Woman says anti-anxiety pills have stolen her life

We worked on this piece, the doctor is on our board

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/woman-says-anti-anxiety-pills-have-stolen-her-life

We worked on this piece, the doctor is on our board

 

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/woman-says-anti-anxiety-pills-have-stolen-her-life

Well done and thanks, Benzo Info Coalition! Is there any chance the reporter would be interested in doing a follow-up piece that expands on what the doctor had to say about the importance of gradual, symptom-based withdrawals and doctors who are willing work with patients on these?  This is an important message that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as it should. 

We worked on this piece, the doctor is on our board

 

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/woman-says-anti-anxiety-pills-have-stolen-her-life

I actually live in San Antonio, thank you so much for the link!

Mary

We worked on this piece, the doctor is on our board

 

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/woman-says-anti-anxiety-pills-have-stolen-her-life

Well done and thanks, Benzo Info Coalition! Is there any chance the reporter would be interested in doing a follow-up piece that expands on what the doctor had to say about the importance of gradual, symptom-based withdrawals and doctors who are willing work with patients on these?  This is an important message that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as it should.

This was actually a follow up to a less than stellar piece - unsure if they want to do three. We contacted them after seeing piece 1 (linked below) and they agreed to do a follow up. http://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/the-pills-doctors-are-calling-the-next-drug-crisis

We worked on this piece, the doctor is on our board

 

https://news4sanantonio.com/news/trouble-shooters/woman-says-anti-anxiety-pills-have-stolen-her-life

 

I actually live in San Antonio, thank you so much for the link!

Mary

Cool! Great signature!

"SAN ANTONIO – Doctors call it the drug crisis no one is talking about.

Two weeks ago, the Trouble Shooters exposed the problems with benzodiazepines - anti-anxiety pills you might have in your cabinet right now.

Our story’s received nationwide attention from advocacy groups, patients and doctors.

The Trouble Shooters are now digging deeper into a very under-reported, under-researched problem.

"It sounds like you wish you had never touched these pills,” reporter Emily Baucum asks.

"I would give a million. I would give anything to never have touched this,” Austin-area patient Melissa Jackson says.

Her life changed forever at a routine appointment to check her high blood pressure.

"I never had any psychiatric issues. I never had anxiety. I never had depression,” Jackson says.

But the doctor gave her something for anxiety anyway.

"So you took Xanax exactly as prescribed?" Baucum asks.

"Exactly as prescribed. Nothing different. Never anything more,” Jackson answers.

Twenty years later, she can’t work and she can’t sleep. Her brain is foggy, and her life revolves around a pill schedule.

"I'm not an addict. I'm dependent,” Jackson says.

"You're not an addict,” Baucum says.

"No,” Jackson responds.

"But these pills seem to have ruined your life,” Baucum says.

"They have stolen my life. My life has absolutely 100% been stolen from me,” Jackson says.

Benzodiazepines are anti-anxiety pills like Xanax, Valium and Ativan. Many doctors say benzos create a vicious circle, making anxiety worse and causing patients to become physically dependent.

A national study published earlier this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found from 2005 to 2015, benzodiazepine prescriptions increased 50%.

The study also found more primary care doctors and surgeons are writing those prescriptions, not for anxiety but for chronic pain.

"We're beginning to notice there are people that are having really complicated withdrawals, sometimes for months and going on for years,” says Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring from the Baylor College of Medicine.

He tells the Trouble Shooters that in his opinion, the safest way to get off benzos is a tapering process, which is a gradual withdrawal from the pills.

"So this means going out there and finding a doctor that will work with you on reducing the dose at a pace that's comfortable for you,” Dr. Witt-Doerring says.

Jackson’s tapered once before.

"It's tortuous to your body,” she says. “It feels like a constant flu, a constant sickness, a constant hangover."

She’s preparing in the next month to taper again, hoping to reclaim her life from the pills she never asked for.

"Only take them absolutely if only needed and you cannot find any other way out,” Jackson says. “And only for the shortest amount of time. And do not keep taking them daily. And if you do not have to use them, do not touch them at all."

I believe it's important to post the contents of this article & highlight a point that many seem to not consider when they start the very long journey of benzo w/d.

And these are some other very important quotations from the article:

"Only take them absolutely if only needed and you cannot find any other way out,” Jackson says. “And only for the shortest amount of time. And do not keep taking them daily. And if you do not have to use them, do not touch them at all."

---------

Twenty years later, she can’t work and she can’t sleep. Her brain is foggy, and her life revolves around a pill schedule.

"I'm not an addict. I'm dependent,” Jackson says.

"You're not an addict,” Baucum says.

"No,” Jackson responds.

"But these pills seem to have ruined your life,” Baucum says.

"They have stolen my life. My life has absolutely 100% been stolen from me,” Jackson says.

It's a copyright violation to copy and paste complete articles. In addition to being illegal, it impacts on clicks to the original. Every person who reads the full article on a message board and does not click is one fewer click to the site that wrote/produced the piece. Fewer clicks suggest less interest and a lesser chance of a third story or any other stories on the topic at that space.

Yes. I'm a writer. One of my editors hired a lawyer to track down the widespread illegal use of my articles after a big drop in site visitors to my articles. Most sites removed my full content articles and/or replaced them with article links. I think Google was notified about a couple of sites which can be dropped lower or completely off G search for copyright violations.

Lilyann, I'm a writer, too, and I thought in reference to the complete article that Fi Addendum posted, that we ought to consider Fair Use.

Here's a brief explanation.

Under the "fair use" defense, another author may make limited use of the original author's work without asking permission. Pursuant to 17 U.S. Code § 107, certain uses of copyrighted material "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

 

As a matter of policy, fair use is based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism. The fair use privilege is perhaps the most significant limitation on a copyright owner's exclusive rights. If you write or publish, you need a basic understanding of what does and does not constitute fair use.

You can find more discussions of Fair Use on the internet.

Fi's posting of the article would certainly seem to fall under the purposes of Fair Use.

Just something to think about.

Katz

No, not always.

It's arguable in court.

There are four factors to consider when claiming Fair Use, and you don't have to adhere to all four to be successful in court.

Bur carping about this here on a benzo recovery forum where we often post information for the benefit of all seems to me to be ridiculous.

IMO, Fi would win in court.

Good grief.

Katz

"We're beginning to notice there are people that are having really complicated withdrawals, sometimes for months and going on for years,” says Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring from the Baylor College of Medicine.

Wow. What floors me, is how long have benzos been around? And they're just now beginning to notice???

"We're beginning to notice there are people that are having really complicated withdrawals, sometimes for months and going on for years,” says Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring from the Baylor College of Medicine.

👏🏻

Something that could be bolded and pinned for all to see everywhere even on this website... because how often do people ignore, disbelieve, shun, mock and do their best to maim and silence the protracted—like all the time!

I'm certainly glad that the doctor said the effects can last for months or years!!! "We're beginning to notice there are people that are having really complicated withdrawals, sometimes for months and going on for years,” says Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring from the Baylor College of Medicine.

I am concerned about this, however: "Some people are going to have to do it inside of a hospital. They're not going to really be able to do that on their own," Dr. Miller says.

Some people may assume that going to a rehab fulfills the purpose of a hospital, and a rehab is one of the worst places to go. Being in a hospital would also be problematic. How many medical personnel know how to truly taper someone from benzodiazepines? And they do it way too fast, as we all know.

The medical study found there are surprisingly few guidelines for benzos, so if you use them and have any concerns it's best to have an honest conversation with your doctor.

This is another merry-go-round. You go to the doctor and get no help at all. Any honesty about benzos is usually met with disdain and guffawing by doctors. So that is at the heart of the problem.

BUT I'm cheered by the fact that Dr. Josef Witt-Doerring mentioned the months or years it can take to be healed. That is an absolute plus!!!

Just my opinion and i shared it with Emily:

Dr. Miller has nearly no clue what he’s talking about regarding benzodiazepine cessation and should have never been interviewed. Sadly so many are spotlight happy with nothing meaningful to add.