FYI: Benzos are not highly addictive. They're dangerous as all hell, but not because they are "highly addictive"
@atomicaceso Calling it dependence or calling it addiction is in my view mostly semantics.
@janellison It's not. They have different definitions and totally different treatments. Someone with physical dependence will need access to the benzo to taper. If they are labeled with addiction they won't have access to the drug to taper. If they don't have access, they are harmed further.
@atomicaceso @janellison “Physical dependence” has a very specific meaning and it’s being misused here. Most psychoactive drugs are very difficult to quit cold turkey (opioids being the most uncomfortable) but there are only a few substances that can cause death if stopped fast (notably, alcohol).
@atomicaceso @janellison In that way benzos are in the same category as alcohol - and are used to prevent seizures in alcohol withdrawal. Like ALL psychoactive medications, benzos should be weaned appropriately. A practitioner who doesn’t understand this is a menace.
@feet_earth @janellison Unfortunately, prescribers don’t know how to discontinue benzodiazepines. I know this because I am on an ASAM panel funded an FDA grant trying to figure out how to discontinue benzodiazepines with a group of prescribers. It is not going well so far.
@feet_earth @janellison My agenda is to move past the deprescribing and look at the long-term neurological damage that these drugs can create. Instead, after 60+ years, the medical field can’t even figure out the deprescribing part. How can we expect the average doctor to know how to stop these drugs?
@atomicaceso @feet_earth @janellison No Doctor should have a liscence to prescribe #benzos or any other psychiatric drug without being educated/trained in safe deprescribing. If not let's just go vending machines and save money on incompetent Doctors.
@BlackshepSusan @feet_earth @janellison They don’t know how. The medical literature doesn’t know how. Mark Horowitz beautiful deprescribing guidelines is the best attempt we’ve seen and it just came out in 2024!