What are benzodiazepines and Z drugs?
Benzodiazepines are a group of drugs that are sometimes used to treat anxiety. Examples include: diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan), chlordiazepoxide (Librium, Tropium), alprazolam, clobazam, clonazepam, clorazepate, and oxazepam. Some are also used as sleeping tablets. These include: temazepam, flunitrazepam, flurazepam, loprazolam, lormetazepam, nitrazepam. Zaleplon, zolpidem, and zopiclone are other sleeping tablets but, strictly speaking, are not benzodiazepines. They are known as the Z drugs. However, they act in a similar way (they have a similar effect on the brain cells as benzodiazepines). When you first start taking a benzodiazepine or Z drug, it usually works well to ease the symptoms of anxiety, or to cause sleep. You can usually stop a benzodiazepine or Z drug without any problems if you take it for just a short time (less than 2-4 weeks).What happens if you take a benzodiazepine or Z drug for longer? Tolerance After a few weeks of taking a benzodiazepine or Z drug each
