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Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

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Re: Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

#171

Post by matheusmoreira »

anonymoushn wrote: post #22
ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not just talking about benzos, but also anti psychotics, amphetamines, statins, and basically the whole gamut. My brother is a pharmacist, and is constantly shocked by the prescriptions that healthy people bring in to get filled. The medical field has been unjustly given too much prestige.

antipsychotics are horrifying. do therapeutic doses of stimulants cause problems other than heart disease over the long term?

Depends on how you define "problem". Amphetamines may cause a lot of side effects: lower appetite, agitation, insomnia, irritability, bruxism... The list goes on. Whether these risks are acceptable or not is an individualized choice. Some side effects may even be beneficial: lower appetite for weight loss, insomnia for narcolepsy.

Re: Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

#172

Post by gavinray »

sph wrote: post #67
SemanticStrengh wrote: post #45

The world of medecine is degenerate. Sustainable, non addictive and non neurotoxic anxiolytics exists: the #1 being opipramol the sigmaergic. emoxypine (which btw cure hangover) and guanfacine are worth mentioning. Maybe beta blockers to some extent. NMDA antagonists such as memantine have side effects but are not neurotoxic to my knowledge and there are milder ones such as mg-lthreonate. afobazole is interesting but…

I have a hard time believing that while the current status quo is suboptimal, there's some little known compounds that are, as you say, revolutionary and with little side effects. Pharmacological research is a constantly moving target, there is no scientific nor economic reason that a supposedly "perfect" remedy remains unknown. Sounds too much like thinly veiled conspiracy, or perhaps they're not as perfect as you'r…

I have personal experience with Guanfacine (and Clonidine), beta blockers (Propanolol/Labetalol), Etifoxine, Phenibut, and a myriad of benzos.

Long history of RX for anxiety disorders, which I eventually tapered off of and quit due to dependence.

Can attest to Etifoxine being effective without side effects, guanfacine and clonidine being mildly effective. Beta blockers never did much for me but YMMV.

Re: Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

#173

Post by ada1981 »

yodsanklai wrote: post #120
shepardrtc wrote: post #29

I was prescribed benzos because of sleeping issues, but I was also taking phenibut at the same time. After about 3 weeks of using large doses of the benzos every night, I stopped taking them, but a year later I still feel pangs of withdrawal sometimes when I get stressed. It took me another 4 months to get off the phenibut and a month or so after that before my sleep returned to normal. There were months where I mayb…

> I tell everyone to never take benzos for any reasons You can't generalise your experience. Everybody is different and that's the doctor's job to assess whether the benefits outweigh the cost, considering the patient and their problems. Personally, I've been taking benzos very occasionally for 20 years (never more than a few days at a time) and they helped me overcome difficult times. Never had the slightest addicti…

I think literally everything from learning to play tic tac toe to quantum computing is easier said than done…

It’s harder to clear trauma, teach emotional regulation and to build a life that is healthy, yes. And, it’s a path worth walking down.

Re: Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

#174

Post by colechristensen »

jimmar wrote: post #66

I took 1 benzodiazepine bill once about 15 years ago and I still remember the effect--instant total relaxation. I remember thinking that it felt too good and that it's something I shouldn't let myself have again. Hearing about its long term effects, I feel somewhat lucky.

The first time I took Xanax I cleaned my kitchen and it went from mildly embarrassing to quite presentable in an hour or two. I could actually execute the things I wanted to do without fighting though ridiculous feelings.

I am treated like an addict or ridiculous when I tell doctors I'd rather not "try SSRIs" or a series of strange sedating substances because they're all so afraid of prescribing something with addiction potential (and the regulators trying to stop them).

Re: Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

#176

Post by throwaway23324 »

cameronh90 wrote: post #55
SemanticStrengh wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

there can be legitimate uses for acute exceptional benzo use for e.g. panic attacks but yeah for anxiety or sleep they are a slippery slope that ruin lives. As I said in my other comment, there exist effective, saner solutions.

I have a small pack of prescribed diazepam in my backpack in case I have a panic attack. Haven't used any of them so far, but just having them there makes me a lot less anxious.

Same here with klonopin/clonazepam . I take .5mg max which is generally the starting dose, and very, very sparingly - like .5mg every few months max.

Benzos can absolutely decimate anxiety reliably - and half of my panic is the fear of not being able to control a panic attack (thus the self-feedback loop into panic). The amount I take only takes the edge off which is all I need, just knowing I have it is such a massive help at preventing panic attacks it's crazy.

Re: Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

#177

Post by mikepurvis »

yodsanklai wrote: post #120
shepardrtc wrote: post #29

I was prescribed benzos because of sleeping issues, but I was also taking phenibut at the same time. After about 3 weeks of using large doses of the benzos every night, I stopped taking them, but a year later I still feel pangs of withdrawal sometimes when I get stressed. It took me another 4 months to get off the phenibut and a month or so after that before my sleep returned to normal. There were months where I mayb…

> I tell everyone to never take benzos for any reasons You can't generalise your experience. Everybody is different and that's the doctor's job to assess whether the benefits outweigh the cost, considering the patient and their problems. Personally, I've been taking benzos very occasionally for 20 years (never more than a few days at a time) and they helped me overcome difficult times. Never had the slightest addicti…

This whole discussion is making me feel better than ever for choosing cannabis edibles (legal in Canada) to address stress-induced insomnia and other sleep issues for which the root cause was not something I was in a position to immediately address.

I take it a few times a week as needed, small doses (2-5mg) and I feel that I am in control of it and could go off any time.

Re: Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

#178

Post by bcook »

ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #6

The reality is many drugs have long term effects, we just can't see them yet. But if you are close to someone who is a user, over the long run you will notice differences. Sometimes its just that they don't have the same spark. Regardless, 100 years down the line we will look back in horror at the state of pharmaceutical drugs. All it takes is going to a doctor, saying you have anxiety, and the doctor pops out a scri…

You've got a dangerous level of confidence.

Re: Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

#179

Post by SemanticStrengh »

heavyset_go wrote: post #143
SemanticStrengh wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

picamilon is banned? That's dumb, soon they will ban l-theanine and taurine? I really don't think you can get addicted to picamillon like phen or benz

The FDA's argument is that it isn't a naturally occurring substance like an amino acid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picamilon#Regulation

insane hypocrisy from the Federal Death Agency, a prodrug is functionally the exact same thing as the endogenously occuring substance

Re: Long-term benzodiazepine use causes synapse loss and cognitive deficits in mice

#180

Post by colechristensen »

tinyhouse wrote: post #136

Why there aren't more studies on humans? It's not difficult to find people who have been taking benzos or other related drugs for years.

I researched long term impairment in humans for benzos and was only able to find very mild (i.e. on the edge of measurability) cognitive impairment which was mostly recoverable after a period of abstinence.
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