“What doctor can help me taper off benzodiazepines safely?” If you are typing that question into a search box late at night, you already know something many physicians do not: getting off these medications is harder than getting on them, and doing it wrong can cause real harm.
What you need is a benzodiazepine tapering doctor. Not a detox bed. Not a lecture. A physician who understands what these medications do to the nervous system, and how to undo it slowly and safely.
That kind of doctor is rare. Most were taught how to start a benzodiazepine, never how to end one. This page explains what proper benzodiazepine tapering looks like, and how Mark Leeds, D.O. provides it.
Physical dependence is not addiction
Start with the sentence that changes everything: physical dependence is not addiction. If you took your medication exactly as prescribed and your body now depends on it, you did nothing wrong.
You have an iatrogenic injury. That means a medical condition caused by medical treatment itself. It arrived with a prescription, and it deserves medical care, not addiction programming.
This is true whether you take Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), or Valium (diazepam). The medication did what benzodiazepines do. Your brain adapted, exactly as brains do.
Why rehab and detox timelines fail benzodiazepine patients
Many detox and rehab facilities claim expertise in benzodiazepine tapering. Then they offer you 7, 10, 14, or 30 days. Those are not medical numbers. They are insurance numbers.
A nervous system that has leaned on a benzodiazepine for years cannot rewire itself in a week. Expecting it to is like expecting a broken bone to heal by Friday because that is when the coverage ends.
The goal of “substance free by discharge” is medically wrong for benzodiazepine dependence. So are the 12-step meetings and group sessions that come with it, built for a condition you do not have.
Stopping abruptly, often called cold turkey, deserves its own warning. It can cause seizures, and it makes every future attempt harder. That suffering is not a lesson. It is harm.
How a benzodiazepine tapering doctor builds your taper
Dr. Leeds is an osteopathic physician focused on benzodiazepine tapering and psychiatric medication deprescribing. He serves on the medical advisory board of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, an organization devoted to people harmed by these medications.
His method rests on three foundations. The first is the Ashton Manual, which established the crossover approach: switching from your current benzodiazepine to diazepam, a long-acting medication that leaves the body gradually and comes in very small doses. In Dr. Leeds’ clinical experience, patients who cross over to diazepam usually have a more comfortable taper and hold onto daily functioning better.
The second is hyperbolic tapering, where each dose reduction is smaller than the one before it. Think of a dimmer switch, not a light switch. The lower the dose gets, the more gently it needs to fall.
The third is precision. Dr. Leeds works with compound pharmacies that prepare liquid formulations, allowing reductions as small as a fraction of a milligram. The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines support this kind of gradual, patient-responsive reduction.
How long does it take? Six months is the absolute shortest. A year is reasonable for many people, eighteen months or longer is often appropriate, and some tapers take several years.
The calendar does not heal you. Time, safety, and the right pace heal you, and your nervous system sets that pace.
One more thing you should know. In 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated benzodiazepine labeling to formally recognize physical dependence, withdrawal reactions, and the need for gradual dose reduction. If anyone has told you these problems are imaginary, the label on the medication itself says otherwise.
What is BIND, and how is it managed?
Benzodiazepine-induced neurological dysfunction (BIND) is the name for the wide range of symptoms that can appear while reducing or after stopping a benzodiazepine. Adrenaline surges. Burning skin. Ringing in the ears. Inner restlessness. Digestive trouble that patients call benzo belly. Waves of fear that arrive out of nowhere.
These symptoms are real and physical. Long-term benzodiazepine use lowers the brain’s response to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), its main calming signal, and when the medication decreases, the calming system falls behind.
Here is what matters most: your nervous system is not broken. It is recalibrating. Recovery tends to arrive in windows and waves, stretches of feeling better followed by temporary returns of symptoms, and over time the windows grow longer.
Dr. Leeds manages BIND directly as part of the taper. He adjusts the pace, holds the dose when your body asks for time, and treats withdrawal-related conditions himself rather than sending you elsewhere.
One physician, every week, for as long as it takes
Dr. Leeds practices concierge telemedicine. Visits happen weekly, by video or audio, and can last up to an hour. This is not a fifteen-minute medication check.
Between visits, you have 24/7 text access for urgent questions. You are never handed off to a coach, an assistant, or a rotating provider. The physician who knows your whole story is the one who answers.
You are treated as a partner in your own care. You keep control over the pace and direction of your taper, and nothing is ever forced on you.
Where Dr. Leeds practices, and how to begin
Prescribing and medical management are available to patients located in Florida. Consultations are different. They are paid sessions, by video or audio, available to people anywhere, and while a consultation can cover any topic, it is not a medical visit and does not establish a physician-patient relationship.
Beginning is simple. Send a message through the contact form on drleeds.com, share a little about your situation, and follow-up will come by email or phone.
You have already done the hardest part. You refused to accept rushed, dismissive care as your only option. The next step is one message.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find a benzodiazepine tapering doctor who will not rush me?
Ask one question: how long is a taper allowed to take? A physician who answers with a fixed number of weeks is following a template. Dr. Leeds allows tapers to run from six months to several years, guided by how your body responds.
Why do benzodiazepine tapering doctors prefer crossing over to diazepam?
Diazepam is long acting, leaves the body gradually, and comes in small doses and liquid formulations, which makes each reduction gentler. This is the method the Ashton Manual established. When diazepam is not a good fit for a particular patient, a taper using the current medication is used instead.
How long does a safe benzodiazepine taper take?
Six months at the absolute shortest. A year is reasonable for many patients, eighteen months or longer is common, and some tapers take several years. The right timeline is the one your nervous system accepts.
Do I have to be off my benzodiazepine before contacting a tapering doctor?
No, and please do not stop on your own. Most patients begin while still taking their medication, and stabilizing at the current dose is often the first step. If you have already stopped and are struggling, help is still available.
Can a benzodiazepine tapering doctor also help with sleep medications like Ambien?
Yes. Z-drugs, the non-benzodiazepine sleep medications such as zolpidem (Ambien) and eszopiclone (Lunesta), act on the same GABA receptors and create the same kind of dependence. Dr. Leeds tapers them using the same careful principles.
About the physician
Mark Leeds, D.O. is an osteopathic physician providing concierge telemedicine care focused on benzodiazepine and z-drug tapering, psychiatric medication deprescribing, opioid dependence treatment, and alcohol use disorder. Dr. Leeds works directly with each patient, with weekly appointments and 24/7 text access between visits. He serves on the medical advisory board of the Benzodiazepine Information Coalition and hosts The Rehab Podcast on the Mental Health News Radio Network. Medical management is available for patients in Florida; consultations are available more broadly.