The misuse of benzodiazepines is sparking concern in Quebec and prompting the college of physicians to increase its scrutiny of doctors who overprescribe them.
Benzos, as they are colloquially called, are a class of drugs prescribed to treat anxiety, among other disorders. They include brand name drugs like Valium, Xanax and Ativan.
But experts say they can have dangerous side effects and can be habit-forming, especially when misused.
“These medications are intended for short-term use for insomnia or anxiety,” said Camille Gagnon, a pharmacist and associate director of the Canadian Network for Appropriate Medication Use and Deprescription.
“What we’re concerned about is that most people do not use them for short term, in fact they use them for months or years.”
Camille Gagnon, a pharmacist and associate director of the Canadian Network for Appropriate Medication Use and Deprescription, says benzodiazepines should only be prescribed for short periods of time. (Radio-Canada)
Gagnon said about one in 10 people in Canada have a prescription for benzodiazepines.
Twelve people who spoke to Radio-Canada’s Enquêtesaid they were prescribed the drugs by a doctor, but most said they were not warned about side effects, including life-altering withdrawal symptoms.
“There were no warnings about long-term hazards, the dangers of discontinuing treatment,” said Jérémie Morin, a supervisor in a water treatment plant who turned to benzodiazepines to cope with the difficulty of alternating day and night shifts.
His doctor gave him a prescription for 0.5-milligram tablets of lorazepam, a benzodiazepine drug used to treat anxiety disorders, that he could take, and renew, as much as he wanted.
Jérémie Morin, a supervisor in a water treatment plant, turned to benzos to cope with the difficulty of alternating day and night shifts. (Radio-Canada)
But he quickly became dependent. His personality changed; he became anxious, worried and afraid of open spaces.
So he stopped taking the drugs, but then the withdrawal symptoms hit. He felt constantly panicked and afraid.
“There was no way to relax, no way to unwind,” he said. Without his partner’s support, he would surely have died by suicide, he said. “I’d even given her the keys to my gun safe, because I’d reached that point.”
James-Dean Trepanier said he became addicted to benzos without knowing what he was taking.
After a gallbladder operation, he said his doctor offered him what he described as a muscle relaxant.
“They told me it was a muscle relaxant and to take it when I had pain and it would relieve me,” said Trepanier. “Never was I told that it was a benzodiazepine.”
It was only after eight years of taking the drug that he realized he had developed a dependency and tried to wean himself. But he, too, went into deep withdrawal.
His balance was off. He was anxious, sensitive to noise and to light. “I had to wear sunglasses indoors,” he said.
James-Dean Trepanier said he got hooked on benzos without knowing it. It was only when he was coming off the drugs that he realized he was having withdrawal symptoms. (CBC)
But he said it was the unwillingness of several doctors to take his situation seriously that really bothered him.
“If somebody goes to you and speaks to you about being unwell for any symptom, please believe them,” he said. “If I would have had that support I would have been okay.”
Trepanier said he doesn’t blame the doctor who prescribed him the benzodiazepine because he believes they didn’t know how dangerous the drugs could be despite the fact that the drug manufacturers’ product monographs are very clear and detailed about the dangers and the side-effects these medications can have on some users.
Now, Quebec’s College of Physicians says it will increase scrutiny of doctors who heavily prescribe benzodiazepines. The college announced in January that it would reach out to doctors who are among the highest prescribers of the drug.
RAMQ, which administers the public health insurance program in Quebec, will flag doctors who prescribe them and the college will follow up with individual doctors to ensure they are aware of the dangers the drugs pose.
In other provinces, medical associations are ahead of Quebec and already impose clear limits on benzodiazepine prescriptions. Alberta, for example, limits initial benzodiazepine prescriptions to seven doses and Nova Scotia, where benzodiazepine use is highest in Canada, limits dosage to two to four weeks.
HOUSTON (AP) — Brian White scored in the second half to rally the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night.
Houston (12-9-8) took a 1-0 lead into halftime after Ezequiel Ponce scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Ponce’s third goal this season came after Amine Bassi drew a foul on Whitecaps midfielder Pedro Vite following a video review. It was Ponce’s sixth career appearance, all starts.
Vancouver (13-8-7) scored the equalizer in the 73rd minute when White, who entered in the 60th, used assists from Fafá Picault and Ryan Gauld to find the net for the 13th time this season. Picault’s assist was his fifth, matching his career high for a single season. Gauld’s assist gives him a career-best 13 on the season.
Yohei Takaoka, who had clean sheets in his last three starts, finished with one save in goal for the Whitecaps.
Steve Clark saved three shots for the Dynamo, who remain one point behind Vancouver in the Western Conference standings.
Houston, which was coming off a 4-1 victory over Real Salt Lake, has allowed just 33 goals this season.
Vancouver — 6-2-2 in its last 10 matches overall — leads the all-time series 10-9-6.
