Posted by Christ_empowered on September 6, 2019, at 11:01:22
In reply to Re: benzo crackdown, posted by rjlockhart37 on September 5, 2019, at 16:44:41
benzodiazepine prescribing in the US has been on the upswing for...15, 20 years...I forget the exact data...
and the real problem is that long term use can cause problems, and doctors seem to have amnesia or something, because they act as if its a-OK to do quickie tapers off long term Mother's Little Helpers people, and then they act shock--shocked, I tell you!--when problems pop up.
oh, that and...for whatever reason(s), a lot of long term opioid people/patients were (are?) also prescribed xanax, also long term...and that combo is dangerous, especially when other Rx and/or street drugs were thrown in the mix.
i dont know why xanax and klonopin are so popular. I think things would be better if doctors would try moderate doses of Valium, maybe ativan, perhaps xanax xr, and do a better job with informed consent (maybe...try it, once in a while....) and also work on doing slow, gradual tapers for people.
i dunno. did you know that lobotomies and other brain operations were performed in the 40s-70s for severe pain? yeah, I kinda see why long term opioid prescribing can often be a much, much more humane alternative, lol. i've seen abuse of it, though, up close and personal...its not a good thing.
as for the benzodiazepines... not to go all commie/marxist on this, but in the US in particular...decades on neoliberalism and the decimation of middle-middle class, the shredded safety net, and social disintegration have all combined to make us a nation of pill poppers. part of it is that people do have more problems that might require Rx treatment...
and part of it is that the post-Reagan, hyperindividualistic dogma that reigns supreme results in those who are 'messed over' being labeled and medicated, because the powers that be declare them 'messed up.'
ok. :-)
poster:Christ_empowered
thread:1106029
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20190728/msgs/1106045.html