New Study: Experiences with benzodiazepine use, tapering, and discontinuation

[[Buddie]]

I heard D Foster give a talk about this recently. He also has a podcast if anyone is interested in checking it out:
https://www.benzofree.org/features/benzofreepodcast/

[[Buddie]]

Thanks for sharing. We desperately need studies and data. I get the impression that the only studies that get funding are presented by people who have gone through this. No one else is interested in performing research on benzo dependence and tapering, and damage.

The medical and psych community simply don't see an issue.

And pharma does not want to loose this tremendous cash cow.

[[Buddie]]

I get the impression that the medical establishment, medical schools, medical researchers, and drug companies are not interested in doing a studies of benzos because they think that they know everything about benzos and believe that anything to do with benzos is old news.  They would rather do studies on new medications.  Look at doctors who cold turkey people off benzos who were taking a large amount of benzos.  Look at the doctors who try to taper people in a few weeks.  It seems that some people can manage, but a significant number of people cannot.  This is why places like benzo buddies is so valuable.  People here have worked together to develop best practices.

[[Buddie]]

I have a theory that the benzo crisis has gotten tucked under the rug more than the opioid crisis because opioids kill people and benzos typically don't. In a society that measures things based on death counts rather than quality of life, the drug that kills people is going to get taken more seriously than the drug that creates disability. This country doesn't care about disability, and doesn't have good standards by which to measure it. But you can't statistically ignore "opioid OD" on death certificates, can you?

I hope our generation is the last to have to suffer through this.

[[Buddie]]

I heard on the news the other night that polysubstance abuse is killing alot of people in the country now.  I wonder if that's when people take psyche meds and also other illegal substances at the same time?

[[Buddie]]

Many prescription and illegal drugs are cross tolerant. Benzo's and opioid is one example. The death is always attributed to the opioid, or alcohol, never the benzo.

If you look up the toxicology in overdose deaths, you will see this trend.  Many people were taking benzos as prescribed at the time of their death. Or, more. I don't care of the drugs were legal are illegal. Being illegal does not make a drug more dangerous than it's legal counter point (heroine-fentanyl) It's the poly-drugging that killed them. Or their intentionally choice to join the cosmos, or an accident that was preventable.

Also, many incidents of death other means are undertaken by celebrities who use benzo's.

LOS ANGELES — Family members of Chris Cornell on Thursday sued a doctor they say over-prescribed drugs to the rock singer, leading to his death.

Cornell, frontman for Soundgarden, died in May 2017 in Detroit; he was 52. The coroner ruled his death a suicide by hanging.

Toxicology tests showed there were drugs present in his body, including Ativan along with barbiturates, caffeine, the anti-opioid drug naloxone, and a decongestant.

But the autopsy report said the drugs were not a cause of death.

Cornell's widow, Vicky Cornell, and their children, Toni and Christopher, are plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court asserting that prescription drugs, especially the anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam (brand name Ativan), led to erratic behavior by Cornell before his death.



Start way back with Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and move to Amy Winehouse, Prince, Tom Petty, Heath Ledger, Mike Starr (Alice in Chains)and many more people who died of overdose. Benzo's seem to always be there.

Many celebrities are treated by providers who know nothing about benzo dependence. Here are some stories. Eddie Van Halen, and other celebrity survivors,  was cold turkeyed off of it:

https://www.benzoinfo.com/category/celebrities/

I really liked Jonathan Davis story, and it explains what was the impetus behind some of Korns lyrics.

[[Buddie]]

I have a theory that the benzo crisis has gotten tucked under the rug more than the opioid crisis because opioids kill people and benzos typically don't. In a society that measures things based on death counts rather than quality of life, the drug that kills people is going to get taken more seriously than the drug that creates disability. This country doesn't care about disability, and doesn't have good standards by which to measure it. But you can't statistically ignore "opioid OD" on death certificates, can you?

I hope our generation is the last to have to suffer through this.

I think this is right. They have no idea what's even going on and write off the adverse events/suffering/torture to other things/mental illness/denial. It's not collectively reported or discussed in medicine at all.