Posted by Viridis on March 6, 2004, at 20:11:47
In reply to Re: DON'T BELIEVE BENZO.ORG!!!!!! » Viridis, posted by micro on March 6, 2004, at 15:00:56
I agree with you. Many meds cause medical dependency -- no surprise, since if they work and correct a given condition, and you use them for an extended period of time, your system will adjust such that it relies upon the drug. This isn't inherently bad; it just means that if you decide to discontinue the med it should be done gradually. Benzos, SSRIs etc. all have this property, so there's nothing really "special" about benzos.
In fact (as has been pointed out here many times) the World Health Organization keeps track of the number of adverse events associated with withdrawal from various meds for about 60 countries. The drugs that top the list are both antidepressants (Paxil and Effexor). Xanax (a benzo) is third. Klonopin (another benzo) is somewhere around 15th, and Xanax is the only benzo in the top ten.
BTW, I wasn't trying to imply that aspirin is harmless; aside from the potential problems that you mentioned, there's also the risk of Reye's syndrome in children given aspirin. So yes, aspirin, like almost any other drug, could ruin someone's life. Yet it's a wonderful substance that's turning out to have all sorts of unexpected benefits for many people, and I'm not aware of any anti-aspirin websites.
My point is that any medication (even very common, non-prescription ones) carries risks, and there are people who have reacted very badly. But we can't ban them all; the key is to understand and be alert for the potential risks from the outset, whether it's benzos, antidepressants, painkillers, etc.
poster:Viridis
thread:319551
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040304/msgs/321349.html