Posted by chemist on August 20, 2004, at 12:52:19
In reply to A question for Chemist - Benzos Vs Barbs, posted by Sad Panda on August 20, 2004, at 10:55:54
> Now that you are back, do Barbiturates have any advantages over the Benzos? My understanding is that the barbiturates depress the respiration centre on the brainstem much more than benzos do.
>
> Cheers,
> Panda.
>
hi panda, here we go, right? your comment above is spot on in re: depression of respiration, and the barbs fell out of favor on this side of the pond upon the dawn of chloral hydrate (shortly) then benzos for anxiolytics, and anti-seizure/anti-epilepsy meds like phenytoin...largely safety issues, and high abuse potential, too. the first and last time i actually laid eyes on a barbiturate (well, the bottle, to be precise) was in the mid 1980s, a terminally ill grandparent of a good friend was taking nebutal (pentobarbital) for sleep. i am guessing that potential advantages are for people who do not respond favorably to the anti-seizure meds on the market today and/or cases of insomnia that are too severe to clobber with a benzo or z-drug. otherwise, i'm out of ideas....all the best, chemist
poster:chemist
thread:379877
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040817/msgs/379932.html