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Please read; Only one attempt to alert Government on severe danger of benzos


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After an addiction counselor told me that I recently seen, when I confronted him about the serious dangers about Benzodiazepines in all aspects of this class of drug, then why does the United States still keep it a Scheduled IV drug and not make it a Scheduled II drug, (in my opinion, it should be a scheduled I drug due to the extreme severity and lengthiness of the withdrawal process and aspects on affecting every aspect of your life). He told me it is due to politics, the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies.

 

This is the United States Controlled Substance list:

 

Schedule I -- heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana

•Schedule II -- amphetamine and dextroamphetamine (Adderall®), cocaine, codeine

•Schedule III -- acetaminophen with codeine, anabolic steroids (Androderm®, Testim®), buprenorphine and naloxone (Suboxone®)

•Schedule IV -- alprazolam (Xanax®), clonazepam (Klonopin®), diazepam (Valium®)

•Schedule V -- acetaminophen with codeine, Phenergan® with codeine, Robitussin® AC with codeine.

 

Some changes have been made, but Benzodiazepines still remain a Scheduled IV to this day.

 

After being told this, I did extensive research on the internet, and sadly I only found this one government's website, the UK's Parliament, which addressed this issue back in 1999, over 15 years ago.

 

It is:

 

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199900/cmhansrd/vo991207/halltext/91207h02.htm

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The UK has had ongoing debate within Parliament about benzos and prescribing guidelines.  I believe that even though some guidelines exist, getting the UK doctors to actually follow the guidelines has been a big problem.  We still see folks from the UK dependent after long term use and their doctors sometimes forcing cold turkey or rapid tapers.  It's a major undertaking to educate doctors.  Some progress has been made, but not nearly enough.

 

Australia is another country with prescribing guidelines that have changed in recent months as well as schedule changes for at least one benzo - Xanax.  We saw an increase of Australians dependent upon Xanax join the forum when the recent changes were made, because some doctors did not feel comfortable continuing to prescribe Xanax after it received a higher, more serious spot on their schedule.  The medication is still available, but some doctors tolerance for prescribing a supposed "more addictive" medicine, was not consistent from doctor to doctor.

 

We need more long term studies.  Studies that follow patients long after the benzo is withdrawn.  We need proof from the scientific community that long term recovery symptoms from benzos is not a figment of our imaginations.  Most studies only follow the study participants short term. 

 

Who will do this?  I don't know.  But I believe the key to getting studies in place for this is money.  If we can prove that benzo use increases health care costs, (and I believe it does because benzo sick people go from doctor to doctor trying to find out what in the world is wrong with them ... chasing down mystery illnesses), then I believe we can make some headway.  Anything that sharply decreases health care costs would gain attention and I believe restricting benzo use to very short term, for acute situations, would make a huge difference in healthcare consumption.

 

It's a huge project and if I were younger I might be willing to tackle it.  Someone, some day will tackle it though, with an organized approach.  And when it happens, I believe the world will be a safer place.

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Speaking of long-term studies, has this prospective study from the Karolinska Institute been shared? It follows benzodiazepine users for one year following withdrawal. Here's the abstract:

 

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/08039481003624173

 

Excellent post, Juliea! Very good points.

 

I'm hoping for good things here in Canada too. I've shared some of the medical journal articles on benzodiazepines and withdrawal with my doctors, and it has been helpful to have such literature. I've researched benzodiazepines in PubMed back into the 1970s, and there were already reports of people experiencing benzo withdrawal symptoms. At that time, though, the doctors misunderstood what was going on. They blamed the patients and then gave them more meds to stop their "hysteria" and "nervousness". I'm thankful that there's some better literature available now, plus some doctors who understand the sequence of events.

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Thank you both Juliea and Lapis2 for your input and knowledge you have on this concern I brought up within this extreme controversial epidemic with Benzos that most countries are experiencing all over the world. I am a medically retired ex pharmacy technician, believe it or not, to have that occupation and be on this drug for such a long time. But even as a pharmacy technician, I believe you really know the true effects of these drugs only if you take them with the trust of your doctor, which now I think they just prescribe it out so much, (like candy, so to speak) and they repeatedly continue with prescribing this due to not wanting to deal with the complaints that they will face if they take them off of this drug.

