Posted by Joshua on December 7, 2002, at 18:41:11
In reply to Re: Social Anxiety in OZ (Damn Benzophobes) » Joshua, posted by Alan on December 7, 2002, at 14:26:24
> > I really don't see the problem with the judicious use of benzo's with appropriate dx.
> >
> > In all honesty, I find the post's concerning the use of many of the other drugs on this board to be much more problematic.
> >
> > All psychiatric drugs are serious business, including the benzo's. I'm just having trouble processing all this discussion on benzo's in comparison to the use of anti-psychotics, stimulants, etc. I know we all gotta do what we gotta do, and I have no problem with others needs when it comes to the use of certain drugs for specific conditions, but goodness, the benzo's have been around for so many years and have proven to be extremely safe when they aren't abused and are used correctly under a knowledgeable physicians care.
> >
> > I'm sorry that some have had bad experiences with benzo's, but for those of us who have success with them, why so much resistance from others. I've had bad experiences with all AD's that I've taken, and I know others have too, but I don't see the kind of emotions elicited from those experiences here that seem to be crop up when a discussion about benzo's evolves. Seems kind of like a double standard exists, but I honestly don't understand what the motivation is for some to bash benzo's to such an extent.
> >
> > Still, the discussion is entertaining and informative.
> >
> > Joshua
> ===========================================
>
> I haven't a clue either...except that this faction driven by benzo.org seems to have latched on to the very same herd mentality as the corporatisation that's trying to replace the bzd's in the first place - the promotion of AD's for anxiety. As if we're to believe that AD's are superior to bzd's simply because they aren't "addictive" (which of course they are moreso apt to make one medically dependent than the bzd's - just look at the boards around the internet and the latest W.H.O. report). Ironic isn't it?
>
> The politics of medicine.
>
> Alan
>=====================================
What I find peculiar to this board is it covers such a broad range of disorders that requires discussion of so many different classes of drugs that are so much more powerful than the benzo's. So many of these other drugs have known short term side effects, but long term side effects, especially with the newer ones, are virtually unexplored.
Yet when someone finds success with these other drugs there seems to be a lot of high fives, virtually devoid of any real cautious optimism or outright skeptism in posts.
This does not seem to apply to the benzo's when one has success with them. Yes, there are some high fives, but in proportion to the other drugs, success with benzo's here seems to elicite a lot of skeptical optimism and even outright emotional cries of forboding of the terrible things to come, which does not follow logically given that the benzo's are a known quantity after so many years of use.
What I haven't figured out is if the majority of people on this board have a different mindset about the debilitating aspects of some of the the supposed more difficult conditions such as bipolar, intractible depression, schizophrenia, etc., than they do with the benzo's which, as minor tranquilizers or anxiolitics, are used for anxiety disorders, not exclusively of course, but also for the treatment of symptoms of accompanying anxiety associated with the more difficult conditions. In other words, it's not such a big deal to have success over anxiety disorders because most people know the benzo's are extremely effective for these conditions but perhaps are not aware how debilitating anxiety disorders are if left untreated or treated with all these other meds that are rx'd off label, and as such don't have nearly the success rate as benzo's. And because so many doctors are reluctant to rx the benzo's, it's a huge triumph to run the gammit of all the other drugs, put up with all the horrible side effects, and finally find one that works, even if only partially. (I hope that makes sense. I did not word it quite as well as I should have.)
I would think that if anxiety disorders were viewed as potentially being just as disabling as all the other disorders here, there would be a porportional amount of high fives with the success of benzo's as there are for all the other pharmacological successes.
I'm just speculating here and am not in any way trying to offend anyone.
There is little doubt that the anti-benzo crowd is here, as they seem to infiltrate so many of the web sites. But I wonder how many are here. Could it be that there are just a few but those few cry fowl so loudly and with such emotion that they either drown out or scare off what is actually a majority of pro-benzoites. Or perhaps the pro-benzoites are just sick of dealing with them and prefere not to voice an opinion to avoid conflict.
I don't really know, again, I'm just speculating, and tossing out some thoughts.
I do agree with your assesment Alan of the pharmiceutical co. trying to displace the off patent benzo's and their herd mentality. As far as benzo.org crowd, they do seem to be all over the place, but I wonder, as I stated above, specific to this web site, are their numbers overwhelming here or is it just a matter of who is the most emotional and has the loudest voice in the crowd.
Again, these thoughts are just speculative and specific to this site because of the broad range of disorders grouped together rather than having specific boards for specific conditions as is the case in the majority of the other sites I have visited.
Joshua
poster:Joshua
thread:130480
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021203/msgs/130956.html