Posted by alan on August 27, 2002, at 12:16:05
In reply to Re: Sorry, Squiggles, Dinah and Others..., posted by Squiggles on August 27, 2002, at 8:00:45
> Hi Guy,
>
> I've been taking it for about 15 or more yrs.
> I think it was prescribed for GAD but i can't
> remember - it may have been for bipolar - because
> it was prescribed so much later than lithium
> (5-7 yrs) i think it was for GAD.
>
> I don't feel it taking it - but i do feel its
> absence - the withdrawals were near fatal. So
> i think that your brain may change if you take
> a long time and you should continue taking it.
>
> My dose was never raised more than once or twice
> in the duration of taking it (0.50 - 1.0 - to
> post withdrawal necessity - 1.50 mg); In this
> respect - i.e. that you can go a long time
> without reaching tolerance it is a very good and
> potent benzo.
>
> Squiggles
------------------------------------------------
I've taken klon for 10 years - both in short periods and for the last 5 years as maintainence.Two of the common misperceptions that kept me from taking it full time were:
1)That the drug was "addictive" and that I would develop ever increasing tolerance with no way out.
If I did discontinue after a period of extended therapy that I would suffer dire consequences such as seizures and withdrawl the likes of heroin and cocaine. These were of course wild exaggeration of risk - not only for me, but the vast majority of the population.2)That my brain would adapt to these medications in some way causing permanent damage. I would be caught up in the spiraling escallation of dosage increases and be forced to withdraw only to have to be put back on therapy.
These seem to be the most widely held beliefs by those that are considering bzd monotherapy.
If one understands the difference between "addiction" and "medical dependence" as practiced and applied to all drugs by the medical profession, then these fears immediately go out the window. There is no "permanent adaptation" phenomenon nor is the general population of anxiety sufferers "hooked" on ever increasing doses of any bzd.
The standard profile is that of dosages remaining constant (after a theraputic dose is found, one not arrived at arbitrarily) with the overall dose many times decreasing over a period of months or years. That is certainly what mine has done also.
I took 2mgs at first and over a period of time have been hovering at 1 to 1.5mgs depending on how the underlying anxiety fluctuates.
It may be worth reading the following short article if you have not seen it:
http://panicdisorder.about.com/library/weekly/aa031997.htm
Otherwise, what can one tell you other than their own individual experiences? Its always hard to remember that one can't extrapolate for the entire population based on an individual case...but that for the vast majority of sufferers, bzds are by far effective and safe.
The World Health Organisation has reviewed all of the 40+ years of studies on the subject and report in their "Rational Use of Benzodiazapines" that both long and short term bzd monotherapy for anxiety disorders is one of the safest treatments available.
alan
poster:alan
thread:116708
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020821/msgs/117935.html