Posted by ed_uk on March 10, 2005, at 10:57:03
In reply to Re: NealMcCoy - Please read re. withdrawal from valium, posted by Phillipa on March 9, 2005, at 17:15:53
Hi P!
>I wonder why I don't build up a tolerance to benzos? I seem to have done this with the AD's.
It's pretty much impossible to predict who'll develop a tolerance to a given drug, I guess it depends a lot on a person's individual physiology ie. whether your body is capable of making compensatory cellular changes to oppose the effects of a given drug. Even if a person rapidly develops tolerance to one drug, it doesn't mean that they'll necessarily develop tolerance to a drug with a different mechanism of action.
In the real world, the development of tolerance is unpredictable. At university, we're taught that tolerance to some drugs is inevitable (eg benzos) but that tolerance to other drugs doesn't occur (eg antidepressants). This is a load of rubbish! The way that we respond to drugs is very individual, it depends on so many different factors eg our genetics, life circumstances etc.
It's also interesting how people can develop rapid tolerance to some actions of a drug but that tolerance to other effects is rare. For example, tolerance to morphine-induced respiratory depression is very rapid, allowing large increases in dose if required to treat severe pain. On the other hand, tolerance to morphine-induced constipation is pretty much unheard of, which is why people usually need to use laxatives for as long as they take morphine.
Ed xxx
poster:ed_uk
thread:467622
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050228/msgs/469211.html