Posted by Viridis on March 29, 2004, at 0:58:42
In reply to Re: AD+BENZO- Which one is working?, posted by qbsbrown on March 28, 2004, at 22:00:56
Increasing the length of time that serotonin stays in your synapses might help, or it might make you feel terrible. You just have to try it and see. Serotonin isn't a magic "feel-good" neurotransmitter -- the interactions among the many neurotransmitters in the brain are very complex, and it's not possible (yet, at least) to predict the outcome of inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin for any given individual.
Also, serotonin does a lot of other things in the body -- hence the many side effects that SSRIs can cause.
GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is another very important neurotransmitter, and if the receptors on certain brain cells can't bind to it properly, the cells go haywire, sending out "emergency" signals (causing anxiety). Benzos act to enhance binding of this regulatory neurotransmitter. I'm not sure how adjusting the action of one neurotransmitter is inherently better or worse than adjusting that of another.
Klonopin is favored as one of the safest of benzos, and remains the "gold standard" for treatment of panic attacks. For some people whose depression is the result of anxiety, benzos like Klonopin can be very effective, and Klonopin is also regarded by many as a mood stabilizer.
Tolerance to sedation, etc. typically develops quickly, but many patients stay at the same dose for years and continue to experience the same anti-anxiety effects (that's certainly been the case for me, and many of my pdoc's other patients). It rarely causes euphoria, etc.; I don't even notice it, and have no incentive to increase the dose or abuse it. It is likely to cause medical dependency with regular use, but this is true of all kinds of meds, psychiatric or otherwise.
In any case, it and other benzos are nothing like alcohol, although some of the pharmaceutical companies would like you to think so -- since their patents have expired, most benzos are dirt-cheap, unlike many of the newer antidepressants. That's a large part of the reason that benzos get such a bad rap.Once the next generation of anti-depressant/anti-anxiety meds comes out and the SSRIs etc. go off-patent, they'll probably be demonized too -- a shame, because these meds are very helpful for many people, just like benzos.
poster:Viridis
thread:329513
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040325/msgs/329711.html