Benzos Benzo Treatment & Memory Loss? Brain Damage Possible?

[muie]

I have been on clonazepam 4mg a day for the past 4-5 years as prescribed by my doctor for panick attacks & general anxiety and I am finding there are problems right now as a result of their side effects which are starting to interfere with my life. Before I explain let me give you an example of what direction I am trying to lead you with this message.

I remeber when I started taking benzos at the very begining that 1mg of xanax would make me forget completley my entire actions for the course of about 1-2hrs. Other benzos gave me this effect as well however I found xanax without a tolerence to be a complete mess, very much like a brick to the head (if you didn't fall asleep by some miracle by this point) causing as much amnesia as a benzo can induce for at least 1hr or so (haven't tried Rohypnol though I can just immagine amnesia wise from I've heard).

Anyways now I am having doubts about my clonazepam treatment my doctor prescribed since I have been taking a very high dose of benzos (4mg clonazepam a day isn't a small dose by any means) for about 5 years now and all these 5 years meanwhile smoking very high grade cannabis everyday as well.

The reason I am having doubts is because my memory function and in general other important brain functions such as the ability to calculate, subtract and do simple math have been drastically affected (I can tell the difference to the point it drives me insane and so can my friends however I scare off new people easily with this bullshit b/c they think my brain is fried since I don't seem to remeber anything...which I don't).

In conclusion, I want to point out that I got many friends and aquaintances who smoke just as much (if not more) cannabis and just as strong grade cannabis that I do, all who have been smoking for just as long as I have and as frequent as I have and I have NEVER EVER observed these conditions in any of these people. They will forget more often when stoned which is understandable but I believe that both my long and short term memory are fucked b/c of long term benzodiazepine use.

1) Is brain damage a possibility in long term benzo use such as in my case of 4mg/day 5yrs so far? If so, how long? What happens pre-brain damage? (in the years leading to)?

2) Does long term benzo treatment impair cognitive functions such as long and short term memory? (as well as one's capacity to add, subtract or do other simple mathematic functions)

I've lived in this city for over 10yrs now and I still don't know the streets around here by name or intersection (i only know them by what is around there like stores and such), I forget names easily and always have prob since I started taking this drug. Also I have trouble studying (ie: reading and learing) as I can sometimes be on a page for over 30min and realize by the time is up I wasn't even reading it & I dont have ADD in case your wondering.

If anybody has personal experience please either post it or p.m. me, as I am finding myself more and more like I am a complete alien when it comes to operating and using my mental capacity........ESPECIALLY in regards to memory!

p.s. On average the most I smoke to myself is about 1g a day (maximum 1.5g)...very high grade potent stuff like J.H., P.K., Cryptonite, Trainwreck, kushes, etc which like I said my friends also smoke the same stuff pretty much, except some may smoke even more than that a day, without the memory problems and other memory related functions such as mathematics and such.

 

[kokaino]

Yes, benzos can and do cause brain damage.

"High dose abusers of benzodiazepines have shown enlarged cerebrospinal fluid spaces with associated brain shrinkage. Neuropsychological function can be permanently affected in chronic high dose abusers of benzodiazepines, with brain damage similar to alcoholic brain damage, as was shown in a 4 to 6 year follow-up study of benzodiazepine abusers by Borg and others of the Karolinska Institute. The CT scan abnormalities showed dilatation of the ventricular system. However, unlike alcoholics, sedative hypnotic abusers showed no evidence of widened cortical sulci. The study concluded that, when cerebral disorder is diagnosed in sedative hypnotic benzodiazepine abusers, it is often permanent.

An earlier study by Borg et al. found evidence of cerebral disorder in those that exclusively abused benzodiazepines, suggesting that cerebral disorder was not the result of other substances of abuse. Withdrawal from very high doses of temazepam will cause severe hypoperfusion of the whole brain with diffuse slow activity on EEG. After withdrawal, abnormalities in hypofrontal brain wave patterns may persist beyond the withdrawal syndrome suggesting that organic brain damage may occur from chronic high dose abuse of temazepam." (Karolinska Institute)

I know the above is about Temazepam, but I'm sure it can apply to other benzos.

For example, studies have shown that lorazepam (a 3-hydroxy benzo just like temazepam) to also cause brain damage in long term use and it is at least 2 times more toxic than diazepam (valium) in this regard. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6111030)

 

[passtheflask]

I've been off benzos for about a month now, after 4 years on them, and I can definitely tell the difference in memory and mathematic function. I started a new job in April and I've learned more in the past month than I did from April - August.

Also, I notice myself thinking of and remembering little things that I haven't thought about in years. It's like it's slowly coming back to me, but I'm sure those 4 years are gone.

 

[kokomo]

if u dont abuse very high doses long time ull get recoveret. this actually depends how ur condition is, like eating healthy stuff, supplements etc also for memory problems u can keep a diary it sounds bs but it really helps. 4 years aint really that long ull be ok if u start tapering soon imo