does anyone else feel frustrated about the amount of attention on opioid WD

[[SS...]]

It is hard not to feel angry about the amount of attention being given to the opioid problem and the amount of financial support or resource support going to opioid use / withdrawal....... i suspect benzo WD is far more profound a problem but because benzo use is associated with anxiety and many of the WD symptoms appear to be "psychological" - we are dismissed ........ i know anger is not a productive emotion but yesterday saw a press conference with President Trump and how he's tackling this and it was hard not to feel angry..... i worked so hard in corporate america for 20 yrs - 50-60 hour weeks - paid a fortune in taxes and yet there is no help and i could lose everything for taking a prescription given to me following a surgery and used according to the instructions provided...... from people i know who got off opioids - their WD is not fun but its nothing compared to this...... we deal with both GABA and dopamine receptors being screwed up ...... you read stories where people say getting off heroine was easier.... what does that say?  feeling very frustrated by this....

[[Pe...]]

Yea I think we both deserve support. I had googled addiction supports in my area the other day and there were only opioid harm reduction programs I could find. It's not that that's bad but that there is literally nothing (/ very little) for us. Definitely frustrating as hell.

[[Te...]]

Yes, I feel the same way. Because opioid deals with pain and because benzos deal with the nerves, they remain separate. It's too easy for doctors to just see this as a psychological problem and dismiss it outright. And I must admit, there are people who are very vociferous about their benzos, saying loudly that they need them for their anxiety. The doctors probably hear it over and over. Too bad the people taking benzos for their anxiety don't realize that it's THE VERY NATURE of benzos to CAUSE anxiety because of how they act on GABA and glutamate. It's such a difficult problem to overcome.

[Guest [sa...]]

Opioid W/D, like Alcohol W/D tends to be more damaging than benzos. Benzos are considered relatively safe, even with the long-running duration of the symptoms.

[Guest [sa...]]

Opioid W/D, like Alcohol W/D tends to be more damaging than Benzos. Benzos are considered relatively safe, even with the long-running duration of the symptoms.

[[Fl...]]

Opioid W/D, like Alcohol W/D tends to be more damaging than benzos. Benzos are considered relatively safe, even with the long-running duration of the symptoms.

 

Define "damaging".

 

Of course you can die from an alcohol or opioid O/D and you aren't likely to die from benzos directly but benzos are pretty much universally accepted as the worst of the worst by people who are in the know when it comes to withdrawal.

 

 

[[Lo...]]

It's frustrating indeed!

 

Food for thought:

 

When someone is coming off opioids (or feel WD approaching) they are often craving for their drug AND physically able to commit crimes to finance and/or facilitate their addiction. - Not saying that they all would, just saying that they have the capacity.

 

By comparison, when someone is withdrawing from benzodiazepines they (generally) can't even leave their houses let alone fathom the idea of assertively confronting anyone to help support the dependance.

 

Society is much more exposed to opioid addiction because itchy armed addicts (no disrespect intended) are able to walk the streets in plain view. Also, needle use and incorrect disposal causes a potential health hazard to the public.

 

It’s our ‘silent pain’ which makes us go largely unnoticed and WD underfunded/unrecognised. Due to the nature of our symptoms the internet is our medium of communication rather than the streets. In short, unless you search for us you won’t find us!

 

Of course there’s other influences such as big-pharma, but we won’t get into that…

 

Although I might add, from a socio-economic standpoint it could be argued that benzo W/D is much worse than opioid W/D as it takes us much longer to recover and thereby re-enter the workforce.

 

Opioid W/D, like Alcohol W/D tends to be more damaging than benzos. Benzos are considered relatively safe, even with the long-running duration of the symptoms.

 

Define "damaging".

 

Of course you can die from an alcohol or opioid O/D and you aren't likely to die from benzos directly but benzos are pretty much universally accepted as the worst of the worst by people who are in the know when it comes to withdrawal.

 

 

 

I've too read this time and time again!

Yesterday, I watched a short documentary where a woman in tears opened up and tried to explain (without sounding inhuman) that losing her first child wasn't as difficult as going through benzo W/D. So much compassion for this woman's honesty!

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

[[li...]]

Opioid W/D, like Alcohol W/D tends to be more damaging than benzos. Benzos are considered relatively safe, even with the long-running duration of the symptoms.

 

Come on ! Generally, especially when professionally managed, both opiate and alcohol W/D are for the most part over in weeks at most.

 

[[fi...]]

I was watching Dr. Drew on TV the other night and he said the next crisis you will hear about (after the Opioid crisis) is the Benzodiazepine crisis.  At least he seems to understand what is going on in regards to the over-prescribing of benzos, even if other doctors don't.

[[Te...]]

Well, that's good. We need a lot more people in our corner, willing to speak up.

[[At...]]

This short article is over a year old, but worth the read.

 

https://www.statnews.com/2016/02/18/benzodiazepines-overdose-deaths/

[[Bi...]]

