Posted by Elizabeth on June 27, 2001, at 23:55:29
In reply to benzos and appetite, posted by grapebubblegum on June 27, 2001, at 15:15:49
> Sorry, Elizabeth, but I knew nothing of harrassment and name calling or I would not have asked my question twice.
Oh no, it's just that I don't like to reveal personal information, like my geographic location or what I do, on the net. No offense taken.
> I won't argue because I've had similar experiences, plus I noticed that when heading off a panic attack that was really brewing up into a doozy, the klonopin, once it started working, liberated TEARS and rendered me verbose, which led me to believe that perhaps some pent-up anxiety or stress of some sort was behind the panic attack and the klonopin had somehow un-blocked a dam.
Well, like I said: people with panic-anxiety are inhibited and fearful. Benzos liberate them from their inhibition.
> About the eating, though: I was wondering about this just recently. Everyone has heard me brag that since I started on a very low-dose regimen of klonopin, I have lost weight with minimal effort, which makes me question how strong an appetite-stimulant effect benzos have, if any.
YMMV. But I've known a lot of people who get the munchies on them. Especially inhibited, depressed, social-phobic/isolating types. I think your theory about the mechanism of benzo-induced appetite increase is probably right. I don't binge on junk food when I get hungry on benzos: I just eat a good healthy normal meal.
> I wonder also if benzos actually CAUSE depression or if they only APPEAR to.
For starters, some people can confuse depression with sedation. They think that because they feel tired when they take Klonopin or Valium or whatever, they must be getting more depressed.
> I wonder if constant low or medium-level anxiety masks underlying depression and when the anxiety is alleviated, as it can be with benzos, the depression that seems to emerge with benzo use may have been there all along as a substrata of the anxiety.
Anxiety and depression frequently go hand in hand. It's often hard to say which, if either, is primary. Your idea is intriguing. I have no idea how we'd go about testing it, though!
> Just a theory for anyone who wants to ponder it. I'm not even sure if I agree with my own theory: it's just in the "hmmm...?" stage for me.
All theories start as hypotheses, and all hypotheses start as speculation. :-)
-elizabeth
poster:Elizabeth
thread:65795
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010625/msgs/68168.html