Posted by harryp on May 6, 2004, at 22:05:52
In reply to Re: Xanax - my pdoc thinks its too much! I DONT!, posted by zeugma on May 6, 2004, at 18:56:51
Your stories are distressingly familiar. Psychiatrists' lack of empathy and initiative towards their patients' suffering can be remarkable.
I would lean towards lorazapam (Ativan) over Xanax--it seems to last a bit longer and you can use fewer doses.
Also, I'd like to point out that Nardil is considered great for social anxiety and depression. The MAOI's in general are very good for anxiety as well as depression. I was able to cut back to about 2mg/day lorazapam after going on Parnate.
I'm always puzzled that pdocs will blithely pass out Effexor samples, even though it causes physical dependency in 50% of users and heroin-grade hellish withdrawal in about 15%, yet stew about benzos being "habit forming"!
If Parnate went off the market I'd have to learn to synthesize it in my bathroom (fortunately I did well in O-chem!) or I'd probably be dead in a few months. THAT'S drug dependance, if you like, and it's something a lot of us deal with.
Likewise when my anxiety gets bad I literally experience physical agony--stomach cramps, chest pains, racing heart, as well as emotional pain that makes me completely nonfunctional. 1 mg lorazapam will nail one of these episodes. Am I "dependent" on this drug? Absolutely! How exactly is that a problem?
Sometimes I wonder what fantasy world pdocs inhabit during their four year residency...
poster:harryp
thread:343353
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040505/msgs/344176.html