Posted by Quintal on November 27, 2006, at 22:56:24
In reply to Re: Difference between Ativan and Valium? » Quintal, posted by ace on November 27, 2006, at 21:33:57
Ace, I agree with you that the first prescription was dispensed on shaky medical and ethical grounds, and that's part of the point I'm putting forward. When addictive drugs are prescribed in sensible manner to stable, sensible people they rarely seem to cause serious problems, but what causes that reaction we call addiction between certain people and certain substances?
Is it the person or the substance that has the addictive nature, or both? (I know I irritate Squiggles when I use this 'pedagogical' tone *apologies*, but I think it lies at the crux of the debate).
> think the CAN cause dependence (when used in a nonchalant fashion)
>When used responsible I just personally can't see how they can be called addictive. If they are 'addictive' per se, we must then call ALL psychoactive drugs used in psychiatry addictive.So if I were to take Lexapro for instance in a nonchalant fashion, do you think I would become addicted? Would I be able to abuse it at all? Even when used sensibly, when benzos are taken continuously over a long period of time there is still the issue of dependence. I don't have the exact figures and I suspect it's hard to estimate accurately, but I know from experience with other family members and from reading message boards like this that dependence is a frequent occurrence. The benzos are no longer as efficient as they were at the beginning of treatment and to quit abruptly would cause withdrawal syndromes in many people.
It seems to me that most of the drugs used in psychiatry produce some form of dependence. At the very least I could say nearly all are capable of producing psychological dependence, and many also produce physical dependence and have severe withdrawal syndromes (SSRIs et al), with only a few being truly addictive. I think benzos belong in the latter category because they have the capacity to trigger that reaction between the addictive personality and the addictive substance where many, despite being utterly repellent in every other way (IMHO), lack this potential.
Q
poster:Quintal
thread:707968
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061123/msgs/708068.html