Globe & Mail (Canada): Among veterans, benzo/opiod prescriptions down

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/among-veterans-opioid-prescription-requests-down-in-step-with-rise-in-medical-pot/article30285591/

 

Some small good news that the overall rates of prescribing are down year over year recently.  Still, quote in the article is that 1 in 10 Canadians are on benzos or z-drugs, and we know that 1 in 4 seniors are on them.

 

Personally, I'm not one for psychoactive substances so the rise of medicinal marijuana doesn't thrill me but I don't know enough about it to really have a huge opinion.  Less harmful for sure than benzos and opiates in terms of addiction though.  My husband is currently looking at the possibility of trying medical marijuana for pain at nighttime, I'm very curious how this process with our local compassion society very knowledgable in this area goes.

 

For me, taking psychoactive substances again would require a gun to my head.  Not going to happen.

 

 

Ali

Hi SS,

Thanks for posting this interesting article. Good to see what the stats are on the various substances, and yes, 10 percent reflects a large number of Canadians on benzos. As we see by the numbers, the monetary cost is low, but as we all know, these meds come with a host of other costs.

 

Those last couple of paragraphs, in which the veteran talks about his sleep and his fear of flashbacks, is quite heartbreaking. If there's no counselling, and if drugs are thought to be the only way to deal with such things, then something is wrong. I do hope counselling is being offered. The fact that this man is taking benzos and opioids concurrently is particularly concerning, since that combination can be deadly.

 

 

There are way too many vets on opioids and benzos here in the US, too.  Where I live, many vets are turning to medical marijuana instead of the cocktail of so many different drugs being prescribed to them.  There is a non-profit here too that helps them get medical marijuana for free to see if it helps.  It may not help all, but surely, for so many, it is a safer alternative.  Many, many say that they have been helped by medical marijuana.  Vets deserve safer alternatives to what's being offered/prescribed!!!

BurnedOut,

 

I don't know much about medicinal mj as I've never taken any non-pharmaceutical drugs in my life.  There is a large swath of crazy in my family that I was aware of early on and I took pains to drugs and drank very sparingly.

 

My husband has been battling back pain stemming from spinal stenosis and a back surgery from decades ago. He has mostly been pain free until 6 years ago when it flared up again.  At that time, he responded to acupuncture.  It came back a year ago and perhaps because he had open heart surgery in 2012 and they sever the nerves in your breastbone and apparently you don't respond to acupuncture as well after this, he is in pain and it is persistent.  He is now talking to our local compassion club about medical mj and we'll see where this goes.  He has never used mj recreationally so he doesn't have any experience.  A friend of his gave him a pot cookie to try for sleep but it made things worse so I'm not sure but open minded.  Perhaps this will help.

 

I am glad that there are some non-pharmaceutical options for veterans out there.  I'd like to see the availability of really good ongoing counselling and EMDR for all veterans, free of charge and without restrictions.  Not sure if this is available to them, there seems to be a lot of emphasis on medicating them.  Acupuncture too - I have personally found this to be very helpful.

 

The way the US treats veterans is heartless.  Canada isn't much better and things preciptiously declined under Harper.  Makes me so sad.

 

Thanks for the comment.  I almost always read your posts, enjoy your observations!

 

 

Ali

Thanks SeekingSanity-I always enjoy your posts, too    Hope your local compassion club has some good ideas to help your husband. 

 

I know of several counselors in my city that are using EMDR, hypnotherapy, TRE, neurotherapy and other non-medication solutions to help the many veterans here.  It's good to see.

 

Take care

BurnedOut, what is TRE?  Am familiar with the others, just not that.

 

Yes, I'll keep you guys posted re the pain and their suggestions.  They have been operating for years, require a doctor's prescription for the medical mj and are very knowledgable.  Hoping to learn a lot.

 

I love the book, "The Body Keeps The Score".  Mindseeker put me onto it.  He is a world leading researcher in the area of PTSD and believes that a lot of us are on benzos/z-drugs for underlying trauma, there is a good quote somewhere in his book, I'll have to dig it up.

 

Lots of good suggestions in his book about treatment and recovery too, at the end.  I know I stored trauma in my muscles.  Hard to fix.

 

 

Ali