Posted by JohnKeats on January 5, 2006, at 12:19:56
In reply to When are benzos justified?, posted by detroitpistons on January 3, 2006, at 15:21:05
> I've been thinking about starting Klonopin, but I just wanted some feedback from other benzo users. I take small amounts of Xanax and I can feel better by taking as little as .25mg. However, it can make me depressed and lethargic.
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> I'm on Effexor XR 225 mg, and it has not totally relieved me of anxiety, although it picked me up out of a depressive episode. I'm familiar with the pro-benzo vs anti-benzo debate. I guess what I'm trying to get at is this: How bad does anxiety have to be in order to justify taking a benzo? I realize this is a very difficult question to answer, but I just wanted to hear some other people's thoughts.
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> I can generally function without a benzo (or even an AD for that matter)...I can leave the house, go to work, be in social settings with people I don't know (although rarely comfortably). In short, I can get along with life, but I never feel quite right. I feel like everything is forced. I feel like I'm operating at 75%. I probably wouldn't regard my anxiety as severe (not agoraphobic, for example), but I do think it interferes with my life and prevents me from being all I can be.
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> Where is the line? When is taking a benzo justified? I've always been scared to overmedicate myself. In fact, it took me a good amount of pain and suffering before I broke down and tried an AD. I've never liked the idea of taking 1 psych drug, much less 2 or 3. Sometimes I feel like I'm "cheating," like the only people who should really be on meds are the ones who can't get out of bed in the morning, can't leave the house, can't go to work, etc.
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> Can anyone relate to this sort of "psych med reckoning" I'm going through?
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> And back to the original point, any thoughts from benzo/Klonopin users? The first and only psych med I took that worked was Effexor, and it seemed like a godsend at the time (for both anxiety and depression). Now I tried it again, and it just doesn't seem to be working as well on the anxiety. I think my condition(s) may have worsened over the past couple of years, and quite frankly, it feels like the meds may have contributed to that (e.g. caused a permanent change in brain chemistry--which I know sounds very paranoid).
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> Any thoughts?
You brought up a few deep points . First up - if you've got acute anxiety symptoms, especially social anxiety related, then I think that benzos are the best choice for managing the anxiety and alleviating the suffering. You're almost 100% guaranteed to see significant relief in a very short time. Now long-term use of benzos is another story and you will have to go through a long and painful process to determine if you should use it as a long-term treament or not, but it's your quality of life now that matters. If a drug is improving your quality of life, even if it's that extra 25% you're missing, I would go for it.With regard to when or when not to take drugs; when I was 17/18 I made a firm promise never to take psychiatric drugs. I felt like drugs were totally dangerous and would screw your brain up and send you nuts (I thought then that you could easily lump people into sane and not sane) It took a long while of pain and suffering for me, just like you, to realize that many, if not most people with mental ilness need drugs, and I was no different. Like Cairo said in one of the posts, how could there be anything wrong in taking insulin for diabetes? Although today's media likes to characterize psych drugs as happy pills, they're not, they treat diseases just like all other drugs. You can't read a book, jump out of bed and say, "Today will be a new day; I will conquer my mental illness with my positive attitude." Doesn't work like that, positive thinking can't lower blood sugar levels.
This post is running on and I'm late, so I'll finish the rest of it another time. But to answer your first two questions: if your anxiety is debilitating, take the benzo. Later on when you have the symptoms under control you can look at therapy, meditation, aromatherapy, exercise, etc... as well as decide on a long-term drug regime. Wrt drug use - psych drugs aren't cheating. People do abuse them, especially benzos, but if you've got a genuine anxiety disorder, you need it. Take care of yourself and good luck.
poster:JohnKeats
thread:594786
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051231/msgs/595461.html