Does Long Term Usage Of Benzodiazepine Cause Cognitive Disturbances?

Posted on Wed, 19 Oct 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 19 Oct 2016 Answered on

Tue, 15 Nov 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : yes I am military vet with ptsd Ativan I have taked fo 40 years/ no dementis etc .im 72 .Va wants to take me off because od stupidity f they take me of stress attacks come back. They hava a studythsat says older folf can get alhimers or demenrtis Im 72 no issues what would the replace it with?Ar im doing great not looking to changes med /if it worksd for me leave mre alone . The thought gives me stress, It took years to get on meds I take /threy work well as can be expected

Answered by Dr. Dr. Chintan Solanki (4 hours later)

Brief Answer:
not everyone suffers from dementia who takes benzo

Detailed Answer:
Hi,

Thanks for writing to us. I can understand your concern.

I have seen many patients who are taking benzodiazepine for years and doing well. yes there are studies showing that long term benzodiazepine use can cause cognitive disturbance.
But not all people taking benzo for long term suffers from dementia or Alzheimer.

If you are stable lowest possible dose of ativan should be continued. You should also go for regular check up and examination like XXXXXXX Mental Status Examination (MMSE) and other cognitive tests to detect early changes of dementia.
In any case if benzodiazepines are required to stop you can shift to SSRI, Mirtazapine or seroquel for PTSD.

Hope I have answered your query, I will be happy to help further.
Regards,
Dr.Chintan Solanki.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar