Posted by Squiggles on May 22, 2007, at 20:16:08
In reply to Re: Mininstry of Mindfreedom, posted by CK1 on May 22, 2007, at 18:51:39
I can't argue with that. Sometimes the drugs you are given are inappropriate for your condition.
As for the withdrawals you describe, the time is significant both for intensity and duration.What I wish to emphasize is that "rebound", which the critical psychiatry camp makes so much mileage out of in their anti-psychiatric drug crusade, is not the major thing to fear, imho.
While it is true that the initial condition such as depression, and the actual withdrawal effects upon discontinuation can be confused by doctors, that is not the greatest danger. Though it is true that it can complicate the clinical picture by encouraging the administration of further drugs.
In my view, the greatest danger is the possible changes in the brain that take place after taking a drug for a very long time and then stopping (no matter how slow). The time and dose, the type, and speed of reduction are all factors, but the one that changes the brain neurochemistry the most is, i would guess how long you have take the drug. Dr. Ashton speaks of this for example as "protracted withdrawal syndrome".
And the tragedy of this is, that if you develop TD during withdrawal, you may never come back to the initial 'drugged' state, never mind pre-drug state, not for decades. I think you can study this on PubMed, but popular wisdom has it that long-term alcoholics, and cocaine users, for example, never recover if they have been users for a very long time.
Correct me if i am wrong in this.
Squiggles
poster:Squiggles
thread:758763
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070509/msgs/758937.html