Posted by bluedog on December 6, 2002, at 20:35:52
In reply to Re: Regarding Benzophobia - PS. » bluedog, posted by Alan on December 6, 2002, at 16:57:55
>
> > I am currently on Diazepam for social anxiety? I am in the experimental stage as to how to get this drug to work best for me.
> >
> > I currently take 2.5mg Diazepam at night and another 2.5mg in the morning.
> > Is this enough to treat my social anxiety?
> > Would 5mg at night and 5mg in the morning be a better combination?
> > Or perhaps 5mg at night, 2.5mg in the morning and 2.5mg in the afternoon?
> > Is it best to take it with food or better to take it on an empty stomach between meals?
>
> According to dosing instructions you are at the relatively LOW end of the spectrum since the range is 2 - 10mg's, 2 - 4 times daily. That's between 4 and 40 mgs sum total.
>
> The only way to know what works best for you is to perform your own clinical trial. No one can tell you how you will do based on a preconcieved template for what is given as a "statistical average". You are not a statistic afterall.
>Thankyou very much for your advice Alan. I really appreciate it.
>
> This "euphoric" effect is usually not a craving per se but a relief of symptoms. There's a HUGE distinction that needs to be made, usually is not, and the fear of "addiction" suddenly becomes the boogeyman. I hope that you understand the difference between "addiction" and sustained medical dependence.
>
> >Yes!!! I definitely know the difference. I used to be addicted to alcohol. If there is a substance that has the potential to be "evil" then alcohol is it (I don't really believe that alcohol is evil as such but just that when someone is addicted to it "evil" things can occur with it's (ab)use). Whats more, alcohol is completeley legal and you don't even need a prescription to obtain it. At the height of my addiction, even after just one or two drinks I would desperateley drive around town trying to find a "bottle shop" that was open so that I could get some more (this could be at 2am or 3am in the morning). At parties I used to be completeley pre-occupied about where the next drink was coming from and I used to get frustrateted when the host didn't offer the next drink fast enough for my liking.
The Diazepam does cause me to behave in such an innappropriate way. Yes, I was initially reluctant to try Diazepam because it had taken me a lot of effort to break my alcohol addiction and I was frightened that I would be substititing one addiction for another especially having heard all the "horror" stories about the benzo's. However once I started researching this issue and looked at balanced, reasonable information on the issue my views changed rather rapidly. I realised that benzo "addiction" really only occured due to medical mis-management and especially because benzo's have been handed out like candy by doctors in the past for completeley innapropriate illness or conditions. It's exactly the same problem that has been created by doctors handing out antibiotics like candy for every little sniff or cough that patients present with. And we all know the results of this medical mismanagement with immune systems being devastated and bacterial organisms mutating into superbugs because of chronic over-prescription of the antibiotics. This is ALL because it's much easier and much more profitable for doctors to write out a prescription than to actually spend time and effort finding out what is truly wrong with a patient.
Anyway the end result of my research is that I decided to give the benzos a try and I am glad that I did. In fact since commencing with Diazepam I can have a couple of drinks again and not even give the matter another thought. It is such an absolute relief to be able to focus on the conversations at a party rather than obsessing about the next drink. I DEFINITELY attribute this to the Diazepam relieving my social anxiety symptoms. In other words I believe it causes a true THERAPEUTIC effect in my system.
As for the sustained medical dependance. Well I also know exactly what this is. I experienced this in it's full glory when I tapered off effexor.
Thanks again for your input Alan. I really appreciate it.
best wishes
bluedog
> > I noticed that Benzo's are also now used to treat chronic fatigue syndrome which as I mentioned above I am also suffering from. See the attached link as an example http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/id/3154/searchtext/klonopin/
> >
> > I fully agree with you that proper treatment means getting the right diagnosis and then the doctors practicing responsible medicine by using the right medications for the right illnesses. In other words it boils down to professional and competent medical management which unfortunately is in rather short supply in western society.
> >
> > Looking forward to your response to my questions
> >
> > regards
> > bluedog
> >
> >
>
>
poster:bluedog
thread:130480
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021203/msgs/130837.html