May 2015 Study: "High-dose benzodiazepine dependence: a qualitative study..."

This abstract reports on a Swiss/American study, and it's called "High-dose benzodiazepine dependence: a qualitative study of patients' perception on cessation and withdrawal."

It begins with this key quote:

"Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome has been reported following attempts to withdraw even from low or therapeutic doses and has been compared to barbiturate and alcohol withdrawal."

Here's the link to the abstract:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25968120

If you're interested in reading the full study, it's interesting, informative and includes many quotations from the participating patients. The withdrawal symptoms listed reflect the experiences of many of us here on BB, and the authors state the following in the conclusion:

"These  perceptions  further  illustrate  the  need  to  provide  patients  with  comprehensive information  on  the  benefits  and  risks  of  BZDs  when  initiating  habit-forming  treatment approaches, even if intended only for short-term use."

The study can be found here:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/s12888-015-0493-y.pdf