Luck and Blessed Be

RIVERHEAD: If you reread this part of the post I clearly say that. Said am on anxiety med, and Long ago was on Percocet, an opiate, that caused liver damage. I know Benzos arent Opiates, I'm not an idiot, completely anyway. Thanks, though I feel so much better now. I will be much much more careful of my wording.