Social Anxiety Support Forum banner

Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = ADDICTION?

3K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  Speak Easy 
#1 ·
I was under a different topic and people were discussing the potential for addiction.

Are benzos addictive? From what I have learned --- no, just psychologically habit-forming and possibly a catalyst for dependence once tolerance begins to manifest itself.

I am on Klonopin, and have yet to experience any sort of physical/psychological addiction. Addiction is defined as a "state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma".

I'm waiting for an answer from UltraShy or Noca, since you guys seem to be quite knowledgeable in the field of medicine, whether it be from research, personal experience, or what not.

Feel free to comment.
 
#2 ·
Re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = ADDICT

I'd say benzo addiction is possible -- almost all cases are seen with poly drug abusers who'd abuse anything they get their hands on.

I certainly can't say there is no chance of addiction. While possible, I don't think benzo addiction is at all likely.

Think of alcohol. Many people enjoy beer, wine, or liquor in moderation. Only small percentage ever turn into addicts, even though the folks at an AA meeting can assure you that alcohol most certainly can be highly addictive. (Vastly more addictive potential than benzos by any objective measure, but we don't ban booze.)

All this excessive focus on the possibility of a small percentage becoming addicts ends up leading to legitimate anxiety/panic patients either not getting benzos at all or getting doses that are far too small to get the job done.

To me, addiction is sort of a non-issue. Those who want to avoid any risk of benzo addiction can do so by choosing not to take benzos. This addiction boggy man shouldn't stop the rest of us from getting the meds we need. You should be free to make your own choice and decide what risks you're willing to take in life. I'll take the risk of large Xanax doses. Others are free to disagress and not take it. Though I will get highly upset if they attempt to impose their dislike for it upon me and try to take my meds away from me.
 
#3 ·
re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = ADDICT

Dependence is not addiction and yes they do cause physical dependence in everything from monkeys to rats to chimps to guinea pigs to god knows whatever else poor creatures they feed these drugs to in labs. Humans are no different and it is the inevitable flaw in benzos. Thats just the way things are and if you learn to cope with it and learn management skills and never ever suddenly stop taking your medication (if you're on a high dose) you'll be fine.

Addiction implies habituation like a recreational drug habit. You dont call someone who takes prozac an addict do you? Well the world health organization says SSRIs cause dependence just like benzos.

Very dangerous physical dependence is possible in extremely high doses and if you suddenly withdrawal from benzos at doses that high you may give yourself a life threatening seizure.
 
#4 ·
Re: re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = AD

D.B. Cooper said:
Addiction implies habituation like a recreational drug habit. You dont call someone who takes prozac an addict do you?
:agree Addiction is a dirty word that suggests a dirty habit. Consider if two people took equally huge doses of OxyContin, for example. I simply pick this drug as it's well known. One of these people nearly died in a car crash and now suffers from excruciating back pain that can only be relieved by huge amounts of medication. This person is certainly dependent, but not an addict. They take their meds as prescribed by their doctor for a real & serious medical condition. The other person is Rush Limbaugh and he has his maid go buy him Oxy on the street and he sees several docs to get as much Oxy as possible. Rush just wants to get his rush. That's an addict.

The difference is crystal clear, but for some reason many, including docs who should know better, will use the term addiction when they should say dependency. These docs are either failing to use precise wording or need a refresher course back at med school if they don't understand the difference.

D.B. Cooper said:
Very dangerous physical dependence is possible in extremely high doses and if you suddenly withdrawal from benzos at doses that high you may give yourself a life threatening seizure.
Yes, that is the nature of benzos. I decided to accept that risk as I saw no other viable option. The same seizure risk, of course, is true of heavy alcohol abusers if they were to suddenly stop drinking.
 
#6 ·
re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = ADDICT

Addiction is this respect is called Dependance because it occurs within the boundry of prescribed medical advice. Dependance is used because the word Addiction carries with it a great stigma and when people are just called Dependant, it sounds less bad. And to the original poster, try not taking your Klonopin for a day and then tell me if Klonopin is "addictive" or not.
 
#7 ·
Re: re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = AD

scotthallkevinnash said:
Addiction is this respect is called Dependance because it occurs within the boundry of prescribed medical advice. Dependance is used because the word Addiction carries with it a great stigma and when people are just called Dependant, it sounds less bad. And to the original poster, try not taking your Klonopin for a day and then tell me if Klonopin is "addictive" or not.
Dependence is used because addiction and dependence do not mean the same thing.
I have been without Valium for about a week and it is unpleasant, in part because of my body's dependence but more so because I don't have anything to help control the anxiety. It will likely be some time before I get more if I ever do because I will go through the system to get them. I won't be doctor shopping or robbing drug stores or stealing from my mother to support my habit.
 
#8 ·
I've never taken any kind of medication before, but from friends up here that I've known I have seen problems with benzo's. My friend here had a hard time with Klonopin, which she was prescribed for anxiety, but her anxiety isn't necessarily the same kind we have here, although she does get uncomfortable around others. My other friend, who used to post here, has been on pretty much every med there is and she had a hard time with Klonopin as well. But the biggest fiends for benzo's that I have seen are people that were not prescribed it, ie people that just like to take pills. I suppose they may have stress/anxiety in their everyday life, but I kind of doubt SA. I can't imagine most people here trying to buy Valium or Klonopin or something like that illegally.
 
