Resources & Links

The Ashton Manual - a superb manual by Dr. C. Heather Ashton, the world's leading expert on benzodiazepines. Detailed information on discontinuing and safe tapering off benzodiazepines.

Dr. C. Heather Ashton DVD - a lecture given in Vancouver, B.C., in April 2006, on Benzodiazepine Dependence and Withdrawal Methods. Ideal for those taking benzodiazepines and health care professionals.

Benzo Group online support group on Yahoo.com. "Support network for those who want to end benzodiazepine addiction and recover from withdrawal syndrome." Moderated. Excellent support, expert information and helpful documents such as "Getting a Doctor to Help You Taper." Their companion web site is here: The Benzo Group Support Site.

Books on benzodiazepine dependency and withdrawal.

BenzoIsland.org's online forum for those undergoing withdrawal from benzos. "Dedicated to helping those individuals who wish to free themselves from a benzodiazepine dependency."

Benzodiazepine Equivalence Table - Revised February 2004. "Based on the extensive research and clinical experience of Professor C Heather Ashton, DM, FRCP, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychopharmacology at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England."

About Benzodiazepines - an overview from Reconnexion, including information about benzodiazepines, why they are prescribed, how they work, "safe use," side effects and long term effects, dependency, withdrawal syndrome, coming off benzodiazepines or sleeping pills, and coping well with withdrawal.

BAT (Battle Against Tranquillisers) FAQ on benzodiazepines.

Anti-Depressant Withdrawal Group on Yahoo.com - "This is a group for those who are taking anti-depressants or other psych drugs and suffering from withdrawal to these drugs, tolerance or otherwise."

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Prescription Drugs

WorstPills.org is a reliable, objective, evidence-based and authoritative guide to prescription drugs (subscription-based).

Benzodiazepines

Benzo.org - the authoritative web site for information on benzodiazepines.

The Benzo Group Support Site. This site is associated with the Yahoo Benzo Group online support group. Very comprehensive, including detailed info on water titration.

Reconnexion (formerly TRANX) - has information for people taking benzodiazepines (tranquilizers and sleeping pills), and people who have become dependent on benzodiazepines.

Benzodiazepine.org - excellent web site on benzodiazepine withdrawal and recovery.

Battle Against Tranquillisers - group that assists those who are addicted to benzodiazepine tranquilizers and sleeping pills, and drugs with similar effects, and who wish to withdraw from them, to do so as comfortably as possible, and to help them to make the changes necessary in life after withdrawal.

Anti-Depressants

SSRI Stories  "This website is an index of stories, mainly criminal in nature, that have appeared in the media or that were part of FDA testimony in either 1991 or 2004, in which antidepressants are mentioned. These stories have been collected over a period of years by two directors of the International Coalition for Drug Awareness (ICFDA). They experienced firsthand the drugs' power to harm and want to save others from the fate that befell them. Their focus has been on Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors…"

Drugawareness.org - website of Dr. Ann Blake Tracy, author of Prozac: Panacea or Pandora? - Our Serotonin Nightmare.

The Anti-Depressant Web - information about problems associated with anti-depressant drugs.

General

A highly sensitive woman's new perspective on mental illness - an excellent, informative blog about "agoraphobia, panic disorder, psychotropic medication," and a woman's "journey to wellness."

Anxiety-Panic History: Anxiety, Disorders and Treatments Throughout the Ages - web site that gives the chronology/history of panic, anxiety and depression, including benzodiazepines, antidepressants and other psychiatric medications.

Public Library of Science: a peer-reviewed, open-access journal.

Alliance for Human Research Prevention - "national network of lay people and professionals dedicated to advancing responsible and ethical medical research practices, to ensure that the human rights, dignity and welfare of human subjects are protected, and to minimize the risks associated with such endeavors."

Addiction by Prescription - Joan Gadsby's website. Gadsby is a recognized authority on the responsible and informed use of benzodiazepines (tranquillizers and sleeping pills) and anti-depressants, and is the author of Addiction by Prescription.

Canadian Women's Health Network - sharing information, resources and strategies, and building links to improve women's health.

BC Coalition for Health Promotion - a diverse group working towards an enduring source of funding for health promotion activities inspired and implemented by communities in British Columbia.

Therapeutics Newsletters - evidence-based advice and information about drug therapy from a University of British Columbia agency.

Healthy Skepticism - Healthy Skepticism is an international non-profit organisation for health professionals and everyone with an interest in improving health. Its main aim is to improve health by reducing harm from misleading drug promotion.

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Benzodiazepines

Benzo Books & Other Resources lists a number of books and resources about Benzodiazepines.

Prescription Drugs

Worst Pills, Best Pills is a reliable, objective, evidence-based and authoritative guide to prescription drugs. See the companion Website: WorstPills.org (subscription-based).

Drug Policy

Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and A Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial by Alison Bass, an award-winning journalist and long-time medical writer for The Boston Globe.

The ABCs of Disease Mongering: An epidemic in 26 letters (Emdash Publishing, Victoria, 2008) tickles your funny bone with his new take on the very real and growing phenomenon of Disease Mongering—the practice of convincing more and more of us that we're patients, in order to sell us health treatments of all sorts.

