![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Squiggles on February 4, 2007, at 9:00:39
I'm afraid that the "d" has not gone
away altogether; but there was a stretch of
some weeks after my cat's death. I can't
distinguish cause from coincidence -- we
still have some pets so maybe it's partly
true.I find this gastro problem very disruptive --
i've had to turn down opportunities because it can be sudden while you're on the road or anywhere.And I can't go very far anywhere outside the house. I time my activities during late in the day when it is more unlikely.
It's made my life miserable. It started when
with my clonazepam withdrawal and never really
stopped. Is it possible that Dr. Heather Ashton
is right about permanent damage from benzo withdrawal?I have started taking Kaopectate and that helps for a few days.
Any suggestions?
Squiggles
Posted by Quintal on February 4, 2007, at 9:29:45
In reply to I was wrong about the needle in a haystack, posted by Squiggles on February 4, 2007, at 9:00:39
--------------------------------------------------
CLARIFICATION ABOUT BRAIN DAMAGE
by Professor Heather Ashton
August 29, 2002I agree that there is an abundance of people with very long-term problems and I have never denied that benzos can cause lasting, possibly permanent, neurological and other symptoms (see my articles on protracted withdrawal syndromes). What I have said is that there is no convincing evidence to date that they cause structural brain damage - e.g. death of neurons, brain atrophy etc. I think that long-lasting changes are probably functional, at the level of the GABA/BZ receptors which fail to revert to their pre-benzodiazepine state, often leaving the nervous system hyperexcitable (paraesthesiae, formication, muscle twitches, fasciculation, sensory hypersensitivity, tinnitus, jaw and dental pain, insomnia etc.) or generally unregulated/uncoordinated (cognitive) problems. Being functional changes, they are potentially capable of resolving which is why many people do notice gradual, if incomplete, improvement over the years.
Professor Lader himself carried out CAT scan studies on long-term benzodiazepine users and failed to find definite structural brain changes. As you know I tried several times unsuccessfully to obtain a grant for MRI studies in long-term benzo users who have withdrawn (combined with neurocognitive and EEG measurements), and to my knowledge no such study has ever been performed. Several correspondents have had MRI scans which have been reported as normal. On the other hand, I have of course seen many patients with long-lasting tinnitus, paraesthesiae, muscle spasms and joint pains etc. which are reported in my papers on protracted withdrawal. See especially the 1991 paper.
However, neither CAT scans nor MRI can reveal functional as opposed to structural changes. A search for structural changes would require very careful comparisons of brain volumes, hippocampal size, ventricular volume etc, in benzo users compared to age, sex and IQ matched controls; or else prospective longitudinal studies, again comprising benzo users with matched non-users over the long term. Cerebral blood flow measurements (fMRI) or PET (positron emission tomography) of GABA receptors might be more informative about functional changes, but have not been carried out.
http://www.benzo.org.uk/ashanswer.htm
--------------------------------------------------Q
Posted by Squiggles on February 4, 2007, at 10:12:53
In reply to Re: I was wrong about the needle in a haystack » Squiggles, posted by Quintal on February 4, 2007, at 9:29:45
Fascinating paper; yes of course structural
and functional changes may result in a difference
in benzo receptors, if you can count them, and
if a test of pre and post-benzo withdrawal
can actually be done, and if you can make a
statistical survey of the side effects of this
observed or supposed GABA receptor change;It seems that in scientific inquiry in pharmacology you have to use
Statistics - large enough sample that is valid
Coincidence - observations that are not necessasrily causal
Cause - the real McCoy where you target on the
mechanism of biological reactions.BTW, it is still possible that cat dander has eliminated a percentage of my respiratory and mucal reactions - they have decreased after all, but on the other hand, and we still have pets;
on the other hand at that time I may have started to take Kaopectate, or I may have changed my diet or my mental state.Medicine is rocket science :-)
Squiggles
Posted by Phillipa on February 4, 2007, at 12:07:35
In reply to Re: I was wrong about the needle in a haystack, posted by Squiggles on February 4, 2007, at 10:12:53
Squggles where in the last thread about the causes of the cat dander did the topic of lymes disease enter the picture. Were you bitten by a tick? I was and still don't know when and or that is why my depression anxiety? Love Phillipa
Posted by Squiggles on February 4, 2007, at 13:23:44
In reply to Re: I was wrong about the needle in a haystack » Squiggles, posted by Phillipa on February 4, 2007, at 12:07:35
> Squggles where in the last thread about the causes of the cat dander did the topic of lymes disease enter the picture. Were you bitten by a tick? I was and still don't know when and or that is why my depression anxiety? Love Phillipa
I know that lyme disease is a popular theory
as [what kind?] a cause of mental illness.But it occurs in the Northeastern US, right?
I'm in Canada. Also, how can you tell if you have been bitten by a tick - is there a test?
Also, my reaction was 25 yrs ago after a very
stressful and overwork period in my life. If my bipolar reaction was not endogenous (genetic), then I would say that unsuspected withdrawal reaction from
Valium and maybe another benzo, was THE most likely cause.Squiggles
Posted by Phillipa on February 4, 2007, at 13:56:22
In reply to Re: I was wrong about the needle in a haystack, posted by Squiggles on February 4, 2007, at 13:23:44
I subscribe to a lymes newsletter it is all over the world. The tic is so small you can't see it on you. I will forward a newsletter to you so you can subscribe if you want to. I have two from today in my deleted folder. Love Phillipa
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.