Wayne State University, 2013 article: "Benzodiazepines Revisited"

This author suggests that psychiatrists should be LESS hesitant to prescribe benzodiazepines. He also looks at why SSRIs have been favoured over benzos.

 

Here are some key quotes:

 

"Interestingly, psychiatrists have been, at least in my experience, hesitant to use BZPs. This hesitancy has been reinforced by the emphasis on possible dependence, toxicity and abuse. Yet these issues have been overstated and overemphasized."

 

"Now, Offidani et al. [2] and before them Berney et al. [3] present us with the sad message that the change in prescribing pattern favoring newer antidepressants over BZPs in the treatment of anxiety occurred without supporting evidence! Offidani et al. [2] also write that in trials comparing BZPs with newer antidepressants, BZPs were more efficacious and had fewer adverse effects in patients suffering from generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder."

 

The article can be found here:

 

https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/353599

 

 

What a dope.

Ignorance at it's best and arrogance at it's worst.

Sad idiots. This is so harmful. You're so well informed, Lapis. Thanks for keeping us informed.

You're welcome, MTfan. It's great to be able to share this info with people here and to have the kinds of discussions that we do here on BB. Otherwise, I'd be reading and saving these studies on my own, wishing that more people knew about the literature that's out there. There's A LOT! Glad you're speaking up too, since it broadens my perspective. The fact that we're an international group with many different experiences makes the discussion that much more enlightening. 

Some of the books talk about the political aspect, like the Benzo Book and the recovery book by the climber. It's interesting how much power the drug companies have in the US and we do nothing about it and the steps taken in all countries to keep people uninformed. So harmful.

I think the article is well balanced.  The authors are just pointing out that SSRIs were heavily promoted before the long term risks were known.  At the same time, benzos were portrayed as being very bad.  They stress the need careful prescribing of all these drugs.  It may be that benzos and SSRIs are just as bad as each other except when prescribed short term to certain patient groups.

 

I don't have an issue with this.

 

LFb

These medications -- as far as I know -- don't get much advertising anymore. I'm not sure how they fit into the whole "Big Pharma" thing, but I"m most concerned about what information is shared with patients before they take it. There should be informed consent so that people know what they're taking and what can happen. That requires education.

Yes, I don't know what patients are told nowadays.

 

Been on the drugs too long.

 

One of my friends has recently been prescribed an A/D and was told it was not addictive.

We don't have any drug advertising allowed in Canada, but I think the SSRIs are advertised a lot in the US. As far as benzos go, I'm not sure. The education I'm talking about has to do with what doctors and pharmacists tell their patients. The word "addictive" has all sorts of connotations, so I doubt it was used with SSRIs, but they still have a withdrawal syndrome, so they do cause dependence. That language issue is a sticky one. It would be much better if plain, clear information was given in plain, clear language. People shouldn't have to study medicine or pharmacy before they take a prescription medication, but I, for one, am very glad to be able to access all the info online. Knowledge is power!

Lots of ads for AD in the US. It seems to me like most docs play down the harmful effects of benzo. The ones that don't and are afraid of them tend to get either ignored (and write for them anyway) or if they refuse to write the scripts they lose patients. We have one guy in our area who won't do any benzos and most people think he's a fanatic. Heck, I used to think that. I was a moron I have been fully educated now! He's right.

Sounds like the docs are in a difficult situation.

Is all of the author's work funded by Phizer?