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Benzodiazepines

"Survey Finds Drugs Often Incorrectly Prescribed" - by Sharon Gray. Nexus (Newfoundland & Labrador Medical Association Newsletter), Spring 2006. "A survey to assess benzodiazepine prescribing patterns of doctors in Maine found that many patients are given long-term prescriptions for this class of drugs, despite established guidelines that recommend they be used for no more than a month."

"Manufacturing Addiction" (PDF) - an excellent article on the overprescription of sleeping pills and benzodiazepines to women in Canada.

"The Diagnosis and Management of Benzodiazepine Dependence" - by Prof. Heather Asthon. Current Opinion in Psychiatry 18(3):249-255, May 2005. Abstract of excellent paper on overprescription of benzodiazepines, recommendations for short-term prescribing, and safe withdrawal.

"The Hidden Addiction: Adverse Effects of Benzodiazepines and Other Psychiatric Drugs" (PDF) - by Janet Currie, MSW. Visions, B.C.'s Mental Health Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, Winter 2004.

"The Effects of Tranquillization: Benzodiazepine Use in Canada" - Health Canada (National Health and Welfare), 1982.

Anti-Depressants

The documentary film Prescription: Suicide? takes an intimate look at the personal impact of anti-depressant drugs on children and teenagers. The filmmakers have weaved together six distinct stories of real people and real experiences. They have captured a sense of the arguments in an ongoing controversy that affects millions of Americans in a documentary that ultimately asks the question if these so-called revolutionary medications can be used safely. "This isn't a story about money or big pharmaceutical corporations", says director Robert Manciero, "it's a story about tragedies in individual families like you and me and our kids." Click here for a schedule of public showings.

"Selective Serotonin-Reuptake Inhibitors and Risk of Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn" - by Christina D. Chambers et al. New England Journal of Medicine Vol. 354:579-587 (February 9, 2006; Number 6). Abstract about a case-control study to assess whether PPHN [persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn]is associated with exposure to SSRIs during late pregnancy. "Conclusions: These data support an association between the maternal use of SSRIs in late pregnancy and PPHN in the offspring; further study of this association is warranted. These findings should be taken into account in decisions as to whether to continue the use of SSRIs during pregnancy."

"Efficacy of Anti-Depressants in Adults" - by Joanna Moncrieff and Irving Kirsch. British Medical Journal 2005; 331:155-157 (16 July). Link to abstract of an article on whether anti-depressants, in particular selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, should be first line treatment for moderate or severe depression.

"The Marketization of Depression: Prescribing SSRI Antidepressants to Women" (PDF) by Janet Currie. Women and Health Protection, May 2005.

"Paroxetine (Paxil) and Congenital Malformations" by Megan Williams and Eric Wooltorton. CMAJ November 22, 2005; 173 (11). Article about an unpublished study by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) which has led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Health Canada to warn that one SSRI, paroxetine, may increase the risk of major congenital malformations. Drug Safety 24(3):183-197, 2001. Link to abstract of excellent paper on discontinuation of antidepressants and preventative strategies, including tapering.

"Antidepressant Use in Adolescence: We're Asking the Wrong Questions" - Paediatrics and Child Health, the official Journal of the Canadian Paediatric Society, October 2004, Volume 9, No. 8.

Anti-Psychotics

"B.C. Taxpayers Paying Millions for High Cost, High Risk, Inappropriately Prescribed Drugs" (PDF) - by Janet Currie, 2006.

"Effectiveness of Antipsychotic Drugs in Patients with Chronic Schizophrenia" - by Jeffrey A. Lieberman, M.D., et al. Link to abstract of study of the relative effectiveness of second-generation (atypical) antipsychotic drugs as compared with that of older agents. The conclusion: "The majority of patients in each group discontinued their assigned treatment owing to inefficacy or intolerable side effects or for other reasons."

Miscellaneous

CBC Radio's The Current investigative report on "Canada's prescription drug problem," focusing on benzodiazepines. Listen to the Dec. 8/05 program here.

Seniors and Drugs: Prescribed to Death - a series of CBC radio programs on seniors and adverse drug reactions, particularly benzos, April 8-10/05. Listen to:

• "The Accidental Addict," (RealAudio clip)
• "On the Road to Recovery," (RealAudio clip)
• "Overdosed: The Drugging of Canadian Seniors." (RealAudio clip)

"Hyperthermia and Heat Stroke: Heat-Related Conditions" (PDF) - by Joseph Rampulla. Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program manual The Health Care of Homeless Persons. Includes a section about medications (including some tricyclic anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and lihium) that affect the body's ability to deal with heat, causing many severe health effects up to and including heart failure.

"Bitter Pills" - review by E. Jane Garland (Clinical Professor Psychiatry, University of British Columbia) of "Medicines out of Control? Antidepressants and the Conspiracy of Goodwill" by Charles Medawar and Anita Hardon. Canadian Medical Association Journal, Nov. 23, 2004.

"Medical Journals Are an Extension of the Marketing Arm of Pharmaceutical Companies" - Public Library of Science Journal, May 2005.

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The listing of the presentations Prof. C. Heather Ashton, DM, FRCP made at the 3rd Annual Maine Benzodiazepine Conference, October 2005 has moved to a new page.

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