Benzo prescriptions have increased substantially - a major public health problem

Can't find this being posted so I thought I'd share...

 

https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/427597-benzo-prescriptions-have-increased-substantially-its-a-major-public-health

Thank you! It's good to see more and more articles on this topic!

Yes, thanks for sharing this one.

Ah yes, I read the NPR article the other day that this one refers to.  https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/01/25/688287824/steep-climb-in-benzodiazepine-prescribing-by-primary-care-doctors

 

I'm very disappointed that the prescriptions are still rising. 

“Once a person is taking a benzo for a period of time, it’s somewhat hard to get off of it.”

 

Lie. Understatement of all time... not even close. Terribly dishonest and misleading statement for many individuals prescribed benzodiazepines. Extrmely dangerous and irresponsible way to cover this story.

 

Lies, lies lies in the language professionals and journalists use. Can’t solve a problem with lies.

 

Also, no mention of physiological destruction by this medication, no mention of iatrogenic harm, only mentions “addiction.”

 

When will the covering the story change into language that is truthful and accurately represents the real issues I wonder.

Good to see more news articles about this!

''“Once a person is taking a benzo for a period of time, it’s somewhat hard to get off of it.”

 

At least it's not dismissed. And 5 years or a decade is more than 'a period of time'.

 

“Once a person is taking a benzo for a period of time, it’s somewhat hard to get off of it.”

 

Lie. Understatement of all time... not even close. Terribly dishonest and misleading statement for many individuals prescribed benzodiazepines. Extrmely dangerous and irresponsible way to cover this story.

 

Lies, lies lies in the language professionals and journalists use. Can’t solve a problem with lies.

 

Also, no mention of physiological destruction by this medication, no mention of iatrogenic harm, only mentions “addiction.”

 

When will the covering the story change into language that is truthful and accurately represents the real issues I wonder.

 

Thanks for saying it so well, mon pilote.

Bear in mind that not everyone has the same trouble getting off benzos as we did. The way we metabolize medications is highly genetic, so people can react quite differently to the same dose of the same medication. I agree, though, that the articles do not illuminate what we, on BB, have experienced. They need to explain how physiological dependence works and how varied the reactions to benzos can be.

 

I'm glad to see that they recognize the parallels between the opioid issue and the benzodiazepine issue. I've been aware of this for a long time now.

I've been aware of the opioid problems since the 90's and had always been aware that opioids should not be mixed with benzodiazepines. I knew that. But, I remember that I'd been given/heard many more warnings about opioids than benzodiazepines. I don't know what it's like in Canada, but in the United States, the warnings about the dangers of benzos have been far and few, and most people still don't want to go near the elephant in the room that is benzos. Talking about them is just pretty much impossible. It's all about "addiction" and how "addictive they are" with very little mention of disabling effects a person can develop on them and how problems can slowly accumulate over time until it gets to the point that there is no good exit plan in sight.

What I was referring to is the parallels between the over-prescribing and under-awareness of the effects of both opioids and benzos. Both meds have been far too liberally prescribed for years. And doctors have apparently been very unaware of the potential seriousness of long-term use of both of these types of meds. In both cases, the pharmaceutical companies played roles in not providing that information to both doctors and patients.

 

With opioids, people are dying in large numbers, which is why there has been so much attention paid to them. CBC Radio covered the topic yet again today. But with benzos, they are less deadly on their own than opioids. It is often a combination of benzos plus opioids, or benzos plus alcohol, that leads to death. So perhaps, that's why there's been less attention paid than with opioids.

 

These two articles, however, are calling attention to the potentially huge and negative outcomes that await us as a result of this over-prescription of benzodiazepines over time. I hope people do pay attention now. It's about time.

 

 

Bear in mind that not everyone has the same trouble getting off benzos as we did. The way we metabolize medications is highly genetic, so people can react quite differently to the same dose of the same medication. I agree, though, that the articles do not illuminate what we, on BB, have experienced. They need to explain how physiological dependence works and how varied the reactions to benzos can be.

