People are ALWAYS saying how benzos should only be prescribed for weeks at a time and never any longer but I have been on them for 3 years or more!
The reason given for they're short term use I thought was addictive nature of the drugs, but again. I am not addicted. I can use them several times a week (as needed) then not use any for weeks at a time. [clearly no addiction]
It also says on the leaflet which I read out of boredom the other day that patients with personality disorders should be highly supervised [or something to the same effect] whilst on benzos because they are particularly likely to become dependant.
Is it that the professionals that see me dont give a **** that I could become addicted, or is it that since in my case there is no treatment or input from mental health services they feel the least they can do is give me drugs to calm down when I cant cope anymore?
I would ask them but Ive only just transfered GPs and I cant see whos been prescribing them/ started prescribing for the last 3 years.
I dont think I should have prescriptions ceased because Im not addicted and I feel it helps to have a get out when Im suicidal [far better to take some Temazepam rather than OD or do something equally stupid].
I think it's a Cost/Benefit analysis that they use when prescribing benzos.
OK, so there's a risk you may get addicted, but if being addicted is better than what you'd be like if you weren't taking the benzos then that's why they prescribe them.
Take heart. I was on diazepam for nearly 8 years - taking upto 50mg a day, and I managed to come off it no problem.
My view is that they probably prescribe it to you because you don't use it everyday but on a prn basis and thus the liklihood of you getting addicted is slim.
I think the restricted period is when people use them everyday for a short while.
When we lose twenty pounds... we may be losing the twenty best pounds we have! We may be losing the pounds that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty. ~Woody Allen
Is a chocolate muffin loving glitter ball
I think it's a case by case basis and their history. If a person who have abused them before and is a high chance of abusing them, they should probably be restricted or limited to the amount of benzo's given to them and perscribed to them.
However on the other hand, there is a big stigma against people taking benzo's and getting addicted to it. Most people who are on them, are only on them short - term or PRN and highly unlikely to get addicted on them since they are generally inform about the medication and the likelihood of being dependent on them. But like agedharmer said, cost/benefit anaylsis and whether it will help them compared to being on something else.
When benzoes came out on the market they were seen as a wonder drug for all kinds of mental distress. In Denmark they are usually referred to as "nerve medicine" and the doctors thought they were god's gift to mankind so everyone who felt anxious and stuff were given these meds to help their symptoms. Subsequently a lot of people are now addicted to them and the health care system doesn't have the resources to detox them so in Denmark they are no longer allowed to prescibe them to people who haven't had them before.
I got them too once but hey don't give them out anymore. Some people can take them and not become addicted to them but a lot of mentally distressed people will abuse them to get some peace and quiet in their heads, and i've heard it's REALLY hard coming off them once you're addicted to them.
I take diazepam as PRN a couple of times a week for certain anxiety provoking situations I would otherwise have a panic attack in. I have been doing this for over a year. My gp and psychiatrist are fine with this arrangement because they know I am not taking it daily. And currently, I am reducing the amount I take albeit slowly.
However, when I was IP and first prescribed it, I was taking it three times a day everyday and they took me off it in the end as I was relying on it too much.
Isn’t it funny how day by day nothing changes but when you look back, everything is different…
you once called your brain a hard drive, well say hello to the virus.
I've been o benzos for years also. And I was at one time taking it daily but I managed to just stop it with no problems.
I now take it a few times a week as prn.
I take Temazepam at night and I don't seem to have any problem if I don't take it, other than having a not so good sleep!
I am slowly reducing that.
But as my GP says to me, she knows I am bad ad get ill quickly if I don't sleep well and as the Temazepam seems to help with that she is fine to let me continue on them.
It is a case to case basis I'm sure. My GP knows me very well. More so than the MH team and knows I'm fine with the amount I am prescribed. I just ask for diazepam as and when and I get them. I don't mis use them.
I often wondered the exact same thing as the OP commented on. As I am not addicted to diazepam and been on it for years.
I want to kiss the bottom of the ocean before I burst through its surface into the sunlight, otherwise I will always be wondering about what was left unseen at the bottom
i'm tired of chasing my dreams. i'm just gonna ask where they're going, and hook up with them later.
^ I can agree with that when it comes to the psychiatrist I saw. Also nobody seems to ever want to touch my medication or change it, I dont think my gp was lazy, but she didnt really like to ever change my doses and got funny about psych meds.
I think its the right thing to leave me on them, but my concern was that nobody seems to have ever questioned it or 'risk assessed/ compared the cost/benefits' of benzodiazapines for me.
^ I can agree with that when it comes to the psychiatrist I saw. Also nobody seems to ever want to touch my medication or change it, I dont think my gp was lazy, but she didnt really like to ever change my doses and got funny about psych meds.
I think its the right thing to leave me on them, but my concern was that nobody seems to have ever questioned it or 'risk assessed/ compared the cost/benefits' of benzodiazapines for me.
It often goes that GPs don't like to meddle with psychiatric meds because it isn't their forte and they wouldn't want to make a change and then have the psychiatrist annoyed because it was wrong. It puts the psychiatrist's nose out of joint if someone less experienced in that type of medication starts chaning things. Also it makes it easier to manage a patient's care if only one professional is dealing with psych meds.
It is a bit worrying that no one ever stopped to think about the not so good effects of leaving you on Benzodiazapines. A lot of the time it seems to be down to the patient to speak up for any changes at all to be made rather than them being pro-active originally.
They should be reevaluating people's situation and looking for ways to improve it constantly imo.
Stop thinking about what I want, what he wants, what your parents want. What do you want?
Have you always used them as PRN though and is it reflected in your prescription? Cause if thats the case then they may not need to change them? The main risk in my mind is when people use them daily for an short intense period.
When we lose twenty pounds... we may be losing the twenty best pounds we have! We may be losing the pounds that contain our genius, our humanity, our love and honesty. ~Woody Allen
Is a chocolate muffin loving glitter ball
I was on them for quite some time on an every day basis and was never addicted and was never weaned off, I just stopped. I don't want to go on them again, but not because of the possibility of addiction. My psychiatrist told me that they actually can cause your IQ to drop a few points if you are on them for a long time, and I really value my intelligence. I suppose if my anxiety gets out of control again I may consider them on an as-needed basis, but not on an every-day one again.
