Posted by Greg on February 21, 2002, at 14:04:03
In reply to benzos for alcoholics?, posted by verne on February 21, 2002, at 13:06:16
Verne,
Interesting subject. I am an alcoholic also; I have been sober for 14 years and on benzos for almost 2. My psych is well aware of my alcoholism, but he and I see my depression and my alcoholism as two separate issues. Many doctors don’t, and there may be others here that would disagree as well. But I don’t think that because you have abused alcohol automatically means that you will abuse your medication. I have yet to take any med that makes me want to drink, or that makes me feel like when I did. We both know how debilitating anxiety can be, and to suffer needlessly is beyond my comprehension. My psych monitors me closely, he knows how often I fill my scrips. I’ve never given him reason to believe I was abusing my meds. I recently had my doc switch me from Xanax to Klonopin because I found myself taking more and more Xanax to get the desired result. I was becoming concerned about addiction. The Klonopin is longer acting and I often don’t even take the recommended dose. The point is that I recognized the problem and brought it to my doc’s attention. The doctor and patient have to work together and build that “trust factor”.
In my opinion, I think it’s very unfair for your pdoc to at not at least give you a “trial run” with a benzo if that's what you want to try, especially if you've had success with them in the past. If he/she sees that you’re not handling it, he/she takes you off. No harm, no foul. I hope if nothing else, you’ll consider finding a doc who’s a little more open minded. This one may think he/she has your best interests at heart, but every coin has two sides.
Good luck with this and your sobriety. I hope you don’t have to continue to suffer, you’re right, it is insane.
Greg
> I've been diagnosed with BPD and PTSD among other things. Lately I seem to be having panic attacks (in clusters) but pdoc won't prescribe benzos because of past misuse of alcohol.
>
> Pdoc reasons that if alcohol has ever been a problem, benzos are not indicated.
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> I haven't taken a benzo in over 7 years. I've gone over 2 years without drinking but only a month currently. When I took benzos I didn't drink. But the pdoc dismisses all that and claims any sort of alcohol abuse rules benzos out.
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> I would argue that just about anyone who would benefit from benzos has used alcohol to self-medicate.
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> I've been in a lot of emotional pain since November - the minutes have turned to hours at times. I've been prescribed neurotin, zyprexa, wellbutrin, serzone, depakote, and some sort of anti-emetic that may decrease anxiety.
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> I guess depakote with all its side-effects, hospitalization or even suicide are preferable to a small dose of benzos. This is insane.
poster:Greg
thread:94946
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020215/msgs/94958.html