Posted by cubbybear on February 27, 2004, at 0:14:34
In reply to Re: How often is too often to take Klonopin?, posted by sl on February 26, 2004, at 7:30:24
> It's not a "misconception" per se, it's that we see them as the same thing.
> Dependence on a chemical for your daily wellbeing, and needing more to get the same effect...isn't that the definition of "addiction"???Much of this never-ending debate gets down to semantics and improper word usage. Dependence on a chemical for daily well being is absolutely not addiction. If so, we'd have to say that diabetics are addicted to insulin and people with hypertension who take BP medication are addicted. They are simply dependent on these medications to survive.
I've long known that if I stop taking my anti-depressant, within a couple of months perhaps, my depression will return sure as the day dawns, following a constellation of stressful circumstances or situations. So I have to take my AD, Parnate, every day of my life to avoid such relapses. If anyone tried to tell me I was a pill popper or addict, they'd find themselves in a terrific verbal duel since that term has become perjorative and a reflection of ignorance on the subject.In another instance, if you need a particular medication such as a benzo type drug to counter anxiety, panic, or insomnia but find that after a while you need to increase the dose to attain the same effect, you would have developed a "tolerance". That's something different, and that's where benzophobes get their ammunition that these drugs are "addicting." They CAN produce tolerance, but more often than not, they don't. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about here.
poster:cubbybear
thread:317718
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040223/msgs/318110.html