Quote:
Originally Posted by NW Guy
As someone who is now addicted to Lorazapem, and struggling to taper off while experiencing PCS symptoms, I can say that daily benzo use definitely slows down recovery from a concussion and is likely causing harm that I'm not yet aware of. I was prescribed Ativan for sleep/insomnia issues immediately post concussion and took only 12 doses and was hooked. I realized this 3+ months ago and am still struggling to taper down my dose. Had I known about how addictive this drug is, I would never have taken 1 pill. I only wish I had found this board earlier.
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Hi NW Guy,
I'm sorry to hear of your struggles. I wish I had more positive information to share, but I think we are all becoming aware of the undeniable fact that benzodiazepines are extremely dangerous for those with brain injury. If the studies I posted before (
Long-term impairment of behavioral recovery from cortical damage can be produced by short-term GABA-agonist infusion into adjacent cortex. - PubMed - NCBI) () (
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3742206 weren't enough, I have spoken with the lead researcher of those studies and explained my development of symptoms (cognitive impairment and visual coordination issues significantly worsening after taking Valium and Xanax). His response was that his research supported/explained everything that had happened, and that taking benzodiazepines after brain injury "doomed" recovery in the animals he had treated.