Posted by greenline on January 28, 2007, at 14:03:33
In reply to Re: Is My New Doctor Ethical? » greenline, posted by Larry Hoover on January 28, 2007, at 10:41:00
> > I recently went to a new psychiatrist to get off the drugs I currently take for anxiety. I have been taking 6 mg. of Ativan and Ambien CR to sleep. I want to get off these drugs because they make me feel sluggish and I've gained about 30lbs in the past year. The doctor asked me how much alcohol I drank and I told him I drank socially and a bit more when I was upset. I in no way led him to believe I had any kind of a drinking problem in any way. To make a long story short he gave me a prescription for Campral, told me it was basically a food additive which would help my brain recover from the benzo's I have been taking. I filled the prescription, looked it up online and was shocked to see that it was for alcholism. I am in no way an alcholic! I have looked all over the internet and I can't find any use for this drug other than to help alcoholics not drink. Why would he give this to me and make up the stuff about "food additive". I am really quite angry right now. I mean if I had a drinking problem I would admit it. To me this guy is basically saying that I lied to him and I do have a drinking problem and I need this drug. Should I find a new doctor, call this one or what? Thanks for anyone who can help me's help. I have posted this on two other boards and no one seems to know.
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> I hope I don't sound like I'm covering your doctor's *ss, because he failed to communicate the rationale for his prescribing choice, but I can hypothesize what he was trying to accomplish.
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> Acomprosate (Campral) is acetyl-homotaurine. The way I look at this drug is a way to patent a non-patentable food additive, taurine, and thus to profit enourmously from a prescription monopoly. Taurine is what makes Red Bull and its high-dose caffeine tolerable. It has an effect somewhat like GABA, the target of those benzos you take. Moreover, withdrawal from benzos has been associated with an increased appetite for alcohol consumption. The "I drank ...a bit more when I'm upset" concept might have led him to try and help you to not lean than way to manage the inevitable anxiety rebound from the benzo withdrawals. I hope you have sufficient meds to do a dosage taper over a few weeks time.
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> LarLar, Thanks so much for your reply. What you said makes a lot of sense. I do have enough ativan to taper slowly, he's planning a really slow taper with the amount I had been on. I'm not even trying to get off the ambien till I'm off the ativan completely. Thanks again for the information! It was a great help to me. Green
poster:greenline
thread:727407
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