Posted by viridis on October 14, 2002, at 1:13:27
In reply to Re: AD's vs. Bzds for Anxiety disorders - Alan, posted by ANXIETY ANN on October 13, 2002, at 21:49:27
There are sensible doctors out there -- it may just take some looking. After years of psychotherapy, ADs with major side effects, etc., I saw a psychiatrist who recognized that my primary problems were anxiety and panic disorder. He prescribed both Klonopin and Xanax, which have been tremendously helpful. I take K daily, and X occasionally. He offered to increase the dosage if necessary, but since the initial doses (1 mg K/day, and 0.25-0.5 mg X as needed) remained effective, I declined. These doses still work just as well as they did initially, after over a year.
I've asked him about issues of dependency etc., and his response is that (I'm paraphrasing) if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Since I was "broke" and now I'm "fixed", I'm quite happy -- especially since, unlike ADs, the benzos have no side effects that I can detect.
He did say that dependency was very likely to develop, and that if I decide to discontinue benzos he strongly recommends a gradual, supervised withdrawal. According to him, this is generally quite straightforward, although (at least for me) he feels the anxiety is likely to return if I stop the meds (mainly K, since I take X so infrequently).
I have no plans to discontinue either, and would be quite comfortable taking benzos for the rest of my life. My psychiatrist also seems comfortable with this approach -- it's certainly preferable to the ravages of constant anxiety and the recurring, severe depression that can result.
poster:viridis
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021012/msgs/123556.html