Posted by chemist on April 25, 2004, at 22:29:22
In reply to Hey Chemist - British MDs and Benzos?, posted by awatts on April 25, 2004, at 18:17:21
> Chemist, do you know why British doctors are so biased against benzos? Seems it causes a lot of unnecessary suffering, and the benzos are much cheaper, less effective against anxiety, safer (if not abused - we really don't know what the newer ADs are going to do to us long term), and much cheaper.
>
> What's going on here?
>
hi there awatts, can't say i am in the know as to why the brits are adverse to benzos...i will say that on this side of the pond, it does vary from doctor to doctor. the malpractice insurance cost, lousy healthcare system overall, and propensity for abuse of benzos - which rarely end in fatality, by the way - are what i perceive to be the cause. from what i have been following in the journal Nature - one of yours, and one of the best - the fright over paxil might have something to do with it, just a guess: they may be reluctant to precribe a (american version) scheduled drug (benzo) vs. a non-scheduled one (ssri or tca or maoi) for the safety issue. again, i cannot provide an explanation, but i have run into xanax-happy docs here, docs that will NOT prescribe benzos at all, and the ones in-between, who usually hit you with zolpidem (ambien stateside) and a useless and anxiety-generating ssri....sorry i cannot shed more light, and do let me know if you find an answer, all the best, chemist
poster:chemist
thread:339924
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040423/msgs/339995.html