"“First Do No Harm” vs. Benzodiazepine Ototoxicity"

"“First Do No Harm” vs. Benzodiazepine Ototoxicity"

https://hearinglosshelp.com/blog/first-do-no-harm-vs-benzodiazepine-ototoxicity/ 

by Neil Bauman, Ph.D.

A doctor, wrote,

  I feel that your article on benzodiazepines is irresponsible and may cause those with disabling anxiety disorder to avoid treatment.

    There are many patients with panic disorder that are well-maintained on Alprazolam for decades without the anxiolytic effect being lost or diminished or the need to increase the dose. They lead normal lives without panic attacks whereas prior to beginning pharmacological treatment they had several panic attacks each day and ended up housebound.

I can understand your position as a doctor trained to view pharmacology as the primary means to treat various “mental” disorders such as anxiety. Now let’s look at the other side of the coin.

The reason I wrote that article is because the negative side effects of benzodiazepines have damaged and are continuing to damage many thousands of people. These people need to be warned of the dangers of taking benzodiazepines since many doctors aren’t doing it. Specifically, they need to be warned that depending on these drugs can cause more troublesome side effects than the original condition the drugs were prescribed to treat. It seems to me that most doctors are prescribing benzos without warning people of these dangerous side effects.

How can doctors who take the Hippocratic oath that says “First do no harm” justify prescribing benzos when they are known to harm thousands of people each year? Yes, they may help some people, but at what cost in the long run? It sounds as if you are saying that it is ok to harm thousands of people because at the same time you are helping numbers of others.

If doctors didn’t prescribe benzos, then people wouldn’t be damaged by their side effects and I wouldn’t have had any reason to write this article exposing the dangers of benzo problems. Furthermore, I wouldn’t be receiving emails from people saying that if they had known the horrible side effects they would experience, they would never have taken the benzos their doctors prescribed.

What you are saying is that you justify deliberately putting thousands of people at risk in order to help some people that likely could have been helped by non-pharmacological means such as counseling, dietary and lifestyle changes, etc.

Please—get back to truly helping people and “first do no harm!” with any treatment.

To that "A doctor, wrote,

    I feel that your article on benzodiazepines is irresponsible and may cause those with disabling anxiety disorder to avoid treatment.". 

No, you and your ilk have damaged, not helped, people. I should never  have been put on a Benzo, but it's because Of someone who thinks like you that I was. You would be among the 5 doctors I fired over the past 5 years, you do more harm then help. Please, take a Benzo, any Benzo for just 4 weeks, and then stop it cold turkey. Maybe then you'll get it. Right now you are just another MD/DO who is absolutely clueless about the dangerous junk you prescribe to 'help' people, instead of trying alternatives. In the past 5 years I've learned that most doctors forgot the  “First Do No Harm” part, I have had more hurt than help. Only two of my doctors helped, one was my Endo who was flabbergasted a Psych doctor prescribed Klonopin to me when my anxiety problem was Hypomagnesemia, but this Endo is the same doc who's cleaned up the mess those with your kind of thinking create. She took me off meds prescribed by other doctors which she said I didn't need anymore, or reduced dosages. Doctors put me on crap that they weren't supposed to keep me on, she eliminated almost half my meds. The other was the GI doc who was willing to help me get a drug from the UK that wasn't FDA approved for anything but Orphan Drug use. Thank God the FDA said "yes":, no more Hypomagnesemia, caused by the PPI my now-fired PCP/GP should have said something about 5 yeas ago.

Thank you Dr Bauman for the truth. It's about time the rest of you took notice, he's not the orresponsible one here, doctors like you are, and apparently the truth plucked a nerve.

Come to Benzo Buddies with an open mind to read and hear, I dare you!