Posted by yxibow on December 31, 2008, at 5:52:28
In reply to Re: Permanent damage from Benzodiazepines? » crittercuddler, posted by Larry Hoover on December 30, 2008, at 23:14:20
Considering all the knowledge we have had and the fact that benzodiazepines were in the lab in 1958, they, and chlorpromazine and its successors have been the most studied groups of psychiatric medications besides pre-FDA agents such as barbiturates.
That being said, they're not completely innocuous, but they're probably the safest agents out there when properly used just from the tens of millions of patient years of exposure.
They should be ramped up carefully and discontinued carefully, especially at high doses.
As for a personal experience on going off benzodiazepines "cold turkey" around 11 years ago, I didn't really know the consequences of such a thing. I was observed by friends to be a bit overmedicated so I dropped Tranxene 15mg 3x a day.
That's a fairly strong dose for a year's length of time and I experienced an intense reaction where all the muscles in my scalp started moving. People could actually feel this dystonic reaction.
Such that the student health center said that this would go away and not to worry, well its here 11 years later, it gets reactivated at times of stress like my recent battles with anxiety and mainly has "solidified" my scalp making things taught and typically causing me to crack my neck or stretch around and I see my toes wriggle.
I was given back only half my dose by my benzo-hating doctor... I won't even go there, that was an atrocious relation. The psychologist was far nicer.
Moral is, even if you can "get away with it", don't drop benzodiazepines cold if you've been on them for more than a month or so and you are at any dose larger than a PRN nature.They'll always be around, should your doctor be responsible and make them available, and they'll be there when you need to make a transition off of them. Its not worth the risk of seizures and other unpleasantries.
As for "tapering methods", well people have their own belief, but I don't believe there is a single person (I wont go into the controversy) 's method that is "the method".
The basic evidence based psychiatric method is about 10% per week, more if you can do so, backing off less if you cant -- do not feel that you are any less weaker if you are unable to.
Also, if they are a necessary part of your plan even if you have become habituated to them, you should also not feel guilty.
I know I still need them and it is such a hard thing that I wonder when I won't need Valium any more but I know that it is one of the several key medications of my polypharmacy that allows me to function even if I have to watch out for its side effects.
Because the effects of not having it are equally evidence based as has been found unfortunately and I need to preserve my functionality (which sounds such a clinical term) to its highest level. Its just not the time yet to come down or to come down all that quickly.
-- tidingsJay
poster:yxibow
thread:871465
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081223/msgs/871590.html