Posted by IsoM on September 6, 2002, at 17:06:25
In reply to The causes of things, posted by Squiggles on September 6, 2002, at 7:01:18
Squiggles, have you ever had a chance to talk in depth with someone else who had withdrawal problems with any benzodiazepines? Compare symptoms & such?
I don't have hard evidence but from anecdotal discussions with others & thinking of how I react too, I believe that long term use of psychotropic meds can alter the brain's chemistry (at least in some people) permanently. If not permanently, at least for many, many months or years.
Seeing that medications do cause some sort of change in the brain (or they wouldn't have any effects, good or bad), I'm wondering if long term use doesn't cause our brains to come to rely on them. If someone who has normal thyroxine levels takes thyroid hormones, their thyroid will become inactive over time, atrophying. Same with insulin & the pancreas. All sorts of compounds, if taken over a period of time, are known to alter our chemistry & function of different organs. Why not psychotropic meds too?
I don't believe you're ruminating over this as suggested. It's only normal for a person to be curious as to cause & effect. It's due to curiousity that medical discoveries are made. To simply accept that something happened without wondering why seems a very boring attitude to take.
Due to biochemical differences in people, I think some may be more sensitive to changes while others could possibly weather chemical assaults with no lasting harm. More & more, we're discovering why the differences & hopefully with drugs will be designed to be more selective for specific problems with the least possible side effects on other body systems.
poster:IsoM
thread:118993
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020906/msgs/119080.html