Posted by mattdds on April 18, 2003, at 16:21:45
In reply to Re: Lorazepam/Ativan lost its effects, WHY ?, posted by Rob L. on April 17, 2003, at 6:41:55
Hi,
Please try to distinguish between addiction and dependence, as these are two very different things.
The actual incidence of addiction to benzodiazepines is extremely low. Dependence is common, but this is true of any psychiatric drug, such as the SSRI's. A slow taper of 5-10% weekly, can pretty much eliminate withdrawal effects, as is documented in responsible studies.
The benzodiazepines are miraculous drugs for some, including myself. I could have avoided years of painful anxiety if I had not been scaremongered away from effective medications like Klonopin.
Another thing; who cares what Stevie Nicks says? One person's (highly biased) experience with a drug does not give a good overall impression of it, regardless of how cool and popular Stevie Nicks is. It also ignores all the extremely positive experiences people have on it. First off, good ol' Stevie did not have an anxiety disorder, but a cocaine addiction. Second, she had an addictive personality to begin with. Third, she did not taper off the drug, but went off "cold turkey", for which only she can be responsible. Now she is using her fame to promote an illogical and irresponsible position on these drugs, condemning them as inherently "horrible".
So please, be sure to use the correct terminology. People with anxiety disorders do not need to be scaremongered away from effective medications, just because Stevie Nicks decided to use Klonopin as the scapegoat for her own problems.
Matt
poster:mattdds
thread:219932
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030417/msgs/220435.html