Posted by Abby on July 28, 2001, at 18:02:31
I've been looking at some of the recent posts about benzodiazepines, and I thought that I would share an observation of my pdoc's about their use in bipolar patients.
He finds them very useful on an as-needed basis for halting hypomanic escalation particularly of the agitated type.
He had something interesting to say about most doctors' attitudes to prescribing these drugs and the fear of tolerance or addiction.
Basically his position is this. Benzos are useful and very helpful, but they can only do so much. At least in the case of bipolar pateints what many doctors are likely to view as tolerance is really just a worsening of symptoms.
You shouldn't keep raising the dose; you should try another drug, but that doesn't mean you need to drop the benzodiazepine, and just because your whole problem isn't fixed, you may not have developed tolerance or become addicted.
Abby
poster:Abby
thread:72257
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010725/msgs/72257.html