It is hard not to feel angry about the amount of attention being given to the opioid problem and the amount of financial support or resource support going to opioid use / withdrawal....... i suspect benzo WD is far more profound a problem but because benzo use is associated with anxiety and many of the WD symptoms appear to be "psychological" - we are dismissed ........ i know anger is not a productive emotion but yesterday saw a press conference with President Trump and how he's tackling this and it was hard not to feel angry..... i worked so hard in corporate america for 20 yrs - 50-60 hour weeks - paid a fortune in taxes and yet there is no help and i could lose everything for taking a prescription given to me following a surgery and used according to the instructions provided...... from people i know who got off opioids - their WD is not fun but its nothing compared to this...... we deal with both GABA and dopamine receptors being screwed up ...... you read stories where people say getting off heroine was easier.... what does that say?  feeling very frustrated by this....

 

I hear this all the time on dozens of other forums.  Most people that used Heroine at one time and benzo's at other times in their life not only got off heroine quicker but the recovery was always described as 100% healed. 

In the case of benzo's very long recovery time lasting years gave way to people with long lasting mental and physical problems.

 

Also fewer than .009% of long term heroine users reported permanent cases of tinnitus while people on artificial drugs like benzo's, Vicodin and Oxycontin reported tinnitus that lingered for decades probably in part due to Paracetamol (acetaminophen) toxicity to a varying degree.

 

I here this all the time on dozens of other forums.  Most people that used Heroine at one time and benzo's at other times in the life not only got off heroine quicker but the recovery was always described as 100% healed. 

In the case of benzo's very long recovery time lasting years gave way to people with long lasting mental and physical problems.

 

Also fewer than .009% of long term heroine users reported permanent cases of tinnitus while people on artificial drugs like benzo's, Vicodin and Oxycontin reported tinnitus that lingered for decades probably in part due to Paracetamol (acetaminophen) toxicity to a varying degree.

 

We live in a crazy world when a heroine user can have a more complete recovery than a benzo or opiate pill user.  Maybe because it's a natural plant extract.

 

Next time I need pain relief from surgery I am visiting "BROWN EYED MARY"

[[Lo...]]

Honestly, I keep wondering how many of these opioid WD cases, are just straight-up opioid WD cases. Yes, if someone is on opioids alone, it's probably much easier to deal with, but I keep wondering if there are many, many cases where there are many other things in the mix in addition to the opioid WD, thereby making the opioid WD much, much harder.

 

I think it's easier for the media to classify it all under the opiod WD umbrella, since that narrative is easily understood. I think there's much more to this opioid WD situation than it meets the eye.

 

Plus, I am not sure how some of those opioids are even tapered off. Aren't most of them time-released capsules that are sort of impossible to taper off of? While this may be a milder WD, I don't see that there are a lot of supports in place for people trying to come off. Yes, there are medical detoxes, but from what I've heard, the lists are extremely long.

 

We live in a crazy world when a heroine user can have a more complete recovery than a benzo or opiate pill user.  Maybe because it's a natural plant extract.

Exactly!!

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2711509/

 

 

 

[[be...]]

Drugs like oxycodone are effective for 4-6 hours and another dose needs to be taken. It's sister drug, Oxycotin, is supposed to last 12 hours but it actually lasts 8 hours. Oxycotin has a hard shell now that is difficult to cut, while oxycodone can be cut. Many docs consider codone to be more dangerous because one keeps needing a refill.

[[Lo...]]

Drugs like oxycodone are effective for 4-6 hours and another dose needs to be taken. It's sister drug, Oxycotin, is supposed to last 12 hours but it actually lasts 8 hours. Oxycotin has a hard shell now that is difficult to cut, while oxycodone can be cut. Many docs consider codone to be more dangerous because one keeps needing a refill.

 

So, these people get sucked into this just like we do. Some temporary relief followed by long-term suffering afterwards. It sounds like misery, just of a different kind. 

[[be...]]

Drugs like oxycodone are effective for 4-6 hours and another dose needs to be taken. It's sister drug, Oxycotin, is supposed to last 12 hours but it actually lasts 8 hours. Oxycotin has a hard shell now that is difficult to cut, while oxycodone can be cut. Many docs consider codone to be more dangerous because one keeps needing a refill.

 

So, these people get sucked into this just like we do. Some temporary relief followed by long-term suffering afterwards. It sounds like misery, just of a different kind.

 

Exactly. I've seen people getting off opiates and that's no picnic for them. It's the afterwards cravings that make it hard for them.

[[Sc...]]

The Opiod epidemic is people taking these drugs to get high and have a good time they're not taking it for chronic pain and they overdose and die. Psychiatric drugs are MUCH more dangerous than opiods, with opiods even if one is addicted for a long time it can be cold turkied with withdrawal symptoms lasting only a week but you cannot cold turkey psychiatric drugs which can lead to permanent neurological damage and alteration of the nervous system. Psychiatric drugs alter the mind and damage the brain, opiates are designed for pain at normal dosages for short periods of time.

 

More attention needs to be on psychiatric drugs which in my opinion are useless and extremely dangerous but not opiods. Opiods are beneficial drugs that are used for people suffering chronic pain from cancer to all types of pain.