Posted by med_empowered on July 28, 2005, at 2:45:06
In reply to Anafranil, posted by catreu on July 27, 2005, at 23:52:45
hey! Give it 5 days-1 week to pretty much clear out. The intense side-effects you experienced are rare, but much more common with tricyclics such as Anafranil than with, say, Zoloft or Celexa. Although I can understand your doc's hesitance to use benzos b/c of the addiction problem, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. 1) Benzos work much better and much faster and in more people when it comes to reducing anxiety, treating panic, inducing sleep, etc. compared to anti-depressants. Some benzos can actually help milder cases of depression (xanax is one of these). 2) There is something of a problem with addiction, but its really overblown...benzos are still a Schedule IV substance, which basically means there is something of a risk of addiction, but the risk is far outweighed by benefits and the amount of oversight needed is pretty small (you can get refills on benzos; schedule II substances, like Dexedrine, cannot be refilled). 3) "Addiction" isnt the same thing as "dependence". Yes, you will become dependent on benzos if you take them for long enough, and you may very well have withdrawal symptoms upon disconituation. That said, antidepressants cause withdrawal symptoms--sometimes severe (some patients, espcially those on Effexor, find themselves UNABLE to stop taking their antidepressant). True "addiction" involves constant drug craving, dose escalation, and is usually associated with illegal activities--like drug dealing, theft, prostitution-- to obtain the desired substance. Like I said, although dependence on benzos is pretty much guaranteed after long-term use, true "addiction" is rare. And finally.. 3) in patients with pre-existing health problems or unusual drug sensitivity, sometimes you have to use potentially addictive substances...its a kind of "the end justifies the means" thing. Example: Some people, with cancer or AIDS, develop severe depression but cannot take antidepressants b/c of side-effects and interaction with other medications. The solution? Using stimulants for depression. Instead of prozac, these patients can be given Ritalin or Dexedrine with pretty good results...addiction/dependence is likely, but it is acceptable in the given situation. Your doc just needs to learn to be flexible.
poster:med_empowered
thread:534580
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050723/msgs/534646.html