Posted by gilbert on March 9, 2002, at 12:57:39
In reply to Re: No experts on Benzodiazipines! Alan » gilbert, posted by andyboy on March 9, 2002, at 10:34:13
As I have posted in many of my earlier statements I am not against benzo use or properly prescribed benzo use. I do think that every time there has been anti benzo sentiment or problems then the same sited material gets posted over and over to substantiate there uses. I used xanax successfully as a a recovering addict for 2 years.....it was not until my third year that the drug took hold of me for lack of a better word. There are numerous studies even some original FDA studies siting the potential abuse of benzos...I am begging the question is this all there is. The SSRI's were not and are not near as effective for me as benzos. The benzos have pooped out and I have become very hooked on them. Now the ssri's are showing withdrawal syndromes. Are we willing to settle for these as our options. Nobody who continues to take benzos complains about them until they run out or have to go off. Look at all of my earlier posts....very pro benzo, How is one to tell that for 2 years the drug will be effective and then bam it does not work. Then you need more and more. I am not saying that everyone who takes benzos will turn out like me I am saying it is more prevalent than most on this board would have you think. In my personal realm of family and friends I know of many people simply unable to quit their valium or xanax, most of these people are not addicts. Should I trust data off the internet or what I see in front of my own 2 eyes. My mom who has never been addicted to anything has spent 3 years trying to ramp down off valium. I could give many, many real life examples. All of these people started on low doses, needed more and then could not quit. I have dropped from 4mg xanax to 3 mg this has taken 2 months. I have tried the old klonopin switch it did not work. I think the medical community would prefer most panic patients on ssri's...with this I do not agree....but simply put the benzos can pose some serious problems and you don't have to be an ex addict like me for this to occur. Sleep disturbances, prolactin levels, I mean it's not like these meds are innocous to the body mind and soul. I am not asking for everyone to quit their benzos but a little dose of reality about their use would be nice once in a while. IT is not just junkies who have problems with these drugs. I would hope a viable substitute appears within the next few years for the sake of all of us.
Gil
poster:gilbert
thread:96969
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020307/msgs/97208.html