 

This is a sick and morally wrong to do this to people who have had just a temporary shock in their lives, such as me, when my rebellious daughter when she hit her early teens and was being fed horrible stories for my ex husband and then my mother passed away so that is when they increased my dose from 0.5mg x3 a day to 1mg x3 a day back in 2006. And I was never told of the dangers or warned of being on it long term until it was too late. It has been a ten year nightmare ever since.

 

But I do not believe that the United States have not made too much progress to slow down the RX of these drugs.  I worked in the Narcotic room when I was an active pharmacy technician, and I personally filled these benzos, like I said before, (like candy). It was huge stacks of RX's every day of dispensing hundreds of all the common benzos everyday. This timeframe was between 1998 to 2006.

 

I am getting really tired. So I will end it here.  I just wanted to emphasize, due to my experience of working in a pharmacy, despite it was a Veterans Health Administration, with many of military personal coming back from all of this craziness happening in the Persian Gulf, including myself.  I was in the U.S. Navy. But personally filling huge amounts everyday like I did, now gives me a clear perspective on how the United States just still continues to prescribe these benzos in an irresponsible way, I believe.

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Something needs to be done!  I've been thinking about this since I ended my taper, almost a year ago.  All of you have good ideas, but saying this is adding to health care cost might be the key. Especially since a recent study says Benzo use may cause Alzheimers and recommended that all seniors get off their Benzo.  We need someone to compose a good letter or petition and send it to?

That's the question, we need to get someone's attention.  A politician, celebrity, CDC, AARP are possibles. 

 

I'm really sick right now, but when I get better I am going to do this. Any ideas, thoughts are appreciated.

 

Korbe

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I am far from a crusader for the legalization of marijuana but the fact that that pot is a schedule I drug at a federal level in the US but we now have several states where it is legal for medical use and a couple where it is even legal for recreational use should tell you all you need to know about the Controlled Substances Act.
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I rarely post on the open forum on subjects such as this one and just happened to come across this and felt compelled to post.

 

I am like thousands of us here victims of our drugs where we were never told what could happen long term. I am now benzo free 15 months and like so many are still having withdrawal symptoms . But try explaining this is what I believe is why I am as I am. A few days ago I went to collect a prescription and was chatting to a young pharmacist and asked him did he know anything about benzos. I told him how long I had been benzo free and his reply that after this long that my symptoms can not possibly be due to my then drugs. It was out of my system by now.

 

I live in the UK and I have been doing my upmost to get the word out there but it is so hard. Because when I do say something I am then told that I should not read what is on the internet and that you don't know that the people on forums are telling the truth. I am so angry beyond words as to what these drugs have done not only to myself but to my family. And I guess you all feel the same.

 

Thank you Heather for saying what you did. Sadly I doubt that they will stop prescribing and we will have more people finding this forum. There certainly is no help here from either doctors or psychiatrists that is for sure. I am not stupid to not know that the winners are the companies that make these drugs.

 

 

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Hi dd58,

Have you seen this British National Formulary document regarding benzodiazepines? It was updated in late November of 2013.

 

http://www.benzo.org.uk/BNF.htm

 

Note the withdrawal symptom timeframe of 6-18 months (plus or minus a bit). I guess I thought it was widely circulated info in the UK. Perhaps not, based on what you're saying. Would you feel comfortable printing the document and sharing it with your health professionals, e.g. pharmacist, doctor, etc.?

 

Also, the Karolinska Institute study that I linked in my previous post (above) follows people for 1 year, and some of those people continued to have symptoms at the 1 year mark. Why not print it out and share it too? These are respected organizations (BNF, Karolinska Inst.), I believe.

 

And what about APPGITA, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Involuntary Tranquilizer Addiction? Any action there?

 

Wishing you all the best,

Lapis2

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[57...]

Seems there also needs to be a shift in "culture", as well.

 

Drugs to treat ADHD and ADD are regularly pumped into six and seven year olds, even though they are a Schedule II substance.

 

Some of the most prescribed drugs to treat anxiety and depression in pregnant women are the SSRI's, even though certain ones such as Paxil have been linked to heart problems in babies, as well as the fact that GlaxoSmithKline hid information about the "discontinuation syndrome" (aka "withdrawal") that is notorious in Paxil.

 

When I was diagnosed with "manic-depression" back in 1985, there were very few 17-year-olds diagnosed with this.

 

Now the average age of "juvenile bipolar" is 7.

 

The government's standard on mental illness is whatever the pharmaceutical companies state.

 

Something is horrifically wrong here.

