Bromazepam

The text below is about the active substance Bromazepam.

what is bromazepam and what do I use it for?

Bromazepam is one of the benzodiazepines . It has a calming, muscle relaxant and reduces anxiety.

Doctors prescribe it for anxiety and anxiety and social phobia.

Anxiety and anxiety

Symptoms

• Everyone is sometimes anxious. Fear is a normal reaction to imminent danger. It leads to caution or flight, so it is a useful form of self-protection.
• Sometimes someone is anxious when there is little reason to do so: for example if you do not dare to go outside, or do not dare to go shopping in a busy store. We then speak of an anxiety disorder.
• Anxiety often causes complaints such as headache, stomach pain, sleeping problems and irritability. Intense anxiety can cause palpitations, breathlessness, sweating, chest pain, tremors, a feeling of fainting or tingling in the limbs.

Treatment

• In case of anxiety and tension due to severe events, you can use this medication for a few days to weeks. Do the anxiety and tension last longer, or is there a psychological cause? Then they are usually treated with psychotherapy or with antidepressants.

Effect

• This drug dampens emotions and therefore has a calming effect when you are anxious or tense. This also reduces physical complaints, such as palpitations, abdominal pain, tremors and sweating, which are often accompanied by anxiety and tension.
• This medication is a temporary relief for these symptoms. However, it does not solve the cause of your tension. It can be useful for very intense emotions and for a short period of time.

Effect

• You will become calmer within one hour after taking it. This effect lasts for more than twelve hours.
• After a few weeks, there is a chance that you have become dependent on the drug. You will notice this from withdrawal symptoms when you stop swallowing, such as anxiety, headaches, muscle pain, insomnia, restlessness and irritability. Therefore, do not use this medicine for longer than a few weeks.

Social phobia

Symptoms

• In a social phobia people have an extreme and unhealthy fear of criticism from others. One suffers from physical symptoms, such as tremors, sweating, flushing and palpitations. Everyone suffers from this to a minor extent.

Treatment

• If the complaints are extremely common, your doctor may opt for continuous treatment with a drug from the antidepressant group, in addition to discussions with a psychiatrist or psychologist (behavioral therapy). If this has insufficient effect, the doctor can prescribe alprazolam.

Effect

• Bromazepam has a calming effect and reduces anxiety. This makes you react less violently to situations that are socially threatening to you.
• You will become calmer within one hour of taking it. This effect lasts for more than twelve hours.

What are bromazepam side effects?

In addition to the desired effect, this drug can cause side effects.

The main side effects are the following.

Regularly (affects more than 30 in 100 people) , especially during the first weeks of use

• Drowsiness, fatigue and, less often, sleepiness . This reduces your ability to react and concentrate, which increases the risk of accidents. Accidents can occur, for example, in traffic, when climbing a ladder, operating equipment or during surveillance and control activities. But you are also more likely to fall if you have to get out of bed to go to the toilet at night.

Rarely (affects 1 to 10 in 100 people), especially during the first weeks of use

• Impaired coordination. This may make you clumsy in your movements and have difficulty speaking (articulating) clearly.
• Muscle weakness , feeling of weakness in muscles . This side effect can cause other complaints, such as:
  Blurred or double vision , due to a temporary effect on the eye muscles.
  Urinary incontinence or difficulty in passing urine. These side effects are caused by insufficient control of the bladder muscle.
  Snoring due to the weakening of the uvula. During your sleep, have you ever had problems with your breath stopping for a short time ( sleep apnea )? You may be more affected by this medicine. Contact your doctor if you notice this.
  Fallespecially because this drug also decreases coordination. Especially the elderly and people with muscle diseases have a chance of this.
  People with myasthenia gravis (a serious muscle disease) may be more prone to this disease. Consult your doctor if symptoms worsen (such as general muscle weakness, double vision, closing eyelids, difficulty swallowing, chewing or breathing).
• Slower thinking , memory problems, difficulty concentrating, less alert, confusion. These complaints may increase if you use this medicine for a longer period of time.
• Decrease feelings : this drug not only flattens emotions such as fear and tension, but also positive ones, such as happiness and satisfaction. Your involvement and empathy for others can also diminish.

Rare (affects 1 to 10 in 100 people)

• Gastrointestinal disorders , such as nausea, constipation and diarrhea, dry mouth or extra saliva, problems swallowing. Changed appetite: more or less appetite. This also changes body weight.
• Headache and dizziness. These side effects usually go away after some time as you get used to the drug.
• Sweating and palpitations.
• Dry eyes. Especially people with contact lenses can suffer from dry eyes.
• Rash and itching . Usually this is harmless, but (very rarely) the symptoms can be serious. If the rash looks unusual, if it affects you, or if you also develop a fever or blisters, see your doctor.
• Dependence. You may experience withdrawal symptoms if you stop taking it. The chance of this is very small with short-term use. People who use this drug for more than two months in a row have a high chance of this. Therefore, always taper off gradually if you have been taking this medicine for more than two months.

Very rare (affects less than 1 in 100 people)

• Vivid dreams or nightmares, usually in the early morning.
• Unrest and irritability . So opposite symptoms than you would expect from this drug. Can also delusions and hallucinations occur. Children and the elderly are especially sensitive to these side effects. Consult the doctor in case of these symptoms. A lower dose or a different drug may be needed.
• Memory loss of events that occur while you are taking this drug. For example, night events.
• Depressed feelings can be revealed.
• Less sex drive .
• Trouble breathing . Respiratory complaints may increase in people with the lung disease COPD . Discuss this with your doctor.

Consult your doctor if you experience too much of any of the above side effects or if you experience any other side effects that you are concerned about.

Do you suffer from any side effect? Report this to the lareb side effect center. All reports about side effects of medicines in the Netherlands are collected here.

Explanation of frequencies

• Regular : affects more than 30 in 100 people
• Uncommon : affects 10 to 30 in 100 people
• Rare : affects 1 to 10 in 100 people
• Very rare : affects less than 1 in 100 people

How do I take this medicine?

Look for the correct dosage on the label of the pharmacy.

When?

• Divide the tablets evenly throughout the day. So at 3 times a day every 8 hours.
• Do you only use this medicine in special cases, such as with fear of flying? Then take it about 1 hour in advance.

How long?

• Feeling anxious and tense.
• Use for longer than 2 months in a row is strongly discouraged. There is too much chance that you will become dependent on this medicine.
• This means that when you stop taking it, you will get withdrawal symptoms. Also try to reduce your anxiety and tension in another way.
• Ask your doctor for advice.

Are you taking this drug with an antidepressant?

In that case, you are usually supposed to taper off within a few weeks, because then the antidepressant will start to work.

Social phobia

• After 3 months it should be clear whether this medicine is working well for you. The treatment often takes six months to a year. Then you should taper the dose for 3 months.

What if I miss a dose?