Posted by Simcha on August 30, 2002, at 10:36:59
In reply to Alkies and benzos...and other drugs, too (ranty), posted by shar on August 28, 2002, at 1:15:08
> >They say that alcoholics and drug addicts tend to love clonazepam so much that they cannot stop using it without serious problems... I don't know.
> >Shar,
Thank you for the information below. I think that the words "I don't know" in my post above say it all for me. I wasn't even attempting to make a judgement on what is appropriate for chemical addicts. I'm not a pdoc.
I am a recovering sex addict/sexual-obsessive/compulsive. Thus I do have the addict personality. I take Clonazepam. There is some potential for abuse if I have not dealt with my issues.
I was just trying to reassure the person who started this thread from my experience that Clonazepam is not addictive for me. I was trying to help him alleviate his fears around using the drug which has helped me greatly.
Thanks for your concern! :)
Simcha
>
> Nothing personal to the author, here, I just get concerned when I see things like this, being fond of alcohol myself (and sober over a decade). And my comments are from the perspective of people who have sobriety, not those actively using or abusing drugs.
>
> People sometimes forget that if a med is working properly, and being taken properly, it is not giving the person the kind of buzz or altered state of consciousness that is achieved by abusing alcohol or other drugs.
>
> However, LOTS of docs and therapists out there think if they give something to an alkie or drug abuser that is the least bit addicting, it will throw them right back into re-abusing meds.
>
> Take Ativan or Vistaril, I've used these for axiety. Taking the right dosage alleviates panic and anxiety for me. It makes me "normal" again (such as I am when normal). It does not give the buzz, or sense of euphoria, or make me giggly and uninhibited.
>
> Given that so many psych meds do have abuse potential, it puts the alkie in a bad spot and often he or she gets prescribed some lame low-bid alternative that doesn't work for beans. Very frustrating.
>
> I take Klonopin at night to help with sleep. I don't take it at any other time, unless I clear it with my doc first (such as when I was in Effexor withdrawal). I don't crave it, yearn for it, think about my next fix of it; it just helps me sleep. And, it might be very hard to get off of, because I've known non-drug-abusers that had a powerfully difficult time doing it (but they cold turkeyed it).
>
> This goes along with another belief that I've come across in the general population that ADs cause the user that buzz/sense of euphoria. Now, I wouldn't necessarily complain if it did, but what ADs do is alleviate the symptoms of depression (when they work), and don't provide any illicit pleasure. At least mine haven't. But, still the myth continues.
>
> Just a tangent rant out of concern for people who have sobered up, and still get third rate treatment options.
>
> Shar
poster:Simcha
thread:117679
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020829/msgs/118220.html