Posted by francesco on December 27, 2004, at 14:51:13
In reply to Re: A little message to Francesco, posted by ed_uk on December 27, 2004, at 7:42:16
> Are they still prescribed like candy? Which benzos are the most popular? How popular is bromazepam (Lexotan/Compendium)?Many people here use benzos even those who are not 'mentally ill' and have never been to a psychiatrist (and don't even know what kind of job a psychiatrist does, like my granma). Most of non psychiatric patients use them to sleep rather than for anxiety and they are widely prescribed also by 'normal' doctors (I mean, those who are not psychiatrists). As a consequence you can find a xanax tablet in almost every house just next to the aspirin : D
On the other side psychiatrists tend to prefer other meds like ssri for chronic conditions like anxiety but the normal schedule is having a benzo prescribed *with* an antidepressant.
I agree with you that SSRIs, and antidepressants in general, are far more dangerous than benzos. I got crazy so many times with SSRIs, and experienced horrible withdrawals and sensations, while the most horrible thing that can occur when you take a benzo is getting a little sleepy. I don't want to mean that addiction doesn't exist but I think that it regards a very low percentage of benzo users while on the other side so many people have troubles with SSRIs. Ok, sorry for wandering.
I don't know which benzos are the most popular. I think serpax, xanax, lexotan and many others. I think that rivotril (clonazapam) isn't very popular here, I have never heard of anyone taking it.
> A least you've got Provigil! It's strange how stimulants are unavailable in many countries yet they are widely prescribed in the US. In the UK, prescribing stimulants to adults is somewhat taboo.
It's the same here. I managed to have ritalin prescribed but it was not easy, and moreover, it was not helpful for my adhd-like problems. Yes, we have provigil, but I don't think psychiatrists here use it very often. My current psychiatrist had never heard about it before I mentioned it ! All these differences from country to country show how psychiatry can be ridicolous sometimes : /
poster:francesco
thread:433972
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041223/msgs/434589.html