Posted on 07/19/2018 10:55:43 AM PDT by Mariner
The growing use of anti-anxiety pills reminds some doctors of the early days of the opioid crisis.
Considered relatively safe and non-addictive by the general public and many doctors, Xanax, Valium, Ativan and Klonopin have been prescribed to millions of Americans for decades to calm jittery nerves and promote a good night’s sleep.
But the number of people taking the sedatives and the average length of time they’re taking them have shot up since the 1990s, when doctors also started liberally prescribing opioid painkillers.
As a result, some state and federal officials are now warning that excessive prescribing of a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines or “benzos” is putting more people at risk of dependence on the pills and is exacerbating the fatal overdose toll of painkillers and heroin. Some local governments are beginning to restrict benzo prescriptions.
When taken in combination with painkillers or illicit narcotics, benzodiazepines can increase the likelihood of a fatal overdose as much as tenfold, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. On their own, the medications can cause debilitating withdrawal symptoms that last for months or years.
Public health officials also warn that people who abruptly stop taking benzodiazepines risk seizures or even death.
(Excerpt) Read more at pewtrusts.org ...
Anyone who is taking them is, you guessed it, a drug addict.
I took Xanax for a while. I did not become addicted. It helped me.
I found these pills that get me so high, I don’t even know where I am, I highly recommend them.......they’re called, “Placebos”.
-Steve Martin
I Take Xanax, Always late filling my prescription, Take when I only need them.
Everything old is new again, dust off your 45s of Mother’s Little Helper.
First time I have ever heard the notion that Xanax can’t be addictive.
Klonopin has to be taken for a while before it becomes effective, but I guess there must be addicts somewhere who don’t demand instant gratification.
Overall, I am learning towards the conclusion that today was “make sh¡t up day” at Pew.
I do the same with Kolonopin. Only as needed.
I’ll be pi$$ed AF if they screw with my Vitamin K!
suffer from Bi-polar illness and have been prescribed in the past all theses meds. they are dangerous and need to be monitored if you are on them... big problem is that most who get prescribed theses meds are not monitored after they are put on the meds...expect real problems from this...off Meds now feel better because I just stay away from stress...
The Stones never revealed whether it was meprobamate or valium the song was about.
“One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small ...”
Yeah, there are quite a few high school kids that abuse the hell out of Xanax.
Not true. I’ve taken ativan on and off for years, as much as 1.5 mg/day. Last time I had any was several months ago and I had no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Benzos can be very helpful and they’re inexpensive.
Go ask Alice.....
Saw Grace Slick perform that in concert.
Valley of the Dolls
Then why are they only Schedule 4?
I take valium for neck spasm from stenosis when it flares up. How people could think that it gets them high is beyond me? It does not and I take the 10mg Bigger ones. It relieves my cramping and tingling. A days rest and I might see a month before I need to take it again. I also can’t imagine it being addicting?
They are very addictive, depending on how you use them. Chronic use can lead to a horrible addiction.
Actually, I think alcohol is the biggest drug misused in the world.
But it is legal for adults to use, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I know far more people who take a sip of courage, or a drink to relax, forget about things, or just to get shatfaced then any number of pill takers.
It’s human nature.
Regulators need to mind their own business.
Much better than seeing Grace Slick today.
I was given Xanax by the ER Doc, when I had irregular heart beats episode in Santa Fe, NM at age 50. After drinking lot of coffee at a technical conference all day and then going for a jog in the evening at 7200 altitude caused my heart rhythm to go completely berserk.
It was amazing how fast the Xanax worked, and I was released from the hospital quickly. Since then I have had 2 more prescriptions of Xanax over a span of 27 years. It was not addictive at all, did not upset my stomach which most pills will doi my stomach, so I call it a wonder drug. Sporadically I will get a panic attacks out of nowhere, and one tiny Xanax pill will demolish the attack in minutes. So over 27 years, I have used less than 40 pills, and I carry it with me whenever I am driving alone long distance.
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