Posted by vbAgent on December 8, 2005, at 23:48:28
In reply to Re: Help My Valium Won't Help With Sleep! » vbAgent, posted by Phillipa on December 7, 2005, at 23:57:23
>> vbAgent it just doesn't make any sense to me. Advertised as nonaddictive but controlled anyway. Did you see my Post about lunesta further down? Fondly, Phillipa
Yes, I read your other post and everyone's response.
It doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. The newer non-benzodiazepine sedative/hypnotics (Ambien, Sonata, Lunesta) fall into that controlled drug schedule simply because they *are* sedative/hypnotics. They have a higher abuse potential than, say, Remeron and Benedryl. It's a control mechanism.
What med_empowered said about anxiety is exactly right. Patterns of self-medication (alcohol, marijuana, unnecessary dose escalation, etc) is a reason that psychiatrists are cautious about prescribing controlled medication to their anxiety patients. Although this isn't fair to those who use their prescription (or not-otherwise-prescribed drugs like alcohol and marijuana) drugs *responsibly*, they are helping us avoid the possibility of detrimental, self-destructive behavior.
I take Adderall and Ambien CR. Like others have experienced, my pdoc is comfortable (as far as I can tell) prescribing both. She hasn't even uttered the word "benzo" despite that anxiety is a major contributor to my difficulty sleeping. The social worker I talk to every month would like to see the doctor prescribe a benzo.
Anyhow...Phillipa, I do the same thing as you when meds stop working, especially a sleep med! I start to panic, which just makes it worse! This is normal for most people.
Take care... :-)
poster:vbAgent
thread:586250
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051203/msgs/587141.html