Posted by alexandra_k on March 6, 2005, at 1:24:56
In reply to a few drug questions...anyone??, posted by rainbowbrite on March 5, 2005, at 23:09:06
> can soemone explain to me what drugs do to our brains?
Different drugs do different things to our brains.
>When you take an AD for an extended period of time...do we become dependent on it?
Is an AD an anti-depressant? I don't think they are typically considered to be physically addictive.
>Is it inevitable that we will then crash if we go off it?
No. The idea is to keep them up for a couple of years (I think) and then you could come off them and be ok. But it is kind of thought that a maintenence dose may PREVENT relapse. If it may do this then it may be worth just keeping on taking the medication...
>Also, what about sleeping pills?
They tend to be physically and psychologically addictive. They may work wonders to start with but people typcially find that they need increased ammounts to have the same effect. After a while you need to take them just to have the possibility of a good nights sleep because there is no way that you are going to get any sleep without them. The quality of sleep is typically different depending on whether it is a natural or a drugged sleep too.
I came off sleeping tablets a couple of years now. I didn't go to sleep for 4 days. Needed to go into hospital for a bit. Eventually... My sleep came right. I sleep pretty okay now.
>Im just wondering if anyone really knows what is going on in our brains when we take drugs....
Nobody knows the complete story of what they do or how they work. All we know is that they do work. Most of 'ém were discovered by accident.
>like could we be damging ourselves? (putting aside our illnesses)
There is a risk of long term usage. Tardive Dyskinesia with taking antipsychotics (especially the older ones) at high dosages over long periods of time, for example.
I guess you have to weigh up how much benefit you get from the medications. Because there are risks, yes.
>Last one, when chidlren are prescribed drugs will it interfere with the normal development of their brains?
Don't know. Some can... But then some drugs save lives and improve peoples functioning immensely. Have to think about the benefits and weigh the risks...
>
> rain
poster:alexandra_k
thread:467193
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050304/msgs/467211.html