Posted by darkhorse on November 9, 2004, at 7:50:15
In reply to Re: Hi Adam:Benzo talk, posted by ed_uk on November 9, 2004, at 7:23:04
> Hello again...
>
> Diazepam seems to be the most popular benzo in the UK because in the 1980s the Committee on safety of medicines (a government organisation) handed out guidance to doctors in England about the use of benzos. They stated that diazepam was useful because it is easier to taper than the other benzos available in the UK. They said that it was easier to taper because it has a long half life and comes in 2mg tablets- facilitating a slow withdrawal.
>
> Most doctors seem to be under the bizarre impression that diazepam has a much lower abuse potential than other benzos! Who are they kidding! They don't seem to understand the difference between drug abuse and drug dependence. My pdoc says he never prescribes lorazepam because he is convinced diazepam is much less likely to be abused!
>
> Bromazepam was 'black-listed' by the National Health Service many years ago. It was black-listed because there were several cheaper benzos on the market at the time. This means that it was only available on a private prescription, ie. not on the NHS. As a result, very little Lexotan was dispensed in the UK. Recently, the manufacturer discontinued it in the UK altogether- presumably because of low sales.
>
> Lorazepam seems to be thought of as a dangerous benzo in England because it received a lot of media attention for causing severe withdrawal symtoms. This isn't a good reason not to use it prn though, is it?
>
> Please tell me more about your experience with clobazam...
>
> All the best........
> EdHello Ed,
I'm not sure I understood this black list issue..is it some kind of monopoly to let Roche buy less and get rid of its product? and isn't Xanax more expensive? I do not understand this policy......
- I fully agree that Lorazepam is being treated unfairly....I also agree that you can taper with other long acting benzos :
in my experience, after taking lorazepam for a long period I switched to Diazepam which was OK,but then as soon as I got to 5mg a day and less it gave me what you mentioned before depressive ideas crying etc...so I switched to bromazepam....with bromazepam one can taper to less than 1.5 mg which is like 2mg of diazepam without having the diazepam sedation and its depression- like effect at lower doses.- Clobazam : I tried it at 10 mg and felt very bad and so I increased the dose until I reached 80-90 mg just to feel a little better,but soon I found out that I got much worse mentally and that it gave me wired,unpleasan effects...so I stopped after few days...it is a very strange BZ which is very different in its effects than all other BZ...it is also the only BZ that gave me insomnia and no sedative effect at all.
- Another atypical BZ is Tofisopam :at 100mg it gives a stimulating effect not unlike Selegiline,and I think it is more of a dopamine agonist than a GABA agonist....you won't find much about it in the litretaure bec it was invented in the eastern block and sold in eastern countries..even though it is an interesting compound.
Best Regards,
Adam
poster:darkhorse
thread:410990
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041108/msgs/413728.html