 

I'm glad to see that they recognize the parallels between the opioid issue and the benzodiazepine issue. I've been aware of this for a long time now.

 

But don’t we and the others (in the thousands) count for anything?

 

Also I think others who may not even end up like us should have a chance to know that they are rolling the dice or playing Russian roulette; betting essentially that the worst of what can happen won’t happen. The worst including all we read here and a lot of what we don’t; like homelessness as a result and all that can and does come with homelessness from becoming disabled by a prescribed medication (or disabled and unable to work for any reason.) Homelessness is homelessness, it happens because of injuries like this. How many victims do there need to be for it to matter? Also death, you can die just from being homeless, it is dangerous and scary out there without shelter. Being homeless people get harmed and raped, they incur even more PTSD or they acquire it if they never had it to begin with. Those are easy words to type out real quick, but these are lives—real ones.

 

Another thing... well there were other things. Good thing I made it to AA today, criminy. It helped. Was mad again this morning regarding innacurate journalism and this drug. And it is important that it be accurate, the truth is opioid deaths are measurable and so are bzd and alcohol combined and benzodiazepines and opioids combined. Deaths from benzodiazepines alone are not exactly measurable. So do you see why accuracy counts, this is just another way to make it look like this is all on the patient... they become addicted. Really? No. It’s not this way and the absolute truth is we do not know how many actually do end up like us—maybe not even the first time, but later on. This is just another way of sweeping it all under the rug, in my opinion. It’s gaslighting, it lacks accuracy and that does matter a great deal when one looks at the whole entire picture. People on here say we are “outliers.” Really... prove it. That seems like a critical piece of information here, to have exactly right.

 

There was another point or two that I wanted to visit.

 

Thanks LF, means a lot as always that you see eye to eye with me on so many things.

Here's a good site on the overdose numbers for opioids and benzos.  Opioids are much more deadly which is why I think, partly, there's so much alarm about them versus benzos. Their combination with opioids which you can see from Figure 8 is alarming and I think it's good that's being discussed.  I wonder what happened in 2010-2012 because there's a slight leveling out period there for benzos + opioids.

 

https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates

 

Figure 8 is helpful.

Once a person is taking a benzo for a period of time, it’s somewhat hard to get off of it.”

 

Lie. Understatement of all time... not even close.

 

Benzos amount to a "prescribed" chemical lobotomy.

For ease of understanding, it only takes one day to burn down a 100 year old forest, but a long

time to grow it back.. Your GABA-A receptor forest has been burned down by benzo use.. This forest must regrow and it's takes a long time (if ever)  once GABA agonist use has stopped.

 

Just because "some" get off benzos without much of a problem doesn't make it less insidious of a drug. .  I wish I had be prescribed crack cocaine. 

 

Here's a good site on the overdose numbers for opioids and benzos.  Opioids are much more deadly which is why I think, partly, there's so much alarm about them versus benzos. Their combination with opioids which you can see from Figure 8 is alarming and I think it's good that's being discussed.  I wonder what happened in 2010-2012 because there's a slight leveling out period there for benzos + opioids.

 

https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates

 

Figure 8 is helpful.

 

I’m the immediate sense and the ability to overdose, yes they are. Are they more deadly over-all? I don’t think that is actually an answerable question currently. It is unquantifiable. In terms of pharmacokinetic overdose potential properties on their own, yes, certainly.

 

LorazepamFree had a chart one time from somewhere about numbers of overdose with benzodiazepines as a component of what had been found in the blood upon death, I know that the numbers were astounding and were the leading cause of death in the state of Florida for some time period... not opioids alone and not heroine and not any other drug or drug combination(s.)

 

To me, covering a story this way is a very clever way to only just expose bzds in a light which is so hazy yet satisfies enough people that the core questions are never found and never even asked.

 

Nope, decoy article in my opioid. Period.