The Whitecaps remain on the road to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday. The Dynamo travel to play Austin FC on Saturday.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Pearce and Nathan Saliba scored in the second half — the first goals of their careers — and CF Montreal rallied for a 2-2 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday night.
“In the second half, the guys came out a little more ambitious and above all, more connected,” Montreal head coach Laurent Courtois said. “It was a great second half of resilience and fighting spirit. Nathan and Sam were impressive.
“Impressive in covering the gaps and compensating for the teammates, and the individual defending – yes it’s true, it is a lot of weight on their shoulders, but that’s the job.”
New England (8-16-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on Bobby Wood’s third goal of the season. Teenage defender Peyton Miller notched his first assist in his fourth career start and sixth appearance and Carles Gil picked up his ninth of the season. Peyton, at 16 years, 315 days old, is the eighth youngest player in league history to record his first assist.
The Revolution took a two-goal lead in the 35th minute and held it through halftime when 19-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic took a pass from Gil and scored his third goal of the season and career in his first full season in the league. It was the 73rd regular-season assist in Gil’s career, tying him with Steve Ralston for the most in club history.
Montreal (7-12-10) pulled within a goal in the 54th minute when Pearce scored off a free kick after defender George Campbell drew a foul on New England’s Mark-Anthony Kaye. It was the first goal for Pearce in his third career start and fourth appearance.
“Playoffs are the goal. Maybe it wasn’t in the best form, but in the end, we are picking up a point,” Pearce said. “We came into this game confident, ready to play our own game. Everyone tries their best, whenever the players are called on, we are always ready, and we are always giving it our best.”
Montreal scored the equalizer in the 68th minute on the first career goal by Saliba, a 20-year-old midfielder. Saliba has made 34 starts and 48 appearances with Montreal in his two seasons in the league. Campbell snagged his second assist of the season and the third of his career.
“It’s an incredible feeling, it’s a goal I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’m extremely happy that I was able to score it and that it can help the team take this important point on the road,” Saliba said. “Pearce’s first goal gave us really good momentum and we kept up the pressure to go for a second goal. We got more solid defensively, and we came back ready after halftime, to push for these 3 points.”
Aljaz Ivacic finished with four saves in goal for the Revolution.
Jonathan Sirois stopped four shots for Montreal.
New England beat Montreal 5-0 on the road on Aug. 24.
New England leads the all-time series 16-13-4. Montreal improves to 5-8-2 on the road against the Revs.
The Revolution travel to take on Charlotte FC on Saturday. Montreal returns home to host the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Adolis García hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Cody Bradford pitched seven strong innings after the worst start of his career, and the Texas Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 on Wednesday night.
The win kept the defending World Series-champion Rangers alive in the AL West race, trailing first-place Houston by 10 games with 10 to play.
García launched an inside sinker over the left-field wall off Toronto starter Bowden Francis (8-5) after Wyatt Langford singled.
“He swings hard, he swings a lot,” Francis said of García. “I guess the velo was dropping during that time.”
Bradford (6-3) allowed five hits and no walks while striking out six.
The seven shutout innings are the most in a game during his two-year career. He was knocked out of his previous start after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and homers (three) in 3 2/3 innings in a 14-4 loss at Arizona.
“Throughout the week, you’ve got to try and digest what happened, see where I can make adjustments, whether it was just game plan went wrong or just poor execution, or a little bit of both,” Bradford said. “Then you flush it.”
Bradford was perfect through four innings before Alejandro Kirk opened the fifth with a smash back to the mound that caromed off Bradford’s left foot and rolled into right field for a single. It extended Kirk’s hitting streak to a career-high 12 games.
Spencer Horwitz’s double to left-center put runners on second and third with no outs before Bradford retired the next three batters.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider credited Bradford’s “deceptive fastball.”
“When you’re throwing 89, 92, you’ve got to have pretty good deception with that at this level,” Schneider said. “Kept us off balance.”
Kirby Yates pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save in 32 opportunities.
Francis, who took no-hitters into the ninth inning in two of his previous four starts, allowed a double to Marcus Semien, the Rangers’ first hitter of the game. He gave up five hits and one walk in six innings.
Francis has a 1.96 ERA in nine starts with 54 strikeouts and seven walks since being moved back into the starting rotation in late July.
“I don’t even want to get complacent, on cruise control,” Francis said. “Just keep attacking.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette was a late scratch with a right middle finger contusion suffered during infield practice. Schneider said the team will get back x-rays on Thursday. Bichette was activated Tuesday following a calf injury and played for the first time in two months, going 2 for 5 with one RBI at the plate. … INF Will Wagner (left knee inflammation) will have the knee scoped on Thursday. Schneider said Wagner should be ready to start spring training. Wagner, son of former major leaguer Billy Wagner, was acquired from Houston at the trade deadline.
UP NEXT
Rangers rookie RHP Kumar Rocker (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will make his home debut against Blue Jays RHP Kevin Gausman (12-11, 4.02) in the series finale. Rocker allowed one run in four innings at Seattle last Thursday in his major league debut.