 

You would think the link between benzos and Alzheimer's would be front-page news for weeks, as it effects millions of people.

 

But no. We hear more about the Kardashians and Ebola (in the US, this is something you statistically have less chance of contracting than you have of getting hit by lightening AND eaten by a shark in the same day).

 

Sorry, I'm starting to ramble. I've been drugged for 30 years and told it was going to "fix" a "chemical imbalance." Yeah, right. . . .

 

 

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Another story about the benzo use leading to Alzheimer's on the Mad in America site.  Great...I'm 58 years old, 11 months into what I can only describe as HELL ON EARTH, and who knows how long it will be before I can find anything at all to live for only to get Alzheimer's and be dependent on ??? who exactly, since my support system has already dwindled to zip?

 

I have a hell of a headache and haven't slept worth shit in weeks...I had hopes of getting over this and helping others who have found themselves in the mental health system; trapped by labels and discarded by society-Alzheimer's is going to make all that moot.

 

And no, Tor, I don't need your sanctimonious bullshit now, so just can it.

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Seems there also needs to be a shift in "culture", as well.

 

Drugs to treat ADHD and ADD are regularly pumped into six and seven year olds, even though they are a Schedule II substance.

 

Some of the most prescribed drugs to treat anxiety and depression in pregnant women are the SSRI's, even though certain ones such as Paxil have been linked to heart problems in babies, as well as the fact that GlaxoSmithKline hid information about the "discontinuation syndrome" (aka "withdrawal") that is notorious in Paxil.

 

When I was diagnosed with "manic-depression" back in 1985, there were very few 17-year-olds diagnosed with this.

 

Now the average age of "juvenile bipolar" is 7.

 

The government's standard on mental illness is whatever the pharmaceutical companies state.

 

Something is horrifically wrong here.

 

Good points and I agree.

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benzos are severaly dangerous  , do you know that overdosing deaths from benzos or narcotic pain relievers out numbers ALL of the overdosings from illigal recreational drugs combined ?
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Hi dd58,

Have you seen this British National Formulary document regarding benzodiazepines? It was updated in late November of 2013.

 

http://www.benzo.org.uk/BNF.htm

 

Note the withdrawal symptom timeframe of 6-18 months (plus or minus a bit). I guess I thought it was widely circulated info in the UK. Perhaps not, based on what you're saying. Would you feel comfortable printing the document and sharing it with your health professionals, e.g. pharmacist, doctor, etc.?

 

Also, the Karolinska Institute study that I linked in my previous post (above) follows people for 1 year, and some of those people continued to have symptoms at the 1 year mark. Why not print it out and share it too? These are respected organizations (BNF, Karolinska Inst.), I believe.

 

And what about APPGITA, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Involuntary Tranquilizer Addiction? Any action there?

 

Wishing you all the best,

Lapis2

 

Hi Lapis

 

Thank you so much for the link and I will certainly print it off and send it to my psychiatrist although after today I will not be seeing as I have been formally discharged  :thumbsup:

 

The list of symptoms of withdrawal of which some applied to me I was told that it was nothing to do with benzo withdrawal but  because I was no longer taking them so I would have been better to have carried on taking them. ::) then this would never had happened. Figure that out because I cant.

 

I have gone against what they wanted me to do and that was to carry on taking drugs. I am the only patient that has done this. :)

 

When I am fully recovered I intend to get the word out there more than I do now. But I feel that I am on a one man crusade. It is so hard when they don't want to believe what I am telling them is true. Well we all know the saying the truth hurts.

 

Duck not been called dd58 for a long time :D

 

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Yes, it's most important to concentrate on your health and perhaps leave the crusade/fight to a later date. Just take the time you need to get well, and be proud of yourself for doing the right thing.

 

Take good care, Duck!

Lapis2

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have spent a lot of time researching benzos and the medical profession's obtuse ignorance of the dangers this class of drugs has for the body and brain. They should be schedule 1.  Most people do not report adverse drug events because they feel so bad and don't want to deal with it. When you are feeling better, please try.  We have to do this to get credibility.  If enough of us report the harm done by these drugs to the FDA maybe they will hear us. You can go to the FDA website and phone in an adverse drug event or print the following form and send it in.  I read some dumb psychiatrist's site that the side effects of benzos are benign. What??  Take the time in hell to let them know what they are doing to us.

 

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AboutFDA/ReportsManualsForms/Forms/UCM163919.pdf

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