 

 

Hmm, I don't know what to say.  I didn't have the same reaction.  I think it's good this information is discussed.  I didn't notice any journalistic inaccuracies or think that this is a decoy article.  I think it's good to bring attention and the person who wrote it discussed their professional experience with benzos too.

Hmm, I don't know what to say.  I didn't have the same reaction.  I think it's good this information is discussed.  I didn't notice any journalistic inaccuracies or think that this is a decoy article.  I think it's good to bring attention and the person who wrote it discussed their professional experience with benzos too.

 

Well, I feel like finding the number and calling them to straighten some things out, or I felt that way this morning. Also want to say I don’t intend to sound combative toward any one of you, it (the lack of accuracy and misrepresentation of facts  in this article and any and all like it) is intensely upsetting to me.

 

While others may not understand, I almost feel that articles like this are abusive... not that it is to share them here, it’s the articles themselves.

 

If anyone is going to say anything about this class of drugs I’d really prefer they got it right.

 

So I say “hmmm,” but for other reasons. Hm.

The article has its merits, but it fails to go into real dangers of benzodiazepines. It makes me wonder how many of these "overdoses" could have been people who were trying to get off of their benzodiazepine, having the roughest time, losing everything they ever had and, after too many months/years of suffering just said "forget it!! I am out of here!! I can't deal with this hell anymore!!" and purposefully (intentionally) overdosed on opiods or alcohol or something else, because they wanted out of this life and because they couldn't stand one more day of benzo withdrawal induced suffering.

 

Unfortunately, articles like this will not cast light on that specific problem of people ending their lives by ingesting something else in addition to their benzodiazepines. To a medical examiner, it will look like a multiple drug intoxication, and not much more. And those benzo sufferers who perish via non-drug means will just be written off as "mentally ill" who committed suicides. And this article doesn't take that into the account at all.

 

Sadly, the mindset of the article is still along the lines of "if you take 47 benzodiazepine pills in a 365 year period, you'll be fine, but DON'T YOU DARE take 55-60 pills in that same year, because that's the 'danger zone'". Too simplistic for one of the most iatrogenic and one of the most non-linear of all prescription drugs out there.

 

 

The article has its merits, but it fails to go into real dangers of benzodiazepines. It makes me wonder how many of these "overdoses" could have been people who were trying to get off of their benzodiazepine, having the roughest time, losing everything they ever had and, after too many months/years of suffering just said "forget it!! I am out of here!! I can't deal with this hell anymore!!" and purposefully (intentionally) overdosed on opiods or alcohol or something else, because they wanted out of this life and because they couldn't stand one more day of benzo withdrawal induced suffering.

 

Unfortunately, articles like this will not cast light on that specific problem of people ending their lives by ingesting something else in addition to their benzodiazepines. To a medical examiner, it will look like a multiple drug intoxication, and not much more. And those benzo sufferers who perish via non-drug means will just be written off as "mentally ill" who committed suicides. And this article doesn't take that into the account at all.

 

Sadly, the mindset of the article is still along the lines of "if you take 47 benzodiazepine pills in a 365 year period, you'll be fine, but DON'T YOU DARE take 55-60 pills in that same year, because that's the 'danger zone'". Too simplistic for one of the most iatrogenic and one of the most non-linear of all prescription drugs out there.

 

 

Once a person is taking a benzo for a period of time, it’s somewhat hard to get off of it.”

 

Lie. Understatement of all time... not even close.

 

Benzos amount to a "prescribed" chemical lobotomy.

For ease of understanding, it only takes one day to burn down a 100 year old forest, but a long

time to grow it back.. Your GABA-A receptor forest has been burned down by benzo use.. This forest must regrow and it's takes a long time (if ever)  once GABA agonist use has stopped.

 

Just because "some" get off benzos without much of a problem doesn't make it less insidious of a drug. .  I wish I had be prescribed crack cocaine.

 

Perfectly stated.