#9 ·
Re: re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = AD

scotthallkevinnash said:
Addiction is this respect is called Dependance because it occurs within the boundry of prescribed medical advice. Dependance is used because the word Addiction carries with it a great stigma and when people are just called Dependant, it sounds less bad. And to the original poster, try not taking your Klonopin for a day and then tell me if Klonopin is "addictive" or not.
I have gone weeks without taking it and have felt fine --- No withdrawal symptoms, no cravings, nothing.

However, I think it a lot of this pertains to dosage and personality. I, for example, do not have an addictive personality, and I am on a relatively low dose of Klonopin. Recreational drugs, which I always took in moderation, never made me an addict and I don't believe Klonopin has/will either.
 
#10 ·
re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = ADDICT

Not for me. I used to take Klonopin on a regular basis (around 1.5mg - 2mg) when I was in school and I knew I had a presentation type class or something like that. It was easy to get off of it though after the semester was over. I can see how someone can get dependent on them when using it as a sleeping aid since it's good at knocking me out when I go through bouts of insomnia.
 
#11 ·
re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = ADDICT

I still take Klonopin as needed, but I do have an idea of how hard it will be to get off it completely. Due to poor planning on my part, my prescription ran out about a 9 days before my next dr's appointment. He was also out of town so I couldn't make an emergency visit or something. Well after about 4-5 days I started having withdrawal symptoms such as numbness in the face, twitching, dizziness, and difficulty focusing. I'm sure there were some others too but those were the main ones that really bothered me. Does this mean I am an addict? I don't know.
 
#12 ·
re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = ADDICT

I have quit klonopin cold-turkey twice after taking it for several years and went through horrible withdrawal. Couldn't sleep for days, heart was constantly pounding, all day, no break. There was heightened sensitivity to light and sound as well. It was truly horrible.
 
#13 ·
Re: re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = AD

nesteroff said:
I have quit klonopin cold-turkey twice after taking it for several years and went through horrible withdrawal. Couldn't sleep for days, heart was constantly pounding, all day, no break. There was heightened sensitivity to light and sound as well. It was truly horrible.
How many addicts do you know of that would voluntarily quit their drug cold turkey?
 
#14 ·
Re: re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = AD

Thunder said:
nesteroff said:
I have quit klonopin cold-turkey twice after taking it for several years and went through horrible withdrawal. Couldn't sleep for days, heart was constantly pounding, all day, no break. There was heightened sensitivity to light and sound as well. It was truly horrible.
How many addicts do you know of that would voluntarily quit their drug cold turkey?
:ditto
 
#16 ·
re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = ADDICT

My 2 cents:

1) It's not an either-or situation. Some people can be. Most probably don't.
2) "Dependence" is not necessarily this completely innocuous and justifiable thing either. It can be very distressing, so hopefully people weigh that.
3) Tolerance is another issue that may occur, and unfortunately there is little in the way of experimental evidence on this subject. Actually now that I think of it, I don't know of any experimental studies on this, at least in humans. But they probably exist somewhere out there.
4) There's a risk involved in almost every medication therapy. You really have to decide what, in the end, is most likely to improve your quality of life.

Again, my two cents. :)
 
#17 ·
Re: re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = AD

Caedmon said:
My 2 cents:

1) It's not an either-or situation. Some people can be. Most probably don't.
2) "Dependence" is not necessarily this completely innocuous and justifiable thing either. It can be very distressing, so hopefully people weigh that.
:)
That's a good way to put it, and worth more than 2 cents. :yes

As with alcohol, most people will not abuse benzos or other pharmaceuticals. As others have said, physical (physiological) dependence can occur in users of benzos, especially if taken long-term. Dependence is not "this completely innocuous" thing when half of the users experience some kind of withdrawal syndrome. I'd be interested to know how many of the chronic benzo users are receiving true therapeutic benefit from their pills vs. keeping withdrawal symptoms at bay through continued use.

I realize benzo use can be beneficial. I also realize that other psychiatric drugs have their pros and cons. I don't know why, given the choice, anybody would withdrawal abruptly from psychiatric drugs after long-term use unless they were causing a serious adverse effect.

I realize that some of the effects/properties of alcohol and benzos are similar, but I'm not sure that I'd draw too many parallels. A long-term benzo user, taking prescribed dosages, I believe would have more withdrawal issues than, say, someone who drinks long-term but at a low "dose." Of course, alcohol carries other, physical risks.

To answer the question in the title of this thread: Q: BENZOS = ADDICT?
A: Usually no.
 
#18 ·
re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = ADDICT

As discussed on another board i frequent. Benzos are so much better for your liver than booze. Booze and benzos are the only drugs i've ever encountered or read about that under extreme abuse cases can kill someone from withdrawal via grand mal seizures. Not even heroin does that.

So yes, the way booze and benzos both tweak the GABAa receptor are very very similar. Alcohol of course does much more things like cause the release of dopamine which is what makes booze so damn addictive and makes people go psychotic from it.
 
#19 ·
Re: re: Let just settle this once and for all....BENZOS = AD

D.B. Cooper said:
As discussed on another board i frequent. Benzos are so much better for your liver than booze. Booze and benzos are the only drugs i've ever encountered or read about that under extreme abuse cases can kill someone from withdrawal via grand mal seizures. Not even heroin does that.

So yes, the way booze and benzos both tweak the GABAa receptor are very very similar. Alcohol of course does much more things like cause the release of dopamine which is what makes booze so damn addictive and makes people go psychotic from it.
Just curious, but why are you so against alcohol?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top