Posted by cletus2 on April 22, 2004, at 12:13:23
In reply to Re: Why would my Doc stop my Klonopin? » almondjoy, posted by Viridis on April 22, 2004, at 1:42:25
Virdis, you hit the nail on the head. I was a little hesitant to start klonopin due to concerns of addiction, but my doctor adamantly insisted that I not get caught up in all the ignorant arguments concerning addiction. He explained to me that many people confuse addiction (mostly a detrimental behavioral/lifestyle change effect) with physical dependence (a physiological necessity). He stated that in a small percentage of people who are susceptible to addictive behavior, benzos can pose a potential problem. However, in the majority of individuals, benzos are perfectly safe and effective. He also stated that during long-term benzo treatment one would have to slowly taper off the drug in order to avoid any withdrawal issues due to the physical dependence that the individual would have developed. However, he emphatically stated that this is not an indication that the person was "addicted" to the drug, but rather physically dependant on it. Just as Virdis pointed out, this encompasses a great deal of medications that people take on a daily basis. I swear my pdoc gave me a thirty minute lecture on the difference of the two definitions in order to better inform me so I don’t get caught up in the negative stereotyping of these drugs, thus steering me away from pursuing an effective/safe treatment for myself (although for others with addiction issues it may not be). One a side note, I have been taking Klonopin for a little bit now and I think it works extremely well for me.
poster:cletus2
thread:336284
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040417/msgs/338814.html