Are you addicted to tranquillisers? Poll.

[Ellen70]

Hello, I would be interested to know how many of us are dependent on tranquillisers (benzodiazipines like valium/xanax/clonazepam etc)

Medical professionals have done a complete U turn in their attitude to these drugs - when I was first admitted to hospital as a teenager 20 years ago, I was very sternly told that I HAD to take these pills and got a right telling off for asking if they were addictive. How times have changed! Now I need them almost everyday and am totally reliant on them. Tried withdrawal several times and it was a living hell.

So are you addicted?

[Southern_Belle]

I think just because you are prescribed a benzo to take every day does not necessarily mean you are addicted. You might have to be weaned off of them but then again you have to be weaned off anti-depressants too. I agree it is not a good thing to be on any med long term but short term I think for some people it may not be a bad thing. I just think to say in your poll that just because you take them that you are addicted is a little harsh but that is just my opinion.

Laura

[Ellen70]

Hi Southern Belle,
I am sorry if you think the way I have worded the poll is harsh, I didn't mean it to be. It is because benzos are so quickly addictive and tolerance is built up to them so fast that I use the term addiction.
Many people are prescribed them for daily use but don't take them daily so they of course aren't addicted. I am talking about people like myself who can't manage life without them and who always have a supply of pills on them.
Some people think the word 'addicted' is derogatory but I don't. I have no problem in admitting that I am addicted and I don't think anyone should be afraid to admit if they are.
Please use the 'Other' option if none of the poll options apply to you.

Take care

Eibhlin

[honeybee3939]

Hi

I took Valium for around 18 months when i was at my worst with Agorophobia, i didnt leave my bedroom for 6 months and although i hated the thought of taking Diazipam it was either give it a go or be sectioned. Im glad i took the right chioce as it did help me. I gradually weaned my self off cutting the tablets in halves and then quaters.

love

Andrea
xxxxx

[ade]

25 yrs on diazepam,i am addicted and told not to even try to come off without huge changes in my life
feel so bad about it
sorry
ade x

[bearcrazy]

Hi, i have been addicted to benzo's for years. Now with the help of my Gp am tapering off of them. Its been hard and I have had a lot of rough patches which my family have gone through with me, but it will be worth it in the end.

[Ellen70]

The longest I ever stayed off benzos was about fifty days and I lay in bed each day sweating buckets (used to use big bath towels as 'sheets' and change them several times a day) and with stomach pains so bad that I cried with the pain of them. I didn't eat and couldn't even keep water down. I lost stones. Eventually I had to begin taking the benzos again as I was doing this on my own and my family were sick of my problems and I knew I'd be sectioned if I called my GP. It took over a month before I could eat properly again and months for my digestion to settle down. Unless you can afford to go to a private psychiatric clinic and do withdrawl there, I don't see how I can ever be in a 'safe' environment where I had people to look after me whilst I went through the withdrawl.

The other side of the coin is that if I did make it through withdrawl, I would still have the 'original' anxiety that I began taking the pills for. Also I find myself that the mental dependence on these drugs is just as strong as the physical. So even if I were physically free of the drugs I don't believe I would mentally believe that I could handle the anxiety without them. This is all very negative but the memories of the attempted withdrawl are so frightening that life with tranqs seems preferable to life without them.

Eibhlin

[Phill2]

I have what is termed a "Low Dosage Dependancy" I only take 10mg/day but I HAVE to take it every day
Phill

[Lacrymosa]

I've never taken tranquilizers, then again I've never been diagnosed with a panic disorder. Too scared of the doctors.

[Alabasterlyn]

I've been addicted to Librium for about 27yrs now

I never realised until I was addicted just how bad these drugs could be. Although I am only on a fairly low dose I still think these drugs end up making our symptoms worse as it's so easy to become tolerant to them and your body then stays in a permanent state of withdrawal.

I don't think hospitalisation is the way to come off benzos as it has to be done so slowly that the NHS would never be able to handle the timescale involved.

I think it's a national scandal that the medical profession have knowingly allowed patients to become addicted and not even told them!

I hope that anyone on here who is coming off them reads The Ashton Manual first so that they can learn about what benzos do to us and the best way to come off them.

Apparently every Dr's surgery has a BNF book that advises them to get patients to crossover onto Valium before they start to withdraw as this benzo has the longest half life and will give the smoothest taper. Sadly a lot of Dr's just tell you to taper off your benzos without even realising you may be on one that has a short half life and may make your symptoms much worse than they need to be.

I am not by any means against benzos as I really do believe they can help people, but they can also make them worse too if they aren't taken with the respect and caution needed.