Posted by Elizabeth on June 27, 2001, at 10:44:30
In reply to Re: benzos, posted by gilbert on June 26, 2001, at 20:26:17
> Study after study shows that panic patients don't abuse benzos. They always use the least dose possible and usually throw away half their damn pills.
Yeah. People with panic disorder tend to be really afraid of meds and really sensitive to side effects. They're *not* prone to overusing them.
But don't go jumping on MAOIs. They're good broad-spectrum antidepressants, and they're very safe if you use them properly (rather like benzos, no?). (Plus, it's a great opportunity to learn about different types of cheese!)
> It is so easy to blame the drug....
It's especially easy to blame controlled drugs, even though they're controlled because of "abuse potential," not because of toxicity. (I mean,
antineoplastics -- the most toxic drugs used in modern medicine -- are not controlled substances, because nobody would ever take them unless they had to.)> Should everyone quit Effexor and Wellbutrin because of the lady in Texas killing her kids....She was on Effexor and Wellbutrin and I believe an antipyschotic as well. I don't think so.
Yeah, lately it's become fashionable to blame SSRIs and other modern ADs for all kinds of crazy incidents. Occasionally, ADs do cause mania or agitation. People need to know about the possibility so they can get treatment if there's any sign of such a reaction. It's not like these things happen all of a sudden with no warning whatsoeer. I had an undeniable case of serotonin syndrome, complete with delirium and vomiting, while I was taking Effexor, but it wasn't like I just woke up in the morning completely psychotic. As soon as I started feeling sick, I recognised the symptoms and got myself to a hospital, and by the next day I was feeling a little bit spacey but otherwise fine. (Plus, I certainly wasn't with-it enough to hurt anybody seriously, even if I'd been inclined to.)
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:65795
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010625/msgs/68071.html